A Virtual Private Network (VPN) makes it possible to build and use a secured connection to access another network on the internet. The VPN can help you access websites that are not available in a particular region or geographical location. It can also help you hide your browsing activity. VPNs are the go-to solution for all internet activity that you want to keep hidden from other prying eyes. But, this is not what it was originally created for. Originally, it was meant to help connect business networks in a secure manner on the internet. It was also meant to allow a user to connect a network securely from the comfort of his or her home.
How does a Virtual Private Network help me?
A Virtual Private Network allows your devices (PC, Smartphones, Tablets) to connect to a server on the internet. Now when you browse or use the internet, because of the VPN it would appear that you are accessing the network or the server from that country, and not from where you are actually doing it. That’s why you can access a website that is available in that country but not in your country where the site is not available.
The VPN essentially makes it possible to forward your network to another network. Now you can access websites using the other network, keeping your network completely out of sight. This is where the benefits come from. You are able to use the internet to do things that you cannot normally do because you are able to hide your network identity including the IP address. Now, operating systems readily offer VPN support too.
Uses of a VPN:
· Bypass geographical restrictions to access websites, stream your content
· Watch streaming content from Netflix or Hulu which is available in a particular geographical region
· Prevent yourself from being spotted by public WiFi hotspots
· Remain anonymous by hiding your location
· Protect yourself while torrenting
How to get started with VPN
You can use the Virtual Private Network of your office or workplace. You can also build a VPN connection yourself. But the easiest way is to visit one of the exclusive sites that offer VPN services and download the VPN software. You can download it on any of the devices capable of browsing the internet.
You can use any of the following VPN sites:
ExpressVPN
This is one of the most popular VPN servers. It offers a combination of great features including ease-of-use and fast servers. It supports torrenting and streaming media. All these features come for an extremely low price.
Tunnelbear
If streaming media and torrenting are not what you intend to do, this can be a good VPN service for you. It offers great ease-of-use, can be used at a coffee shop and has a free tier.
NordVPN
This is supposed to be one of the fastest Virtual Private Network services with access to more than 5700 servers globally. It offers unlimited bandwidth, and secure access to streams, work, and games.
All of these VPN services have free trial options so you can try them out. If you are not satisfied, you can ask for a refund.
How Does A VPN work?
When you use the service of any of these VPN servers, your device behaves as if it’s on the same network as the VPN. All the network traffic emanating from your computer is sent to your VPN server through a secure connection. Since your computer behaves as if it is on the local network, you are able to access sites that are available only in that part of the world while you may be actually in another location. When you are connected to the VPN and try to access a site, your request is encrypted by the VPN and sent to the website over a secured connection. The website’s response is also forwarded back to you through the secured connection. When you try to access, for example, Netflix by connecting to a USA-based VPN, Netflix will find that you are trying to access its content somewhere from the USA while you could be in another country.
Final thoughts…
A VPN or Virtual Private Network is a simple method of creating a secured connection that can bypass the protocol that registers your presence and activity on the internet. It can bring a lot of benefits to the users. For example, you can access the local network and resources of your business while you are away from the office. This makes it possible for you to access your data without exposing them to the internet. Through VPN, you can ditch the internet censorship, hide your browsing history, and a lot of other things.
