Virtual Private Network
5 reasons why you need a Virtual Private Network (VPN)
There are plenty of reasons why a virtual private network is a must have today, but here are a few of the most important ones:
- Privacy. Your government is probably looking at what you look at on the internet. Monitoring metadata is how government security agencies can tell who is up to no good, but according to a lot of people it only works by having the government security agencies up to no good themselves. VPNs can stop this.
- Geo-monitoring. Notably the restriction of content by your location. A VPN can change how your location appears on the internet making it possible to buy content as if you were in a different country or jurisdiction, often increasing options and saving money.
- Security. A VPN adds encryption to your internet access so that third parties can’t view your data.
- IP monitoring. The services you use on the internet can use your internet connection’s IP address to confirm your identity and use this to inform various things such as the advertising they show you. A VPN lets you change or hide your IP address as required so they can’t use this method to monitor you.
- Performance. VPN servers are located all around the world, so there is something close to the content you want to browse. By reducing the number of intermediaries, you dramatically increase the speed of your content.
Which VPN?
Since originally writing this post I have updated my advice on my preferred VPN service. Please see Easy to use VPN.