We all know it, but most times, we don’t care or think it will be okay. But the number of companies and criminals using our data is increasing.
Before going to bed, you lock your front door. You do that to avoid having uninvited guests in your home. And yet, your computer, tablet, and mobile phone are freely accessible on the internet. In many ways, it compares to an unlocked front door. It is an image of how relaxed most of us are with our digital and personal information
That’s why using a VPN is a great idea, to secure your devices and your privacy.
Read along and learn how to protect your data on the internet in a matter of minutes.
Here’s why you could be in danger
All devices that can be used to go online have a unique ID number, called an IP address, that can be used to track the device back to you. There’s almost nothing you can do online without your IP address being saved. For example this happens every time you visit a website, send an email or fill out a contact form.
The fact that your IP address is freely available is bad news for you in several ways. First of all, your internet provider and authorities can monitor your online activity through the traces left behind by the IP address.
Secondly, it can make you vulnerable to hackers and others with malicious intents. The otherwise innocent-looking numerical combination can serve as a direct back door to your entire digital life.
What is a VPN?
Easily and quickly, you protect your privacy with a VPN. When you connect your device to a VPN server, all traffic to and from the device is routed through it. This means that instead of your own IP address, it is the IP address of the VPN server that gets registered everywhere when you use the device.
The connection between your device and the VPN server is 100% secured to the latest security standards and if you use one of the VPN providers we recommend, you can be absolutely sure that nothing can be traced back to you.
That way you are both anonymous and secure on the web. No one can see which websites you have visited and no one can take advantage of the knowledge of the IP address.
Choose VPN carefully
To get full protection, you need to choose one of the VPN providers we recommend.
The reason for this is that the rules for how much information companies are required to store about the users varies from country to country. And, of course, VPN providers must comply with the laws of the country in which they operate.
But as we’ve explained above, the good thing about a VPN is that nobody else can monitor your doings. So it goes directly against its purpose if intelligence services and other authorities can demand that information about users or their use of the service be provided. US and UK authorities are among those who can easily obtain information. Scandinavia, too, doesn’t require much.
Therefore, we have paid great attention to what privacy laws the VPN services are subject to, in our review of VPN services. It simply doesn’t make sense to use a VPN to protect your privacy if information can be requested at their own discretion.
Our list of the world’s best VPNs is therefore topped by providers residing in countries where privacy is taken seriously.
The good countries
Many of the countries that best protect your privacy are often associated with banking secrets and tax avoision. These include countries like Panama (NordVPN) and British Virgin Islands (ExpressVPN)
But your information is also well-protected in Romania (CyberGhost).
