Do I Need To Protect My Information With A VPN?

Protecting your identity, data, while on the internet is something that is a must when conducting any transactions online, be it surfing, shopping, reading/sending emails, etc. With almost everyone using a device of some sort on a daily basis you are leaving yourself vulnerable. How often do you see someone on their phone in a public space, using a public Wi-Fi connection?

Unless you have a secure encrypted connection, and or VPN service you are open to someone who is using the same connection spying on what you are doing. I know myself, I have gone to a restaurant, hotel, out for a coffee and logged onto their public Wi-Fi connection and read my emails without even thinking about my privacy or if some cyber thief was using that same connection to steal my data. It wasn’t until, while using public Wi-Fi connection and someone got my credit card info and made a small purchase, luckily for me my credit card company notified me about a suspicious transaction. I was able to cancel my card and get a new one, and from that day on whenever I log into public Wi-Fi connection I do it through my VPN service.

Think about who might be the most vulnerable in your family, your kids, they use their devices for almost everything, they are on social media more than ever, sadly in some cases, these devices are replacing personal interaction, we also know that they are sharing more personal information on these platforms than they should be.

What Do I Need In A VPN Service?

There are plenty of options to chose from, so you have to think about your personal needs. Think about what is most important to you. Do you want to surf the internet anonymously while hiding your IP address? Are you concerned about your information being stolen while connected to a public Wi-Fi connection? Do you have paid streaming service and want to be able to access while traveling? Do you want to share information with others, once you have your particular concerns addressed you can look at a VPN service that covers your needs?

Choosing A VPN Service 

Some questions you should ask when choosing a VPN ( virtual private network )

• Does the service have a no-log policy, the whole idea is to protect your privacy, by not keeping logon information. Not keeping logon information means that your internet activities can never be tracked.
• Does the service set data limits, depending on your internet usage? Make sure the service provides similar full unmetered bandwidth without data limits.
• Make sure the service provides the location (s) you want. If you want to appear to be located somewhere specific, make sure that they have a server in that location.
• Can you set up a VPN service on multiple devices?
• How much does the VPN service cost?

Keep in mind if the cost is of a concern you can use a free VPN service, but likely you will NOT have access to the most updated protocols.

• The highest bandwidth and connection speeds.
• Selection of countries
• support

and most free VPN services have a high disconnection rate. Although the service is free you may pay for it by pop up ads, also have your personal information collected, possibly sold. Most likely they will log your activity so you can be tracked.

VPN VOCABULARY 

Now that you know the importance of protecting yourself with a VPN service there are some VPN specific terms associated with a virtual private network, most listed will be the most common you will come across. Wikipedia is also a very good source.

Geo-restrictions

One of the main reasons users rely on VPNs? They want to get around geo-restrictions. These restrictions are often put in place by entertainment companies that only want to distribute content to certain regions. For instance, Netflix might offer content in the United States that it doesn’t show in the UK. It might offer programming in the UK that Netflix users in the United States can’t access.

By using a VPN with an IP address based in the UK, U.S. viewers can try to access Netflix programming that isn’t available in their home country. The VPN service — and the VPN connection — hides the location where the actual internet connection is made. Check your streaming service agreement for its Terms of Service, and also be mindful that some countries may have penalties for using VPN to circumvent its rules.

IP address

IP stands for Internet Protocol, and an IP address is a series of numbers and periods that identifies a computer that’s using the Internet Protocol to send and receive data over a network

ISP

Short for Internet Service Provider, this is a service you pay to connect to the internet. ISPs can record your browsing history and may be able to sell it to third parties, for marketing or other purposes.

Kill switch

Users sign up with a VPN provider for online privacy and data security. But what happens if a VPN provider’s network connection fails? Your computer or mobile device will default back to the public IP address provided by your ISP. This means that your online activity can now be tracked. A kill switch, though, prevents this from happening. If your VPN provider’s connection fails, the kill-switch feature severs your connection to the Internet completely. This way, your online activity won’t be monitored by others. Not all VPN providers offer this feature, so look for it when shopping around.

VPN tunnel

You might sometimes hear your virtual private network referred to as a VPN tunnel. This is just another name for the encrypted connection between your device — a laptop, phone, tablet or desktop computer — and the internet. You can create a VPN tunnel at home or on public Wi-Fi. Once you are using a VPN tunnel to connect to the internet, your ISP, private companies, or the government can no longer see the sites you are browsing or the links you are clicking. A VPN tunnel also hides your IP address. Instead of showing your real location, the sites you surf will only register the location of the VPN provider with which you are working.

Do You Think You Need VPN Protection?

Do you think that you need internet protection with a VPN service?
Is your data, information, privacy secure enough while you are on the
internet conducting your transactions?

I hope so, I never gave my
privacy any thought while I was doing my “internet stuff” on Facebook,
shopping, I heard about people’s identity being stolen and their credit
being ruined, data being sold. Who would want my information?

Apparently a lot of criminals do, if it wasn’t for my brush with credit
card fraud, I would still be leaving all my private information out
there to be gathered, sold, and who knows what would happen. I admit I
got lucky, my credit card company notified me, I was lucky it was a
small amount, not sure why? but I am glad just the same.

Take your privacy back, protect yourself, family while conducting any type of transaction online.

 

I hope you enjoyed and found this post informative and if you have any questions regarding VPN’s please leave me a comment, and I will get back to you soon, Thank you

Take care

Stay secure and always practice

Safe Text !!!

Butch