Now more than ever, Internet users must take steps to control their online privacy and security. Phishing attacks and cyber-crime have become a reality for people all over the world.
Cyber-attack statistics by country cannot be ignored. Today, the USA is unquestionably the leading country in terms of the frequency of malware attacks. Their advanced economy forces savvy perpetrators to take control, monitor, and repeatedly harm the biggest corporations.
Individuals aren’t immune to these attacks either. Like big companies, individuals fall victim to all sorts of malware. The point is that hackers don’t care what website or computer they hack as long as they make money or propagate their virus to help infect more websites or computers. Any website vulnerability they find will help them exploit your site or personal information for their gain.
Users need to be constantly vigilant. Along with keeping trustworthy antivirus software installed on a home or mobile devices, individuals should actively protect their data in transit over public and private networks with a VPN.
However, while looking for a privacy solution, many cautious users find themselves wondering if they can trust any of the hundreds of VPN providers available. Sometimes consumers do not have the expertise to differentiate between a secure product and an insecure one. In this case, websites like bestvpnrating.com can help choose the best VPN service for the average consumer.
VPN services have already proven themselves as reliable software for anonymous and private browsing. They are able to hide the user’s IP addresses, making them invisible on the Internet. Neither attacker nor ISPs are able to trace a VPN customer on the Internet. Nevertheless, this is not the only benefit of a VPN. A trustworthy provider not only masks an IP address but encrypts sensitive data as well. Even if a hacker manages to gain the information, it is impossible for them to decrypt it.
The most powerful form of encoding today is AES 256-bit encryption – the same encryption used by the United States government. The number refers to the key length. It means a password cracker will require 1.1579209e+77 (2 to the 256th power) various combinations to access user data. Just to clarify, it is nearly impossible to crack even for the fastest computer in the world.
The market today offers a wide choice of VPN providers. However, some of them are far from being secure and reliable and cannot protect user data from cyber-criminals and ISPs alike.
Free VPNs can even sell users’ data to third parties, serve ads, or limit bandwidth, while paid trustworthy providers do not collect browsing activity, DNS queries, downloaded data, or IP addresses. It is crucial to read reviews of experienced users or computer security researchers before buying a VPN service.
It is also highly recommended to pay attention to the following factors while choosing a reliable VPN:
- how privacy and security are achieved
- the provider’s country/jurisdiction
- whether the provider keeps logs or not
- if prices are affordable
- customer support
Having a VPN on a smartphone is especially vital. There is a wealth of information transferred through mobile phones by millions of people every second. This data is extremely private: people transfer money, buy services, log into social networks accounts, and share photos with friends and family. It goes without saying how attractive such information is for scammers. Things can get even worse if people use public Wi-Fi to share private data. It is extremely important to install a VPN on a mobile device especially when using public Wi-Fi.
Once a VPN is set up, it can be easily optimized for even higher security. A VPN is able to encrypt traffic and hide data, preventing it from interception. However, a VPN provider cannot protect a device from malicious programs. For this reason, using a VPN together with antivirus software is an excellent way to protect your privacy and data.
Some customers prefer to set up a VPN on wireless routers to protect the entire home and all devices inside. However, it is not always a helpful boost to cybersecurity. In many cases, consumer-class routers do not have the processing power of a modern CPU. Meaning that it’s often better to use a VPN that supports several simultaneous connections per account and set it up for each device independently. It will allow a user to hide his information from an ISP that usually has a stake in tracking a user’s browsing history and streaming habits.
Have you ever thought about what happens if a VPN server goes down or disconnects while a user is surfing the internet? For maximum protection, a VPN provider should disconnect all internet activity with a Kill Switch to block data transfer until the VPN connection is restored or the user chooses to disconnect from the VPN provider.
Today every Internet user should be vigilant when protecting their privacy on the Internet. Our security needs will continue to change together as our devices mature. The benefit of using a VPN cannot be overestimated. It brings customers peace of mind while surfing the World Wide Web. It’s crucial to find a provider that will be able to protect users’ privacy and shield them from phishing attacks and malware websites.
About the author
Dainan Gilmore is an enthusiastic expert in cybersecurity and works as a data privacy advisor for bestvpnrating.com.