What Can I Do with a VPN? 8 VPN Use Cases

Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) help protect your privacy and security. By using VPN service you can also enjoy a freer internet experience by choosing a connection location nearly anywhere around the world.

Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) help protect your privacy and security. This is done using a combination of secure communication protocols, encryption technologies, and private servers.

By using VPN service you can also enjoy a freer internet experience by choosing a connection location nearly anywhere around the world. 

We will dive into each of these use-cases below.

1. Increased Privacy Online

What does a VPN do

Your biggest nightmare could result from someone tracking your IP address. Your IP can reveal many things about you, possibly including your physical location. However, with a VPN, your real IP is masked and hidden. Nobody, even the ISPs, government agencies, and hackers can locate you or see what you’re doing. 

You gain anonymity and become unidentifiable online because you are always using a different IP address and never your own. In this way, you will get more privacy as your connections cannot be associated with you and your device.

2. Safeguard Your Data

VPNs today employ high levels of encryption to safeguard your data. In addition to that, the use of secure communication protocols help ensure that all data that is sent and received from your device to the VPN server is kept safe in transit. 

This security portion of the VPN is what ensures that your Internet activity and private data cannot easily be intercepted and viewed by others. This includes your browsing history, passwords, downloaded files, online banking details and any other personal information.

As an example of this, think of how many digital transactions occur today. If you perform online transactions that involve money or other sensitive data, using VPN is essential. Without a VPN, vital information can easily fall into the wrong hands. 

3. Bypass Geo-blocks

Do you wish to watch something on BBC iPlayer? Perhaps you’re in Australia and want to catch up on some streamed releases on the US version of Netflix? If you do, you’ll be out of luck since lots of services restrict content by region.

However, if you use a VPN, you can access many geo-blocked websites. This means that no matter where you are in the world, you can do all the above. VPN use allows you to bypass geographic restrictions on websites, online gaming, even streaming video and audio. 

4. Prevent Bandwidth Throttling

Bandwidth throttling happens when your ISP deliberately slows down your Internet speeds. This can depend on various things, such as their bandwidth capacity or even your online activities. For example, torrenting may use up a lot of bandwidth and cause your ISP to throttle your speeds.

The good news is that you can use a VPN to hide your online activities. Since your ISP doesn’t know what you’re doing, it will simply leave your connection alone. Your ISP will target higher-priority cases to throttle since they cannot make sense of your traffic as it looks gibberish to them.

5. Make Torrenting Safer

Torrenting is always risky since it essentially occupies a grey area of online activities. While it is not generally illegal in most places, copyright infringement is. You will never be sure if your downloaded files are something that might get you into trouble with the authorities.

Using a VPN will help make torrenting a lot safer. It hides your real IP making you anonymous and encrypts all your data. Because all your traffic heads to the VPN server first, ISPs cannot track and will not know what you have been doing.

6. Keep You Safer on Public Wi-Fi

Public Wi-Fi networks are very easy to be broken into and connections made there are highly susceptible to man-in-the-middle attacks. Cybercriminals can take the opportunity to steal data.

With a VPN installed, your communication to its server is encrypted, negating these effects. Even if the hacker is somehow able to intercept your data, it is already encrypted and useless to them.

Therefore, having a VPN installed on your device allows you to use public Wi-Fi securely as you will literally have your own separate virtual network. 

7. Avoid Online Price Discrimination 

Online Price Discrimination happens when different prices are offered to different people based on location, frequency of data access, and other factors. Online stores may track your search history and use this information to change the prices they offer. A VPN will hide this information so the sites will not be able to track your online activities. 

8. No More Censorship

Not everyone is fortunate to live in a country that embraces freedom of information. China imposes high levels of censorship on Internet usage to the extent of blocking entire services such as Google, Facebook, and Twitter. At times, you may find certain websites that are blocked for specific reasons at work or school, for example. 

A VPN can get you around these censorship and access blocks simply by nature of the service. You can even use a VPN to bypass firewalls in office or school networks. Life really does become a lot more convenient.

Conclusion 

The more we use the Internet, the more we expose ourselves to risks. If hackers are set on tracking you online, they will probably and eventually find a way to do so, whether you’re using a VPN or not. Still, it won’t be easy. 

In a nutshell, a VPN keeps your identity and browsing activities safe which keeps you much safer online. Imagine a stress-free digital life and the peace of mind that a VPN can offer.

Remember to always work with reputable VPN service providers that have a proven track record and transparent policies for their users.