Gone are the days when virtual private network (VPN) were used only by the suspicious members of society. VPNs are the simplest (and best) ways to protect your privacy online.
Whether you're working from home because of Covid-19 pandemic or you're using unsecured Wi-Fi in a cafe, this is how to install a VPN safely.
Whenever you connect to the internet, your internet service provider (ISP) has access to everything you send and has been given the green light to sell your information to advertisers. Advertisers can track your movements between websites and identify your location by peeking at your IP address.
It's worth noting that HTTPS does not guard against ISP snooping or local network attacks—a major issue if you ever use a connection that isn't yours, such as one you might be using while working from home.
Until a new, more private internet comes together (probably never), using a VPN is the easiest way to make sure that you're sharing as little information as possible.
What exactly does a VPN do?
When you switch on a VPN, your traffic is routed through an encrypted tunnel to a server operated by the VPN company.
Basically, that means your ISP and anything connected to your router won't be able to see your web traffic.
From the VPN server, your traffic exits onto the public internet. Unless you're headed to a site that uses HTTPS, your traffic is no longer encrypted.
Because your traffic appears to come from the VPN's server, your actual IP address is effectively hidden.
That's the important bit as IP addresses are distributed geographically and can be used to find your rough location. If someone checks your IP address, they'll see the IP address of the VPN server. This can also come in handy if you want to spoof your location.
So by connecting to a VPN server in London, you can make it appear as if you were accessing the internet from the UK.
However, a VPN won't completely anonymise your traffic. Only anonymization service such as Tor can do that by bouncing your data through several different volunteer computers, making it much harder for someone trying to track your activities to see what you're up to.
Remember, websites can track your movements through cookies, browser fingerprinting and online trackers. Using an ad-blocker helps suppress these trackers and makes it harder for advertisers to follow your movements across the web.
Safety first: Some VPN services claim they can block malware but make use of a standalone antivirus software for your computer, to be on the safe side.
How to set it up:
Download the company's app on as many of your devices as you can.
Once installed, you will be asked to enter your login information. In most cases, this is the username and password you created when you signed up for the service. Be sure to read the instructions carefully
Once you're logged in, your VPN app usually connects to the VPN server closest to your current location. That's done to provide better speeds when using the VPN, as performance degrades the farther the VPN server is from your actual location.
Configure your device's network settings to connect directly to the VPN service.
A few VPN services you might want to consider
It is important to check whether your VPN service allows BitTorrent traffic on any server or just specific ones.
ProtonVPN marks the servers cleared for torrenting. TorGuard on the other hand, is all about torrenting and allows its use on all the company's servers.
Many VPN companies also include an interactive map as part of their app. TunnelBear and NordVPN let you click on countries to connect to servers there.
Choose a VPN based on what you want to do. For better speeds, you should choose a nearby server. To bypass government censorship, choose a server in a different country different from your own.
NordVPN, Surfshark VPN, and ProtonVPN have enhanced security options, such as access to Tor or multihop VPNs. Multihop VPN is similar to Tor as it tunnels you to one server and then another.
OpenVPN is open-source and has been picked over by many for any potential vulnerabilities. IKEv2 is also a good, secure option and a great alternative to OpenVPN.