How VPNs are helping to protect online privacy

Post Summary: VPNs are increasingly important for protecting online privacy as more devices connect to the internet. They work by routing your data through servers in different locations, preventing websites and advertisers from collecting your browsing habits and personal information. VPNs can be installed on phones, tablets, and computers, giving users peace of mind that their data is protected from companies trying to gather it for profit.

Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) can be used for a variety of purposes. One area in which they excel is the protection of internet privacy, a growing concern among internet users and for very good reason.

As we continue to implement internet connectivity in a rapidly increasing number of household items and devices, our risk increases for our privacy being invaded and our data put at risk. A Virtual Private Network can be used to heighten security and protect your privacy whatever devices you use.

Privacy concerns arise again and again as we require internet connectivity in more of our daily routines.

This includes the items you order on Amazon and the websites you browse in your free time. It also includes location data from your commute to and from work. And don’t forget about the emails and messages you send to friends and family. All of this are areas of interest to third parties. This can be used to invade your privacy further.

As an example, we’re all getting used to seeing advertisements for items we may have clicked on when browsing Amazon, or even simply searched on Google.

This is targeted advertising, what has happened is your browsing habits and search terms have been linked to your user profile, this data is then put forward to companies which have a relation to the items you may have searched for and now the ads in your browser are tailored to those search habits in an effort to sell to someone who is more inclined to pay for the item.

Targeted advertising may be one of the more harmless examples of data collection and privacy concern

The fact remains that your data is being collected. Your data is being used in a way you may not have been aware of (or even agreed to). This is where Virtual Private Networks come in.

The addition of a VPN makes the transfer and collection of data in this sense, impossible to collect. A Virtual Private Network will act as a go-between from your computer to the destination website. This is done via a server located in a completely different location to where you are.

The data which would be collected from your home connection and your browsing behaviour is now taking place as far away as another country, as far as the website is concerned at least.

VPNs can be applied to almost any device you may own

This can be applied via apps for phones and tablets, to sites and programs for your home computer. The use of a VPN can give you peace of mind that companies which aim to gather this information for their own means will have a much harder time to do so, or not be able to at all.

As research from BestVPN.ie shows, 31% of VPN users use them for just that.In this sense, Virtual Private Networks are helping to protect online privacy in a way which has so far been impossible to do through other methods. For example social media users are aspirating VPN a lot as it gives them more security to share personal information or pictures. There is also a list of  recommendations for the best VPN according to Reddit users to use.

If you are not using a VPN yet, get NordVPN (one of the more reliable VPNs out there).

Watch this space for updates in the Technology category on Running Wolf’s Rant.

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