If you’re downloading content illegally these days (not something we endorse!) you’re probably using a Virtual Private Network, or VPN.

One Hack listener Rachel* was doing just that this week to illegally pirate a tv show, when she got a massive fright: a copyright infringement notice in her email inbox.

“I was quite worried… I just really was not prepared for the fact that this could happen,” she told Hack.

“My understanding was a VPN meant you could go about your business online and not be tracked.”

The copyright owner of the downloaded tv show had sent the infringement notice to her VPN provider, who forwarded it onto Rachel. It didn't come directly from the copyright owner.

Wait, what’s a VPN?

Each computer has an IP address, which is an identifying number. When connecting to the internet using a VPN, it disguises you by hiding your IP address and assigning you a new one.

With a VPN, you can appear as though you’re browsing the internet from another country, and your internet activity is encrypted.

There are free and paid VPN services out there.

Why do people use them?

The number one reason people use VPNs is for privacy.

In 2018, most people are aware of just how much of our online lives are trackable, and VPNs are almost like an invisibility cloak for the digital world. With a VPN, internet users avoid having their internet activity tracked and stored (for example, in Australia we have metadata retention laws) by masking themselves.

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VPNs are also a great way to get around certain restrictions on internet use or censorship in some countries and regions, or get around geoblocks for some content.

And of course, some people use a VPN when they are illegally downloading.

What do VPNs keep private?

When you connect to a VPN, it keeps you private from that point onwards, in whatever you do online.

However, you’re not anonymous to your VPN provider, as Fairfax tech reporter Ben Grubb explained to Hack.

“It would be incorrect to assume a VPN completely anonymises your internet traffic because those VPN providers are basically like Internet Service Providers,” Ben said.

“They are providing you with a gateway to the internet, and by doing that you are putting all your internet traffic through them, so they can see what you are doing.”

Rachel's case is the first time Ben's heard of this happening in Australia.

"I think it's probably the first I've heard of an Australian using a VPN receiving a copyright infringment notice," he said.

Some VPN providers keep logs of their customer’s internet activity, however some VPNs do not log any info.

It’s important to check what exactly your VPN provider is promising when it comes to logs.

But am I anonymous?

Rachel’s VPN provider, vyprVPN, told Hack that VPNs are widely misunderstood.

“Unfortunately, there remains tremendous confusion in the VPN industry about what logging means and how providers deal with the data they do log.”

The company said they are upfront with their customers and don’t mislead them about logging, unlike other VPN companies.

“We take a different approach and don’t advertise or promise that VyprVPN makes you anonymous on the Internet. We have spent time trying to dispel this myth that you can be anonymous on the Internet as it is one that is so pervasive in the VPN space.”

vyprVPN told us they only log the following info for 30 days:

• Customer’s source IP address (generally the IP address assigned by the customer’s ISP)

• VyprVPN IP address used by the user

• Connection start and stop time

• Total number of bytes used

Fairfax reporter Ben Grubb wants people to do their research before choosing which VPN to go with.

“Unless they claim or can provide any evidence that they don’t keep logs of your internet traffic, then you should just assume that you’re not going to be anonymous by using them,” Ben said.

There are extra steps you can take to be more anonymous, such as setting up a fake email address and using a gift card or temporary prepaid credit card to pay for the VPN.

What about Rachel?

Rachel only got a warning notice, forwarded on from her VPN, so the copyright owner of the tv show in question doesn’t have her info.

Her account with vyprVPN been suspended until she again agrees to their terms and conditions, and copyright policy.

She’s also probably not going to watch the show in question.