What Is VPN? Why Do We Need Them?

Ever tried to watch a movie or stream a video only to find that it was blocked in your area? Due to copyright laws, most movies and TV shows may be available in one area, but not another. This can pose a problem when you’re traveling abroad and miss your favorite shows back home, or if you’re in a country where the government blocks certain websites.

A VPN, or virtual private network software, helps bypass these geographical restrictions by letting you connect to a server in the country of your choice. If you want to stream Monday Night Football, connect to any US server and watch the match live. If you want to watch your hometown rugby team, connect to any VPN server where they broadcast the games and stream with ease.

Professional hackers and crackers have always used VPNs as hacking tool for staying anonymous. While they’ve extremely popular among internet security books as well as security experts for years, they’re beginning to grow in popularity other demographics, mainly those who tend to travel abroad or those who want to unblock geographically restricted content. Whatever your reasoning may be, it seems like privacy services like VPNs are essential.

Not only on PCs, the VPN solutions make in the essential list of iPhone security apps as well as Android security apps.

Sounds simple, right? Not quite. VPNs do more than just unblock restricted content. Here’s how they work.

What Is VPN? How It Works?

We have made a YoutTube playlist of videos that will explain VPN concept in beginners perspective.

Why Do We Need VPNs

Most security experts would agree that VPNs are absolutely essential. Below are some reasons that may convince you to start using VPNs.

VPNs Help Protect Your Privacy

As their name suggests, VPNs are private networks. They give you the freedom to browse without having to worry about hackers or government entities snooping on you. When you connect to a specific server, websites think you’re actually browsing from that IP address and location. That means your true location and identity are hidden.

They also use a variety of different methods to encrypt your data. Most services use 256-bit encryption to help protect your information.

VPNs Make Public Networks Private

One of the best things about VPNs is the fact that they’re able to privatize your network, even when you’re connected to a public server. When you connect to a VPN, it acts as a middleman between you and the sites you visit. By using a VPN you’re actually adding an extra layer of security to everything you do online.

A VPN secures traffic going to and from your Internet connection. Hackers and spies can’t see what you’re doing and have no way of intercepting the data you’re transmitting. Basically, a VPN creates a secure tunnel between your computer and every website you visit.

VPNs Let You Unblock Content

And finally, the last way VPNs work is by unblocking restricted content. As I mentioned earlier, certain content is blocked in various countries due to legal restrictions.

Connecting to a VPN server helps you unblock once-restricted content. You’re able to access and unblock sites like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube from anywhere in the world.

Best of all, VPNs work on almost any device.

How to Make the Most Out of Your VPN

If you’ve ever traveled abroad or visited a place where certain websites are blocked, then you know how important it is to have a reliable VPN service. VPNs have grown in popularity over the past few years and for good reason: as people become more aware of the risks associated with their online privacy, they want a way to protect it.

Save Money

You Can Use a VPN to Save Money on Car Rentals, Flights, and Even Hotels!

Because most pricing websites set their prices based on users’ geographic location, you can actually find cheaper rates by using a VPN. Crazy, right? It’s called ‘price discrimination’, and it’s been happening for years. Fortunately, you can bypass these geographically hiked prices and find the cheapest rates with a VPN.

Here’s how it works:

• Set your Internet Browser to Incognito Mode and connect to any particular server location.
• Look up the sites you’re trying to rent from and check their prices.
• Now close and reopen your incognito browser, deleting the cookies from the sites you visit.
• Connect to a different VPN location, and search the same sites for prices.

It’s as simple as that! You can check different VPN server locations to find amazing deals. In fact, some people have reported saving thousands of dollars on trips by simply checking prices through different VPN server locations.

Boost Internet Speed

You Can Use Your VPN to Help Boost Internet Speed.

Sometimes VPNs slow your Internet connection, but other times they speed it up. That’s because VPNs encrypt your connection—thereby bypassing common problems like Internet throttling, which usually results in decreased speeds.

If you’re using a paid VPN subscription (and I suggest you do), you should also have the option to switch between protocol options to help improve your browsing. Most VPN services offer three options: OpenVPN, PPTP, and L2TP. PPTP usually offers the highest speeds, so on the off chance you’re experiencing slowed connections, try switching to that.

You Can Use Your VPN to Make Public Hotspots Secure

Public places like airports, coffee shops, and restaurants usually offer free Internet. They’re also notorious for having paper-thin security measures. Just last year the Economic Times published an article on how dangerous public Wi-Fi is. The fact you’re sharing a network with countless other people means your data is at risk.

Luckily, a VPN keeps you safe from these kinds of networks by routing your Internet activity through a separate network. You’re able to browse public Wi-Fi, but you’re surfing secure. Next time you connect to your local coffee shop’s Wi-Fi, make sure your VPN is on and take full advantage of the public network while remaining completely anonymous.