Why Web Users Need a Virtual Private Network and How to Choose a VPN?

By CTB On Mar 6, 2019

A Virtual Private Network or VPN will let the internet users create a secured connection over the internet to a network or server. Usually, VPNs are largely used to access the region-restricted content and also to mask the browsing activity of users from the prying eyes of the ISPs, public Wi-Fi, and the government agencies peeping into internet activities, etc.

VPN usage is fully legal, and nowadays the acceptance of VPN is also increasing largely. However, most of the times, the usage of VPNs is not just for the reasons actually meant for. Previously, they were originally used as a secure way to connect the business networks and do transactions securely over the internet or for the employees to access their business servers from home.

VPNs work by forwarding all your network traffic to the desired network, which will help you access the designated network resources remotely by bypassing the internet censorships. Most of the operating systems now have VPN support integrated to them.

How does a VPN help individuals?

In its simplest sense, a VPN helps to connect your personal computer or smartphone to another computer or server located at another part of the world through the internet. This will further let you browse the internet using the host computers internet connection. So, if that server is located at another country, then your activities will be like the one of that country, and you can access whatever things available in that country, by enjoying online privacy, irrespective of the restrictions you have locally. People now use VPNs to:

Bypass the geographic restrictions on web content and live stream of audio or video.
Stream media like Hulu and Netflix for free.
Safeguard oneself from snooping or unreliable Wi-Fi hotspots.
Enjoying anonymity on the internet.
Protect from getting logged during torrenting.

There is a huge majority of personal users now access any of the VPN services for torrenting and also to bypass any geographical restrictions to access content from different places. VPNs also help to protect yourself when working at a random coffee by accessing the free Wi-Fi.

Why IP manipulation and personal encryption are useful?

As we can derive from the above points, a real virtual private network helps you to meet these two objectives as:

VPNs cloak your signal and encrypt it by making your internet activities fully illegible to the eavesdroppers.
VPNs manipulate the IP you are using, which will be shown as one from another location or a different machine.

Even though using a VPN may slow down your internet connection from 25 to 50%, there are still many good reasons for you to use it. Some of the major reasons why individual internet users tend to adopt a VPN are as follows:

1. Access streaming content from Netflix from outside the US

With copyright infringement issues, Hulu, Netflix, and Pandora, as well as other live media streaming services, cannot broadcast their content outside the USA. So, many good movies are blocked for the viewers of people from Canada, UK, Australia, Europe, and Asia, etc. There are geographical enforcements against net neutrality, which will read your user IP and then trace its location of origin to block content.

With the use of a good VPN service, users can manipulate the IP address of the machine you use by establishing a VPN connection with a server in USA and thereby unlocking your access to the above-mentioned streaming apps. You have to configure your PC, mobile device, or television to use a VPN connection. If you are streaming fan, then your effort is fully worth in establishing VPN if you succeed in it.

1. Transact P2P files privately

The major music and movie associations like MPAA fully detest P2P sharing of files. The reasons why it is so are both legality and profit, and ISPs have ways to forbid the users from sharing such files online. They also nab the offenders by masking the file sharers or by eavesdropping your signals.

But a VPN can be the best way out for P2P transactions. Even though VPN connections may slow down your speed, it helps you download the P2P files, and the actual IP address is kept unidentifiable to others. If you are an avid file sharer who doesn’t wish to risk yourself with the copyright infringement threats and civil lawsuits related to it, one should definitely consider using a good VPN, even spending 10 to 15 dollars on getting a good premium VPN may be worth it.

2. Travelers using public or hotel Wi-Fi

Many people are unaware of the risks of using public Wi-Fis, but in a real scenario, it is not safe to use public Wi-Fi in the open with the hackers having hundreds of ways to snoop into your activities and get confidential details. As https://www.fastestvpnguide.com points out, many of the public wi-fi systems don’t offer any encryption security, so your signals are available to anyone who is savvy to eavesdrop. Even a novice hacker who is skilled can intercept the wi-fi signal using some kind of an Evil Twin hotspot or Firefox Tamper to gain access.

As public wi-fi is now largely insecure, if you are a traveler or frequently access to public wi-fi, it is highly advisable for the mobile users or the roaming internet users to spend a few bucks for getting a safe VPN connection. If you are logging into any public wi-fi, then first connect to your VPN, which will let all your web use get encrypted and made hidden from the spying eyes.

3. Bypass the web censorship like the Great Firewall of China

Some nations impose some oppressive censoring on the internet, which restricts the usage of their citizen. Countries like China, Afghanistan, Egypt Saudi Arabia, Cuba, Belarus, Syria, etc. are some classic examples of such nations which do surveillance of the internet usage by their people and also restrict access to World Wide Web. also, check the best hardware firewall to connect restrict access.

So, if you move to any of these restrictive countries, then open internet access may not be possible, so it is ideal to connect to use a VPN connection to the tunnel you through the censorship to get connected to a server outside the country and access WWW. The VPN will also help to conceal your internet activities from the eavesdropping of the ISPs who share this information with the government agencies. The bandwidth of your connection may be slower for the uncloaked internet, but freedom counts a lot more than speed, right?

4. VoIP Telephony

Voice over IP, or otherwise known as internet telephony is an easy and cost-effective mode of overseas communication. However, if you are using the regular VoIP services, it is possible that the intermediate hackers can listen to the voice. So, if you are regular use of internet telephony, then it is ideal to have a VPN connection to safeguard your phone calls and keep your communications confidential. However, the cost of such VPN services may be higher, but if you are regularly using VoIP services, then this investment may be fully worthy. Again, compared to the compromised speed of using VPNs, privacy has more value.

5. Doing online searches without getting logged

You like it or not, all the search engines like Google, Bing, Yahoo are logging your searches and cataloging your web activities. The searches you make and activities performed on search engines are getting attached to the IP of your computer and then further used to customize the advertising activities to your machine. This cataloging may be most of the times useful and unobtrusive, but you are also under the risk of using these catalogs for embarrassments or social faux pas.

With the use of a VPN, you can restrict these search engines from logging your activities. You may not like getting all your searches like anti-depressants, divorce lawyers, or anger management to get logged. A VPN can cloak your IP and will further restrict the search engine crawlers to identify you and add these to their catalog in your name.

6. Enjoy unlimited gaming or online betting

Many are enthusiastic about online gaming, poker, online betting, etc., but these activities are restricted in many countries and states. So, if you have an opportunity to bypass these bans and get access to these sites, it will be an exciting experience. Specialized VPNs are aiming at gaming and betting, availing which you will get access to these servers safely without relieving your actual location and use it.

7. Prevent reprisals and trace-backs

If you are a celebrity or someone like a market researcher or reporter who is working on topics like market data analysis, covering war reporting, topics like violence against women, etc., then it is essential to make your computers and data untraceable. VPNs will help to prevent any reprisals and can keep you anonymous for others to scoop into your activities or trace you online. A good personal VPN is an ideal choice to manipulate the IP and rendering yourself untraceable.

Even though all the above reasons notwithstanding, you may still value your personal privacy and also the fundamental right to access to internet content as you wish. A chance to freely access information and broadcast your content is everyone’s wish, and this simple reason will act as a catalyst for you to invest on a good VPN connection.