The fact that VPN connections and private virtual networks are used everywhere today is probably not worth reminding. However, few people know how to disable VPN not only in different operating systems and applications, but also on different devices. That is why many users should fill this gap in knowledge. As additional material, a solution for securing VPN connections will be presented, which can sometimes come in handy.
How to disable VPN across systems, apps and devices: general information
In general, if you look at it, almost all solutions for deactivating a VPN connection can be conditionally reduced to several basic methods.
So, for example, on any mobile device or in a Windows environment, you just need to press the disconnect button from the Network. For a more complete solution to the question "how to disable VPN", you can use more drastic methods related to deleting a connection or connection that was remembered by the mobiledevice. But these are just general principles. Next, let's look at the most common situations in which you may need to deactivate a VPN.
How to disable VPN on Windows systems in the tenth modification
First of all, let's consider the connection deactivation method in stationary systems, and as an example, let's take the tenth modification, since its toolkit is much wider than its predecessor systems.
So, as already mentioned, the easiest thing is to click on the VPN connection icon in the system tray and select disconnect from the menu.
A similar result can be obtained if you enter either the network connections section in the classic "Control Panel", or use the corresponding options menu items for this.
But it also happens that turning off the VPN is not enough - you also need to get rid of the created connection. There is nothing easier. In the network connections section, when calling the context menu via RMB on the selected connection, you must use not disconnection, but deletion. Exactly the same actions are performed in VPN profiles.
Disable VPN in browsers
As for browsers that have a pre-installed VPN client, everything is simple here. For example, in Opera, the VPN icon is located to the left of the address bar on the main panel.
First, left-click to open the client menu, and then set the activity slider to offposition.
How to disable VPN in Yandex Browser? There is nothing particularly difficult either. The essence of the issue boils down to deactivating extensions and add-ons installed as a VPN client (Hola, ZenMate, etc.). Since they, like the Opera client, put their icons on the main panel, just click on them to change the status. To completely get rid of them, in the extensions section, you just need to delete the installed add-ons.
VPN deactivation on mobile devices
In mobile devices, to create a VPN connection of this type, you can use either the built-in tools of the system itself or additional applets. Again, as in the case of Windows, you can limit yourself to simply disabling or deactivating installed applications (or completely removing them).
That's all for the general removal steps. Now let's see how to disable VPN on iPhone. First you need to enter the main settings section and select a network. In the next window, select the connection to be deleted, enter its settings and tap on the appropriate button.
On Android devices, when uninstalling, you can use the optional "Forget this network" option to get rid of all saved configuration data. This approach is applicable in situations where there are problems with virtual networks, in particular, it concerns connection errors.
Prevent DNS Leak VPN
How to disable VPN in differentsituations, understood. Now a few words about one of the most important issues, which is not directly related to the topic under consideration, but plays a key role in ensuring the security of the connections created.
The problem here is that creating a VPN connection on Windows is as easy as shelling pears. But it is not necessary to hope that all encrypted traffic will be completely safe. The main problem is that the system activates Smart Multi-Homed Name Resolution technology, which uses all available network adapters installed in the system, which allows you to speed up DNS queries. They are the ones that can be transmitted outside a secure connection.
The easiest way to disable this service is to use Group Policy (gpedit in the Run console). In the editor, you need to find the corresponding disable component, enter the settings editing (double click or RMB menu) and set the status to "Enabled". Don't get confused, because here the enabled state in the options corresponds to deactivating the selected component. After that, you need to save the changes and reboot.
Summary
In principle, questions about how to disable VPN in completely different situations can be considered settled. By and large, everything that was written above can be put into one phrase: “You can either disable the VPN, but leave the connection intact for further use, or delete it entirely.”
As for disabling DNS leak, knowing the algorithm of actions to solve this problem is useful only if the VPN connection is not deleted, but will be used in the future. Agree, and after all, many didn’t know about this, but didn’t even assume that in Windows this feature was activated by default. The idea seems to be good (speeding up requests), but the implementation leaves much to be desired.
