Earlier this month, Facebook has handed over the private messages between a mother and a daughter to the United States government. The case was about a 17-year-old girl who had a stillborn baby. The police requested Facebook to hand over the log-in time stamps, photos and messages shared between the teenager and her mother.
This is just one example of a myriad of ways our information is not safe at the hands of corporations and the platforms we use.
VPNs are becoming more and more important to the way we use the internet. Overall ⅓ of all internet users worldwide use VPN, and the numbers are continuing to grow.
Yes, we know if you are not already using VPN, it might seem like a hassle to pick one, set it up and continue to arrange payments for it. But VPNs are one of the best way to avoid your data being sold to third parties or handed over to a government.
We will give you 8 reasons why you should take 10 minutes to set up a VPN for life, and get more online privacy by default.
Top 8 Reasons Why You Need a VPN
1. To Protect Privacy When On Public Wifi
When you are out and about using the wifi at your local coffee shop or the airport, you are more vulnerable to shady snoops and 3rd party trackers. VPN will protect you while you are on these kinds of not trusted networks.
2. To Anonymously Browse the Internet
On average we spend around 7 hours online every day. Every second of those 7 hours, we leave a trace behind that make up our online profile for corporations, advertisers or governments. VPNs allow you to anonymise IP addresses. You can take extra precautions by using private browsers, tools/extensions and incognito mode.
3. For More Secure Communication
VPNs create an encrypted tunnel around everything you do online. This means even your own ISP can't see which websites you are visiting. Some VPNs are more secure than others so be sure to take a look at their privacy policies and whether they log your traffic.
4. Access Your Apps While travelling
A VPN is a great tool for accessing your everyday messaging, social media, banking, email and work platforms while travelling. Jump from airport to hotel in different countries, and switch to your home location if you're struggling to connect to your personal accounts.
5. Access Accounts From Your Office or College Wifi
If you need to access your social media or email accounts while at work or college, you can use a VPN to get around your intranet or closed networks, which often limit access to certain websites.
6. Bypass Bandwidth Throttling (ISPs limiting your internet speed)
Throttling is when yourInternet Service Provider (ISPs) intentionally slows your internet speed. There are several reasons for why they do this. Most sited reasons is to regulate traffic. You can observe this when too many people are online simultanously. A second reason may be data caps, where if you exceed your data limit how much you can upload and download within that billing month, your internet will load slower. A more ubiquitous reason is paid prioritization, a so-called fast lane, where ISPs let certain websites pay to load faster than others.
7. Bypass Government Surveillance or Censorship
This one is pretty self explanatory. We live in the age of online surveillance. In order to protect yourself from censorship, scrutiny and surveillance, you are gonna have to use a VPN.
8. Avoid Price Discrimination
And last but not least, price-gouging is common practice these days. Businesses, such as airlines, will charge more for their products or services in one region, in order to maximise profit and milk consumers. In this case, you can check whether your favorite retailer is being ethical or not by comparing prices throughout different regions. If they are discriminating with prices, you should look for a different retailer that provides equal pricing for everyone.
But Which VPN Is Right For You?
Ok I think we have got you on board with the idea, that you really need a VPN. Now unto the next question.
“How do I pick which is the right VPN for me?”
There are several things to consider. Most people think about the reliability of connection when they choose a VPN. The stability of your VPN’s connection will influence your experience to a great deal.
Another factor is how easy it is to use the VPN app or interface. You want something with an easy-to-use design and quick connection features.
And, of course you need to think about speed. Can this VPN help you avoid bandwidth throttling? Will it buffer while you are in the middle of gaming or online shopping during sales periods?
Remember one of the main reasons we use a VPN is to protect our data and browsing history. That is why you need to pay attention to the privacy policy and the logging practices of the VPN of your choice.
You want a VPN that offers you a great selection of server locations and residential IPs (the most superior type of IP address)
All of these should come with good customer support and at an affordable price.
Why You Should Pick Mysterium VPN
Mysterium can provide you with a stable and speedy connection. We also have 20,000 IPs spread across 135 countries.
At Mysterium, we care a lot about decentralization of the web and net neutrality. We do not share or sell your data to third parties. We do not log your traffic centrally, and we have a strong commitment to privacy as a company. This is what motivated us to develop our trustless technology. It is important for us that we contribute the building of a borderless internet.
To download Mysterium VPN click here.