In this era where we depend on technology for almost everything, the significance of a VPN is very important. To protect our online identity from hackers, it is pretty important to have a VPN service overlaid on our actual internet connection. Like anything, there are a lot of myths regarding VPN services circulating around for a while. Today we will analyze such VPN myths and find the truth behind them. Without further ado, let’s have a look at them.
1. A Free VPN is Enough
There are a lot of VPN services out there that provide a free VPN connection, especially on mobile devices. If you have ever used such an application that is free, you might have noticed that there are a lot of limitations on the applications such as the number of locations available. That’s not all. Many of these applications, even after connecting to a VPN server, don’t actually protect your Internet.
We are not saying that every free VPN out there is like this. But there are free VPN services that simply don’t work. If you search for something on Google and scroll down to the bottom where your current location is displayed, you can understand what I am saying. If you are using a good VPN service that actually does what it promises, you will see some location that is not yours. Are you still seeing your exact location even after connecting to a VPN service? If so, it is probably a good time to move away to another service, since yours is fake.
So while choosing a VPN service, if they are available for free of cost, make sure that you are really protected. A premium VPN service will have hundreds of locations available and distributed all over the globe. While a free VPN service will provide a few busy servers to which all people who signed up for the free service are connected to. They also sell your data to third parties in most cases. Thus, if you can afford a premium VPN service, it is always a better option to choose it over a free service.
2. Using a VPN Decreases the Internet Speed
Even though this statement is correct, the impact of a good VPN service on your actual connection is insignificant. As we mentioned in the previous section, if you sign up for a free VPN service where hundreds of users are simultaneously connected to one VPN server, you might actually see a drop in your internet speed. But if you are using a premium VPN service that has several servers all over the globe, there will be a limit to how many people can be connected to a single server at once.
This will ensure that the server can manage all the traffic coming into it. Thus, your actual Internet connection speed will remain untouched. Based on your location and the connection, you may experience a slight reduction in the speed. That is acceptable considering that the connection has to go through the VPN server to protect you. Additionally, your Internet Service Provider (ISP) may be throttling your speed, and VPN will stop that.
3. VPN is for Tech-Savvy Users Only
It is true that someone related to technology will spend more time on the Internet than a regular person. But these services are not specifically made for a tech guru, which our advantages and disadvantages of VPN prove. The whole idea of the VPN is to protect online activities by encrypting the connection between your device and the origin server that you are interacting with. Thus, a VPN service is not for a specific kind of people. There won’t be any problems if you do not use a VPN. But using one will definitely improve the security of your files and interactions online.
You do not have to be a tech expert to use VPN. Most VPN services come with a user-friendly interface with a simple button to connect to any location provided. All you have to do is select the preferred location that you want to connect to and press the connect button. As soon as you press it, your connection will be protected by the VPN server that you connect to. Read our article on why you should use a VPN to understand more.
4. VPN is the Ultimate Protection
If you think that using a VPN is enough to protect your online identity and secure your device completely, that false. There is no tool invented yet that can provide you 10)% security from anything. That being said, a good VPN makes it extremely hard for a hacker or anyone who tries to steal your information to get into your network. Using a VPN service combined with the recommended tools such as antivirus software or Internet security will prevent most security threats. A VPN is an excellent tool for online security, but it is not the ultimate solution for everything.
5. VPNs and Proxies are the Same
One of the common misconceptions is that VPNs and proxies are identical. They are completely different things. A proxy will only hide your IP address and will not encrypt any of your data. On the other hand, a VPN service will not only hide your real IP address but will also make sure that all your data is encrypted. Apart from that, using free proxy services is probably a bad idea as most of these free proxies are controlled by someone. So as soon as you connect to those free proxy services, they can do a lot of damage if they really want to. Do not confuse these two terms.
6. Using a VPN is Illegal
As long as you’re not using VPN services for any illegal activities that are banned in your country, or any other shady stuff, you are good to go. Unless the use of a VPN is specifically forbidden by the law like in China, the use of a VPN is not illegal. Do a Google search regarding the VPN laws in your country, and you will find an answer. VPN is something created to protect the Internet connection of the user. Therefore, using it for what it was intended to use for won’t cause any problems.
7. VPN Doesn’t Log Anything
Most VPN services including the popular names in the industry keep a log of your information. Even though they are advertised as no-log VPN services, they still store your information for a specific period, or at least “they can if they want to.” Those with a good reputation use that minimal information to prevent abuse of their services and improve product quality.
However, not every VPN provider is honest. There have been reports that the VPN services are logging your activities including your browsing history, cookies, and other things while you are connected. Making use of a good VPN service might help you to avoid such privacy issues. But still, be aware that some services may choose to abuse your trust and try to upsell you or sell your data to third parties.
8. I Don’t Need a VPN When Using Antivirus
Antivirus is a great tool to protect your machine from malicious software, pirated products, and other types of malware. It has a pop-up that warns you if the software is already on your device or is trying to get into it. VPN works differently and is best used in unison with an antivirus, not in place of one. Therefore, you still need a VPN to hide your digital footprint and protect your privacy. While it won’t protect against the spread of malware, a high-quality VPN may prevent hackers from learning your identity and accessing important information.
9. VPN is Unnecessary if I Use Tor
It’s undeniable that TOR (The Onion Router) started the push for online security and remains a valuable free alternative. However, a VPN is superior in many ways. First, you must use a special browser, which requires you to swear off scrips, extensions, bookmarks, accounts, and many other useful things. Second, while Tor uses random nodes to bounce your traffic, those are still volunteer-based and run the risk of baiting traffic and using it against you. Finally, Tor is slow, meaning you likely won’t have a great experience streaming high-definition video, and sometimes not even browsing.
VPN encrypts your traffic, connects you to reliable servers with safe IP addresses, and ensures that your speed is almost unaffected. You do not have to rely on a browser since the entire network is protected, plus, if they use a kill switch, your privacy is not at risk should the connection fail. There are many other features, such as an ad, tracker, malware blocking, and a bigger choice of servers to avoid censorship and geo-blocking.