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Have you or someone you know, ever had their identity stolen? Or maybe a credit card number was stolen and you had no idea until you saw an $800 purchase on your bank statement, that you didn’t make. No worries, it happens to more people than you know. There is always someone lurking and looking to take advantage of our everyday activities, not just in public, but especially online. I’m here to lay out some of the many reasons you should get a VPN.
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What is a VPN?
A VPN is a Virtual Private Network. The best way to explain it, is when you are surfing the web, there are other entities that could be looking at every website you visit, every time you use your credit card, or trying to capture your passwords to get all of your personal and important information. A VPN will protect that online activity. While you surf the net, the VPN will encrypt your web traffic to hide what you are doing online. It makes it more difficult for others to track your activities and steal your important data.
Cool right?! Every computer has an IP address (side note: think of your home address. You’re the only one that has that address. An IP address is the same principle, but for your devices! Its a unique address that each device has.) When you connect to the internet, your IP address is at risk for potential hackers or thieves to steal your information.
When you connect to a VPN, your internet connection runs through the servers of the VPN company to mask that activity! You can see from the illustration below how it works.
Essentially, you log on to the internet, connect to the VPN, and start your normal browsing. That’s it! It creates a tunnel, so only you know what you’re doing, and you keep those other entities at bay, even your ISP!
Do I need one?
Well, if you ask me, yes! I think we all could use a VPN. I’ve had family members who had money stolen from their accounts because maybe they went to a site that looked legit or someone gained access to their password. Either way, no one like things stolen from them.
We are in the middle of the holiday season and people are doing their online shopping more than ever. That’s why this makes having a VPN even more important.
Which one should I get?
There are tons of VPN services out there. You can get some that charge up to $100 a year. There are even free ones available, but I don’t really recommend those.
One of the best services available that this Geek recommends is NordVPN. They have great service at a great price. You can get started with your service for as little as $3.29 a month. You usually only have to renew every couple of years or so. They make it easy so you don’t even have to worry about it!
Benefits of a VPN
There are many benefits to having a VPN besides what I explained above. Here’s a list in more detail:
- Speed: Some people may think, “Hey, if my internet is going through a separate connection, won’t that slow down my speeds?” The truth is, while it can lower speed rates slightly, it isn’t much and it depends on what server you are using. Since NordVPN has over 5100 servers, there should always be one near you so that there is no lag.
- Security: This should have been number one honestly! Do everything that you would normally do while on the web, but do it behind a secure wall to make sure your information stays safe.
- Privacy where ever you are: Do you travel a lot? Either for business or leisurely? That’s fine, because you can connect anywhere and have your data protected.
- Different Devices: Not only can you use NordVPN on your PC and Mac devices, you can also download and use them as apps on your phone. Just go to either the Google Play or App Store and download! Its also available on Linux and as web browser extensions. They have you covered no matter what!
- Streaming Content: Do you wish you could ever watch the top movies or shows from a different country. Well, a VPN can help with that. Stream content from other countries right to your device to catch up and just to browse the selection.
- Block Malware: Stop with all the pop ups! A VPN can help block some of those pop ups when you visit a site and let you know if a site is sketchy and you should stay way from it!
There are so many other advantages to getting NordVPN. I suggest giving it a try. If you don’t like it, they have a 30 Day money back guarantee. I assure you, not many other VPN services offer that!
