如果您正在四处寻找您可以信任的 VPN(VPN you can trust)，您会情不自禁地遇到“kill switch”这个词，或者更罕见的是“killswitch”。尽管这个VPN功能很方便，但它的工作方式并不总是得到很好的解释。
什么是 VPN 终止开关？
简而言之，VPN终止开关是一项功能，可以在您的(VPN)VPN失败时禁用您的设备与互联网的连接。此功能对于正在下载种子(downloading torrents)的任何人来说都是必不可少的，被困在像中国防火墙(Great Firewall)这样的审查制度之后，或者以其他方式在被发现时可能会让他们陷入困境的任何人。
没有启用终止开关可能意味着如果您的VPN遇到连接问题（这种情况很常见），您会默认回到常规的互联网连接，从而表明您在没有VPN提供的保护的情况下是谁。如果您只是通过欺骗 IP 地址来访问不同的 Netflix 库(access a different Netflix library)，这没什么大不了的，但对于任何出于不合法目的使用互联网的人来说都是如此。
VPN如何工作？
要了解VPN终止开关的工作原理，我们需要简要了解 VPN 的工作原理(how a VPN works)。
当您在没有VPN的情况下连接到 Internet 时，您将连接到您的 Internet 服务提供商 ( ISP ) 拥有的服务器。连接后，您所在的网站可以看到您的IP 地址(IP address)和其他一些关于您的信息。
当您使用VPN时，连接会先连接到您的ISP ，然后再连接到(ISP)VPN服务拥有的服务器，然后再访问您想要的站点。这样做会将您的 IP 地址切换到VPN服务器的 IP 地址。这有效地隐藏了您的位置，同时还将您的位置设置为VPN提供商拥有服务器的任何位置。
如果您在下载种子时使用VPN，这意味着版权监管机构无法找到您并向您发送通知（但是，您不应下载盗版内容）。
如果您生活在中国(China)、伊朗(Iran)或白俄罗斯(Belarus)等独裁国家，这些国家不允许其公民访问未经政府批准的新闻网站，那么隐藏您的 IP 地址也是访问互联网而不受监视的唯一方法。
VPN Kill Switch 如何工作？
当VPN连接失败时，无论出于何种原因，终止开关都会完全切断 Internet 连接并保护您免受跟踪。它是一个好的VPN的重要组成部分，因为它起到了故障保护的作用，并在您和任何可能对您的在线活动感兴趣的人之间增加了另一个障碍。
不同种类的 VPN Kill Switch
幸运的是，任何值得一提的VPN都有某种类型的终止开关，尽管有些 VPN 的工作方式与其他 VPN 不同或命名不同。例如，Windscribe将其称为“防火墙”。(Windscribe)AirVPN和ExpressVPN将其称为“网络锁定”。但是，在所有情况下，它都做同样的事情。
但是，某些VPN(VPNs)将允许您调整终止开关，甚至将其打开和关闭——尽管我们不建议将其关闭。例如， ExpressVPN(ExpressVPN)让您可以选择从终止开关中排除打印机等本地设备。如果您在公共办公室工作，您可能应该离开这个，但如果您在家，您可以将其关闭。
NordVPN 终止开关
NordVPN更进一步，提供两种终止开关：第一种与大多数其他开关一样工作，并在触发时终止整个连接。第二个是NordVPN所说的“应用终止开关”。这个可以让您决定在VPN(VPN)失败时关闭哪些应用程序，同时让所有其他应用程序继续做他们正在做的事情。
虽然中国(China)的某些人可能希望保持完整的终止开关打开，但将其 torrent 客户端（如传输(Transmission)）放在终止列表中并让其他一切正常运行（无论是否使用VPN ）可能会更好地为 torrent 提供服务。尽管如此，这是一个不错的小调整，我们很惊讶更多的服务不提供它。
杀死开关和你
终止开关是VPN可以拥有的最重要的安全功能之一，您应该远离任何不提供某种形式的服务。值得庆幸的是，只有少数夜间飞行装备没有它们，所以只要你坚持使用久经考验的VPN(VPNs)，你应该没问题。除非您确定自己知道自己在做什么，否则永远不要关闭它。
What Is a VPN Kill Switch and Why You Should Enable It?
If you’re shopрing around for a VPN you can trust, you can’t help but come across the term “kill switch” or, more rarely, “killswitch.” As handy as this VPN feature is, the way it works isn’t always explained well.
What Is a VPN Kill Switch?
In short, a VPN kill switch is a feature that can disable your device’s connection to the internet when your VPN fails. This feature is essential to anyone who is downloading torrents, stuck behind a censorship block like China’s Great Firewall, or otherwise doing something that can land them in trouble when discovered.
Not having a kill switch engaged could mean that if your VPN runs into a connection issue — a common occurrence — you default back to your regular internet connection, thus showing who you are without the protection a VPN affords. This isn’t too big a deal if you’re just spoofing an IP address to access a different Netflix library, but it is to anybody using the internet for less-than-legal purposes.
How Does a VPN Work?
To understand how a VPN kill switch works, we briefly need to go over how a VPN works.
When you connect to the internet without a VPN, you’re connecting to a server owned by your internet service provider (ISP). While connected, the site you’re on can see your IP address and some other information about you.
When you use a VPN, the connection goes to your ISP and then to a server owned by the VPN service before going to the site you want. Doing this switches out your IP address with that of the VPN’s server. This effectively hides your location while also setting your location to wherever the VPN provider has servers.
If you use a VPN while downloading torrents, this means that copyright watchdogs can’t find you and send you notices (however, you shouldn’t download pirated content).
Hiding your IP address is also the only way to access the internet without being spied on if you live in dictatorships like China, Iran or Belarus, countries that don’t allow their citizens to visit news sites not approved by the government.
How Does a VPN Kill Switch Work?
When the VPN connection fails, for whatever reason, a kill switch will cut the internet connection completely and keep you safe from tracking. It’s an essential part of a good VPN as it acts as a failsafe and adds another barrier between you and whoever may be interested in what you’re up to online.
Different Kinds of VPN Kill Switch
Luckily, any VPN worth its salt has a kill switch of some kind, though some work differently than others or are named differently. Windscribe, for example, calls it a “firewall.” AirVPN and ExpressVPN call it “network lock.” In all cases, though, it does the same thing.
However, some VPNs will allow you to tweak the kill switch or even toggle it on and off — though switching it off is not something we recommend. ExpressVPN, for example, gives you the option to exclude local devices such as printers from the kill switch. If you’re working in a public office, you should probably leave this one, but you can switch it off if you’re at home.
NordVPN Kill Switch
NordVPN goes a step further and offers two kinds of kill switches: the first works like most others and kills the entire connection when it’s triggered. The second is what NordVPN calls the “app kill switch.” This one lets you decide which apps get shut down when the VPN fails while letting all others keep doing what they’re doing.
While somebody in China may want to keep the full kill switch on, a torrenter might be better served by just putting their torrent client (like Transmission) on the kill list and leaving everything else to run normally, VPN or not. Nevertheless, it’s a nice little tweak, and we’re surprised more services don’t offer it.
Kill Switches and You
A kill switch is one of the most important safety features a VPN can have, and you should steer well clear of any service that doesn’t offer one in some form or another. Thankfully, only a few fly-by-night outfits don’t have them, so as long as you stick with tried-and-true VPNs, you should be fine. Just never switch it off unless you’re sure you know what you’re doing.
