VPN stands for virtual private network, simply broken down – computers with shared resources that is owned by a private company. Typically, patrons pay companies for permission to use their networks to send their data to. Unfortunately, using a VPN slows down your connection speed, since it sends your information through a different network. So why pay for seemingly only a minor inconvenience of slower connection?

Privacy

Using a VPN results in two technical results: an encrypted signal, hiding your activity from any prying eyes, and a manipulated IP address, which basically makes it seem you are on a different machine. This in essence makes your information private while traveling over a very public resource, being the Internet. This is great for online shopping; particularly plane tickets, airfare is usually based on cookies (little footprints you leave whilst browsing the Internet) – so if you show consistent activity on the site, it means they assume you have a need for/typically buy a plane ticket and jack up the price. A VPN hides those little footprints, making you look like a new customer, who typically gets lower prices from airports to gain loyalty. Also, a VPN makes VOIP (voice-over-IP), online calls such as Skype, Lync, FaceTime, etc., safer since these types of calls are typically easy to eavesdrop on for a skilled hacker.

Public WiFi

One of the best benefits is protecting the information sent through the Internet, because of the encryption VPNs provide. Moreover, this can be applied to public WiFi, for connecting to any public WiFi for any amount of time is a risk. A novice hacker could intercept the unencrypted information sent through public WiFi and using a VPN would protect your information from them. Using a public Wifi without a VPN is dangerous, due to how open it is to everyone else. So, if you are a person who doesn’t have unlimited data, and you prefer using public WiFi, a VPN would be extremely beneficial.

Access

For better or for worse, using a VPN often opens the doors that were bottlenecked by only using a single network. For example, for countries with strict censorship laws, getting a VPN that is outside the country would allow access to that restricted content (Note: I am not directly telling you to break the law – just informing you of the capabilities of a VPN). Also, it provides breathing room for restricted networks, typically work or school settings. To top it off, the scrambled connection would prevent superiors from tracking it directly to you (Another Note: I do not recommend using this loophole without justifiable reasoning. For example, that website holds the potential to provide awesome information for that really important research paper that you totally left off until the last minute). On a lighter note, it also means that you can access full streaming content on websites like Netflix and Hulu. This is a similar loophole mentioned earlier regarding IP address changes by accessing a network in a different country.

 

In summary, a VPN can be great for security and privacy. All I have to say is don’t be stupid and be safe out there! Do you have a VPN? Would you consider getting one? Let’s discuss down in those comments below.