Data breaches and Privacy Invasion have become a common topic in the newspapers and websites which may lead you to ask yourself: Are your personal data and privacy safe? Fear of our data getting stolen and personal information being leaked is always in our mind. Changing passwords and keeping sensitive information private improves your internet security, but, that’s not enough.
With cyber-attacks becoming more and more common, businesses and private data all are at risk of getting their data stolen. These sensitive data can easily be secured by taking strict and efficient security measures. One of the best and by far the easiest way to improve internet security is by using a VPN.
What is a VPN?
For our non-tech-savvy readers, a Virtual Private Network abbreviated as VPN, lets you form secure private connections with other networks over the internet by creating a safe private network. A VPN provides users with anonymity, security and privacy allowing them to use the internet safely.
VPN masks and hides your IP address making it invisible to hackers and cyber-attacks. In simple words, VPN acts as a tunnel. It encrypts your data and sends the data through a private tunnel. This way your data is private and safe. With help of a VPN, you can safeguard your browsing history and location from everyone, including hackers and even the internet service provider.
VPN and Internet Security
If you ask any security professional about how to improve internet security, most would suggest you use a VPN. A virtual private network helps improve internet security when you are online, doing transactions, and sharing sensitive data. VPN also helps you hide your location details by hiding the IP address. This prevents and protects you from identity thefts. A VPN can bypass different types of firewalls and lets you access geo-restricted content.
There has never been a need for internet security more than right now. Many businesses have turned online along with their staffs working online as well. While working online from home can be efficient and comfortable, but, at the same time, it is unsafe. Most data breaches would not have occurred if there was basic level security. Many businesses seem to neglect their internet security. It does not matter if its a small business or a large one. Using a VPN for online work is the easiest way to protect data and should be made mandatory among staffs.
VPN has become a necessity that you cannot ignore. Even for personal usage, VPN is a useful tool. Let’s say, you are using public wifi at an Airport or a Coffee Shop, these public WiFis are usually not safe to use. People connect to public WiFi without a second thought but the owner of these networks may actually be stealing your private data through your phone and laptop. You can easily prevent this just by using a VPN. A VPN is also useful when you are torrenting.
Finding VPN services for yourself
There are tons of VPN services available online which comes loaded with many features and prices ranging from Free to a few hundreds of dollars. Good VPNs obviously will cost you some good amount but you can always save some money by buying the VPN during sales or buy it together with your friends or co-staffs. Some VPNs cost less when bought for a longer time.
Some of the famous VPN services are Express VPN, Open VPN, Nord VPN, TunnelBear VPN, Windscribe VPN, CyberGhost, etc. But, having so many options makes it confusing for you to choose one. Just like we do before buying any other product, we should check customer reviews before buying a VPN service. You can check out PrivacySharks for honest and accurate reviews of top VPN services.
Before you decide upon a VPN, make sure it has the following features and options:
Must have VPN features and options
If you are going to pay for a service, you have to make sure you are receiving the best product available. Your VPN must have these following features. Most VPNs have these features but some of them might lack one or two of them. So, make sure you are buying the best service:
- Speed
An important factor when selecting is speed. Connecting to a VPN can either increase your internet speed or decrease it since you are connecting to servers in different countries and locations. Usually, you would want it to stay stable at your usual speed. Always do a trial before buying a VPN service. Many VPNs give free trial ranging from 3 days to a month.
- No Logging Policy
One of the main reasons why people use a VPN is for privacy. But, some VPNs out there keep a log of your data, history and sites you are visiting. If your VPN service is doing so, then there is no point in using it. Check their policies and see if they have a strict No Logs policy or not. Keeping some logs is common but they should not track your browsing data and history.
- Encryption Technology
Strong encryption makes a lot of difference. Your personal data’s safety relies on the type of encryption your VPN service. Check the encryption offered before choosing a VPN service. 256-bit encryption or similar is good to go. Better encryption means better security.
- Number of servers from different locations
You need to know the number of servers they are offering before you buy their service. Having more servers means you can connect to different servers worldwide. If you only need to connect to just one location, then there is no need to pay for a VPN with tons of servers. You can buy a VPN having only the servers you need.
- Available Platforms
If you are going to use VPN on different devices and operating systems, you need a VPN that is versatile and available on different platforms. Always choose a VPN available for your smartphone and computer so that you can use it wherever you need to on whichever device you have.
Conclusion
The Internet has become a part of our daily lives and for that reason, we should take all the precaution we can. Cybercrimes are increasing every day but they can be prevented if we stay cautions and alarmed while we are online. Using a VPN is an easy way to protect ourselves online. Share to let more people know and raise awareness.
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