Is a VPN worth it?

Reasons you need a VPN

Protecting yourself on public Wi-Fi

People often connect to public networks in cafes, trains, airports, and other public places. These are the ideal hunting grounds for cybercriminals. A hacker can set up a fake hotspot, infect your device with malware, and steal your personal details in a matter of minutes.

To set the trap, they leave their network open, so anybody can connect without a password. They might even give the hotspot an innocent-sounding name, like “Cafe Wi-Fi”. Once you’re using their connection, they can intercept your emails, login credentials, credit card details, and other sensitive information.

How can a VPN help you? A VPN redirects your data through an encrypted tunnel, so nobody can see what you do online. If you’re unlucky enough to connect to a fake hotspot, all the hacker will be able to view is incomprehensible code.

Accessing blocked websites

Websites are often blocked based on your geographical location; this is particularly true in certain repressive regimes. However, lots of content is blocked because of licensing restrictions or other innocuous reasons.

With a VPN, you can easily circumvent such restrictions. Imagine you're online in Australia, but you want to view content that's only accessible to American users. Just connect to a US server, and you'll be able to browse as an American, with an IP address in the States.

How can a VPN help you? When you connect to a VPN, you acquire a new IP address. You might live in China, but with a VPN you can connect to a server in Germany and access content available to Germans. Are VPNs worth it? Definitely, as your new online identity allows you to access the internet with no restrictions.

NordVPN even has obfuscated servers designed to bypass heavy censorship and mask the fact that you’re using a VPN.

Improving your privacy

Wherever you go on the internet, you’re always followed by the prying eyes of your internet service provider (ISP), data brokers, and advertisers. They collect information about your browsing habits, the websites you visit, the devices you use, and even your individual search queries. How many times have you googled something and started receiving related ads soon afterwards?

There are dozens of companies specializing in building consumer profiles and selling this data to third-parties. If you don’t feel comfortable with the idea of somebody monitoring your behaviour, a VPN is the solution.

How can a VPN help you? Your online activities are directly linked to your IP address. Since your IP changes as soon as you jump on a VPN, nobody can snoop on your data and see what you do online. As for your ISP, they won’t be able to track your browsing history, because everything you do will be encrypted.

Avoiding bandwidth throttling

Sometimes you might not get the bandwidth you are paying for. Sudden speed drops, videos buffering, and endless downloads can ruin your online experience.

There are several reasons why your ISP might decide to throttle your bandwidth:

• Prioritizing alternative services.
• Avoiding “traffic jams” during peak hours.
• Restricting you from downloading or uploading large amounts of data, to maintain the speed of the overall network.

How can a VPN help you? With a VPN enabled, your ISP won’t know what you’re doing at any one time, so it can’t respond to your activity by throttling your bandwidth. You might be downloading large files and streaming live sporting events during internet peak times, but if your data’s encrypted, your ISP won’t know.

Enhancing your gaming experience

Online gaming is highly competitive, and some players would do anything to gain an advantage. In a DDoS attack, your network is flooded with traffic coming from multiple infected devices. This could slow down your internet connection, cause lag, and completely ruin your gaming experience.

Game developers have been also fighting against vicious players, as every DDoS attack can cause them revenue losses.

How can a VPN help you? DDoS attacks target your IP address, but if you change it, wrongdoers can’t do you any harm. You can connect to a NordVPN server, which will take the blow instead of your own network.

Is a VPN worth it? Getting a VPN for personal use or a business is a great way to enhance your online security and privacy. With cybercrime on the rise, it’s important to protect your digital life from criminals and snoopers. Otherwise, the consequences can be severe.

Are VPNs worth it?

The quick answer for this question is yes, VPNs are most certainly worth it. If you value your online privacy, a VPN, or virtual private network, is an essential tool. Encryption protects your data from hackers, ISPs, and other snoopers, so you can browse the internet with genuine privacy.

A VPN establishes a private network for your device by redirecting your online traffic through a VPN server. If someone tries to view your IP address while you’re connected to a VPN server, they’d only see the IP address of that server. The encrypted connection will also guarantee that anyone spying on your data (through unsecured Wi-Fi, for example) will only see scrambled, incomprehensible code.

NordVPN is one of the leading VPN options on the market. It has more than 5,200 servers in 60 countries, providing users with top-notch services. NordVPN protects your browsing sessions and offers rich features, making it good value for money.

How to get started with a VPN

Setting up NordVPN is simple and it takes only a few minutes to download the app and create an account. Is it worth getting a VPN for children or elderly people? Absolutely: you don’t need to be a tech expert to use a VPN, because it works like any other app.

Once you’ve downloaded it, you can encrypt your data and change your IP in the NordVPN app with one click. And with one account, you can support up to six different devices: smartphones, laptops, tablets, routers, Android TVs, and more.