You would obviously panic if you were watched through the window and something valuable was stolen at the most convenient opportunity. The same thing happens on the Internet, although you may not notice that you are being watched or followed. With a VPN, you can prevent surveillance once and for all. This article will provide you with convincing arguments for why you should use VPN.
Advantages and disadvantages of VPN
Pros of VPN
- Protect your IP and personal data
- Keep your privacy under control
- Get the ability to change your IP
- The firewall will not be a hindrance
- Find out the real pricing policy
- Protect browsing history and logs
- Restore your bandwidth
- Play online without info leaks/loss
Cons of a VPN
- Potentially slowed internet speed
- The dangers of free VPN
- The pricing policy of paid VPN
Does a VPN justify itself?
Advantages and disadvantages of VPN
Surely you still doubt whether a VPN helps secure your data. Horror stories about data breaches and cybercriminals are not fiction. However, there is evidence that a VPN is the best online security tool can help protect your privacy and ensure safe online browsing.
Pros of a VPN
Protect your IP and personal data
When browsing the web, our data gets sent to different servers and travels long distances. This data consists of literally everything about you and your activities, from personal passwords to banking details. An unencrypted data stream can easily fall into the hands of unscrupulous providers who leak information to the government or online data merchants or criminals. It is especially dangerous to use an insecure connection, such as one used in public Wi-Fi found at hotels and airports. Such networks are easy prey for bad acters.
A VPN will guarantee your safety. Thanks to strong encryption, your traffic will be reliably protected from the eyes of intruders and no one will know what you are doing on the Internet. Paid premium VPN servers provide reliable protection with powerful encryption algorithms that provide maximum protection that cannot be decrypted. Thus, your data ceases to appear readable on the network.
Keep your privacy under control
All the actions you take and the thoughts you voice on the Internet make up your information footprint on the World Wide Web. Many organizations, such as providers or website owners, would not mind using your data for their own benefit. Unscrupulous providers may do business with your data by sharing or selling it to a third parties. Your data may be leaked to government agencies or organizations that target annoying ads. With a VPN, this will no longer be your problem. Once your traffic is securely encrypted, your online activities will remain anonymous and your privacy will not be compromised.
Get the ability to change your IP
Your identity and location can be revealed through your IP address. Website providers get access to your IP as soon as you visit their site. This information will further determine the advertising of products and services in which you may be interested, this phenomenon is also called targeting.
A VPN connection will provide an IP address in place of your own, so that the sites you visit cannot detect your location. Bypassing firewalls is another useful VPN feature. Using a VPN allows you to access to information that may be blocked or prohibited in your country.
Prices in some international online stores may vary depending on the country in which the buyer is located and what currency they use, so in order to avoid discrimination in pricing for products and services, a VPN service will be very useful. By changing your location, you can see a larger assortment or better discount offers.
Protect browsing history and logs
If you are in an authoritarian country where Internet freedom is significantly limited and your careless action can lead to dangerous consequences, a tool like a VPN will become vital for you.
Surely you have wondered if personal data will leak if the Internet connection is suddenly interrupted? The Kill Switch used in a VPNs will automatically block your traffic so that it does not go directly without a VPN. This is especially important to ensure no inadvertent leaks happen.
Restore your bandwidth
Bandwidth during certain hours of the day or during certain activities (for example, online gaming), can be deliberately limited by Internet providers. Traffic encryption not only helps protect your stream quality but also the quantity of your connection, making it much more difficult for your internet provider to throttle your connection.
Play online without loss
A VPN can help you play online without slowdowns or blockages. With VPN, your network will be protected from hacker attacks and your IP will not be blocked due to complaints from other players.
Cons of VPN
Slowed down traffic speed
Your internet connection and traffic speed may be slow due to going through encryption on VPN servers. By purchasing a premium VPN subscription, you get a better connection, provided by fast protocols and powerful servers, so you won’t even notice a slight decrease in speed. AV-TEST recently conducted a study that confirmed that a good VPN can have a high traffic throughput.
The dangers of free VPN
Free VPNs often endanger your online privacy. The companies cannot work at a loss, so they use ways to make money off your personal data. Those free VPN providers sell you personal data to third parties, and in the best case, these will be companies just use it for advertising. The number of servers for free VPNs is usually limited, which means that the data transfer speed will be severely limited. They are also very likely to have weak encryption as well as security bugs, which will lead to your data leaking.
That doesn't mean that using VPN is pointless. Depending on how you choose a VPN, it is important that the VPN service adheres to a privacy policy, does not keep logs of your browsing history, and does not collect your personal data. A nice bonus will be an extensive network of international servers, which will contribute to a fast connection.
The paid VPN
Is your security assurance worth it? A good VPN will cost you no more than a decent cup of coffee per month. This is a lot less than your potential losses due to data leakage. Thus, using a VPN can save a lot more of your money, especially when you use in online banking.
Voluntary data collection cannot be disabled by VPN
When using social networks and other Internet services that require registration, you usually sign an agreement on voluntary data transfer. These are situations in which a VPN will not be able to protect you. When you independently allow these services to access our personal information, you rely on their security system. Also, you should monitor your behavior on the Internet, remember that you are responsible for everything you do.
Does a VPN justify itself?
Completely. During the covid pandemic, and due to the increase in the number of online shopping and remote office work, the number of cases of cyber fraud and hacking has increased significantly. In the context of constant increased surveillance, a VPN is the main tool you should use to protect your online security. However, the choice is yours, and you will have to seriously analyze each service provider before choosing the most reliable and secure service. We suggest you avoid free cheese in a mousetrap.
Protect your computer just like you protect your home. You do not put a simple latch on the door, because it is easy to open. Therefore, do not neglect the quality protection of your online space.
We have summarized for you the basic points that you should pay attention to when choosing a VPN:
Developed network of servers. The wider and more diverse the VPN server infrastructure, the more IP addresses you will get to choose from and the more stable your connection will be.
Reliable encryption algorithms. This is the basis and foundation of the very way VPN works. The strongest encryption on the market for such services is 256-bit AES, make sure the VPN you choose provides it.
Customer support 24/7. A support service with high professional skills is needed in case of technical problems to identify and quickly resolve them.
A policy that prohibits logging. The trustworthiness of a VPN service is determined by its policy regarding your data, make sure that the VPN provider does not keep logs and does not store your data.
VPN provider location. Knowing about countries notorious for surveillance and leaking data, make sure that the VPN is located in a country that is not subject to heavy Internet censorship and authoritarian control.
Is the security assurance worth it? A good VPN will cost you no more than a couple of decent cups of coffee per month. This is much less than your potential losses due to data leakage. Thus, using a VPN can save a lot more of your money, especially those that you use in online banking.