Why You Should Consider Adding a VPN
Recently, we dove into several smart home technology upgrades that you can make today for your residence. We touched briefly on the role that Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) can play in helping to secure the network of your home or business. Let’s take a deeper look into the benefits of installing a VPN server to your home network.
What is a VPN?
A Virtual Private Network is an add-on you can get for your devices that allows you to surf the web privately. VPNs mask your location from web hosts and protect your data from procurement by third parties. VPNs can be applied to private home networks in addition to public networks.
Virtual Private Networks have been around about as long as there has been public internet consumption. However, in the early years they were almost exclusively used by businesses. In today’s era of data mining by both corporations and government bodies, everyday citizens have a lot of reasons to want to protect their data and search history.
Benefits of Having a VPN
Browse Safely From Home.
Internet service providers (ISPs) have the ability to see what you’re searching for from your home network. For instance, if you use Comcast as your ISP, Comcast owns that network and can see what you’re up to when you connect to the internet. In 2017 a bill was passed in the U.S. that gives ISPs permission to sell your data to third parties, which means that Comcast can turn around and give your search data to someone else without you knowing about it. VPNs put up a screen between you and your ISP, hiding your online activity from them.
Secure Browsing On Public Networks.
If you’re connected to a public WiFi network such as a library, airport, or coffee shop, VPNs can secure your network connection to prevent others – such as the manager of the network – from seeing your browser history. This is especially important if you’re doing anything sensitive on a public network such as making a purchase or inputting a password to your banking or social media account.
Prevent Data Throttling.
Data throttling is when your ISP puts a cap on the amount of data you’re allowed to use in your home network. Once you’ve reached your cap, your upload and download speeds will drop. With a secure VPN service, your ISP won’t be able to track how much data you’re using and thus won’t know when you’ve reached your limit.
Access Geographically-Prohibited Services.
Have you ever traveled abroad and noticed that your Netflix library changed significantly when you were away from home? You can access Netflix’s international catalog and other geographically-prohibited services by using a VPN. This is because you can set up a VPN to tell Netflix or any other service that you’re in any country or city that is most convenient for you.
Combat Price Discrimination.
If you’re shopping online, you might find that the prices of various products change depending on where you’re searching from. That’s because many of these providers have discovered that there’s a greater demand for a particular product or service in a specific area. Using a VPN, you can make it look like you’re buying from a location where the price of that product or service is cheaper, thus saving you money in the long run.
Keep Advertisers at Bay.
If you’ve ever been on the internet before – let’s just assume you have – you’ve no doubt been a victim of targeted advertising based on websites you’ve visited before. That’s because many websites attach cookies to your device after you’ve visited, allowing them to track what you do once you leave their site. Your VPN works by keeping your searches totally safe from the prying eyes of advertisers who are hoping to put their products in front of you.
Install Easily to All Devices.
With a properly-installed VPN, you can quickly access it between a number of devices including your mobile devices. This complete flexibility will provide you with total protection when you’re surfing and streaming regardless of where you are.
Integrated Media Systems has been providing complete technical solutions to the extended D.C. metro area, including Charlottesville, for decades. Ditch all of the complicated owners manuals and give us a call. We’ll set you up with a hassle-free Virtual Private Network that works for you and your family.