Whether you're bothered about the real possibility of hackers or you simply want to stop others invading your privacy online, you need a VPN. That's not the end of this article, though, as here we'll be explaining the everyday situations where a VPN is crucial as well as the best ways to find the perfect VPN for you and your devices.
These days there are plenty of VPNs to choose from, each offering a specific set of tools. As with any purchase, you should start by doing your research by visiting unbiased VPN review sites such as Best Online Reviews, or by visiting each VPN provider separately. The best VPN will have high-end security features, logging capabilities, anti-malware protection and even mobile apps when possible, all while remaining an affordable price. At the end of the day though, which VPN you choose is a personal choice, as you have to make sure the mix of features best suits you.
Do You Use Public Wi-Fi Networks Regularly?
"VPN & Internet Security on Your Computer" (CC BY 2.0) by mikemacmarketing
Let's say you're at work, at a local coffee shop, at an airport or at a shopping mall: many of these places have public wireless networks that anyone can access for free or after setting up a specific account. On the surface, these free Wi-Fi networks seem like a great idea as they stop you having to use up your mobile data and allow you to use the internet on other devices such as laptops while you're out and about.
Unfortunately, the fact that anyone can enter them is also the average public Wi-Fi network's biggest flaw. While you may be logging on to browse the web, read the news or do some online shopping, others could be watching the traffic on the network. For hackers, this is an easy job that allows them to watch everything you're doing on your connected device. They can even access your personal information such as banking data, passwords, messages, pictures and other important info. On top of all that, you have to consider whether the public Wi-Fi is even a legitimate network, as hackers have been known to mimic well-known hotspots in order to retrieve personal data.
The unsafe Wi-Fi scenario is perhaps the most important reason behind installing a VPN. Whether it's on your mobile, your tablet or your laptop, a VPN will not only encrypt your data so no one else can view it but bounce it all back from the same server so it's extremely difficult for anyone to even see any activity in the first place.
Do You Want Your Home Wi-Fi To Be As Secure As Possible?
Of course, having the ability to create private networks and encrypt your personal data isn't restricted to those who are out and about. If anything, you want your home Wi-Fi to be even more secure as that is probably where you're using the internet the most. By installing a VPN on your home devices you beef up your home security significantly, stopping anyone from spying on your web searches or rooting for your personal data. Having a VPN is especially important if you have multiple devices connected to the same Wi-Fi, as it removes any holes that might appear within those many links.
We're not here to try and sell you a VPN or any other gadget, the fact is you simply can't be too careful when it comes to surfing the web. We want all our readers to be secure and to have their privacy remain intact.
