What You Should Know About Virtual Private Network (VPN)?
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What You Should Know About Virtual Private Network (VPN)?

You have been surfing the web for some time and interested in hiding your identities. But, you are new to this concept and want to know what is a VPN (Virtual Private Network). VPN is a service for people who want to cloak their identities when they are accessing a shared network like a WiFi hotspot. What a VPN does is routing your connection to its server and changing your IP address. All your data is open on the web so you need to use an encrypted VPN service to protect your online privacy.

How to Use a VPN Service? 

To use VPN, you must first launch the VPN client that is provided by your VPN provider. The software will oversee the encryption of your data when you are on a public network. Before you connect to the internet, you must start the VPN software so that all data of your browsing activities will go to the VPN server. The online destination that you are browsing will see your connection as coming from the server of the VPN provider. It will not be able to detect your computer IP address and location. If someone attempts to check your identity, the encryption information will appear instead of the raw data.

Is It Illegal To Use a VPN? 

VPN is a new concept and not all jurisdictions in all the countries have practice regulation on it. At this moment, it can still be used in western countries like US, Canada, and the UK. You must be within the territories of the countries to use VPN. It is usually not well received in communist countries like China, North Korea, and Russia. Other countries where VPN is not allowed are Uganda, Belarus, Turkmenistan, and Iraq.

Does a VPN Guarantee Anonymity for Your Identity? 

VPN does not guarantee to make your identity completely anonymous. However, it can block most of the connections that you frequently access such as hotel WiFi router, cafe WiFi, library WiFi, and the ISP of your home internet. A good VPN provider will not keep logs in the service. You also have to check with the jurisdiction where the VPN Company is registered. Some jurisdictions impose requirements on the VPN companies so you need to find out what requirements are they. The service may also reveal your payment records. Besides, you must check whether the VPN Company has implemented sufficient encryption.

Free Versus Paid VPN 

Free VPN may compromise somewhere in its service since it costs a considerable amount of money to run a VPN. It costs money to buy the servers and infrastructures. It also costs money to hire people to oversee them. Free VPN service may make compromises like selling your data to third parties and displaying ads on the sites that you surf. Paid VPN is more trustworthy since you have already paid for the costs to use their services. VPN service is affordable and costs anywhere from $3 - $10/month.

Can You Use VPN for Downloading Files? 

Torrenting refers to a protocol that is used to transfer data. Using VPN for torrenting is allowed for downloading files that you have the rights to. However, your safety may be at risk if you use it to download pirated files. The VPN has its own rules regarding torrenting. Usually, the VPN Company has no prohibition regarding torrenting.

Can You Use VPN for Streaming Movies? 

Subscribing to a movie streaming site like Netflix and Hulu does not mean you will have access on all the content. Some of the movie content may be blocked based on your location. If you want to access the blocked movie content, you will have to use a VPN service. You simply need to connect to a server that is located in the country that is approved by the movie streaming site.

Can You Use VPN on Android and IOS? 

Many VPN providers offer apps that you can download on your Android and iOS device. You can easily set up the VPN connection via the settings menu of your device. It is best to use the official app that is provided by your VPN provider. There are lots of free apps that can be used for connecting to different VPN services. However, these apps are not safe as they can infect your device with malware or leak your data to third parties.

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