For decades now, cybersecurity has been top of mind in the tech sphere. Experts have spent billions of dollars on creating security software, both for consumers and governments. Even the average user has had no choice but to be aware of the potential for cyberattacks on themselves and their countries.
This is why it is understandable that tech sites have been begging readers to use the best VPN services. A VPN is the first line of defense against cyberattacks. Without it, you are extremely vulnerable. It is like leaving your house with the door wide open, except that the risks are not limited to your neighborhood and it doesn’t matter whether you’re home or not.
If you haven’t been using a VPN, those same old arguments are not going to sway you. However, 2020 has been such a crazy year that it has given us a number of brand new reasons to use a VPN.
Take into account the following, and then go find the best VPN at www.VPNPros.com.
Local government control
In 2020, we’ve been flooded by a wave of ridiculous conspiracy theories. 5G supposedly spreads the coronavirus. Vaccines are being developed solely to chip us with tracking devices (even though we already carry tracking devices with us voluntarily). Lockdowns and stay-at-home orders, as well as masks, are just a way for the government to take control.
Ironically, these theories misdirect people from the real threat of government control. In the US – supposedly the bastion of freedom – the FBI has been using facial recognition and other surveillance techniques to target lawful protestors. Curfews are being imposed by armed officers on minority communities. Misinformation is being spread by the government, to serve their own purposes. And there’s no longer any pretense surrounding the fact that the NSA tracks citizens’ data.
Lockdowns around the world are scary, as they could be misused. But while they may be necessary for now, the true control, if it comes, will be wielded at a data level. A VPN is more important than ever, if only to protect you from potential misuse of power by your own government.
Foreign governments
Of course, local governments have shifted the focus to foreign governments. TikTok has been particularly targeted. As a Chinese corporation, fears are that the government will willfully take and misuse people’s data around the world. A ban has been imposed in India, and floated in the US.
While your own government might track your data with the intention of protecting you (or at least under the pretense of security), foregin government tracking cannot be seen as anything but malicious.
This does not mean you need to immediately delete any apps from foreign countries. However, you should always be using a VPN to encrypt your data so that it won’t get into the hands of potential foreign security threats.
Misinformation
There is so much misinformation going around these days that, even for the discerning reader, it can be hard to differentiate fact from fiction. Added to this is the reality that nowadays we only see content that fits a simplified profile of us. If you hold liberal views, you will only see liberal content, and vice versa. Your perception of the world gets narrower, until it is uncomfortable just to hear differing opinions.
A VPN can help you break out of this mold. You can browse the internet as an anonymous purveyor, seeing what someone from another country or another political party might see. It is more important than ever to open yourself up to ideas different from your own. Without a VPN, you are destined to stay inside an echo chamber.
