What is a VPN?
Sfariah D
Posts: 26,112
What is a VPN? and do I need one?
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It's a VPN (Virtual Private Network.) It depends on many things, whether you need one or not. Most use them to provide a secure connection with Office computers and to home desktops while you're away from them. Then there is the dark side of the VPN so that people can travel around the dark web. Drawbacks to VPNs include Slowing down the Internet Speed, Costs more money, Device Compatibility, believe it or not, Privacy Issues, Connection Droppings, Configuration Difficulty, and Legality Issues; some countries consider private networks, including VPNs, to be illegal.
Don't listen to what the YouTube ads say about things like ExpressVPN or NordVPN being more secure.
A VPN will route your internet traffic through a server. So, when you make a VPN connection, you are connecting to a VPN server, and when you go to a website, it passes through that server first, then forwards it to you. The website traffic will indicate that it's coming from the server's IP address and not your IP address. It can be useful to prevent man-in-the-middle attacks (where hackers intercept your internet packages sent to and from a website). If you're on an open Internet connection (like at a coffee shop, or fast food restaurant) it's more secure than just flapping in the wind, but at home where only trusted devices are connected to your network (hopefully...if you've secured your home wifi router), it's not such a big deal.
The only benefit one of those 3rd party VPNs offers you is being able to change your country location so you can watch streaming services from other countries. The companies can say that their network is secure...but every network is prone to attacks, and the bigger the company, the more they are open to attacks. In fact, it wasn't that long ago that some hackers were able to get a hold of NordVPN's algorithm, and insert their own server into the NordVPN cloud and gathered a bunch of customer's data.
Yes, I did check the box about Privacy Issues.