What is a VPN and why you should be using one | Laptop Mag

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What is a VPN and why yous should be using ane

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If you've recently signed upwardly to a premium

VPN service

purely to admission or stream geo-restricted content, and then you might not be getting your coin'due south worth.

A VPN does more than only let y'all endlessly browse through land-specific shows on different streaming services; it likewise provides anonymity when browsing on public Wi-Fi, bypasses region-restricted websites, and keeps your online activity encrypted. Merely VPN services become i stride further by providing split up-tunneling, Double VPNs, multiple security protocols that cater for speed or heightened security encryptions. There's even an "Override GPS location" so users tin can friction match the GPS location of the VPN location. That's a privacy standard many hackers would leave alone.

The question is, practise you use all these features? Amend nevertheless, do y'all demand any of them? According to statistics from

The All-time VPN

in 2022, 50% of VPN users merely use a VPN service to go access to more amusement content (from streaming to more, erm, x-rated stuff), while 34% need it to go access to social networks and news services, and 31% say it'due south to proceed anonymity while browsing.

With this in mind, it looks like many VPN users will be paying for a premium service that, despite having many features, is barely used. And so it may be time to switch to something a tad cheaper, albeit at the expense of security. Whatever the example, read on to help brand upward your mind.

But first things first — allow's beginning with the nuts.

What is a VPN?

Accessing the internet with a VPN means making a connection to a VPN server, which acts as a proxy when yous're accessing websites. So instead of your real IP address — given to you past your internet access provider (ISP) to identify you on a website — the internet will only run across the VPN server'due south IP address and location. What'south more, the VPN server's IP address changes regularly. Information technology'south like wearing a forever-changing mask that hides your internet activities.

VPN servers are placed around the world, which is why y'all can access otherwise censored or restricted country-specific websites and content. A VPN can as well exist seen as an enclosed tunnel, one that offers safe travel for all your data coming to and from a server. Data inside this tunnel is encrypted and encapsulated to make information technology harder for potential threats to snoop around.

VPN Security: why you should care

While a VPN'south main task is to provide tight security cheers to data encryption and hiding your IP, many VPN services offering varying levels of security, whether that be a default Kill Switch so users are cutting off from browsing if the VPN dips out, data encryption strength, or leak protection. Premium VPN services, like ExpressVPN, Surfshark or NordVPN offer the whole nine yards, but free VPNs? Non so much.

(Prototype credit: Surfshark)

Then again, these money savers can exist attractive for those who just desire to get past censored sites as they offer a quick download, no sign-ups and, of course, are completely free. Nonetheless, merely because they piece of work doesn't mean users will be protected. Some free options use weak encryption so attackers can hands admission them, or worse, the VPN service could log your data and sell it off. That puts users more at risk than having a VPN in the beginning identify.

Don't care, costless VPNs FTW

As stats suggest, the majority of users just want to stream

Netflix

content from another country or get to a website their ISP wouldn't ordinarily provide. We become information technology, but even if a free VPN isn't so bad in terms of security measures, these cheaper services often have limitations attached so they tin can be free (all as a better incentive to upgrade to their premium packet).

Beginning off, free VPNs may simply offer access to a express number of servers, meaning certain countries won't be available unless users get in on the total package. Too, they may limit connectedness speeds making streaming pointless, and they usually aren't compatible with many devices — sticking mainly with

smartphones

or

laptops

. The all-time users tin can promise for is information caps, significant they'll go a certain amount of complimentary data to use every month.

(Image credit: Unsplash )

On tiptop of all this, Netflix specifically makes it hard for VPNs to bypass its geo-locked content, and chances are a free VPN tin can't access Netflix at all. Premium VPN services have put a lot of effort into making that possible.

Knowing all this, if you're still looking for a bit of data to utilize every month to unblock sites to scan through, you lot're in luck. Here are 3 trustworthy and free VPN services worth trying out.

Hotspot Shield

(Image credit: HotSpot Shield)

If y'all can excuse the ads, virtual U.S.-only server usage and daily 500MB limit, Hotspot Shield is the gratis VPN for you. While its premium service streams blocked Netflix, Amazon Prime number or Hulu content, but YouTube tin can be streamed on its free version. Autonomously from this, users looking for a way to admission otherwise blocked sites that won't eat up much data with a unproblematic ane-click connection will find Hotspot Shield delivers great speeds and security, thanks to its Catapult Hydra protocol, OpenVPN and IPsec options, forth with 256-bit encryption and a kill switch.

(Image credit: Hide.me VPN)

Information technology does exactly what it says on the tin, and then some. With a 2GB information limit per calendar month, hide.me offers admission to VPN servers in the U.Due south., Canada, the Netherlands and Singapore. While 2GB may non be a lot to use, it'due south still enough to stream content and surf the web completely anonymously. In fact, users will get access to the BBC iPlayer and Amazon Prime Video. And you tin also wait some fast speeds. It might not be the quickest when compared to ExpressVPN's new Lightway Protocol, nevertheless, we're not lament.

Windscribe

(Paradigm credit: Windscribe VPN)

A whopping 10GB of data per month is up for grabs for free for those who sign upwards to Windscribe. With its freemium bundle, information technology offers admission to 10 countries and works with BBC iPlayer. What'south more, it even offers unlimited connections to devices, from desktops to browsers. Although, we tin imagine multiple users sucking upwardly that 10GB limit in no time, and so it's best to keep information technology to ane user. With stable speeds and AES-256 encryption, Windscribe offers a very attractive reason to have a complimentary VPN, especially if 10GB is more than enough for your anonymous streaming and browsing needs.

Outlook

So, is paying for a VPN service worth it in the end? Chances are, yes, even if yous don't know information technology. While the costless VPNs listed above provide a groovy value in terms of security, information caps can hands be filled within a month, even at 10GB.

Dodgy VPNs are merely too risky when it comes to your privacy and protection, especially if you discover yourself on equally dodgy sites. The adept news is that some of the

best VPN

services won't cost you lot an arm and a leg, and volition provide like shooting fish in a barrel access to geo-locked Netflix content, which 50% of all users want anyway.

Darragh Irish potato is fascinated by all things baroque, which usually leads to assorted coverage varying from washing machines designed for AirPods to the mischievous world of cyberattacks. Whether it's connecting Scar from The Lion King to two-factor authentication or turning his love for gadgets into a made rap boxing from 8 Mile, he believes in that location'southward ever a quirky spin to be made. With a Master's degree in Magazine Journalism from The University of Sheffield, along with short stints at Kerrang! and Exposed Magazine, Darragh started his career writing almost the tech industry at Time Out Dubai and ShortList Dubai, covering everything from the latest iPhone models and Huawei laptops to massive Esports events in the Middle E. Now, he can be found proudly diving into gaming, gadgets, and letting readers know the joys of docking stations for Laptop Mag.

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