As we enter into the 21st century, the urge to reveal everything about ourselves on the internet has grown a lot stronger. As a result, we leave breadcrumbs on the internet that can lead anyone directly to us in real life, whether consciously or unconsciously.
Anyone with the right tools and knowledge can easily trace, track, and steal our personal information and use it for various malicious purposes.
So how should we protect ourselves from not only the increasing online cybersecurity threats but also the individuals that hold ill intent towards us and our personal information?
The answer is very simple. Start using a virtual private network.
Yes, you heard us right.
A virtual private network, commonly known as a VPN, will simultaneously protect your online privacy and security.
With just a single click, all of your PC’s sensitive data will be encrypted and secure. Also, if you are worried that they cost a lot, don’t worry. You can easily get the same level of security and privacy by using the best free VPN for PC.
Now, users that have been using a virtual private network for a while now don’t need any explanation as to why or what a virtual private network does. But for an average computer user, using a virtual private network can be quite confusing sometimes.
So in this article, we will be explaining what a virtual private network is, how it works and how it can help an average computer user. So without further ado, let’s get started.
What is a Virtual Private Network?
A virtual private network is an online security tool that establishes an encrypted tunnel between your device and the internet network connection that you are using.
It will offer you privacy and security by masking your actual IP address, location and encrypting all of your internet traffic with military-grade encryption.
How does it work?
When you hit the connect button on the VPN application, your connection is established to a remote server operated by the virtual private network itself. Now, all of your internet traffic or data will be routed through this encrypted tunnel.
This means that no one can see what you are doing on the internet, including your internet service provider and various other third-party entities.
With the help of military-grade encryption, your internet traffic will now be turned into random gibberish that the virtual private network can only decrypt.
This type of encryption or technology is helpful when connected to a public Wi-Fi network as they are most vulnerable to cyber-attacks.
With that out of the way, let’s take a quick look at how using a virtual private network helps an average computer user.
Personal/sensitive information
Your internet service provider, websites you visit, and cybercriminals can easily keep tabs on the websites you are visiting. They can also analyze the data and target you with specific advertisements.
By using a virtual private network, you can easily prevent that and keep your online activities a secret from everyone on the internet.
Data & Bandwidth throttling
Several internet service providers or network administrators deliberately slow down your internet connection if they sense that you are consuming too much data or bandwidth. They usually do that to maintain equal distribution of speed and bandwidth among the users.
By connecting to a virtual private network and encrypting your data with AES-256-Bit bank encryption, your internet service provider or network administrator won’t be able to see what you are doing online.
As they won’t be able to determine what you are using the bandwidth for online, they won’t be able to throttle your data or speed.
Geo-restriction
Who doesn’t love watching international TV shows and movies but unfortunately, several streaming services are geo-restricted to particular countries or regions. For you to access then, you’d require a particular IP address.
This is where a virtual private network comes into play and replaces your actual IP address with a fake VPN IP address. By doing this, you can easily get unlimited, unrestricted, and uninterrupted access to various streaming services from around the world.
Censorship
Another side of the same coin. Many countries such as China, Syria, Russia, and Iran have imposed internet censorship or various common social media websites such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and more.
If you are traveling to such a country, having a virtual private network to bypass all those restrictions to stay connected with your loved ones is essential.
Also, as a part of online censorship, you can not access various popular search engines such as Google, Yahoo, Bing, and more.
Luckily for you, you have a virtual private network by your side that will allow you to replace your IP address and get access to those search engines.
Final Thoughts
So there you have it. If you have been thinking that VPNs are only for special computer users.
We are hopeful that you must now understand that a VPN can be a great help to an average computer user as well.
However, selecting the right VPN provider for yourself remains a completely separate discussion that we will discuss some other day.
