Paranoid about your online privacy? Use a VPN!
The global COVID pandemic gave rise to new cybersecurity challenges. As remote working increased, companies faced new data breaches, ransomware attacks, and more. We also saw a sharp rise in phishing and identity theft – just to name a few.
Similarly, the online privacy landscape looks bleak with your ISP monitoring your every move. Considering the current digital privacy landscape, VPNs have become the most in-demand privacy tool.
What is a VPN?
A VPN (Virtual Private Network) is software that encrypts all incoming and outgoing data on your device. Instead of a direct connection with the internet, it reroutes your entire traffic and passes it through a VPN server before reaching its final destination.
The online traffic is encrypted and is tunneled through its own VPN servers, making it untraceable online. In addition, it masks your IP address, and no one can trace your online activities.
There are plenty of popular VPN services offering 256-bit encryption with thousands of IP addresses that you can use to restore your online privacy.
How VPNs Secure Your Internet Connection and Offer Online Privacy?
VPNs are the most effective tools to secure your online privacy and protect your internet connection against external threats. Here’s how a VPN helps you get peace of mind while ensuring online privacy:
VPN Masks your IP Address
When you connect to a VPN server, it passes all your internet traffic through a third-party server before reaching its final destination. In the process, it hides your real IP address and location.
For example, if you connect to a US VPN server, it will hide your real location and IP address. In turn, you will be assigned a new IP address (American IP in this case). It will make it look like the traffic is coming from the US instead of your actual location.
This way, a VPN not only helps you achieve online anonymity but also helps you bypass geo-restrictions and censorship. You can choose any server location you want and unblock restricted websites from your country.
VPN Encrypts your Data
When you connect to a VPN, all your internet traffic passes through a VPN tunnel that is encrypted. It encrypts your traffic and decrypts it when it reaches its destination. In the process, it keeps your data safe and private.
Most VPNs use 256-bit AES encryption to protect your data. It is the same as used by military agencies to protect sensitive files and data. This encryption is the standard in the VPN industry as it can withstand brute force attacks.
When you are using a VPN, even if someone does manage to intercept your data, it will be of no use to them. They will need a key to decrypt the data. Therefore, a VPN offers online security through data encryption.
VPNs are also equipped with additional features such as a kill switch, IP leak protection, and more. A kill switch stays on guard and kills your device’s internet connection in case of sudden VPN connection drops. This way, it makes sure your real IP address never leaks.
A few VPN services also offer a double VPN feature and allow you to connect to two servers at once. In such cases, your internet traffic hops through two servers, making it untraceable online.
Are VPNs considered legal?
Yes, VPNs are considered legal in most countries. Using a VPN is only illegal in a few countries with heavy internet restrictions and censorship like UAE, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and a few more. In countries like China, using a VPN is not considered illegal, but the government only allows the use of a few VPN services in the country.
So, if you are thinking about using a VPN to secure your online privacy, rest assured that it is completely safe and legal. However, keep in mind that using a VPN for committing crimes is still considered illegal and is punishable by law in all countries.
How to choose the right VPN for your needs?
If you are new to VPN technology, there are dozens of VPN services available in the market. So, if you are going to buy a service, make sure to consider the following key elements:
- Number of servers: Make sure to choose the VPN that offers you plenty of servers in different countries worldwide. The more server locations a VPN provider offers, the more options you have to access restricted websites.
- Speed: Generally, VPNs decrease your internet speeds because of data encryption. But, with a good VPN service, you will not experience more than a 20-30% decrease in speed. So, make sure the VPN you choose offers fast speeds.
- Zero-log privacy policy: This feature is very important. The VPN you choose should follow a zero-log policy and should not keep ANY user logs. Most VPN services claim to follow a no-logs policy, but in reality, they even log personally identifiable data. So, before choosing a VPN service, carefully read their privacy policy to determine their logging stance.
- Security features: The VPN you choose should have all the basic security features like a kill switch, IP/ DNS leak protection, 256-bit encryption, and more.
- Simultaneous connections: Make sure the number of simultaneous connections supported by the VPN is suitable for you. There are plenty of VPNs that also offer unlimited device connections as well.
- Device compatibility: Some VPNs don’t have apps for different operating systems rendering them useless. So, choose a VPN that has easy-to-use apps for different operating systems like Windows, iOS, Android, Mac, Smart TVs, and more.
- Money-back guarantee: Most VPN services offer at least a 30-day money-back guarantee for new users to test the service before committing. This period gives you plenty of time to check the overall performance of the VPN before you subscribe to its long-term plan.
Wrapping Up
Considering the current digital privacy landscape, using a VPN is the only smart option to secure online security and privacy. Between snooping from the government to hackers and cybercriminals, securing your data is not a consideration anymore. If you are concerned about your online privacy, I highly recommend getting a VPN today!
