What Can I Do With a VPN? 10 Uses for Secure Browsing and More

You may know about VPNs (virtual private networks) for privacy while browsing the web, but if you’re new to them, you’ll be surprised by some of their unique features. VPNs can bypass regional restrictions on websites, prices, and even the bandwidth limits imposed by your Internet service provider

So, if you’re wondering, “What is a VPN for?” or “What can I use a VPN for?”, this article is for you!

10 Best Things You Can Do With a VPN

1. Access Geo-Blocked Content

The most popular reason why people use a VPN is to access geo-blocked content. Unfortunately, many VPN users fail to use this feature.

With your IP address hidden and your internet connection relayed through your VPN to a server in another country, you can access streaming services all over the world by using the VPN.

For example, even if you‘re in Mexico and you‘re curious to see how Netflix works in Thailand, you can configure your Internet connection to pass through a Thailand-based network and browse the web without difficulty. 

This also works in reverse. Let’s say you’re from Spain, you’re on holiday in Australia, and you really want to watch Telecinco.

2. Hide Your Location

One of the most basic functions of a VPN is hiding your location, and as you’ll see, this feature is key to many other interesting things you can do with it.

When you sign up with a VPN provider and download their app, you’ll probably see that you can choose from a wide list of servers located in different countries.

When you select one of them, your internet connection is redirected through a server in that country in a matter of seconds.

This not only routes your internet connection through that country or location but also makes it appear to websites that your connection is coming from there.

3. Avoid Intentional Bandwidth Limiting

Sometimes, your internet service provider ISP is actually deliberately throttling some traffic to certain targeted websites.

This is called bandwidth throttling. It is not automatically harmful, but it‘s a great objective of fair resource sharing among all that is achieved; it can be extremely frustrating when your internet connection is intentionally slowed.

The good news is that with a VPN, you can easily solve this annoying problem. Since VPNs make a secure, encrypted tunnel for your internet traffic, no one can track your online activities. Using a VPN may prevent your internet service provider from seeing the contents of your traffic and the specific websites you access.

As bandwidth limits can be applied to individual websites in some cases (and a VPN will prevent your ISP from knowing what sites you are visiting), this scenario means your ISP might be less capable of using website-specific throttling techniques.

4. Access Your Home, Work, or University Network From Anywhere

With so much important information stored on our home computers, many people prefer to set up a remote access tool that they can use to access their files and documents from anywhere.

However, if your connection is not secure when you access your files remotely, someone could easily intercept or steal your information.

To reduce this threat, use a VPN when remotely accessing your home computer. It will encrypt your connection, keeping your information secure as it moves between your home computer and your remote device.

This also works for accessing your work or university networks from abroad. Some universities and companies have security systems that prevent people from accessing their networks from outside the country.

To bypass these restrictions, simply use a VPN to give the impression that your device is still in your country.

5. Avoid Location-Based Pricing

This is one of the open secrets of the internet: depending on your location, you can expect higher prices on products that cost less elsewhere.

Why does it work? Well, one of the main functions of a VPN is to mask your device’s IP address. An IP address is somewhat similar to a physical address, as it provides information about your device’s physical location.

However, unlike a physical address, you can use a VPN to change the public IP address associated with your connection, making it appear as if your connection is coming from another part of the world.

Virtually all VPN providers will give you the option to choose which country you want to connect your device through.

6. Save Money on Plane Tickets, Hotels and Car Rentals

This way of saving money also works for larger purchases, such as airline tickets, hotel rooms, and car rentals.

Make sure you’ve cleared your browser’s cookies, then connect to a VPN through a country where you know prices are lower (you may need to research more to find this out, as it’s often related to currency values, which can fluctuate).

Once you’ve done your research, your VPN will take care of the rest, masking your IP address and giving the impression that you’re browsing the website from another country.

7. Watch Sports Broadcasts Online

Many people use a VPN to access live sports broadcasts. Many subscription sports services, such as ESPN, are only available in certain countries. This means that even if you have a subscription, you won’t be able to stream content if you travel outside of their service areas.

But using a VPN can help you avoid missing an important game while travelling. Simply activate the VPN, select your country (or the country where your streaming subscription is active) and prepare your snacks for game day.

8. Avoid Trackers and Stay Anonymous Online

Privacy is also one of the most common reasons for users to use a VPN. Nobody really enjoys the idea of someone following or being aware of what they are doing on the web, and a VPN can really help with this.

As long as you use a VPN every time you browse the internet, websites that use trackers to monitor your activity will generally see the VPN server’s IP address instead of your original public IP address. This also means they won’t be able to determine your location or internet service provider from your public IP address alone.

If you want to be anonymous all the time, you need to find a no-logs VPN; otherwise, being anonymous sometimes is fine. There are some VPN providers that do keep records on their customers.

9. Avoid Censorship

For various political and cultural reasons, the sad fact is that governments around the world censor publicly available information on the internet.

Using a VPN is one way to bypass some forms of internet censorship by masking your IP address and routing your traffic through a server in another country.

This can also make it harder (but not impossible) for governments, including those within the Five Eyes alliance, to associate some online activity with your direct IP address.

10. Make Public Wi-Fi More Secure

Despite the many improvements that have been made to security technology recently, using public Wi-Fi remains one of the riskiest actions in terms of cybersecurity.

This is because public networks can expose connected devices to various security risks, including attacks designed to steal information.

Hackers can even host “twin” fraudulent networks with the same name as the real network. These networks are essentially traps designed to steal your personal details.

However, a VPN would help secure your traffic in case you connect to a malicious Wi-Fi. It will not only hide your original IP address, but your online activity through the VPN will also be encrypted, making it difficult for a Wi-Fi attacker to monitor your traffic.

Summary

Although most people around the world use a VPN for two of the most common reasons—streaming geo-blocked content and protecting their privacy while browsing—there are many other great ways to use a VPN and interesting things you can do with one. You have many options, and exploring the ever-changing world of VPNs can be interesting and useful.

Also Read: Bluesnarfing: What It Is & How to Protect Your Devices