I just meant in a general sense of comparison of effectiveness and level of effort to get around. I didn't necessarily mean a VPN as a lock per se as a VPN and a firewall aren't the same. A VPN routes your connection through an encrypted virtual tunnel. So who can see where you're really coming from depends on the encryption of the VPN. Compare the encryption to a lock. If it's good even a good locksmith/hacker can't pick/crack your lock/encyption in a timeline that is realistically useful. But you don't necessity need to to get in. If I want in your house bad enough I can bash the door in or break window and fuck your lock. The same is true with VPNs. If I'm trying to quietly Fifield out true traffic origin by cracking encyption and the encryption is good I'm gonna have a hard time. But if I really want to see you I can just use any number of ways to go directly into the VPN provider.