“Surveillance is the business model of the internet,” this is what Berkman and Belfer (fellows at Harvard Kennedy School) have to say when it comes to online privacy.
Privacy protection in the United States is not as robust and efficient as in many other countries around the globe. It is not the protection laws alone that are too relaxed but also the internet users.
For the sake of the convenience of connecting to our smart devices and applications, we are always ready to compromise our privacy. We are now firm believers in convenience over privacy, and it is followed the same way in other regions.
This is so because there are some misguided and wrongly interpreted notions at work here. One of them is believing that government agencies, ISPs, advertisers, and marketers are just too powerful to be stopped.
Let me give you some good news; it is not the case thanks to VPNs!
Yes, a VPN is Trustable
Skeptical or not, users always have a question somewhere back in their mind about the reliability of a VPN, aka virtual private network. Well, if you are amongst such users, then don’t worry because VPNs can be trusted and here are some reasons why you should start trusting them as well:
Security
VPNs were initially built for businesses in mind, allowing them to conduct their online businesses or activities in a truly secure environment. VPN services use strong encryption algorithms that make the network traffic completely incomprehensible.
So, even if a hacker somehow manages to break into a network, they won’t be able to decipher the traffic being transmitted.
Anonymity
Encryption coupled with anonymous IPs (usually from different countries) give VPN users the ultimate means to make their online activities completely anonymous on the network or Internet.
When a user connects to a VPN, they can conceal their real IP by masking it with an IP from a different country. With the users’ connection anonymous and internet traffic encrypted, the user experiences truly secure and anonymous surfing, be it on PCs or mobile devices.
Security Purposes a VPN Serves
There are a lot of different security purposes that VPNs efficiently serve:
- Users can connect to their home or office networks in a secure manner
- Users can conduct safe and secure transactions whether they are using home or any other network
- Users don’t have to worry about the security of public Wi-Fis because VPNs keep their data encrypted and secure
- Users can rely completely on a VPN when it comes to exercising their rights to the freedom of speech online
- Users can keep their smart devices away from the clutches of hackers, snoopers, etc.
- Users can access any regionally restricted online content without exposing their real IPs
- Users can avoid data retention or illegal surveillance often conducted by government agencies
- You can prevent websites or applications from tracking your data
This is only the tip of the iceberg. VPN services have great potential and use cases, and yes, they are reliable enough to gain our trust.
How to Assess a VPN Service Provider
Although I do say that you can trust a VPN with your privacy protection, I should also say this out loud that not every VPN provider is trustworthy. However, there are some points that you should consider before buying a VPN service.
Refund Policy
You’re paying a good amount of money for a software. It is your right to be assured that your money is well-spent and safe. Therefore, make sure that the VPN service is offering you a refund policy which doesn’t include any hidden criteria. Read the refund policy of the service thoroughly to ensure it offers a no-questions-asked refund.
Privacy Policy
Since you are looking for a VPN service to reinforce your online privacy, it is better that you look at the privacy policy of the service itself. Read and check what type of information does the service ask and retain throughout its website such as name, email address, etc. Also, check out how the service uses the collected information.
No-log Policy
The privacy policy should also contain a clause regarding the VPN logging policy as well. Reliable VPN services never store or retain any logs or data at all. Therefore, always check the privacy policy thoroughly for zero-log or no-log clause.
Headquarter
VPN services promise to offer no-log policy and complete anonymity. For delivery upon their promises, they should operate from a country that doesn’t exercise any data retention laws, to begin with. For instance, PureVPN operates from Hong Kong, a country that doesn’t have any retention laws at all. This gives an added-edge to the company regarding trust and reliability.
Conclusion
Trust is an important factor when it comes to leaving the protection of your online privacy to a VPN service provider. Therefore, make sure that you scrutinize the service from every angle.
Last but not the least, if you are trusting a reliable VPN service, then you can just sit back and relax while the VPN keeps you and your Internet activities complete private.
Author Bio:
An experienced content writer and digital evangelist. Patrick J. Burt has been writing for more than 3 years on various writing platforms all across the internet. He is an avid contributor and a part of the entire digital marketing team. Find him on Twitter, Google+ and Facebook