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It is quite self-evident to spend money on technical gadgets that allow us to stay digitally connected to each other. We easily pay a few tens of euros per month for a telephone subscription, and that does not yet include the purchase of the smartphone. Laptops easily cost a few hundred euros. And then there are the much-needed earplugs, VR glasses, webcams and voice-controlled speakers. But if we have to pay a few euros per month for a VPN, many people suddenly start to have doubts. Is this doubt justified?
To get straight to the point: no, this doubt is not justified. A vpn offers so many benefits in terms of online privacy and security that you simply cannot do without it. Online monitoring, tracking, regional blocks and malware are a thing of the past with a VPN. Provided you are willing to pay the price of two cups of coffee per month, that is.
Free or paid subscription
There are many providers of free VPNs, but this is not without risk. During the installation of the free VPN, you can unexpectedly install malware on your device. There may also be some deficiencies in security. In addition, providers of free VPNs must generate revenue in some way. This often happens by selling your data to third parties. And the speed of your internet often suffers from such a free VPN.
It is therefore wise to choose a reputable VPN provider. For a few euros per month you are assured of optimal online protection. Would you like to first try out whether a particular VPN actually meets your expectations? You can often try a VPN for free during a trial period. If you are not convinced after this trial period, you will simply get your money back.
Benefits of a VPN
With a good and reliable VPN you can now surf the internet without any worries. Below you can read how a VPN protects you and your devices:
1. Public networks
Public networks are both a curse and a blessing. It is of course extremely convenient that you can also use the internet for free on the train, in cafes and libraries. You must realize that everyone can use the same public network. This could also include malicious parties who are especially curious about your online activities and the data you enter online. If you still want to use a public network, a VPN is indispensable.
2. Encryption
With a VPN, your data is no longer exchanged directly with the public server or your internet provider’s server. Instead, internet traffic is routed to the VPN server via an encrypted tunnel. The VPN server provides encryption and then forwards the data to the public server or the ISP. With encryption, all data is coded. This means that only the sender and the intended end recipient can read this data. Even if a hacker managed to intercept the data, it would have become unreadable for the hacker.
3. Online monitoring
You are often not aware of it, but various parties can easily track your online activities. This includes your own internet provider, but also governments, for example. When you use a VPN, your own IP address is hidden behind the IP address of the VPN server. As a result, it is no longer possible to determine who the original sender of the data is.
4. Regional Blockades
You can bypass regional blocks by connecting to a VPN server in another country. This method was sometimes used to view the foreign offering of streaming services. But streaming services are not very happy with this and are increasingly taking measures to prevent this.
However, there are other situations conceivable in which it is entirely justified to circumvent regional blockades. Consider, for example, the current situation in Russia. The Russian government has blocked several media outlets, preventing citizens from accessing independent information. Since the start of the war, VPN use in Russia has increased by as much as 1000%. A significant increase of 600% was also observed in Ukraine. In times of censorship and propaganda, a VPN can offer a good solution.