A VPN or Virtual Private Network is software that encrypts your data running through the internet with a secured tunnel. These days VPNs are becoming remarkably useful tools for your online life—keeping you safe and anonymous on the World Wide Web.
In the current climate of invasive regulations and surveillance, people are leaning more toward the use of VPNs mostly for online security. However, VPN can offer you way more than just providing security and anonymity. Of course, you need to use a good VPN like NordVPN, ExpressVPN, or Surfshark VPN.
Continue reading this article to find some amazing use cases of VPNs. We have mentioned precisely how the technology works in favor of you in each instance.
1. Avoid Bandwidth Throttling
Bandwidth throttling can happen to anyone trying to access streaming services and online gaming websites. Your ISP is the main culprit for bandwidth throttling as they regulate network traffic and bandwidth congestion. A VPN can help you avoid this annoying experience.
ISPs monitor users who consume a large volume of data and intentionally slow down their connection to maintain Fair Usage Policy (FUP). A VPN encrypts your online traffic and as a result, your ISP can’t see your online sessions. If they can’t see it, they can’t control it. So, you get the secret now and you have a solution too!
2. VPNs Can Offer You A Cheaper Vacation Deal
By leveraging currency conversion and point of sale, you can get the cheapest rate on your next vacation. Browsing in incognito mode is an old-school method and doesn’t work most of the time as the price of flight tickets, hotels and car rentals vary country or city-wise. Here is a good resource on how you can use the incognito mode in different browsers.
The trick here is to browse from a country or city where the prices are lower. For example, if the tickets to your desired travel location are cheaper when booked from an Estonian website rather than a UK website, simply pick a VPN server near or located in Estonia. As your IP address is hidden, the internet will treat you as an Estonian user.
3. Using VoIP Everywhere
In some countries, the government is trying to restrict peoples’ freedom of speech and the use of news as well as social media sites. Sometimes this extends to VoIP services and UAE is the prime example of restricting this service.
When this type of restriction is implied, you can only use state-owned services that are under direct supervision. Using a VPN can give you full freedom of speech as you are able to use VoIP service from everywhere.
4. Access To Home Network When You Are Away
We tend to save family photos, personal important documents, and large files on our home desktop or backup server. In order to gain access to these files, we usually have remote access set up which makes our data vulnerable to hacking. However, if you use a VPN service the internet connection will be encrypted and personal files will remain secure even if you work with remote access.
5. Access to University/Office Network Abroad
When you are out of the country accessing to university or work network/intranet may not be possible due to some kind of regulation. A VPN can rescue you from such scenarios as it allows remote working and learning.
Besides, using a VPN network also keeps you safe from third parties and cybercriminals who are trying to hack you and gain access to the office/university network.
6. Upload and Download Large Files Securely
There are many instances where P2P file sharing is a necessity such as
- Distributing open-source software
- Public domain videos
- Sharing large sets of data
However, ISPs are not very happy when you do these things because it consumes a lot of bandwidth. So, ISPs deliberately slow you down or simply restrict access to file-sharing websites. Even if your ISP allows you to do so, there are other users on the same network who might be spoofing on you.
When a VPN is turned on, you can use P2P file-sharing sites without any issues. At the same time, your activities will be secure from hackers online.
Final Thoughts
There are indeed many amazing uses of a VPN rather than just unblocking geo-restricted streaming service content. When you use VPN software you can save money on the vacation deal and can get access to the office or home networks securely from abroad.
