We live in such a connected world, that we cannot imagine a day without the internet. From shopping to research, remote work to social networking, and from gaming to taking up virtual classes, we use the internet for a plethora of activities. Although the internet made the world our oyster, it brought along with it some significant challenges. Because every home has multiple devices that connect to the internet, protection of data and privacy is a huge challenge. But where technological advancements produce challenges, other technological innovations provide solutions. A VPN (Virtual Private Network) is one such solution and it is indispensable in these times for three things: privacy, security and anonymity.
A VPN establishes a secure and encrypted tunnel to allow your device to connect to the internet. No unauthorised users can access this point-to-point connection or intercept your web traffic.
To understand a VPN better, envision the internet as a highway that you use to reach your favourite places to shop, visit, play, conduct business activities and so on. When you use this highway, people with malicious intentions can watch you, trace your activities and even follow you back to your house. The VPN serves as a private tunnel, allowing you to go about your activities while keeping your identity and your activities a secret.
The VPN encrypts your data, which means that even if someone does access your data, it will seem like gibberish to them, and basically be useless. Reading this data requires an encryption key, without which, it will take years to decipher the code, even for a computer. The tunnelling protocols of different VPNs vary, and the data encryption strength also varies.
When you use a secure VPN, your online activities will be safe from prying eyes, and your personal information won’t be exposed. Even your ISP (Internet Service Provider) won’t be able to see the data you send or receive or the websites you visit.
When you’re outside, ideally, you should not connect your devices to public Wi-fi networks, and certainly not use these for shopping or banking activities. Public networks are usually not very secure, and cybercriminals can easily sneak into them and steal information (such as passwords, personal data for identity theft, or even banking information). But there are unavoidable situations where you might need to use public wi-fi. In such situations, you should turn on your VPN before connecting to the public wi-fi. The VPN will disguise your IP address, protect your data and hide your online activities. Choose a VPN with a strict ‘no traffic logs’ policy, which means that your online activity cannot be tracked even by the VPN provider and government agencies.
With a VPN, you can also fake your location and appear to surf from another country. This can help protect your identity and throw off trackers. It can also help you access geo-restricted content. Additionally, showing a different location may help you secure better deals for shopping and travelling, and you can save some money this way.
Although a good VPN can protect your IP address, location, online activity and browsing history, you’ll still need a comprehensive security pack for protection from outside intrusion in the form of viruses, bots, worms, ransomware and adware. If your system was already compromised, the virtual private networks can’t protect against the harm from that. Along with a VPN, you should get anti-malware software for the detection and elimination of such threats.
It’s more important than ever to adopt a proactive approach towards your online privacy and security. Take charge of your cyber security measures. Remain vigilant about all the information that you share intentionally and unintentionally. Opt for a reliable professional VPN provider for the highest level of security and privacy that virtual private networks can offer.