One of the coolest tricks a savvy VPS user can manage is setting up a Virtual Private Network (VPN). These networks are completely secure and all data sent or received across them is encrypted. Schools, banks, businesses and even knowledgeable individuals use VPNs for this added security. In this post we will outline 7 ways that many of our own clients enjoy VPNs for their own use.
1. Private Resource Transfer
If you ever work with sensitive materials – whether they deal with proprietary data, intellectual property or just plain personally embarrassing documents – you can keep these materials safe using a VPN. This is especially useful for students or employees working outside of their normal network, often the one provided by their school or employer.
2. Bypassing Local Censorship or Blackout Laws
Many places around the globe enforce rigid censorship laws. Many also restrict viewing of live broadcasts geographically by laws called “blackout legislation”. In either scenario, local authorities are allowing the consumption of certain content to be restricted by law. By setting up a VPN, the end user is able to manipulate his or her IP address to get around these geo-targeted laws. While we certainly never encourage any illegal activity, it is worth mentioning that this is a possibility with VPN because these types of laws are common issues among frequent travelers – especially for those traveling abroad.
3. Disrupting Advertising Trackers
The entire internet is laced with devices called cookies that track all of your behavioral data. This data is sold day-in and day-out to advertisers so they can create ads that are more effective at getting you to spend money on their products. Scary thought, right? It happens every hour of every day. By sneaking around the web under the anonymity a VPN provides, you can easily disrupt the tracking ability held by these cookies and frustrate the advertisers behind them.
4. File Sharing & Downloading
In today’s world, there seems to be a nasty stigma around anyone who frequently downloads or shares files online. Some of that negative attention has been brought on because of intellectual and commercial property theft committed online. Much of it, however, is still being focused unfairly on the open source community, which is built on working together to create a better web. A big part of that better web means more widespread access to apps, programs and data – the majority of which is designed to be free anyway. VPN networks can help users participate in this file sharing activities while reducing the risk of unnecessary legal trouble.
5. Identity & Location Protection
Identity theft has been a major problem over the past decade. The vast majority of this crime has taken place online. There is certainly no sign of this trend slowing. The added protection of anonymity that VPNs can offer certainly helps users protect their personal identity and location information.
6. Consuming International Media
While certain programs or broadcasts may not be available in a user’s local area, he/she may still be able to access them using a VPN. This is perfect for, say, students living abroad during their college years, employees serving long-term contracts internationally or even military personnel stationed overseas. A VPN can be used to provide a small taste of home.
7. Securing Wi-Fi Hotspots & Other Public Networks
Wi-Fi Hotspots and other publicly shared networks are notoriously insecure. Often times these networks are not set up utilizing proper security protocols, making all users on the network vulnerable to intrusion. Another common scenario sees cyber criminals setting up open networks in public areas specifically for the purpose of capturing the data shared by those who use that network. The added data encryption offered by a VPN will help protect users in any such scenario.
Hosting Your VPN with SemoWeb
At SemoWeb, we know many of our clients use our VPS to create VPNs. We understand the need for these specialized networks and that’s part of what drives our commitment to hosting excellence. VPN users must be confident in our servers before ever trusting them to manage their network. They have to know that our servers will perform at a high level and so we go the extra mile to earn that trust.
Of course, we do have to acknowledge that certain activity may be made possible by a VPN that may not be possible otherwise. As stated in our Terms of Service, any illegal activity will result in a termination of the user’s account with our company and, if necessary, we do cooperate with legal authorities to the utmost extent. If you have any questions about your own VPN activity, or perhaps questions about how to get started, give us a call at (877) 512-4678.