In recent years, the term VPN has become a common part of the internet vocabulary and general public consciousness. Regardless of whether you’ve ever used a VPN or even know what it is, you’ve probably heard about it.
In this article, we’ll tell you what exactly a VPN is and give you all the reasons why you should start using it.
What is a VPN?
VPN, short for Virtual Private Network, creates a private network for you from the public internet connection. This allows you to surf the internet and conduct your activities anonymously without being traced and without your information being tracked. They essentially mask your IP address so that all your online actions are untraceable.
Why you need to use a VPN?
The following are some of the primary reasons to start using a VPN service.
- Anonymity and Privacy: This is the most obvious advantage of a VPN service. Internet providers around the world keep your internet usage metadata on their servers which can be accessed by anyone. As such, information regarding your internet usage can be leaked online, can be hacked, and it can even be given to the government. However, with a VPN, all of your data is encrypted so no one can access them, not even the VPN service company.
- Bypass Government Censorship: Various governments around the world enforce strict censorship on the internet. Some governments block torrent sites, some block porn sites, some block LGTBQ content, and some even censor media that’s critical of the government. Using a VPN, you can bypass all of those restrictions and take complete control over the internet, that too away from the government’s prying eyes.
- Bypass Netflix/Streaming Geographic Restrictions: Netflix, Hulu, and other streaming services limit their programs when broadcasting outside the US. As such, if you’re anywhere else in the world, based on your login IP address, you don’t have access to Netflix’s entire directory of content. However, a VPN service allows you to manipulate your IP address so it seems like you’re accessing Netflix from a server within the USA. This will give you access to all the content available to users in the USA.
- Securely Accessing Public WiFi: We often find ourselves connected to public WiFi, be it in a coffee shop, hotel, airport, or other similar public locations. These WiFi networks are notorious for being unsafe and they do not follow any encryption protocols. As such, even a basic hacker will be able to access your online activities without breaking a sweat. If you often find yourself accessing public WiFi, you need to secure yourself with a VPN.
- Privacy during Video Calls: Voice-over-IP, i.e., video calls conducted over Facetime, Skype, etc,
are extremely unsafe. Any hacker can access your camera and gain access to your visuals and microphone to either record you secretly or simply eavesdrop. If you often use these VOIP services, you need a VPN.
While the aforementioned reasons are some of the most pertinent, they don’t even scratch the surface of all the reasons you can benefit from a VPN service. Suffice it to say, if you value privacy at all, you need to invest in a reasonable VPN service.
