Can a VPN Actually Protect You From Hackers? The Answer Is Complicated

A virtual private network ( VPN ) is often marketed as a panacea of privacy that protects you from all manner of threats. It can be difficult to parse through all of that noise and get to what a VPN actually can and cannot do. Unfortunately, the truth is that a VPN can't do much at all against a concerted attack from a hacker. That's not to say that a VPN is useless against threats. It can shield you from DDoS (distributed denial-of-service) attacks, obfuscate your traffic from advertisers, and generally improve your privacy while you browse the web. Read on to learn more about what sort of attacks VPNs can and can't shield you against.

This article was made possible in part by Proton VPN. It was written and edited independently without partner oversight.

VPNs Don't Stop Hackers. Here's What They Actually Do

Consider this analogy: A normal internet connection is like having your home address public, and that makes it easy for anyone to find it with a simple search. Someone can walk by and look through your windows and see exactly what you're doing inside. Enabling a VPN is like shuttering all of your windows, removing your address from every registry, and scrambling your actual location. Anyone looking for your house and the activity inside of it wouldn't even know where to begin.

However, what if someone wasn't looking for your house in particular? Picture a hacker as someone going door to door looking for a way into each house in the neighborhood. It doesn't matter how protected your house is on the outside if you open the door and let them in. 

As you can see, a VPN is effective at preventing third parties from intentionally spying on your data. Your internet service provider (ISP) won't be able to see the sites you're visiting , and advertisers won't be able to track you as easily . Where a VPN falls short is against indiscriminate attacks. A VPN can't stop you from accidentally downloading a malicious file or prevent you from running a malicious program. Once you've let a file or tracker inside, a VPN is useless against it since it doesn't see internal programs or files at all.

Can a VPN Stop DDoS Attacks? Yes—Here's How

A distributed denial-of-service ( DDoS ) attack is a targeted attempt to disrupt your internet service. This is usually done by flooding your internet connection with illegitimate traffic using bots. It's one of the more accessible forms of malicious attack since an individual just needs your IP address and access to a network of bots to attempt it. Anyone can be the subject of one of these attacks. A disgruntled opponent in an online game may send a DDoS attack your way, or you could accidentally catch the attention of someone vindictive on social media. 

Luckily, a VPN can keep you safe by hiding your actual IP address. VPN servers are often protected against such exploits, so you likely won't even notice a disruption in your connection. It's best to keep your VPN on whenever possible, since a single IP leak can trigger repeated DDoS attacks. I recommend enabling your VPN on boot and letting it run in the background as a general practice. 

Why VPNs Don't Protect You From Man-in-the-Middle Attacks

It's a common misconception that you need to use a VPN on public Wi-Fi networks to protect yourself against hackers impersonating networks. A man-in-the-middle (MitM) attack occurs when you connect to one of these fake networks, which allows a malicious party to view all of your web traffic and steal your passwords. This exploit was common a decade ago, when HTTPS wasn't nearly as widespread. Now, MitM attacks aren't as effective, since the hacker can't see your encrypted credentials, even on a bare-bones Wi-Fi connection. 

Since the attacker is already monitoring your connection, a VPN won't do much more than mask some of the domains that you're visiting. However, that's likely the most the hacker can get, even without the VPN's protection. They won't be able to see your PC's files or control anything. HTTPS removes the risk by encrypting any data you enter on a site. 

Cookiejacking (also called session stealing or sidejacking ) is a type of MitM attack that uses hijacked cookies to bypass two-factor authentication (2FA) and gain access to secure sites. While a VPN can somewhat mitigate such an attack in niche scenarios by hiding the domains of sites you visit, a targeted session-stealing attack can still occur since cookies are stored on your device and can be accessed without an attacker requiring your IP address.

Now, there is a slim chance of a password leak or successful cookiejacking attempt if you happen to use an unsecured HTTP site while a MitM attack is occurring, but that's why most modern browsers give you a warning if a site is missing that critical security certificate before you actually land on the page.

Simply practicing safe browsing habits on public Wi-Fi will do much more for your security than a VPN against MitM attacks.

A VPN Is Just One Layer of a Proper Security Setup

These protection gaps are why I recommend a VPN as just one part of a well-rounded privacy toolkit. An antivirus will do a much better job at shielding you from direct hacker attacks. A password manager will secure your accounts against threats and limit the damage if you're involved in a data breach . And if software isn't in your budget, there are some easy steps you can take to better protect yourself from hackers.

PCMag and Yahoo may earn commission from links in this article.

Check out Yahoo's latest VPN advice, based on hands-on testing.

Best VPNs in 2026 | The best VPNs for streaming in 2026 | The fastest VPNs in 2026 | Best VPN for Mac in 2026 | Most secure VPN in 2026 | 8 ways to make your VPN run faster | Does using a VPN impact internet speeds? | Are VPNs really safe? | See Yahoo Tech's full VPN coverage