The first thing that comes to mind when we hear the word “VPN” is online privacy.
A VPN (Virtual Private Network) protects users from hazardous exposure to the internet. It offers an additional layer of security and anonymity for anyone who wishes to protect their digital privacy.
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With a VPN, you can do almost anything out there without compromising your identity or exposing your location. It hides your real IP address from spying eyes, whereas it displays the address of its servers. You’ll be surprised that a virtual private network has more uses than these essential functions.
For instance, a VPN can stop your ISP from monitoring your online activities, thereby shielding you from bandwidth throttling.
It can also enable you to enjoy cheaper deals while shopping online. So, there’re many other things you can do with a VPN.
That’s why trustworthy security resources such as PrivacySavvy.com, which boasts a team of privacy geeks, keep recommending the use of VPNs when connected to the internet. And in this article, I’m going to show you some fantastic benefits of a virtual private network.
Interesting uses of a VPN
1. A VPN helps you to access restricted content
A VPN service enables you to break through censorships anywhere in the world. Internet censorship is widespread in this era because the internet is a harbinger of all kinds of content. Some of these contents are perceived as malicious or harmful, while others may be heavily copyrighted.
Some governments may restrict users’ access to the specific content they perceive as unfit by banning such websites in their countries. If you travel to these countries, you will be disappointed because your favorite content would not be accessible.
Also, the restrictions may be to block unauthorized access to copyrighted content. For instance, you can’t access BBC iPlayer unless you’re in the U.K because the service is available to U.K residents only. So, to bypass such restrictions and geo-blocks, you’ll need a quality VPN service.
2. It ensures your security on public WiFi
Using public WiFi is not bad, but the dangers of being on it are numerous. Many libraries, schools, coffee shops, airports, etc., offer these services to improve people’s stay. But these free WiFi networks are not as secured as your home routers that secure traffic with encryption protocols.
The access is usually permitted without passwords, or sometimes, they may be using a shared password. It is dangerous to use the unsecured network without a VPN because hackers can intercept the traffic and steal users’ information. But if you’re using a virtual private network on the public Wi-Fi, your traffic will be encrypted. Then even if the hackers hijack the traffic, they could not access your data. A VPN network scrambles your data to keep it secure from hackers and spies.
3. Shields you from bandwidth throttling
Are you aware that your internet service providers can sometimes reduce your bandwidth to prevent congestion on their network? We can understand their reasoning.
But the result is usually annoying to the end-user because the action reduces your browsing speed. You’ll waste precious minutes trying to stream or download your favorite content due to network buffering.
The truth is that your ISP can’t do that to you if you’re using a VPN. They only throttle the bandwidth of users whose online activities are visible to them.
If they notice that you’re streaming or gaming or even downloading torrent files, they may reduce your speed because those activities are heavy pullers. They can also do that if you’re trying to access restricted websites too. But if you use a strong VPN network, your ISP will be blind to whatever you do online and can’t throttle your bandwidth.
4. Virtual Private Networks secures your conversations
If you don’t want your conversations to be public, use a VPN. You may not know this, but sometimes, some people listen to other people’s conversations online. It may all sound like one of those conspiracy theories, but are you willing to take the risk?
VolP service these day are indeed more secured, but some online hackers are constantly evolving too. Some of the services can also become an eavesdropping tool for anyone desperate to hear everything you’re discussing online.
So, it’s better to keep your conversation private as it should with a VPN service. If you traveled to a country where you can’t even use Skype, you’d need to use VolP and a strong VPN network to make calls and browse the internet.
5. VPN ensures anonymous uploads and downloads
Using a virtual private network while engaging in file-sharing activities online is critical. It will protect you from your ISP and also protect you from cybercriminals. Your ISP may slow down your network when they notice that you are engaging in peer-to-peer activities.
Most of them don’t like it, and sometimes, they can restrict your access entirely. Apart from the ISPs, cybercriminals can see your IP address on those platforms that facilitate P2P file sharing.
With that, they can target you for their dubious activities. But if you’re using a VPN, it’ll disarm both the online thieves and your ISP. The VPN will encrypt your traffic and conceal your IP address.
6. You can save money by using a VPN
If you want to book flight tickets cheaper or get affordable hotel deals, you need a VPN. Apart from this, you can even rent a car less expensive in any country by using a VPN. You may not know this, but prices differ according to countries.
Someone in the U.K may pay a cheaper rate to rent a car in the U.S than someone in Canada who wants to rent the same vehicle in the U.S. It’s also applicable to booking a hotel or accessing some services in a particular country.
So, what can you do to enjoy the same benefits? Use a VPN to change your location to the country with price concession and complete your transactions. It means that if they offer cheaper rates to a particular group of people based on geographical location, you can change yours and play their game.
7. Use a VPN to Shop Smartly Online
If you’re a savvy online shopper, you’ll notice that many online shops and e-commerce platforms discriminate a lot in prices.
They offer different prices to shoppers based on geographical location. Imagine that someone in France can pay lower rates than someone in the U.K for the same products or even subscriptions. While you can’t change these practices, you can do something about it with a VPN.
If you want to buy a product or subscribe to a service, but the offer is too high, change your location instantly and try again from another county.
8. Ensures your privacy on certain websites
Every internet user who is not privacy savvy is opening a wide door for all sorts of online troubles. For instance, if you search for a particular product on Amazon today, every other site you visit will display ads for similar products.
It shows that your online activities are not hidden at all. Some websites collect your information and even share it with third-parties. So, no matter what you do, you need a VPN to keep your activities private, or else you’re prone to cyber-attacks.
Staying private online should be your topmost priority, and a reliable and robust VPN can help you do that.
Final words
If you’ve thought that a VPN can only change location online for easy access to restricted content, you’ve been mistaken. A VPN empowers you to do a lot of things online and also protect you from miscreants.
But bear in mind that free services may not do all that we’ve listed above. It’s only a reliable and robust VPN that can offer these benefits and even more.
So, if you’ve been hesitating to subscribe to the service all this time, now is your chance to get yours and unlock the benefits.
