VPNs are mentioned a lot, these days, by businesses, tech-lovers, and casual web-users alike. While they’re commonly said to be great digital defense tools, it isn’t always clear what, exactly, they do. Whether you’re simply proactive about your digital security, want to enhance it, or are concerned about modern concerns about hackers, a VPN can very well provide the answers you seek.
What is a VPN, Anyway?
To understand why VPNs have become cybersecurity necessities among day-to-day digital device users, one must first understand what VPNs are all about.
A VPN is a virtual private network—and it’s considered to be an essential privacy tool for many. A VPN exists in the form of software—either as a desktop program or mobile app—and offers continuous protection from the minute it’s activated. Most people who use VPNs opt to have them begin running as soon as their devices are activated—to not worry about maintaining a cybersecurity tool at all.
Using a VPN for Online Security
VPNs are designed to be unobtrusive, too, as the best digital security technologies guarantee full coverage regardless of a user’s location, online activities, or immediate networking needs. Turning on your VPN creates an encrypted ‘tunnel’ between yourself and the above-mentioned remote server. You have plenty of servers to choose from, too, as today’s top VPN providers offer numerous server locations around the globe.
Data Encryption
When using a VPN for online security, you deserve the assurance of top-tier digital defense. As any leading VPN provider will tell you, your VPN’s encrypted data, as it passes through this connection tunnel, is virtually impossible to decipher by any seeking to steal, damage, or otherwise exploit it.
The encryption itself is the process by which data is ‘scrambled’ beyond recognition when accessed by anyone who isn’t the data’s owner. It’s one of today’s leading cybersecurity methods, and it’s incredibly effective. Moreover, many VPN providers offer military-grade encryption services, referring to the Advanced Encryption Standards used by cybersecurity experts, intelligence agencies, and other government entities alike.
Rest assured: The modern encryption VPNs have to offer—which is protected by 256-bit keys, is impossible to crack.
Online Anonymity
VPNs are mainly used, however, for their ability to make users entirely anonymous online. When you activate your VPN, the tunneling process redirects your IP address to a nonlocal server location. As such, your device will appear to have the same IP address this server uses—cloaking your location and identity alike.
This feature has become incredibly valued in recent years, as cybersecurity industry leaders have come to acknowledge the realities concerning public Wi-Fi networks. Modern hackers can pursue a device user’s data by following their digital ‘footprint,’ so to speak. Even connecting to a single public Wi-Fi network puts you at risk—and anything short of complete invisibility can protect your information.
Why You Need to Use a VPN
In the past, VPNs were mainly used by tech companies, major corporations, and tech gurus capable of understanding their intricacies. They’re pretty complex programs—as such, complexities are needed to assure complete data security. This said, VPNs had become such a necessity that they’ve practically become as popular as antivirus software. VPN providers have spent years optimizing their products and services to keep each device user safe regardless of their knowledge concerning VPN operations themselves.
But—here’s the ultimate question:
Do you actually need a VPN? What if you’re just a casual web-surfer? What benefits do VPNs provide which other digital safety tools can’t?
In most cases, a VPN’s importance stems from its ‘cloaking’ features—as today’s Internet users constantly face data trackers, advertisement cookies, ISP snooping, and more. Web-surfing simply isn’t private these days—and web-users keen on keeping their information completely safe require powerful tools to do so.
Today’s Growing Data Protection Needs
Indeed, VPNs have become necessities for most—and they’ll soon be considered necessities for all in upcoming years. We need to consider the fact that hackers aren’t the only data-snoops to avoid these days. The encryption a VPN provides, in most cases, is the only thing capable of deflecting an Internet Service Provider’s data snooping—which is a reality facing today’s Internet users.
The best VPN providers follow a ‘no-logs’ service structure, too, which means they won’t record, maintain, use, or sell any of your data passing through their servers. Remember: VPN providers are also leaders within the cybersecurity industry, and your digital safety is a legitimate, primary concern of theirs. With the help of a trusty VPN at your side, your Internet experience, indeed, will be yours alone.
