There are constant new reports around the growing issues surrounding data privacy, censorship, and surveillance. VPNs help you mitigate security, privacy, and censorship threats, giving you more digital freedom and flexibility. This makes it easier and safer for you to be online, especially in countries with internet restrictions.
Let’s explore the question “Why use a VPN?” and take a closer look at the benefits of using one.
What Is a VPN?
A virtual private network (VPN) is a service that protects your data by encrypting your traffic, masking your IP address, and rerouting your traffic through secure servers. When you connect to a VPN, the software creates an encrypted tunnel between your device and a VPN server. This keeps your traffic safe while it’s in transit and prevents people from getting unauthorized access to your data.
Why Use a VPN?
You should use a VPN if you want better online privacy, safer transactions, and improved digital security. VPNs help you achieve all these things by hiding your online activity and keeping your data from prying eyes.
You can also use a VPN to gain secure access to a wider range of content than would be available to you normally. VPNs also give you more digital freedom, and help you avoid location-based price discrimination or blocks.
What Are the Benefits of Using a VPN?
1. Be Secure on Public Wi-Fi
When you connect to public Wi-Fi, you open yourself up to attack. Cybercriminals often lurk on free unsecured networks waiting for a chance to steal unprotected information. They can later monetize it by stealing directly from your accounts, or by selling it on the Dark Web. You can protect yourself against identity theft, spying, and attacks over public Wi-Fi with a good VPN.
2. Stream Content Wherever You Travel
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VPNs are great for more than privacy and security — they’re also an amazing streaming tool. You may have noticed how certain shows and movies aren’t available in all countries, so you’ll be shown different libraries when you travel. Using a VPN lets you access content securely, just as if you were at home.
ISP bandwidth throttling can affect stream quality. In this case, using a VPN lets you bypass throttling so you can enjoy lightning-fast streaming. VPNs let you stream content securely wherever you are. Whether you’re connected to dodgy public Wi-Fi or on your school or work network, you can safely enjoy content — even when it’s blocked!
Your bank details might be your most sensitive and sought-after data. Each time you log in to your online bank, you could be putting extremely confidential information at risk.
If this information gets into a cybercriminal’s hands, they could sell it or use it to steal money from you. For this reason, we advise you to always use a VPN for online banking.
4. Stay Safe When You Shop Online
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The same is true for when you make any financial transactions online — especially card payments. While you may not be using your online banking passwords to shop online, you still enter card details. Cybercriminals can sell your information online or use it to steal money directly from you.
5. Unblock Websites at School, Work, or Abroad
You can’t always access certain websites at school, work, or abroad. It might be because the organization or country wants to discourage you from using those sites. VPNs help you overcome these blocks, allowing you to access blocked websites.
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6. Get Better Shopping Deals
Price discrimination is when prices for the same items varies between regions. Airlines, hotels, and holiday packages are known culprits of using price discrimination. For example, it might be cheaper to book a holiday to somewhere in Europe from Europe than from the US.
You can use a VPN to connect to a European server to appear as though you’re booking from there. This can help you to get cheaper flights – you might even wind up with extra holiday budget for your trip!
Do I Need a VPN at Home?
You should use a VPN at home as an extra precaution against data theft, ISP snooping, and surveillance. Your home is a private place, and you wouldn’t feel comfortable if strangers were standing outside peering in your windows. The same goes for what you do online. Using a VPN is kind of like closing the curtains to stop people from seeing what you’re doing.
Did you know your landlord, Wi-Fi owner, and ISP can see everything you do online? You can stop them from snooping on you for good by connecting to a VPN every time you go online. Other benefits of using a VPN at home include:
- Bypassing bandwidth throttling by your ISP
- Getting secure access to worldwide content
- Watching sports events securely
- Avoiding price discrimination
- Gaming without limits
You can get CyberGhost VPN for your Smart TV, Amazon Fire Stick, Android TV, and more. You’ll be able to stream with ease and flexibility, enjoying ultra-fast streaming speeds and glitch-free content.
To keep all devices in your home protected, you can install CyberGhost VPN on your router. This protects all the devices connected to your home network – kind of like an invisibility shield. It’s an easy way to make sure everything you do online at home stays private.
VPN Uses for Business
Businesses of all sizes are at serious risk of experiencing cyber attacks. According to an international survey cited by Statista, nearly 85% of businesses around the world have experienced a cyber attack.
45% of those experienced an attack between 1 and 5 times, 27% were attacked between 6 and 10 times, and nearly 12% were attacked more than 10 times. Only 15% of all respondents said that they never experienced an attack.
These statistics give you an idea of just how important it is to patch cybersecurity vulnerabilities as soon as you can. When you use a VPN for your organization, you encrypt your communications, prevent certain kinds of malware attacks, and keep company activity hidden from peepers.
It’s worth noting that using a VPN isn’t a comprehensive solution for organizational cybersecurity. At the bare minimum, you’ll want to be using a powerful anti-malware system and have a well-thought-out security plan.
VPN Uses for Gaming
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A great gaming VPN should be every gamer’s best friend. If your ISP detects you playing online, it might throttle your connection. This could lead to lag and high ping, which could get you kicked out of a game. When you connect to a VPN, your ISP can’t see what you’re doing and won’t have a reason to throttle you. VPNs could reduce your lag and ping so you can enjoy smoother gaming.
VPNs also protect against DDoS attacks by concealing your IP address. This makes it harder for attackers to disrupt your gameplay.
Should I Use a VPN All the Time?
The simple answer is yes. VPNs improve your privacy and prevent your ISP, government, or anyone else from snooping on your data. They can also help you overcome some kinds of throttling and network blocks. Whether you’re gaming, streaming, torrenting, or just searching for cool birthday gifts or date night ideas, using a VPN is always a good idea.
FAQ
Yes, VPNs are crucial for digital privacy and security. They encrypt your internet traffic, protecting it from snoops, government internet surveillance, and cybercriminals. VPNs also let you access content freely, and help you stay private online by masking your IP address.
Absolutely. It’s essential for organizations to use VPNs to safeguard sensitive data and protect company interests. Cyber attacks against businesses are extremely common and not using a VPN makes your business an easier target.
While good VPNs are secure, vulnerabilities exist and VPNs aren’t infallible against attack. Choose a VPN provider with strong encryption that audits regularly and prioritizes transparency. CyberGhost VPN uses military-grade encryption, undergoes regular internal or external audits, and publishes quarterly transparency reports.
Free VPNs are available but often come with serious limitations. You’ll likely experience slower speeds, data caps, and privacy risks with a free VPN. If you’re seeking a VPN for streaming, it’s worth noting free VPNs often don’t work for that.
While it’s challenging to track VPN users, it’s not impossible. A good VPN makes it more difficult to track you, but when it comes to digital privacy, there are no guarantees. It’s essential to choose a trustworthy provider. CyberGhost VPN is a world-leading VPN provider that uses state-of-the-art encryption to protect your privacy. Try CyberGhost VPN risk-free for 45 days.
Yes, it’s safe to keep your VPN enabled all the time. It ensures ongoing protection and makes it harder for anyone to monitor your activity or intercept your data. It’s especially important to use a VPN on unsecured free Wi-Fi networks.
It’s best to use a VPN as often as you can. This gives you ongoing protection against threats, snoopers, and surveillance. However, it may not always be convenient for you to keep your VPN switched on. In that case, just use it when you need it, like when you’re gaming, experiencing throttling, or need to access blocked content.