It stands to reason that marketing necessitates a business putting itself forward and making itself visible, and nowadays the chances are that business owners will use everything the internet has to offer to achieve that goal.
But the more visible a business becomes by sending marketing emails, by using social media and search engine optimization (SEO) the more likely that business is to attract the attention of hackers and internet baddies.
Using a virtual private network (VPN) online can allow your business to carry on with its regular activities while being protected from those bad guys, while adding some extra benefits into the bargain. But how does a VPN work, and what benefits does a typical VPN provider offer? In short, a VPN creates an intermediate, encrypted connection between whatever device an individual or business is using and the wider internet. To examine the benefits of the system, let’s take a quick look at the pitfalls that can occur if a person or business is not using a VPN, then see how the VPN circumvents those issues.
Data Throttling
If a user does not have a VPN, then their iPhone, Android or laptop connects directly via Wi-Fi or by ethernet cable to their office or home router, which in turn connects to their Internet Service Provider (ISP). The ISP then identifies the user’s desired website or online service and connects the device to it. Job done. But there are several things going on with this process behind the scenes that can limit the user’s access or indeed makes them easy targets for hackers and / or being monetized by the ISP themselves.
The first thing that most ISPs employ are known as ‘fair usage policies’ which determine how much data a household or business can consume as part of their contract. This tends to be written into the small print of the package that the customer has purchased from the ISP. If the customer goes over this limit, the data transfer speed is restricted to a crawl, so that no more significant data amounts can be consumed by that customer until the monthly anniversary of their contract comes around, then the usage ‘meter’ is reset.
But if a customer logs onto their ISP via a VPN, the ISP doesn’t know which customer is logged on, due to the anonymized encrypted connection. Therefore, the ISP can’t throttle the customer because they don’t know who the customer is nor where they are located.
Geo restrictions
One of the common complaints voiced by home ISP customers is the difficulty of using the internet when they go away on vacation or taking a business trip. Many websites and streaming services place geographically based restrictions on what can be accessed from outside certain regions and even continents. For example, UK residents on vacation in the US might want to catch up on a show streamed on the BBC’s iPlayer platform via their laptop, but unless the server accessing the content is based in the United Kingdom, the accessing server will be blocked. By using a VPN, a customer can simply decide which country they’d like to appear to be in, and the restrictions are removed within seconds. Many VPN providers have international server networks offering hundreds of locations around the planet.
Malware, spyware and ransomware
There are a host of things that internet baddies can do to a person’s device nowadays, often even if that device has the latest security and virus protection in place. One of the bad guys’ favorite tricks is to set up fake Wi-Fi hotspots in shopping malls and other public places, to fool internet users into thinking they’re logged on to the free public Wi-Fi network. But in reality, hackers can be sitting in a corner with a coffee, or just outside a shop in a vehicle, offering a Wi-Fi hotspot masquerading as a genuine one. In fact, the innocent shopper can be connected to the internet via a hacker’s intermediary connection, which can record keystrokes for passwords and credit card details.
Fortunately, if the user’s device has a VPN provider’s browser extension installed, the VPN will detect any malicious activity and instantly disconnect the device from the Wi-Fi and urge the user to find a new connection. The consequences of being hacked in this way can be serious. At best, someone making you look foolish by breaking into your social media and posting embarrassing content, at worst, threatening to send your entire hard drive contents to your boss or whatever unless you pay a significant ransom via cryptocurrency. And it’s not just computers and mobile devices at risk. Nowadays hackers can even steal your car by accessing certain codes from your phone!
Dynamic pricing
There is a theory, hotly denied by the alleged perpetrators of dynamic pricing, that some companies, especially airlines and accommodation & travel ticket resellers, charge a price based on what they think you can afford, down to the location of your device as you search. So if your IP address shows that you live in Beverly Hills, that hotel room you’re searching to book gets much more expensive than if your IP location places you in a trailer park on the outskirts of Detroit.
Whether that practice is used or not by certain sites, there’s no harm in being cautious. You only need to set your VPN to ‘mimic’ your location as Mexico to ensure that you aren’t overcharged for a hotel room or flight as you search.
In summary, there are a host of good reasons to use a VPN every time you access the internet, whether you’re running an e-commerce business or just checking your webmail. By the same token, there really aren’t any reasons not to use a VPN – so the couple of minutes to download a browser extension from a reputable provider is well worth the time spent.
Safe surfing, folks!
