Internet has been our go to place. And we rely more and more on the Internet for our daily activities that involve sensitive personal information and credentials.
The best way is to encrypt them and that’s where you can use VPN to secure ALL your Internet activities.
What is VPN?
VPN stands for Virtual Private Network.
It established a virtual encrypted tunnel between your device and a VPN server (from a VPN service provider) so that all your Internet traffic is routed through this tunnel, secure and safe against any prying eyes.
When your Internet traffic reaches the VPN server, it continues to the public Internet. And a good VPN service provider will take security measures to ensure their network is safe and protected.
Essentially, VPN allows you to perform safe and secure Internet activities through an untrusted network.
Benefits of VPN
1. Protect you from public Wi-Fi hotspots
It’s not safe to use any free public Wi-Fi hotspots, even paid Internet connections at hotels. Attacker could eavesdrop or carry out different attacks.
For more in-depth information, check out How to use public Wi-Fi Hotspots safely.
2. Protect your home network
It’s great if you have already incorporated some security measures like creating subnets to separate your devices to protect your home network.
However, your ISP router could be a weak link.
Your ISP router is available 24/7 on the Internet. If there are any vulnerabilities, attackers may be able to exploit your router. They can then eavesdrop, steal your data, compromise your network, perform MITM attack, DNS spoofing and etc.
VPN can help mitigate the risks of all your devices because all your traffic is encrypted and channel through the VPN server instead.
In addition to VPN though, you should also take extra steps to make your ISP router more secure.
How to use VPN for home network?
If setup right, your home network can use the same VPN connection to protect all your home devices (Wired or wireless).
Typically, you would need a router that supports VPN. Check out our example on how to setup VPN using pfSense and PIA.
3. Protect you from your mobile data connection
Your mobile connection, in general, is relatively safer.
But if you would conduct some online activities involving sensitive information, it’s still better off to enable VPN for the extra of security.
4. Help when you travel overseas
Whats worst when you need to manage your finance but your online banking rejected your login because you are connecting from overseas?
Or your online purchases were rejected and got your credit card locked?
You can minimize these problems by using VPN and switch to a VPN server close to where you live.
5. Better Privacy
- Your actual public IP address and location is hidden. Allowing you to browse anonymously.
- Avoid prying eyes
Find a good VPN service provider
There are plenty of VPN service providers out there. In general, you should pick the one that has your security and privacy in mind:
Some top criteria
- Good strong encryption
- No traffic log: Also check out their privacy policy to ensure they care for your privacy
- Server locations: should have plenty of servers across the globe
- Performance & stability: What good it would be if you have 100Mbps+ Internet service but the VPN server can’t keep up to your needs
- Simultaneous connections: should allow at least 5 simultaneous connections. You need 1 for home network and a few for mobile devices on the go.
- Device compatibilty: should be compatible with all major devices
- Price: it should not be the determining factor. But lower price is always better.
I have been using PrivateInternetAccess (PIA) for a few years already. It’s been serving me well. Their pricing is very competitive too. It’s well worth the price for the security, privacy and most importantly, the peace of mind you get.
Seriously, VPN is a must have to protect your Internet activities! Get one now!