Most people today are still using the IP address that belongs to the IPv4 technology, which has become quite old as we have more and more devices connected to the internet. This is why the IPv6 technology is being introduced right now, albeit the low adoption rate of this technology makes it very slow to reach the mainstream. Your ISP is the one that assigns the IP address of your network, and thus, it is first and foremost up to your internet service provider whether they will provide the IPv4 or IPv6 technology.
While the IPv6 is the newer technology that allows you to assign more IP addresses for more devices across the internet, many internet service providers are still unwilling to use this technology in their own internet network due to various reasons. Because of this sluggish adoption of the IPv6 technology, you are at the risk of leaking your IP address, as well as your DNS address when you are using a VPN connection. Why? Here are some things that you have to understand about IPv6 and DNS leaking:
1. Most VPN Services Ignore IPv6 Requests
So, even though your ISP is providing you with the IP address that is assigned from the IPv6 pool, it is not always the case with the VPN service that you use. There are still many VPN providers that ignore the requests from Internet Protocol v6, which effectively means that your IP address that is assigned from the IPv6 pool will not be usable when you use the private network. The VPN service will instead recognize your requests as the IPv4 requests, meaning that it only recognizes your devices with the IP address assigned from the IPv4 pool. This type of misconfiguration between the VPN service and the ISP is what usually causes DNS or IP address leak.
2. IPv6 Technology Needs To Be Adopted Wholly In Order To Give You Real Privacy Protection
Since the Internet Protocol v6 technology is still quite new and the adoption rate of this technology is not yet reaching the mainstream users, it means that for a few years ahead we are still stuck with using the IPv4 technology. Meanwhile, if you really want to make the IPv6 usable in protecting your privacy and preventing any type of IP address or DNS leak, you have to use this technology in all fronts. It means that your OS needs to support IPv6, your device needs to be configured for IPv6, your ISP should have the IPv6 enabled, and your VPN needs to accept IPv6 requests. Other than that, you are still prone to experiencing DNS and IP leaks from time to time.
3. When There Is A Mismatch, The Leak Can Happen
The leak can happen when there is a mismatch in configuration between your ISP, the VPN provider, operating system, and even individual devices. When the configuration doesn’t match in some ways, the leak can happen anytime. In fact, since each front of your network needs to have the Internet Protocol v6 technology enabled, you need to configure all the related services to be able to use this IP address pool instead of using the old IPv4. Only a total configuration in all fronts can prevent the DNS or IP address leak.
4. DNS Leaks Happened Mostly Due To Configuration Errors
Again, configuring the Internet Protocol v6 to work for you is not a simple task to do. As of right now, only tech experts can do it easily, and for most users, configuring this new IP address technology is still out of reach. This is because it involves altering your operating system configurations in some ways, which most users will definitely find it very difficult. Also, not all internet service providers will grant your request to enable the IPv6 technology in your system. So, you have to pick all the network-related services that you use really carefully.
5. DNS Leak Is Not As Severe As IP Address Leak
In the moment of a DNS leak, which might happen due to a mismatch in your configuration, you are only revealing a little information about your location. It means that when your DNS is getting leaked, then third parties can only see where you originated from and what ISP that you are using. But, they cannot pinpoint your location just yet. However, when there is an IP address leak, this is where your current location can be found by the third parties. So, in other words, even though the DNS leak can happen, the damage to your privacy is not as severe as when you have an IP address leak.
Those are the things that you need to understand about IPv6 and DNS leaking. IPv6 should be the next generation of IP address technology that more and more people should use. The more they leave the old Internet Protocol v4 technology, the more they can protect their privacy online. However, as long as there is still misconfiguration between the old and new IP address technology, DNS leaking or IP address leaking can happen anytime, and you should be aware of this risk by choosing the VPN service that can protect your privacy in the best possible way.