In recent years, you must have noticed a huge explosion in the popularity of VPN services. Many YouTubers and other online influencers often advertise services for the private network. However, many do not even notice, but spread a lot of misinformation and myths about VPNs.
You have probably heard that a VPN can protect you from virtually all online dangers. You may also have heard that the VPN service always keeps you anonymous online and allows you to open all blocked content on the network. What if we tell you it’s not true? Or maybe partially true. Let’s find it out!
This article will tell you the truth about the craziest theories and debunk Internet myths related to VPNs. Read the article to the end and discover new knowledge about Virtual Private Network.
VPNs Are Illegal
You may have heard that VPNs are illegal. But is this true? The short answer is: it depends. The truth about VPNs is more complicated than you can think.
The legality of VPNs varies from country to country. In some countries, such as China and Russia, government censors heavily restrict VPNs and frequently block them. In other countries, such as the United States, there are no laws prohibiting VPN use. However, some activities would be illegal regardless of whether you use a VPN or not, like downloading copyrighted material or committing fraud.
So, what is the true countries’ attitude to VPNs? As we mentioned before, the legality of VPNs varies from country to country. Generally, countries can be divided into three categories regarding their attitude towards VPNs: those that ban and restrict their use and those with no laws against them.
Countries that ban outright:
- China
- Iraq
- North Korea
- Russia
- United Arab Emirates
- Belarus
- Iran
- Oman
As you can see, the truth about countries where freedom of speech is the least available is simple: they block VPN services. This is because propaganda operates within such countries, and they can’t allow dissent in this case.
Other countries have no laws against VPNs.
I Don’t Need a VPN Because I Don’t Do Anything Illegal
Another crazy VPN fact concerns how people treat VPNs. There are certain groups of people for whom VPN is a necessity. This includes the following.
| Journalists | They need a VPN to protect their data and identity. |
| Citizens of an authoritarian country | They need a VPN to access free media and fair news worldwide. |
| Hackers and other computer specialists | Those people use a VPN so that anybody cannot track their activities on the network. |
However, what about other people? Does the dentist on the next street need a VPN? And that McDonald’s worker? The true answer is simple – everyone needs a VPN. Even if you have nothing to hide from the government, even if you are not doing anything wrong online, you still need a VPN service for your devices.
A private network helps protect your data and encrypts it through its protocols. This is great for helping the user avoid potential threats, hacking, sudden ruin, or a loan you did not take. So, whenever you make an online purchase, log into your banking app (yes, we know it’s secure, but double security is better), or send your photo to a friend or a confidential email, you might be completely secure.
The truth about VPN is that it will help you stay protected while dealing with particularly sensitive data. As a result, you can stay safe, your real IP will be secure, and your money and data will always stay with you.
VPNs Make You Completely Anonymous
This is the most common debunked Internet myth about VPNs. While it is true that a VPN can make it much harder for someone to track your online activities, it is important to remember that nothing is 100% secure. Your ISP will still be able to see that you are using a VPN, and they will still have some online activity logs.
Additionally, if you are using a free VPN, the provider may sell your data to third-party advertisers.
A VPN service will not be able to protect you from what you click on while you are online. If you follow a malicious link and download a malicious file to your device, the VPN service will not be able to help you solve this problem. In this case, the problem is Internet literacy, not VPN.
Also, VPN is not able to protect you from social engineering. Social engineering is an approach in which scammers exploit vulnerabilities not in the system but in you. This includes psychological tricks and approaches with which attackers break into your trust and use you to obtain the necessary information. In this case, VPN is powerless.
A VPN Slows Down Your Internet Connection
This myth about VPN is partially true. Yes, many VPNs can slow down your Internet connection, but the Internet slows down very slightly, and this will not affect the experience of using the network in any way. At the same time, those services can significantly reduce your connection speed. However, this is more an exception than a rule.
To fix this, you just need to choose a service for your specific tasks and choose a tariff plan. The Internet connection will also depend on the load on your server. In this case, reconnect to another server, and your connection speed will increase.
In addition, you can easily fix the problem with slow Internet if you connect to the server from your country or the country closest to yours.
In conclusion, it is not the true fact that all VPNs slow down your Internet. However, to say that VPNs increase your speed or do not slow it down would also be unfair.
VPNs Don’t Collect Data
Another unpleasant fact is that many people think that their actions remain completely invisible if they use a VPN service. However, this only happens sometimes. Some VPN services may maintain a policy of storing connection logs, by which you can find out from where and who connected using VPN tools.
If the company that provides services to you is compromised, you will not be able to protect or delete the data that it has stored.
The solution to this problem will be to find a VPN service that provides a no-logs policy. Such platforms will not store your sensitive data, and nobody can affect user’s data in case of a company hack.
Free VPNs Are Just as Good as Paid VPNs
Many Internet users believe that free VPNs are no different from paid ones, which means there is no reason to pay for services. Unfortunately, it is not a true fact about VPNs. First, you should always remember that the goal of any business is to make money. The VPN industry is no exception. Companies that offer VPN services for a subscription are often ready to listen to their customers and ignore offers from advertisers since the main cash flow comes from users. While free services do not receive money for subscriptions – advertising becomes the primary source of income.
Here, unfortunately, the whole negative essence of free services is revealed. To earn money, a free VPN can:
- Track your traffic to sell ads.
- Sell your data to third parties.
- Sell client bandwidth to hackers to deliver viruses.
In the end, what do you get? You don’t pay for the service, but you don’t get the right level of protection, (if you get any protection at all) your data is sold, and your device doesn’t work properly. With free VPN services, fast battery drain and phone slowdown becomes not a myth but a reality.
VPNs Can Get Me Past Regional Restrictions
This fact about VPN is also partially true and a myth at the same time. So, many streaming services install special software that can detect the use of VPN and block access for such connections. In this case, you don’t need to trust the VPN service that it will provide you with access to all kinds of Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon libraries worldwide. Before buying a subscription to a VPN service, you should read the reviews of real users on the Internet, watch reviews on YouTube, and also use trial versions of paid VPNs. So you can not lose your money but already evaluate the service.
This fact about VPN mainly concerns streaming platforms and games. Web sites can’t detect the presence of VPNs. Therefore, if you are not a gamer and not a fan of watching TV shows, you can ignore abovementioned criteria when choosing a VPN.
Conclusion
There you have it – the truth about some of the most well-known VPN myths. We hope that this article has helped to clear up any misconceptions you may have had about VPNs and that you now have a better understanding of how they work and their benefits.
Remember that many myths about VPNs are created artificially by opponents of modern technology. Such people often engage in substitution of concepts to ban virtual networks in the country. This is most often inherent in countries of an authoritarian system, which are engaged in enhanced propaganda, but do not allow the truth to their territory.
Always read real reviews from people, look at different sources of information and do not fall for the bait of spreading false information.
FAQs:
Is using a VPN suspicious?
The answer to this question depends on who you ask. Some people believe that using a VPN is suspicious because some people can use it to hide illegal activity. Others think there is nothing wrong with using a VPN and that it is a usual and legal way to browse the Internet.
When should you use a VPN?
There are some situations when you should use a VPN. For example, if you are trying to access a website blocked in your country, using a VPN may work. Additionally, if you are trying to access a website that requires a login, such as your bank account, using a VPN may also help.
Is it OK to leave a VPN on all the time?
Yes, it is perfectly fine to always leave your VPN on. Many people choose to do this always to be protected when they are online. But this is not necessary, since VPN can load the system and consume more charge.
What is a kill switch VPN?
A kill switch VPN is a type of VPN that will automatically disconnect you from the Internet if your VPN connection drops. This is done to prevent your IP address from being exposed.
