I Use a VPN and Here’s Why
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Using a VPN (or Virtual Private Network) is becoming an increasingly common method to deal with today’s security and privacy issues. A VPN creates and maintains a secure internet connection where your activities are encrypted, and your server locations can vary. There are both free and paid versions of VPNs with many pros and cons.
I’ve used VPNs on and off for years for a variety of reasons and found them to be very effective at what they do – especially in the right situations on mobile devices. These days, I switch to a VPN connection even more frequently, depending on what I’m doing. Here are some of the top reasons you should think about doing the same.
Added Security When Away from Home
Your home Wi-Fi network is probably fine – If you’re using the proper WPA2 security and good passwords, it’s unlikely that you’ve ever had any problems with anyone snooping on your network and trying to steal data. Public networks, however, are an entirely different story. Networks in public places, especially malls, airports, and other areas where many people may be logged on, are a favorite targets of hackers looking to steal personal information. These networks may also have even lower security than your home network (a problem that has slowly gotten better over time but is still a real issue).
So, when I’m out and about, I switch to my VPN. It’s quick and it keeps my devices protected in case there’s someone around who wants to intercept my data. It’s especially important for any sort of lengthy travel, but if I’m doing browsing or work at a café or pub, I can switch on my VPN there too for added protection. Wi-Fi security issues aren’t going anywhere for the foreseeable, and a VPN keeps you safer – it’s really that simple.
Greater Privacy Everywhere Else
Your web activity can be tracked by all sorts of organizations. Browsers and advertising companies will happily install cookies and follow your progress around the web to see where you’re going and what you’re doing. They use this information to target ads, create profiles for regional behavior, and all sorts of other things. Other organizations – like governments – may monitor web activity for even more unpleasant reasons, such as tracking political dissent (in the United States, VPNs may be able to provide web activity when required to by law, but in other countries VPNs can be a vital part of keeping internet browsing truly private depending on their jurisdiction).
VPNs can help prevent this type of tracking and give me greater privacy no matter what I’m doing. It’s a little added reassurance that also makes it less likely that the same ads will follow me around the internet, which is a nice plus.
More Confidential File Sharing
This idea tags along with general security issues, but if you’re like me and you share a whole lot of files with others, a VPN can help make sure that the files you send stay safe within the hands of their intended recipients. This is naturally even more important if you are sending a lot of private files that have sensitive information in them.
No Regional Locks on Content
The internet can vary greatly depending just on what country you’re in – and I’m not talking about data speeds. Social apps like Facebook may be completely banned in some countries. Content like movies and games may only be available in certain countries: Netflix, for example, offers different content in Canada vs. the United States vs. Australia, and so on. This can make it difficult to watch what you want if the content is available, but not where you are currently.
VPNs are an immensely popular solution to these issues. All good VPNs have thousands of servers in various countries around the world. Depending on the content you want access to, these VPNs can route your connection to the right servers (or let you choose servers) so that these regional limitations aren’t as much of an issue. It’s an alternative to piracy that’s more acceptable to consumers and gets you the content you want without a hassle.
Better Prices and Deals
Have you ever shopped for tickets, reservations, or bookings online? These services use cookies and other methods to track if you’ve shopped there before. They do this to 1) raise prices on repeat visits, which is designed to make you feel more stressed so you’ll spontaneously buy, and 2) adjust pricing based on your local market so you don’t save too much. Of course, these are shady practices, and I don’t want to encourage them. A VPN is an easy way to make sure that this sort of tracking is hindered or disabled so you can save more.
May Be Required for Work or School
If you’ve used online portals for school or business purposes, you may have found that you’re required to use a particular VPN. This has only happened to me once or twice in the past, but it’s beginning to become a more common practice. These organizations offer necessary or valuable services to students and workers: They have a vested interest in keeping their data safe and keeping you free from security vulnerabilities.
This is a great practice, but the downside is that businesses or schools might require that you use a specific VPN that they’ve chosen. If you already use a VPN in your personal life, this can lead to scenarios where you have to juggle multiple VPNs depending on what you’re doing, which can be a little annoying. But it’s good to have organizations care that much about protecting their data, and a VPN is a fantastic place to start.
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