A Pain in the Whatchamacallit
By Tiny Ruisch
Should you be using a Virtual Private Network (VPN)? If you’re connected to a public Wi-Fi network, the answer is definitely yes. If you’re connected to your home network, you may or may not need to. Personally, I connect to a VPN almost every time I connect to the internet.
Simply defined, a VPN extends your private network (internet connection) to a public network by creating an encrypted “tunnel”. In effect, you mask your computer from places you visit when you are online. A VPN will not make your online connection completely anonymous, but it will increase your privacy and security.
You’ve probably heard that your internet speed will slow down when you are using a VPN. This is true, but in most cases, the slowdown is so negligible that you will probably not notice it. Most of the slower VPN services are the “free” ones. I have used a paid VPN for several years now. There have only been a few times that I’ve cursed my downloading speed.
Many sites on the internet are restricted to certain locales. By utilizing a VPN you can easily bypass them and appear to be browsing from a completely different place in the world. If you do a lot of online shopping, you can often get a lower price by using your VPN. Many companies offer different prices, depending on where you live. I’ll let you determine the legality of doing these things.
There are many other reasons you might want to use a VPN. I won’t bore you by trying to list them all in this article. An internet search will give you a much more thorough and precise list. Just remember, all VPNs are not created equal. If it is free, find out what the real cost is.
Selecting which VPN to use can be the most difficult part of using a service. Besides cost, some things to check is how many servers the company has and where they are located. Many VPN providers just buy bandwidth from other companies and resell it. Should the service go down, you might have a wait. Another important thing to check is whether or not the provider keeps a log of your internet surfing. Like many other things, this will vary among companies, so make sure you read the fine print. If you want privacy, you don’t want a record kept of your internet browsing. Be careful when reading online reviews. Many of them are in reality paid for by the VPN service. The article headline will usually be something like “The Best VPN” and then not do a comparison. Another giveaway headline is something similar to “Get a Lifetime Subscription to ??? VPN For Only X Dollars.
I have one last suggestion. Make one of your first search stops That One Privacy Site. There you can find an excellent tutorial on how to choose your VPN. The site doesn’t recommend a VPN but instead has an excellent, frequently updated chart of almost 200 services. There are comparison columns for trustworthiness, affiliates, jurisdiction, logging polices, price and many more.
I’m wishing you some happy and secure online activities.
Thanks for reading.