The beginning of the development of VPN was 23 years ago when a Microsoft employee finished working on a technology called Peer to Peer Tunneling Protocol. This technology was the spark that instigated the development of VPNs. Once the PTP tunneling protocol was published in 1999, VPNs started its journey to take the world by storm. Most technologies back then were developed and studied for the use of big organizations and commercial corporations, not your average internet surfer. VPN was no different; big entities used it as it could install secure encryption on the communication line and file-sharing protocols to make it opaque. This made it possible for employees of a company to access almost all permissible files remotely in a safe manner that protects the files from prying eyes or hackers. The possibility of accessing company files from any place in the world made VPNs become a hot topic.
Big organizations started taking more interest in VPNs and different developers ensured that it kept getting stronger with various new and fortified encryption methods. The cost of such a service was too high for average users to be able to take advantage of. But it wasn’t long until research and innovation helped VPNs reduce its costs. VPNs were getting faster and more secure which helped in the transition of VPNs from being used in a low-radius commercial sector to a wider public sector. VPNs became the go-to for people who wish to preserve their privacy on the internet.
Hacking, spamming, blackmailing, data mining, and many other forms of privacy invasion were the spark that popularized VPN usage among a huge population of internet users. As people started to realize how elusive organizations can get their information while remaining in a gray-area of arbitration, the importance of VPN became crucial to the public market. Scandals like Wikileaks and other privacy-related issues only made people more aware of how their information can be maliciously used for the wrong purposes. Whether it’s the government, ISP, or a corporation, it’s pretty safe to say that there is no such thing as being too safe.
The global VPN market is showing how usage of VPNs has jumped a whopping 165% in a single year, 2017 to 2018 to be specific. The Asian/Pacific region is one of the largest regions which use VPN technology, mainly from Indonesia and India. Most people access the internet using their smartphones, which made the emergence of mobile VPNs a necessity. The main challenge of creating efficient mobile VPNs was that the original IP constantly due to transitioning from different networks on the move. It didn’t take long for mobile VPNs to find a way to tackle the issue and ensure maximum security. You can check out vpn changer and compare various vpn before getting one.
Different types of critical services like law enforcement, health department, infield medical support, and other white-collar jobs need a VPN to stay on the move while keeping their lines secured. The VPN global market is expected to be worth more than $35 billion in 2022; as each year has witnessed an exponential rise in global VPN usage. If you’re still not sure if you should use a VPN service or not, we’ll help you make up your mind with our top reasons that make VPNs an essential service. You should definitely consider express vpn India as a great option.
Highest-Grade Protection
When you use any VPN, your ISP will have no access to your online footprint. Your online footprint means websites you’ve visited, cookies, cached on the system, or any other personal information you may have accessed or entered. Depending on the government, whether it enforces privacy or not, ISPs can give up your private information. The real problem is when you’re using a suspicious VPN with no reviews or praises. VPNs can keep your information logged in, their database and sell it to different shady organizations or entities. Some popular VPN scandals made internet users extra aware. As you can see on the list of the best VPN services on vpngorilla, the most secure and trustworthy VPNs are the most popular. Most of the best VPN service providers operate under a log-free policy which means they automatically delete any information that goes through them without logging it.
Safety on Public Networks
When you’re on your password-secured Wi-Fi, you may think that there is no way for anyone to gain access. But the truth is far from that as even the most secure Wi-Fis are at potential risk of being hacked. Public spaces are usually a hacker’s first stop to easily gain access to your personal information. Whether a public Wi-Fi network is password protected or not, you have no idea who’s on the network. A coffee shop or a bar uses mediocre security on their routers as they may not be familiar with the latest forms of cybersecurity and use default settings. A VPN adds defenses that aren’t dependent on the router you’re connected to. As long as you’re connected to a secure VPN, you don’t need to worry about any hackers as all the information and files you send and receive are encrypted and inaccessible by anyone except you.
Removing Geo-Restrictions
We’ve all tried clicking on a website and receiving a message which states that your IP is from a country that isn’t allowed on the website. Streaming programs like Netflix and YouTube are two of the most popular streaming services that not only categorize their content according to the country, it can even completely restrict access from other countries. Your original IP is detected by these services and even if you change it by restarting your router, it will still have an IP that’s related to a restricted country. A VPN is the best way to mask your IP and make it appear as if you’re from a different country. No matter which countries are Geo-restricted, you can always use a VPN to change your IP to a specific country that’s not listed on their blocked countries list. Some streaming services like Netflix have become adept at catching free or common VPNs. Some VPN services managed to find a way to circumvent around this obstacle by providing a dedicated IP that can’t be caught by almost all streaming services.
Censorship
While VPNs may look like a luxury or just an extra layer of security, the truth is that most internet users who use VPN services are using it to avoid censorship and data snooping. The Great Firewall is a security measure created by China that blocks almost all popular websites like Facebook and Twitter. The only way to avoid your IP being blocked by their firewall is by using a VPN service to mask your service. China is just an example; there are dozens of countries that enforce legislative action and modern monitoring tools to censor and control the usage of the internet by their people. A VPN service can be installed on the router to make sure that all devices connected to it are under its protection and free to browse the internet with no restrictions.
Peer-to-Peer and Torrent
You’ve probably heard of torrents or people sharing incredibly large files on special networks. Due to all the copyright infringements and piracy claims on the usage of torrents, the situation got political. A lot of countries are now blocking torrents and enforcing arbitration based on copyright infringement laws that can land you in court. Through VPN services, you can use an IP from a country that doesn’t have any laws against torrenting. While avoiding getting detected on peer-to-peer networks is easy using a VPN, not all VPNs allow the usage of torrenting services. Some ISPs are constantly running monitoring services to detect IPs that are downloading torrents and then report it to the government for further legal action. This is why you should ask your service provider if they allow such activities before subscribing.
Work Restrictions
We all have felt frustrated and asked ourselves “why would they even do that?” at some point in our lives when we try to browse the internet on any organization’s computer. Blocking social media, streaming websites, peer-to-peer websites are very common in schools, libraries, and offices all over the world. If you’re feeling adventurous and have no qualms with breaking policies to prove a point, then a VPN would pretty much be your best bet in this case. In some cases, an organization may not block or censor the internet, but that doesn’t mean that your information is encrypted or in safe hands. Using a VPN on your work or library computer can sometimes guarantee that no one can follow the websites or snoop on your information.
Exercising Freedom of Speech
The internet may be a majestic place, but as always, some people find ways to make it a dangerous place for those who do not have enough knowledge to protect themselves. Your real IP address under idealistic conditions shouldn’t need to be cloaked. Sadly, these aren’t the current conditions. Freedom of speech is a pretty straightforward concept, but depending on your location, your freedom of speech can land you in a lot of trouble. Yes, it may be unfair, but wouldn’t it make more sense to stay on the safe side and say what’s on your mind without looking over your shoulders? A good VPN can bring anyone trying to track your location or real identity stop to a halt. Anonymity, in this case, means protection from those who might cause you harm, whether it’s a hacker or a government cracking down on free speech.
Whistle-blowing is also one of the reasons some people involved in politics or huge organizations decide to use a VPN for. While a VPN may not provide you with the protection you’d like when huge organizations are pouring their resources to identify you, it’s a very important step that has to be done before you start preparing other countermeasures. A politically-affiliated persona can garner too much trouble and attention that could jeopardize its safety. VPNs aren’t only allowing the average internet user to stay secure; it’s also giving those who are in power a chance to express their actual concerns.
Booking Cheaper Flights and Rooms
Have you ever noticed that the price of the room you were just thinking about booking or the flight ticket you were thinking about buying increases drastically the second time you check them? Some websites can access your cookies and caches which leave them in a powerful position to increase the prices of the things you have been eyeing. It’s all about the law of supply and demand; you need something, and the website who has it, will make use of this piece of information. That’s why it’s always recommended to use a VPN when you are thinking about buying anything or booking a room or a flight ticket as it won’t give the website a chance to use your personal information against you in a ruthless bidding war.
Banking
When you’re traveling between different countries far away from home and find yourself locked all of a sudden just because you tried to access your bank account on the internet, that’s probably a security measure deployed by your bank. It’s quite common for credit card fraud and stealing personal banking to occur overseas in different countries than the original country you’re currently residing in. Let’s say you’re from the US and you’re going to the UK. If you don’t notify your bank that you’re going to the UK, logging into your bank account from there could get your bank account frozen or locked down. A VPN gives you the freedom to log into the account from an IP that originated from the US which wouldn’t make the online banking security system flag the connection.
Once you nail down the specifics of what you need for a VPN service, you’ll realize that a VPN service is not something that you should keep delaying for later. Different VPN providers differ greatly from each other, whether it’s the price, speed, latency, security, and other features. It’s up to you to find the best VPN that is tailored for your services.