A VPN or “virtual private network” is a service that allows Internet users to enjoy increased levels of privacy and security while they go about their business online. These types of connections are very attractive to both home and business users. Business users can access work networks from outside their offices, for example, without needing to worry about information being sent and received over the network getting intercepted.
Personal users don’t have to worry about private data that could potentially identify information like an address getting into the hands of rogue system administrators while they browse the Web. Virtual private network services have a large number of clear benefits that shouldn’t be ignored.
1. They Provide Security to Unsecured Connection
If you’ve ever connected your laptop or mobile device to a public Wi-Fi network, you may not realize that you are making all of the data contained on that device vulnerable. If you were using a virtual private network, information send and received over public networks remains secure.
2. Blocked Sites
Another great benefit to VPN connections is that they allow you to get around sites that are blocked on certain types of networks like at home or school. Many businesses and educational institutions will block sites like Facebook or Twitter to prevent users from accessing them. With a VPN, you would be able to get to your favorite sites on those types of connections.
3. Increased Anonymity
It is very easy to use a person’s IP address to track files that they’ve accessed and downloaded while on the Internet. With a VPN connection, you can download and share legally obtained files with friends and family members in confidence as your IP address will be hidden by the VPN’s security protocols.
4. Decreased Censorship
If you happened to live in a country where the government blocked certain websites from being accessed, a virtual private network connection would allow you to get around those restrictions.
5. Increased Privacy When Browsing
If you’ve ever typed something into a search engine like Google, you may be surprised to find that information has likely been logged by the search engine itself. With a virtual private network and the security protocols that are inherent within these types of connections, your search history can never come back to haunt you because they are no longer attached to your computer’s IP address.
6. You Can Network Different Business Locations Together
If you run a technology-based business with multiple locations, you can use a virtual private network to create one unified connection between all facilities. The virtual network will act as a link between different offices across the city, the state, the country or even the world.
7. Easily Encrypted Data
Virtual private network connections allow you to easily encrypt data before you send it over the Internet, which means that nobody can intercept and read your important personal or business related documents.
8. Avoid Monitoring
Certain websites can download various types of spyware and malware to your computer without your knowledge to monitor your activities while online. With the right VPN service, these types of worries will completely evaporate.
9. Regional Content Restrictions
Some types of video content can only be viewed in specific regions of the world as per the original publisher’s request. With a VPN these regional content restrictions disappear and you can view any content you’d like from any computer with an Internet connection.
10. Prevent Identity Theft
Because information transmitted over a VPN is secure even if the network itself isn’t, you won’t have to worry about hackers or other people with malicious intentions accessing your information and stealing your identity the next time you try to check your bank account balance online or log into your credit card site to make your monthly payment.