It’s likely that this will be the case, at least for some, for the foreseeable future. VPNs are a great way to help protect your business data, but what about personal data? Luckily, VPNs are becoming more popular than ever, meaning more choice and greater transparency for personal users, too.
In a seemingly never-ending arms race, security firms and tech giants are trying to stay ahead of threats to security posed by hackers and scammers online. One major step has been the roll out of SSL encryption across the internet as a standard feature, but not all sites and services support it.
Since a VPN makes sure that your data is always encrypted between your device and the VPN server, it’s a good way to enhance the security of your device in any network conditions – particularly open networks that you may find in restaurants, coffee shops or airports.
A lot of VPNs also offer to help to stop companies tracking users online by including these features in their software or browser extensions. Many VPN providers go a step further and hold no logs or data on users’ connections at all. It’s always best to check what their policies are before using a VPN, since there are of course scammers operating as fake VPN providers, too. Fortunately, it’s easy to check the reputation of a provider before you use them – some of the most reliable ones include NordVPN, ExpressVPN, TunnelBear or Windscribe.
For users who frequently travel abroad, a VPN is sometimes absolutely essential. Some governments impose very strict control and surveillance rules for internet service providers in their countries, meaning that your data could be intercepted and analysed, logged or stored if it’s not secure. Some ISPs also restrict the use of streaming services on their network.
Some services allow or restrict access depending on where you are located in the world, too; this is known as ‘geolocking’. Using a VPN in these situations means you can avoid restrictions and surveillance that would normally affect your use of the internet from that particular location.
Since no one between your device and the VPN server can see your data or even tell what kind of data it is, you are free to use the internet as you would in whatever country the VPN server is located.
In a world where our information and personal data has become a huge commodity, using a personal VPN can help you to regain some control over where, when and to whom your data is given.
