When browsing the Internet, it’s essential to be secure. Most people live under the illusion that they are protected because their computers or accounts are password protected. Their ignorance is the furthest thing from bliss.
Today, almost all our information is stored on a cloud account or a hard drive. Information breaches resulting in theft, identity theft, and credit card fraud occur more than ever. With data leaks and network monitoring on public wifi servers, you will never truly keep your information safe unless you have the right services and devices to ensure browsing security. Having the right Virtual Private Network or VPN service is essential for everyone that uses the internet. If you work online or want to use the internet for daily activities, like reading the paper or shopping, you should get protected and keep your data safe.
A VPN ensures that your data and web searches are private on shared networks; they also allow you to search or use websites that may be banned in certain countries or Canada. For example, if you’d like to access sites such as Facebook or North American-based search engines while travelling in Asia or parts of the Middle East such as Iran, you will need a VPN to circumvent the blockades of these websites. This feature may seem trivial, but as the Canadian government ramps up online censorship efforts back home with bills like C-11, your online freedoms will depend on your ability to circumvent government internet blockades.
Get Surfshark; it’s a VPN service with a proven track record of being able to help you browse freely online. It is an authoritarian’s enemy and the free internet user’s friend. With small news websites, such as this one, being increasingly targeted by censors and deemed fake news or unreliable media, using a VPN is a way to ensure that you’re not tracked for what you are reading.
In addition, when travelling or even when at home, a VPN will block your IP address by providing a false one, so when you download something or post an opinion, snoopers, government agencies, add agencies, and internet service providers will not be able to track you.
You might not think this is a big deal, but have you ever googled something and found ads for a bunch of similar products or services afterward? Even if you’re not worried, your government is watching and recording, and so is big business. The internet has quietly become more intrusive.
VPNs can offer practical help in gaining information and even streaming entertainment. Do you ever feel like watching something but can’t find it on Netflix? A VPN will allow you to change regions to watch that movie or show you can’t find on Canadian domain-based services.
This useful tool doesn’t just allow you to watch Seinfeld on your desired platform. Certain countries have strict speech restrictions on sites like YouTube that limit the videos you can view. If you’ve ever had “this video is not viewable in your region” pop on your screen, it is based on your region’s government rules or copyright laws. A VPN will allow you to circumvent these blockers to watch what you want when you want, where you want.
A VPN is a no-brainer in today’s increasingly web-based leisure and work environment. Take the proper precautions, so you don’t end up blocked from reading non-mainstream media, even tracked based on what you read.
Photo: iStock
