Security for surfing on the Internet must be a concern for everybody. Regular users and businesses making transactions daily could get their information and money badly compromised. Remember that our data have become a gold mine!
What is VPN?
The Virtual private network (VPN) is a security protocol to transform a public Internet connection into a private network for protecting data exchanged online. VPN secures Internet connections, provides anonymity and privacy for users.
Talking technically, VPN is a group of instructions to define how the data routes from a user’s device to a VPN server and vice-versa. VPN masks the Internet protocol (IP) for covering your location and what you do online. It hides your activity from strangers’ eyes and protects your data through encryption.
Actually, VPN offers real-time encryption for every single connection. Then you can communicate with online websites, send your data and keep them safe from hackers or third parties. The information will be transfer in sort of a private tunnel, and it will safely be encoded during its transit to its destination.
It’s a great security solution, and it works not only on computers (laptops, desktops) but also on devices like smartphones, tablets, etc.
Once you get a VPN, enjoying these security benefits will require you only a username, password, and server address every time you connect to the Internet. After the first time you log in, you can configure it to start automatically for every connection.
Why use VPN?
VPN basically gives you a private tunnel, connecting a network with an exit node in a different location, to safely communicate online. Here you have some solid reasons to use it:
- Secure your online communications. How many times have you paid a bill, checked your bank balance, or e-mails on the go? When things get urgent and far from having a safe network, public networks are helpful but can be dangerous for your data. All the information exchanged on the Internet is vulnerable. Strangers using the same network could try to steal it.
- Keep private your IP address and location. Having your IP address means others can know what you have been looking for on the Internet and where on the planet you were while searching. Too much information to be shared with strangers, don’t you think so? When you use a VPN, it will use not your own but a different IP address—that way, your privacy, and anonymity are protected.
- Hide your browser history. A few people may not care if others see what they have visited on the Internet. But for most, privacy is important, for instance, not to be annoyed by constant ads or promotions based on their last online searches. Your web browser or the Internet service provider can be interested in tracking you. There’s a market for users’ data.
- Protect your devices from cybercriminals. While connecting your laptop, tablet, or smartphone to a public network, you can be exposing your sensitive and private data to third-party eyes. VPN and the tunnel it creates will keep private all the information you exchange online.
- Don’t miss the content from your streaming service. Usually, you pay for streaming services in the place you live, but sometimes when you have to travel outside of your country or region, they might not be available. VPN, almost every paid service, gives you the chance to choose the IP address, meaning the location from where to connect your device. This way, you can skip the geographical restrictions.
Conclusion.
Risks can’t be underestimated when it’s about the Internet. And there’s no point in doing it when the technology for getting protected already exists. Use a VPN and surf online stress-free!