When you establish a connection through a VPN, have you pondered whether you’re truly linking to an authentic VPN server? What if an external entity, such as a governmental body, ISP, or a Wi-Fi hotspot administrator, attempted to reroute you to an alternate server clandestinely?
ForestVPN users need not fret about such man-in-the-middle intrusions as they benefit from top-notch security protocols, ensuring ForestVPN servers security while navigating the digital realm.
ForestVPN Apps’ Method of Confirming Connectivity to ForestVPN Servers
Upon connecting ForestVPN application, the server authenticates itself by dispatching a certificate back to the application.
The certificate encapsulates three pivotal pieces of information:
- Secure cryptographic signatures
- The unique or common name of the server
- The server’s public key
Secure Cryptographic Signatures
The signature on the certificate is derived by employing the private key of the ForestVPN Certificate Authority (CA). The CA’s private key remains securely held by ForestVPN and remains inaccessible to both the application and any VPN server.
The ForestVPN application harbors a replica of the CA’s public key, utilized to scrutinize the signature on the certificate. In the event of a mismatch, the server—more accurately, the current connection to the server—cannot be deemed trustworthy, consequently leading to connection termination.
How Secure Are ForestVPN’s Certificates?
To authenticate a certificate from an HTTPS website, your browser must enlist one from a plethora of trusted certificate authorities. A browser could conceivably employ hundreds of certificate authorities, pre-installed on the browser, furnished by your OS, or surreptitiously installed—possibly resulting from malware or phishing assaults.
In contrast, ForestVPN applications exclusively employ one certificate authority, preloaded within the application and nonmodifiable.
Additionally, ForestVPN certificates are all signed utilizing SHA512 hashing and a 4096-bit RSA key. In comparison, the majority of popular websites—including most banking platforms—merely utilize a 2048-bit RSA key!
To contextualize the potency of 4096-bit RSA key encryption, it would necessitate the collective power of every computing resource globally more time to decipher than the life expectancy of the Sun.
Not only are ForestVPN certificates more impregnable than those employed by most websites, but the authentication procedure is also more robust than that employed by most browsers to maximize ForestVPN servers security.
Verifying ForestVPN’s 4096-bit RSA Key Encryption
If you aspire to authenticate ForestVPN’s encryption, adhere to these steps:
- Log in and procure a ForestVPN config from the setup page.
- Extract the Certificate Authority from within the tags.
- Save to a file.
- Execute the following command* from a shell: openssl x509 -text -noout -in $SAVED_FILE *This command peruses the CA in the client config and presents it in human-readable form.
The Unique or Common Name of the Server
Post-validation of the certificate’s authenticity, the ForestVPN application verifies the common name of the server. Embedded within the certificate, the common name remains incorruptible (given the certificate’s authentication).
Every ForestVPN server possesses a distinct common name. The application verifies the server’s expected common name. In instances where the common name is unexpected, the application will terminate the connection.
Confirming the Common Name
When linked, peruse the OpenVPN output to verify the full common name of the server. Upon encountering a line featuring VERIFY X509NAME OK in the output, the common name stands authenticated.
To authenticate the common name in ForestVPN desktop applications, connect and opt for Diagnostics.
You should encounter an output featuring the following:
VERIFY X509NAME OK: C=VG, ST=BVI, O=ForestVPN, OU=ForestVPN, CN=Server-817-1a, emailAddress=[email protected]
The distinct server name hinges on the server to which you’re connected. In this context, the unique server name reads: CN=Server-817-1a
The Server’s Public Key
Subsequent to the ForestVPN application verifying the server’s identity, it proceeds to establish a secure and encrypted channel. The application leverages the server’s public key and conventional cryptographic methodologies to generate a symmetric key pair, employing asymmetric encryption.
ForestVPN Ensures a Secure Connection to VPN Servers
Establishing a connection to a trusted server remains imperative to fortify your security and privacy. Such actions ensure that your data remains immune to interception or manipulation.
ForestVPN server security employs a myriad of techniques to uphold the security of your internet connection, including:
- Best-in-class encryption
- Uniquely identifiable VPN servers
- A solitary trusted CA with a privately inaccessible private key
These measures guarantee that your connections remain perpetually private and secure with ForestVPN.
FAQ:
Q: How does ForestVPN ensure the authenticity of its servers?
A: ForestVPN servers security employs a rigorous certificate exchange process, cryptographic signatures, and common name verification to confirm the identity of its servers.
Q: What encryption standards does ForestVPN use for its certificates?
A: ForestVPN utilizes SHA512 hashing and a 4096-bit RSA key for its certificates, ensuring robust encryption standards.
Q: How can users verify ForestVPN’s encryption?
A: Users can verify ForestVPN’s encryption by following specific steps outlined in the ForestVPN configuration settings.