AES 256-bit encryption is the gold standard for online security, trusted by governments, banks, and leading tech companies. PureVPN uses this powerful encryption by default to protect your connection, so that your browsing, streaming, and communication remain private for anyone who’s watching.
AES 256-bit encryption is a security standard designed to safeguard digital information. “AES” stands for Advanced Encryption Standard, while “256-bit” refers to the size of the key used to lock data. It’s commonly used by VPNs to wrap your connection in a protective layer that blocks third parties from viewing or altering your data. Every site you visit, account you log into, or file you send goes through a secure tunnel, keeping your online activity shielded.
At its core, AES 256-bit encryption converts your readable data into unreadable code using a mathematical process and a secret key. Here’s how it works step by step:
People rely on AES 256-bit encryption because it solves real problems. Here are some of the most common reasons it matters:
AES 256-bit encryption keeps private data like logins, banking details, and messages safe from anyone trying to intercept it. Even if traffic is captured, it’s unreadable without the key, meaning your personal information stays private when you’re shopping, banking, or just using the internet.
Cafes, airports, and hotels are easy hunting grounds for hackers. Encryption stops people on the same network from seeing your activity or stealing credentials. With AES 256-bit in place, you can connect to open Wi-Fi without worrying about who else is watching.
Internet providers can track your activity and even slow down certain services, like streaming or gaming. With AES 256-bit encryption, they can’t see what you’re doing online. That keeps your connection private and makes it harder for ISPs to selectively throttle your speed.
If you live in a country where monitoring is common, strong encryption makes your online activity unreadable. Governments or agencies may still see that you’re connected, but they can’t see what you’re doing. AES 256-bit encryption gives you a layer of privacy that surveillance systems can’t break.
Most modern VPN protocols support AES 256-bit encryption because it’s the industry’s most trusted standard. OpenVPN and IKEv2 both use AES 256-bit to protect online traffic across devices. Even newer options like WireGuard can work with AES, though they often rely on different ciphers by default.
When you use PureVPN, you can rest easy knowing AES 256-bit encryption is built into every protocol we offer, including OpenVPN, IKEv2, and WireGuard, so your online activity stays private and protected from unwanted eyes, no matter what device you’re using or which network you’re on.
Yes. AES 256-bit encryption is considered the strongest encryption standard in use today. With 2^256 possible key combinations, it’s virtually impossible to break by brute force, making it highly secure for protecting sensitive information, online activity, and communication across devices.
AES-256 is trusted globally. Banks, governments, militaries, and major tech companies use it to secure financial transactions, classified information, and user data. It’s the gold standard for cybersecurity, and used in industries where privacy and data integrity are non-negotiable.
Even with the most advanced supercomputers available today, cracking AES 256-bit encryption by brute force would take billions of years. Its sheer key length makes it computationally infeasible, which is why it’s regarded as effectively unbreakable for any practical purpose.
AES 256-bit keeps your data safe from hackers, snoopers, and surveillance, making it one of the strongest protections you can use online. While encryption adds some processing, modern devices handle it smoothly, so you stay secure without noticing a drop in everyday performance.
Yes. PureVPN uses AES 256-bit encryption across all its supported protocols, including OpenVPN, IKEv2, and WireGuard. You don’t need to enable it manually—it’s applied by default whenever you connect.
