Do You Need a VPN at Home?
Posted on 15th June 2021Cyber scammers, advertisers, the government can follow the history of surfing the Internet. Moreover, an Internet provider can record your activity history and sell it to hackers or other interested people, especially if you are a media person. Therefore, we can confidently say that you need a VPN at home because it is the best tool for protecting the Internet.
How does VPN work? VPN will encrypt your data and redirect it to a service that is protected from unauthorized persons. With the help of a VPN, you can conduct the hidden online activity, and no one will be able to trace your actual location or browsing history. You will also be able to visit web pages that are not available in your region.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and budget cuts, new vectors of cyber attacks have opened up. For example, in 2021, over 1,000,000 have already suffered from hackers’ tricks, following links, opening advertisements, downloading programs from pirated sites. So now is the best time to use VPN.
What happens if you don’t use VPN? First of all, your privacy suffers – you can lose access to social networks, credit cards, and even your device. There have been cases when people visited websites and hackers hacked into their phones, demanding a ransom. VPN is your protective shield, like Gal Gadot from Wonder Woman.
VPN – Working Principle
VPN services use special encryption tools to protect users from harassment by cyber fraudsters, advertisers, and the government. When you turn on a VPN, all data goes through an encrypted tunnel, and only a certain number of people have access to it – to whom you deliver it.
VPN works and vice versa – when someone sends you data, it will also be encrypted. So even if cyber-attackers manage to intercept information, they will only receive an incomprehensible set of numbers or symbols. This situation rarely occurs because VPN servers use the best tunneling protocols L2TP / IPsec, IKEv2, OpenVPN.
By enabling VPN, the ISP will not be able to track and control you. Thus, ISP will not sell your everyday actions and search queries to advertisers. As a result, VPN is the most affordable way to keep your online privacy.
Top Reasons Why You Should Use VPN
Do you use antivirus software on your devices? If yes – great, then you understand that VPN is the same protective tool. The main goal of a VPN is to provide reliable, confidential protection. However, VPN is more functional and versatile than it seems. Here are a few more reasons why you should use VPN.
Cyber Defense
In the 21st century, more than half of your data is digital. Financial, personal, and work information is the most valuable information for cybercriminals. Therefore, a VPN is the best way to prevent cybercriminals from capitalizing on you.
When you turn on VPN, cybercriminals will have to solve many codes and puzzles to get to the data – sometimes, it can take a lifetime. Note that even if cyber criminals hack into a router or use MITM attacks, they will not be able to decrypt your data.
Bypassing Geo-Constraints
Good VPN services have servers in many parts of the world. Thus, you can open any content, even if it has geo-restrictions. To do this, you need to enable the VPN of the country whose content you want to watch.
Suppose you are a United States resident, but you want to watch a football match in France. It would help if you had a VPN to stream from servers in France, and then you can enjoy watching your favorite show. When you connect to a server in France, you will see the Internet shops and save money on your purchases. With the help of a VPN, you have access to information from all over the world.
Get Rid Of Firewalls
By connecting to a VPN, you can bypass firewalls installed by educational institutions, companies, or governments. To restrict users’ movement on the Internet, all of the above organizations need to monitor movements in real-time. You can outwit observers using VPN, thereby disguising online activity and sneaking through firewalls.
Get Rid Of Network Restrictions
Sometimes VPN services suffer from connection loss – this will lead to the fact that your data will be accessible to strangers for some time. Therefore, look for those VPN services that have the Kill Switch function. Thanks to this feature, the program will automatically block your internet connection if it detects that your data is in danger. The Internet connection will appear when the VPN returns to normal functioning.
Control Over Personal Confidentiality
Each of you has the right to privacy and confidentiality, including on the Internet. But today, many corporations would like to take a look at your online activity. Did you know that many ISPs can legally sell your data to various institutions? For example, advertisers who would like to offer you products that you are interested in, governments that want to monitor the behavior of all people, research companies that create scientific, statistical articles.
If you want to be the sole owner of sensitive data, use a VPN. Turning on the VPN, you throw a black canvas over the eyes of the Internet provider – he will not be able to follow you. Do not let companies buy your data, as they are not guaranteed to protect it from third parties – moreover, the company can further resell the information, and you will never know about it.
VPN Can Provide Secure Digital Sharing
Are you an employee of a large company and transfer a lot of data to your colleagues? Most likely, you really would not want someone to spy on the transfer of information. Because many VPN services use powerful encryption protocols, do not keep user activity logs, do not keep download logs, you will always be anonymous to third parties.
Protect Devices
VPN is a good tool for protecting your camera and other smart gadgets. Today, cybercriminals have learned to penetrate people’s lives through cameras. They can steal your photos and distribute them over the Internet or monitor your life in real-time. In addition, many people create smart homes by filling them with cameras, doorbells, voice assistants, etc. Thus, your entire home is at risk if you browse unsecured websites.
Do you want to protect your home with a VPN? First, you need to set up a VPN on your router, and then the whole house will become invisible to cyber attackers. The VPN service will protect everything connected to the router. We advise you to keep the VPN enabled as often as possible since any third-party intervention can infect your home with viruses in the shortest possible time.
Is VPN for Phone Needed?
Cybercriminals can hack computers and phones. If you have set your phone to connect to Wi-Fi automatically, you need to be very careful, especially when you are away from home. Commonly used Wi-Fi is most often unsecured and exposed. Any hacker can get into your phone via public Wi-Fi. Therefore, increased protection is needed when using public Wi-Fi points.
According to Positive Technologies, which develops information security solutions, public hacking Wi-Fi is one of the favorite ways hackers collect personal data. Better not to pay for goods and services over public Wi-Fi. Attackers can get data for transferring money from the card, including the CVV code. However, a VPN enabled will prevent an attacker from identifying you and spying on you.
Is VPN for Business Needed?
The security services of many companies recommend that employees use a VPN. Cyberattacks worldwide are gaining momentum, and accordingly, the demand for connecting a virtual private network is increasing. According to the American mobile operator Verizon, collected from 86 countries globally, in 2019, 43% of small companies were subjected to cyberattacks.
According to the forecast of the developer of systems of protection against cyber threats, Herjavec Group, in 2021, the loss from hacker attacks on businesses around the world will amount to $ 6 trillion. Therefore, you need to use a VPN, as you can cause damage to the business.
Moreover, if you store many client data, you can undermine your reputation if a leak occurs. For example, a large cosmetics company was not overlooked by cybercriminals who managed to download a database containing about 440 million records from its Elasticsearch server, including the internal correspondence.
How to Choose a VPN?
There are many VPN services out there today, but not all of them work equally well. Therefore, when choosing a VPN, consider the following features:
- Choose a VPN without restrictions on the amount of data. This allows you to download and send data at the fastest possible speed.
- Choose a VPN with a zero log policy. This approach will prevent companies from spreading your data and avoid information leakage.
- Choose a VPN with a connection to multiple devices. If a VPN service offers a VPN connection to several devices simultaneously, this is a great way to save money. For example, you can protect your phone, computer, laptop, tablet with one click.
- Choose a VPN with positive reviews. Before using the services of a VPN, make sure it has an excellent online reputation.
