It’s hard to ignore all the noise around VPNs these days. It looks like more and more people are starting to show an interest in the idea of running one. If you’re wondering whether you should buy a VPN for your own needs or not, there are some everyday use cases to consider. If any of the situations below sound familiar, you might want to look into some of the VPN providers on the market.
Work on the Go Safely
A laptop and/or a smartphone can make it very easy to get work done on the go these days. Thus, many people are starting to take advantage of this on a regular basis. However, it’s a terrible idea to randomly connect your devices to public Wi-Fi spots and other potentially insecure connections when you want to work on your projects. This is where a VPN can be a fantastic solution.
Nobody will be able to snoop on your connection when you’re using a VPN, and you’ll be able to browse knowing that your private details remain unexposed. Some employers may even require you to use a VPN to connect to the company’s internal network if you want to work remotely.
Enjoy Your Gaming Uninterrupted
Gamers are another group of people who frequently use VPN services. If you’re behind a firewall that throttles gaming connections for some reason, you can buy a VPN to mask your activities. They’ll never be able to differentiate the traffic produced by a game from anything else going over the wire. Moreover, you’ll get to enjoy your gaming time completely unthrottled and smooth.
Keep in mind that some gaming platforms look down upon using a VPN to connect to their services. Thus, familiarize yourself with the rules of whatever platform you’re using before attempting to use a VPN.
Circumvent Netflix Restrictions While Traveling
Netflix users commonly report problems with the service related to content restrictions. If you’re traveling, you might find your favorite show unavailable in your current country. This could force you to either watch something else or jump through risky hoops to be able to watch it on another service (like an illegal streaming site).
With a VPN, you can mask your current location and set it to your home country – or whatever other country you desire. This will unlock new content that would otherwise be unavailable. Netflix can’t detect that you’re connecting through a VPN. As long as you’re using a high-quality service that doesn’t rely on any flagged IP addresses, you’ll be safe watching as much as you want.
Buy a VPN to Improve Your Privacy
Privacy is a vast topic nowadays, and it doesn’t look like the discussions around it are going to die down anytime soon. And that’s a good thing because we’re slowly learning the price of compromising our private information for short-term gains. If you buy a VPN, you’ll be able to enjoy a significantly higher level of protection during your browsing, obscuring your actual activities and preventing anyone from snooping on your connection.
Beware of free VPN services, as you can still be tracked using them.
Torrenting and Other P2P Activities
If you’re involved in any P2P file sharing, you should be aware of the potential risks it carries. There is no shortage of examples of people who’ve been prosecuted because they’ve been caught “seeding” a torrent or sharing files on another network. Preventing this is as simple as concealing your original IP through a VPN. The copyright companies can’t do anything at that point as they’ll have to go against the VPN provider.
In many cases, this will be a company in a completely different country, and it’s typically not worth the effort to go up against them for a simple copyright infringement offense. When you’re connecting through your own IP address, all the copyright holders have to do is request your information from your Internet service provider, something which is a standardized procedure.
Don’t make the mistake of thinking that issues with privacy and the law won’t happen to you as a result of your browsing. It only has to happen once to make a huge mess in your life. Preventing this entirely is impossible, but using a reliable VPN service can go a long way towards minimizing the risk.
Which VPN should you choose?
ExpressVPN
ExpressVPN, which comes highly rated by users and reviewers, works on devices including Windows, Android, iOS, Linux, and routers. Based in the British Virgin Islands, it costs around $6.67 a month if you take out a 12-month plan. With a network of more than 2,000 servers in 94 countries, Express offers top notch coverage in Europe and the US. It also works pretty well in Asia, South America, the Middle East, and Africa. It uses its own DNS servers and employs high-end encryption tech to ensure your security and privacy.
NordVPN
Like ExpressVPN, NordVPN is a big provider. Available on Windows, macOS, and Linux – and with apps for iOS, Android, and Android TV and encrypted proxy extensions for Chrome and Firefox – NordVPN allows you to connect up to six devices. It’s also fast, with 5,100 servers in 60 countries and a one month plan for around $2.99.
CyberGhost
CyberGhost VPN is next on our list and it’s a pretty great addition. The tool comes with some pretty cool features integrated, like the built-in anti-malware feature, which acts as an antivirus would. There is also a kill switch present to prevent your unencrypted data from getting tracked by your ISP or anyone else if any of the 3,700+ servers fails. Its server network is spread across 60+ countries, with numerous streaming-optimized servers in the USA. CyberGhost uses top encryption protocols to secure all data and has a zero log policy in place. Read up on our CyberGhost VPN review to find out everything there is to know about this interesting VPN solution.