VPN (Virtual Private Network is an excellent technology that will protect data from being intercepted by a third party as it travels on the Internet. Changing your location will allow you to bypass online censorship, use torrents safely, and avoid high prices in some areas.
Many people are working remotely because of the pandemic. Many are concerned about hackers getting their sensitive information when moving it from one location to another. VPN is the best alternative for connecting to the internet using an encrypted tunnel to ensure your confidentiality and protect your data.
We are going to delve into some information about VPNs, how they work, how you are protected, and how to choose a good VPN service. VPN for windows or Mac, you will be completely protected.
The Technology Behind VPNs
When you have a VPN on your device, web traffic is sent to an encrypted tunnel. Most VPN services use symmetric AES-256 encryption for tunneling. In turn, users’ online activities and their actual IP addresses are hidden from prying eyes. Your encrypted data ricochets between the device and the internet ensuring invisibility. Governments and malicious hackers will be out of luck!
VPN History
PPTP or Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol was developed by Microsoft and debuted in 1996. Originally, it was only available to large enterprises for internal use. Consumer VPNs started to appear during the second half of the 2000s.
Today, the market for VPN services is extremely competitive and continues to expand. New services are offering a higher quality of services with additional perks including increased data transfer rates when downloading and streaming.
In 2017, one-quarter of users chose VPN. By the end of 2021, every third user was protecting their online activities through a VPN. According to Statista, the VPN market grew by $4.5 billion in 2021 in comparison to $2.5 billion in the previous years. Statista is a German company that specializes in market and consumer data.
Statistics
Due to COVID-19, lockdowns, social distancing, and teleworking rose internationally. Many people spent time online using a VPN service. More than half of all customers are using a VPN connection at least once a month. Approximately 42% of these users are male and 37 years of age or younger. According to GlobalWebIndex, 25% of VPN users are between 38 and 55 while only 16% are over 55.
Most people using VPNs said they want to protect their privacy. Surprisingly, secure access to a work network only came in at fifth place on the following list of reasons for using a VPN:
- Protecting privacy when using public Wi-Fi – 51%.
- Anonymous web surfing – 44%.
- Secure communication – 37%.
- Accessing blocked sites – 23%.
- Accessing work resources – 22%.
- Hiding activities online from the government – 21%.
- Accessing censored content – 18%.
- Discounts when shopping online – 18%.
- Accessing Tor browser – 14%.
Active people using VPN on their mobile devices came in at 64% while 14% use their desktop computers.
ExpressVPN has the highest server counts in the entire world. Today, there are more than 3,000 servers in 94 countries. Next in line is CyberGhost with servers in 91 countries and PIA (Private Internet Access) in 78 countries.
According to Statista, due to the pandemic, Italy showed a spike growth of 160% with the U.S coming in at second place with 124%. Countries that were hit the hardest by the pandemic showed sharp increases in VPN use in 2021 over 2020. Google searches for VPN doubled in 2020 when the first major wave of COVID-19 struck.
Other stats show that 29% of companies used a VPN for the first time during the pandemic. Companies were trying to outdo each other by getting a VPN because almost a third of these companies discovered they were in a strange environment.
IPVanish was considered one of the most reliable VPN services but misled users by claiming to be committed to a strict no-log policy. In 2016, under a court order, they put together logs of perpetrators’ online activities. Further investigation showed they kept a record of users’ activities which undermines privacy.
Many free VPN services were free VPN but ended up being sold online because of scandals. It showed that even the most reliable services should not be trusted completely.
The competition between VPN services will continue to rise after reports revealed that by 2027, the market will be worth over $92 billion!
Reasons For Using VPN Connection
Wi-Fi Security –
When you are online in public places, you can become a victim of cyber-attacks. Unwanted people can track your activities but VPN will encrypt all web traffic.
Privacy –
ISPs can see all users on local networks and collect data about them. A VPN connection will increase your privacy through encryption. This is especially true with SEO services. Your competitors will go out of their way to keep you down. Therefore, you must hide your movements when visiting their sites.
Secure Online Payments –
Think about it, if you don’t have a VPN, your money transfers, and personal information such as your name and account number can be intercepted by hackers. They can grab your identity and your money. A VPN will keep your activities secure and safe.
Access Content Anywhere –
A VPN replaces the external IP address with the IP address of a chosen server, you can get around most location-based restrictions.
Remote Work Security –
VPN traffic is encrypted, making data inaccessible to third parties.
Single & Clear Interface –
Developers make interfaces more intuitive meaning a user without technical skills can increase their online privacy quite easily whether you run on VPN for windows or Mac.
Cross-Platform –
A good VPN service offers apps for the latest devices and platforms. You can have an account with the same features as a desktop, mobile, or other devices.
Choosing A VPN
Some services offer a free trial so you can check them out before making a decision. Also, you can see what VPN services they provide:
- Server locations
- Speed
- DNS/WebRTC
- Encryption
- Security Policies
- Company Headquarters
- Device Compatibility
- Offer a Kill Switch
- Streaming & Torrents
- Dynamic IP Address
- Cost
The VPN market is continually growing dramatically. Searching for the best VPN service should protect you from unwanted eyes including ISPs or cybercriminals. A VPN connection will allow you to visit sites that are blocked or access restricted content. Keep in mind, the connection speed will go down slightly when the VPN is activated but the user’s security will increase.
