One of the major concerns of this time is security. With the increase in technology, digital equipment or devices have increased too. Most of us are likely to keep our personal information on our mobile phones and PCs. Whether it be pictures, contact information, or any other private stuff, our devices have it all. If you are a person who really cares about the security and protection of your private things, VPN is the best thing for you. You must have heard the term VPN whenever security or privacy is the topic of discussion. But what is a VPN? Everything you need to know, and what’s the purpose of it? To know the answer to such questions, let us have a look.
What is VPN?
A Virtual Private Network, also known as VPN, is actually a private network. This private network works in encryption and transmission of data during its transportation from one place to the other place on the internet. If you use a VPN to access the internet, it will give you the freedom to explore various websites privately and without any disturbance. You will also be able to have access to the restricted websites. Moreover, the censorship blocks can be overwhelmed through a VPN. The best part about VPNs is that they can be set up on all devices, whether laptops, computers, tablets, iOS, or Android.
Why is a VPN service needed?
How would you feel if someone gets into your private space without your permission? You will be annoyed, right? Then how could you allow someone to access your private information and know your browsing habits? While surfing the web or connecting to an uncensored Wi-Fi connection, you might be exposing your personal information. This is where the need for a virtual private network, commonly known as a VPN, arises.
Rewind your memory and relive all those moments when you were on the go, responding to emails while standing in the line for coffee, opening your bank account while being in a medical store. If you have been using your private data during all these moments, your data is safe, so you need not worry. But if by any chance you have been using an open Wi-Fi network, the situation is alarming. All the people who were using the data at that time would possibly have access to your personal and sensitive information.
A VPN saves your device and your network, and the encryption provided by it will keep your activities secure. You will have no worries while sending emails, paying bills, and reviewing your bank statement. So, if you are sensitive about the security and protection of your information, VPN is for you.
How do VPNs work?
Finding a VPN provides is the first thing to do when it comes to a VPN’s working. Our choice of VPN provider is Express VPN. But numerous factors need to be kept in mind while choosing the right VPN provider. You will need to use an email address for signing up and provide some info, including the payment information. There are some VPNs out there that consider your privacy important and allow you to pay using cryptocurrencies.
The next step is setting up the VPN on your own or uses an app for this purpose. It depends on the service provider that you have chosen. Using an app to do all the setup is usually preferred over the manual thing. But it isn’t tough to set up the VPN service manually. Some VPNs come up with smartphone apps and desktop apps. These apps work in automating the entire process. The VPN can also be set up easily on gaming consoles, TVs, and other operating systems such as Linux. You can find out multiple services that help in this setup.
After getting done with the VPN configuration or installation of the app, you need to connect this to a server. This is a simple task on most devices. It is as simple as choosing a location and clicking on the “connect” button. Your device will now make a connection to the VPN server of any country you have chosen. Keep in mind that this connection will be encrypted.
Now, your data will go down the encrypted tool before reaching any public internet. Moreover, it will bear the connected VPN server’s IP address and not your server on reaching the public domain. The data on its way back will go to the server first, and the server will then deviate it towards you.
Now, all your data is encrypted and cannot be decrypted until it hits the VPN server. This will let anyone who is trying to track your traffic see only the encrypted data, and your data will remain secure. It’s safe from all kinds of tracking.
How to choose the right VPN
Choosing THE right VPN is a crucial thing. With the availability of hundreds of options in the market, it gets a little tricky to choose the right one. We have come up with a few things that need to be considered while choosing a VPN.
- Free vs. Paid: Paid services come with more features and better quality than the free ones. Although there are a few free VPNs that are incredible, it’s always wise to go for a paid one and secure your connection.
- Privacy: The perfect VPNs are the ones that keep no activity or connection logs. Others may keep connection logs only, so you can go for them if you are good with it. Never go for the VPNs that keep all logs.
- Basis of the VPN: You need to look into the VPN’s basis or where it is based. This is a critical point as the laws of the region need to be considered.
- Your Location: If your VPN has no servers near you, you will not get the right speed. So, consider your location, too, when deciding on a VPN.
- Security: Make sure to check all the security features your VPN provides and go for the one that’s best in this regard. For example, some come with features like double servers, kill switches, etc.
- Usage: The VPNs come with certain limitations. Always choose the one that works best for you and serves your purpose the best.
- Interface: Go for a VPN that has a user-friendly interface and avoid the complicated and complex ones.
- Pricing: Never go for high-end VPNs if your work can be done with reasonable ones. This will save both your time and money.
Are VPNs secure?
Do you remember we have been talking about encryption stuff earlier? The encryption works in securing your VPN. The best VPN providers use the AES 256-bit encryption. This encryption means that all the data that you have shared and received is completely secured and safe. This is the kind of encryption that is used by the military. Trust me on this; if it’s good for the military purposes, it’s good enough for you.
But it would be best if you were extremely careful when deciding on a VPN service. It’s like handing over the keys to your entire possession to someone. So, make sure that you know what you are working with. Prior research is better than later regret. Please read the privacy policy and read it again and again before signing up.
Are VPNs legal?
VPNs are 100% legal. Honestly, how could it be wrong to care about your privacy? But yes, committing a crime using a VPN is wrong. A crime is a crime, after all. So, make sure that you don’t use it for some illegal activity. Using a VPN is against the law in some countries. Therefore, it’s always important to check over the laws and regulations before accessing it’s VPN server.
There are also some services out there that block your VPN after locating it. Netflix is one example of such services.
Our VPN Recommendations
You will find a lot of VPNs out there. ExpressVPN is the one that we like the most. It comes with a user-friendly interface and allows access to multiple platforms. The only problem is its pricing, which is a bit on the high-end side. But if you can afford it, we recommend you try it once.
NordVPN is another incredible VPN provider. It’s best from the price point too and has some amazing features. But it cannot overpass ExpressVPN in speed.
Cyberghost is another recommendation from our side. It’s easy to use and sorts everything into categories. The speed, malware blocking, and price, everything works best for this service.
VPNs are Wonderful!
VPN is a wonderful thing and is more of a need at this age. It’s everyone’s right to keep a check on their security and do all they can for the best protection of their privacy. You can go for the VPNs that we have recommended or choose one on your own.
