By now, pretty much everyone and their grandmother knows what a VPN is, and they need no real introduction. But knowing what something is and wondering whether they should invest in it are two entirely. If you’re an avid traveler or are considering spending a bit of your time and money exploring the world, you might just discover that a VPN is well worth the often pretty affordable price.
Bypassing Geo-Restrictions
While the latter two headings in this post are take it or leave it sort of benefits for the average traveler, this initial point certainly isn’t. When you travel abroad, you will soon find that many of the subscriptions that you pay a not insignificant amount each month to use simply stop working or show you localized content that you may or may not be interested in.
So if you want to ensure that you’re able to continue that season of Bridgerton that you’ve been saving up to cover your viewing needs while in a different country, you might want to choose a Youtube VPN and those that work with the likes of Netflix et al.
The usual issue that you may encounter is that many of the larger streamers have blocked various VPNs from being able to use their service when switched on (for various tedious legal reasons). So it’s a good idea to double-check that the VPN you have your eye on hasn’t caught the ire of the bigger platforms.
Ironclad Security On Public Wi-Fi
When on the move, money tends to be the biggest issue blocking the ability of travelers to continue their exploration of themselves and the natural world around them. Fortunately, using digital methods to send and receive money has become so prevalent that almost all countries around the world will accept some form of online payment. But what about if you need to check that you’ve enough funds in your account before choosing your next stop?
Well, this is obviously as simple as logging into your online bank and seeing what’s left. The downside to this ease of use is that you’re open to a gamut of hacks and attacks that could see your bank account or other private accounts emptied or hacked in some way. How? Well, most people opt to use public wifi to access these accounts, but these are also the most prolific ways for a local ne’er-do-well to seriously ruin your trip. A VPN obscures your account and online activities, making it almost impossible to become the victim of something like a man-in-the-middle attack.
Evading Censorship In Restricted Destinations
While you might not be overly concerned about online censorship if you aren’t staying in a country for too long, you’d better believe that if you do something online that attracts the attention of said country, you could end up spending a long time discussing why, and then finding yourself kicked out, a newly minted persona non grata.
As per the previous section, using a VPN hides your activities, giving you a little more peace of mind. To be 100% certain, though, never assume that you’ll be completely hidden, and the act of using a VPN might be illegal in and of itself…so always double-check.
A VPN isn’t quite the catch-all security device that many online might make it out to be, but they are an indispensable tool for the average traveler to stay safe. Doing a bit of entail research will also help you to end up with an account that works for your specific needs.