An Idiot's Guide To VPN - What It Is And Why It's Important For You

Hacking and spying have become a real issue in today's day and age. Since most of the developing and developed nations rely upon the internet for day-to-day activities, security becomes of prime importance. Which is why schools, colleges, offices and other private institutions are moving towards a solution that lets them securely access their personal data, away from prying eyes. And that is exactly what VPN does.

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What is a VPN?

A Virtual Private Network (or VPN as it's commonly referred to) is a method used to add security and privacy to private and public networks, like WiFi hotspots and the internet. Think of it as an added layer of protection. Most companies nowadays use VPNs to protect data which may, or may not be sensitive. Having said that, an increasing number individuals are also going for personal VPNs, for that added protection it provides.?

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How does it make things more secure? How does it work?

When we use the internet we are allotted a unique string of numbers known as an IP address, or the Internet Protocol address. Our devices use this address to communicate with other devices over the internet. An IP address is a bit like a phone number or a house address. It is a unique way to identify one device from another on the internet. The internet cannot recognise us by names or faces, but it can differentiate us using IP addresses. A VPN allows users to change their IP addresses to another one from the VPN provider. Let's say you're in Delhi right now, a VPN will make the internet believe that you're located in Cape Town or New York or whatever place you want to be shown located in. While basic VPN providers change your gateway city once for every time you log in to their network, there are other providers who keep changing your location with time. When we connect, we launch a VPN client. We log in with our credentials ?and our devices exchange a password with a computer server located somewhere on the planet. Once both the computers have verified each other as authentic, the information is secure and encrypted.?

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Why is it popular?

VPN isn't a new thing at all. Major corporations have been using it for years. But the need for it has increased as it becomes easier to intercept the data travelling to a network. VPN uses tunnelling techniques to protect these data transfers. In a constantly evolving world of the internet, VPN becomes essential.

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Why should you be using one?

VPN users can generally be segregated broadly into a few categories. If you fall under any of these, it would be wise to get yourself one.?

The student/office worker/researchers use it to secure their data. Most often, a VPN is provided to them by the university or the company.

Moreover, if you're a downloader, you don't want your IP address to show up on the list of hackers looking to send out viruses. If you use torrents often, it is strongly recommended that you get yourself a VPN that suits your needs.?

VPN is also for those who don't want to be confined to only one particular region of the internet. Ever wanted to watch something online only to find out that the video isn't available in the area you live in? With a VPN, all you need to do is change your location and voila, you're sorted. Netflix, for example, has completely different catalogues in different countries. So while Netflix Canada has a particular show, Netflix India might not have it. Over time, so many people have accessed Netflix content from other countries that the company had to come down hard on some VPN providers, shutting them down completely.?

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How to choose one for you?

Although some VPN providers have even started providing Google Chrome extensions, and there is nothing wrong in that, the best VPNs will offer you a host of features, server location, connectivity protocols and will not be free to use. There are different VPNs recommended for different functions. So the first step would be to recognise what you need it for. Do you just want to stream and download anonymously or need your data completely secure? No matter what you end up downloading, always make sure that you read the user agreement carefully. I know we don't pay attention to any of these but when it comes to VPN, make sure you spend 5 minutes extra to know what you're getting into.

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Finally, VPN doesn't provide complete security. Nowadays, nothing does. You could still get malware or viruses so be careful what you download online. Even though VPN makes it tough for someone to trace you, it's not impossible. If the hacker is good enough, it really doesn't matter if you have VPN or not. But it helps.?