A VPN is one of the best solutions if you’re looking for ways to remain anonymous online and protect the integrity of your data. If that’s what you’re interested in, here are some things that you need to know.
Changing your IP address will let you remain anonymous and make your browsing activities private. This means that any hackers or sniffers aiming to track you will be directed to your VPN server instead of your machine.
How does a VPN change your IP address and location?
A VPN routes your entire internet traffic through a remote and secure encrypted server. Since this process requires you to connect to the internet through a whole different computer placed in a different country, it also changes your IP address and location.
Generally, when you’re using a VPN, there’s a list of countries in front of you on the interface that you can choose from. These countries are locations that the VPN provider’s servers are placed at. Some super advanced VPN providers also let you select the city you want to be connected from.
Once you’ve selected your location and are connected through your preferred server, your VPN will form an encrypted tunnel, which your internet traffic will pass through. In this process, your IP address is also masked and temporarily replaced by that of the server.
Anyone trying to get into your data will now only be able to see the location and IP address of the server you’re connected through instead of you.
Additional benefits of VPN services
VPNs are essentially cybersecurity tools. But that doesn’t mean that’s all they do! Let’s go over some of the other benefits of VPN services.
Bypassing geo-blocks
Geo-blocking means that a certain part of the internet world, be it a website or a webpage, can not be accessed in some areas of the world. By letting you change your IP address and location, a VPN can help you get past geo-blocking. This means you can access blocked websites and even unblock different content libraries on various streaming platforms like Netflix.
Getting by ISP throttling
If you have ever felt that your internet seems to slow down after a couple of hours of heavy gaming or downloads, that’s probably because you’ve reached your data cap for the month. When this happens, your local internet service provider or your ISP starts throttling your bandwidth to ensure that you can use the internet all month. With a VPN, since your IP address and location will be hidden, you can quickly get by without having your bandwidth throttled.
Network scalability
A private network is excellent when you want to get your business off the ground. But if you want to scale, the cost of expanding your private network could pull you under. Using a VPN service makes it easy to provide access to employees easily, even if they are working remotely.
When employees connect to the internet through a corporate VPN, they have access to a whole different computer that they can use to run applications. In adding employees, all you will have to do is provide higher bandwidth and possible login credentials.
VPN extensions for browsers
Most VPN tools come with browser extensions. If you don’t feel ready to commit to a vpn chrome extension desktop application, you can always use a browser extension. These extensions generally don’t need to be manually configured and are easy to install, run, and use. All you have to do is to download, install and switch the VPN on.
As soon as you’ve done that, your traffic will start moving through an encrypted channel, and you will be visible on the internet with your server’s IP address and location. One thing to note, though, is that in the case of most VPN providers, these browser extensions might not work in the mobile versions of browsers which means that your phones might remain unprotected.
If you fear that might be the case, opt for a VPN service that also offers users a dedicated android or iOS application. This will let you use your phone to browse the internet or stream international content libraries freely.
How to pick the right VPN to hide your online identity
There are too many VPN services out there, and if you’re looking to subscribe to one, the chances are that it’s getting hard for you to pick one. If you’re wondering how to decide which one is the best option for you, here are some pointers.
First of all, make sure that you’re opting for a service that offers a high level of encryption—up to 256-bit AES military-grade encryption is preferred. Second, ensure that the service provider is offering a dedicated kill switch. This will disconnect your device from the internet if your VPN connection glitches to keep you safe online.
Finally, pick a service that also offers additional security features, like malware or DDoS protection, smart connect, no-logs policy, and P2P support.
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