In the recent past, online privacy has become a serious issue for both individuals and organizations. There has been a rise in cyber attacks, which has created the need for internet users to cover their digital footprints. One of the most popular tools for securing internet activity is a VPN.
VPN usage has increased over the years even though there are still a lot of people who do not understand why they should have one. If you are in this category, this article is for you.
This guide will explain the concept behind a VPN in layman’s terms and give reasons why you should have this tool alongside other cyber protection measures such as antivirus. Also, this article will be beneficial if you are looking for a free and secure way to download entertainment content from the internet.
What is a VPN?
VPN (short form for Virtual Private Network) is basically a piece of software that is designed to encrypt the activities of the user on the internet. VPNs achieve this by concealing the real IP address of the user and assigning them a fake one.
The end recipients of the internet traffic channelled through a VPN cannot tell where the internet user is surfing from and neither can hackers and snooping government agencies.
In other words, a VPN is a technology that allows you to browse the web anonymously. It contains advanced technological features that help keep your identity and internet traffic private and secure.
How do VPNs work?
Usually, every time you want to visit a particular website, your request is received by the Internet Service Provider (ISP) you’re using before you are redirected to the site you are looking to visit.
The fact that your requests pass through an ISP means that they can see your online activity and so can any other party that may get a loophole in between. Furthermore, your ISP can monitor your online behaviour and sell your personal data to marketers.
Here is where VPNs come in. Instead of your internet activity passing through your ISP, VPNs redirect your requests to a remote server. By so doing, they can mask your IP address and encrypt every data you send or receive. This, therefore, means that surfing the web using a
VPN allows you to encrypt your data. VPNpro.com reviewed NordVPN, learn more about the features of a quality VPN.
Here are the advantages of a VPN in a nutshell.
As mentioned earlier, VPNs ensure third parties including your ISP can’t monitor your activities on the web. Here are some advantages of using a VPN.
Your ISP can’t track your web activity. This implies that they are not in a position to tell what sites you frequent. Additionally, using VPN makes it impossible for your ISP to sell your sensitive information as well as your web activity to marketers.
Advertisers are unable to see your IP address. Surfing the web using a VPN is a sure way to keep advertisers at bay. Since you’ll be using the IP address of your remote VPN server, unwanted entities will not be able to see your actual IP address.
Additionally, since you’ll be connecting to servers located in different countries, you’ll appear to be accessing the web from those countries.
Encrypted traffic means secure personal data. VPNs encrypt your internet usage to help you stay anonymous and safe on the internet. Most importantly, your sensitive information such as banking details remains secure and impossible for hackers to decipher.
While Your ISP may not be able to monitor your internet activities, your VPN provider can. For this reason, it is advisable to choose your VPN provider carefully. VPN providers that do not keep data logs are the best.
Are VPNs secured?
VPNs present a perfect way to keep online activities secure. Since they hide the IP addresses of users and encrypt their traffic, third parties are unable to spy monitor users’ internet activities.
If by any chance a hacker successfully intercepts internet traffic, deciphering it in nearly impossible.
It is important to mention that safety is greatly influenced by the VPN service you choose. VPNs such as SurfShark VPN have robust (double) security protocols and don’t keep user data logs.
Note that VPNs with robust (double) security protocols tend to be more secure than those that utilize single security protocols.
Conclusion
It is essential to exercise high levels of online privacy especially in this time and age when cyber attacks are the order of the day. Dependable VPNs make it impossible for unwanted parties including marketers, governments, hackers, and ISPs to spy on internet users. On top of that
VPNs also encrypt internet traffic, therefore, guaranteeing full security for sensitive information exchanged through web-based channels. A VPN is also the best tool for bypassing geo-restrictions imposed by corporations and government agencies.