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Everywhere you go on the Internet, there are VPN ads with enticing offers. Some go as far as offering a lifetime subscription deal for just a small amount of money. While some VPN providers cannot really be trusted with our private information, there are some who have been in the business for years and have built a reputable name. However, if you’ve been sitting on the fence about getting a VPN, now might be the time to make a decision.
Now the real question is this: Why do you need a VPN anyway? What are the benefits of passing your internet traffic through a VPN server? In this article, we answer these questions by providing five solid reasons why a VPN subscription is actually a good use of your money.
Anonymity and security
This is the reason most people tunnel their internet traffic through a virtual private network. It’s no longer news that the internet isn’t so safe. While you’re expected to take common-sense precautions to protect yourself on the Internet and avoid getting hacked, installing a VPN is definitely somewhere at the top of the list.
With a VPN, your real IP address is concealed and this makes your real location hard to track. Someone who intends to hack your computer using your computer’s unique IP will have the wrong IP since you use a VPN. Apart from this, a VPN lets you conceal your real location to websites you visit and you might need this for several reasons. One of these reasons is discussed next.
Unblock content
Services offered by sites like Netflix and Amazon Prime might be available in every country, but the reality is that contents are sometimes geo-restricted. What this means is that movies available exclusively to US residents might be unavailable to you if you live elsewhere. On Netflix, for example, content delivered to you is determined strictly by your IP address, not even your country of registration. Also, there are certain contents on YouTube restricted to certain countries by the uploader. With a VPN, you can unblock such content.
It should be noted that these video streaming services often crackdown on VPN servers and not every VPN can unblock Netflix and Amazon Prime. However, top-tier VPN providers often find a way to bypass this. If you reside in India and need to access global content on Netflix, you can check https://surfshark.com/servers/india.
Avoid throttling
Some internet service providers intentionally throttle your internet speed when you try to download from certain sites. As a matter of fact, certain ISPs are known to throttle your speed when you download torrents although this might not affect downloads from regular sites.
Getting a VPN might solve this issue as your traffic is encrypted and your ISP does not know exactly what you’re doing. So, if you are experiencing slow data transfers on your network, a VPN might solve this.
Bypass restriction from ISP
ISPs and the government often restrict you from visiting certain websites. In countries where censorship is the order of the day, accessing an ordinary social network like Facebook could be impossible. Also, if your employer at work or school authority restricts your internet connection, you may find it impossible to access websites you actually want to visit. While it’s not a good idea to use your work-time to read memes on Reddit, you should still know that you can bypass these restrictions with a VPN.
Even if your internet connection is closely monitored by your ISP, school management, or employer, you would be able to visit all restricted sites without raising suspicion.
Access restricted services
If you live in a country considered “high-risk”, you would be denied services on a lot of websites online. An ordinary discussion forum you found on Google search might completely blacklist your country based on your IP address and deny you access. With a VPN, however, this should not be an issue. Since you would be displaying a different IP address and country using a VPN, accessing such restricted services should be easy.
There are even more reasons why people use virtual private networks but these are actually the main reasons. Getting a VPN can save you a lot of troubles and let you have a little bit more freedom online while keeping you safe at the same time.