So, let’s take a look at the most common misconceptions.

1.   VPNs are only for paranoid conspiracy theorists

Well, it is not paranoia if somebody is really after you. And judging by the state of the world today, if you do not live under a rock, there are people who will be more than happy to steal your personal or financial data to use for their own nefarious purposes. According to Javelin Strategy, year 2018 saw 14.4 million cases of identity fraud in the United States alone. The majority of its victims were not owners of big businesses or other kinds of people who would be intentionally targeted. Most of them were regular people who did not believe their personal information can be valuable for cybercriminals. A VPN does not give you a complete guarantee of security, but it greatly decreases the likelihood of your information getting into the wrong hands.

2.   VPNs provide complete anonymity

Using a VPN is a huge step towards online anonymity when compared to normal Internet use. However, do not believe those who say that this or that VPN can completely protect you. There is no such thing as complete anonymity on the Internet. It does not matter if you use multiple VPNs, or use VPNs with servers in the country out of reach of your nation’s judicial influence. If somebody really wants to track your activity, they will find a way to do so. The difference is in the amount of effort they will have to apply. Using a VPN means that absolute majority of those who may be interested in tracking you will not bother to do so, because there are many other, more accessible targets.

3.   Free VPNs are as good as paid ones

Many Internet users believe that they can both have their cake and eat it: that is, get all the anonymity benefits of using a VPN and avoiding paying for it. It is hard to even begin to describe how misguided this approach is.

There is no such thing as free lunch. If something is given to you for free, it means that you pay for it in some other, less obvious way. In case of free VPNs, it can be one or more of the following:

• The service sells your information to advertisers and other interested parties;
• It shows you ads and, again, collects your information.

In other words, if you use a free VPN, you completely defeat the purpose of using a VPN in the first place – at least if you do it for security reasons.

4.   VPNs are a fad that will disappear in a few years

Most people did not hear about VPNs until a few years ago. Many of them believe that they do not need to bother – online security is just a fad, and it will go away if you wait a little while. We lived without VPNs somehow, and will live without them again, right?

Unfortunately, this does not seem to be the case. Cybercrime is on the rise as never again, and with digital technologies becoming ever more entangled with our lives, its potential consequences get more dire with every passing year. As we get more dependent on the Internet, hackers get more organized and sophisticated – which means that regular users will have to learn new tricks as well. In all likelihood, VPNs will not go out of fashion but will gradually become a standard for everybody willing to feel safe online.

A VPN is not a panacea solving all your online privacy and security problems. But in most situations it is more than enough to provide enough protection to avoid most dangers that await you on the Internet. 

AUTHOR BIO

Melissa Burns is a marketing consultant, who occasionally also provides workshops for start-ups and small businesses. Melissa writes about technology, digital marketing, and business innovation with the single goal of sharing her 6 years’ experience with others.

The post Truth and Myth about VPN: You’d Better Know It before Using appeared first on BadFive.

The Internet has completely revolutionized the way we live. One can argue that it is the most important development of our history. It has connected the world in ways and places no one could previously have imagined. It has given people the ability to spread information and knowledge in extraordinary rates.

Using the internet has enabled creative and innovative individuals to build successful business from the ground up. Facebook, Google and Amazon are just a few examples of the giant companies that came from young entrepreneurs and small startups.

Without Net Neutrality, the free and open internet could become a thing of the past.

Net neutrality is a set of rules that protects the openness of the internet. It preserves our right to communicate freely online without any control from big companies like Comcast & Verizon. These companies are internet service providers (ISPs) that have spent years trying to end net neutrality. Year after year they desperately attempt to control the internet. The reason you need to care about this issue, is that these giant companies are coming closer every year to ending our free and open internet.

The ISPs want to pass a new set of rules that allows them to control what we see and do online. Without net neutrality, there won’t be anything to stop these companies from blocking or throttling the connection to the Internet in an attempt to make more money and acquire more control.

Their ultimate goal is to create “fast and slow” lanes on the internet. Websites that are able to pay more will be prioritized whereas smaller websites will be much slower. The realization of this prioritization scheme will destroy young entrepreneurs and startups. Without Net Neutrality, it will become almost impossible for fresh startups to flourish and become the new Facebook or Google. In addition, ISPs could acquire extraordinary amounts of power by slowing down their competitor’s content or by blocking political and economical opinions they disagree with.

The end end of Net Neutrality will be the end of the free and open internet.

Hopefully, you can now see why it’s vital everyone understands how important net neutrality is. If you want to help fight big corporations that try to kill net neutrality, you can do so by sharing this information with the world.

If you feel the need to assist even further you can visit www.battleforthenet.com for more information on the subject.

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