Boost your online privacy with a virtual private network

Published on by Roger

As more people become aware of the need to protect their identity and data online, they are turning to a useful tool called a virtual private network (VPN).

While you may think of this as only for business, a VPN allows you to use the internet with greater privacy including avoiding your service provider’s system for logging the sites you visit, as well as bypassing website filtering and reducing the security issues of using public wireless networks.

This is how it works. Once configured on your computer, your VPN is a like a pipe that runs between your computer and a VPN server elsewhere on the internet. The ‘pipe’ protects your communication using encryption so that it is unintelligible to computers watching the data flowing between you and the VPN server.  Moreover, websites that you visit think that the VPN server is your address. The result is that your data is secure upto the VPN server and your location is hidden.

VPNs are widely used by businesses and individuals. Examples of when you might use one include:

  • using unfamiliar and untrusted networks (airports, hotels, coffee shops etc.) while travelling
  • accessing services only available in another country, e.g. Twitter from Turkey or even parts of YouTube from the UK
  • strengthening your internet privacy
  • remote working

There are several limitations to VPNs. These commonly include slightly slower internet speed and that VPNs do not make you anonymous on the internet. Websites with which you interact meaningfully will recognize your computer even though they will not know where it is currently located.

Setting up a VPN is straightforward by following the provider’s instructions. While many VPN services require a subscription, there are also several free VPN services. Here are a selection of subscription VPN services for you to choose from.

Some of these services offer a free version as well. If you are on a budget, you might also like to consider one of the following services