Do you want to protect your data by purchasing a VPN, but you don't know what the criteria are for purchasing one?
So let us guide you!
What is a VPN?
The Virtual Private Network or VPN, in IT means a private virtual network whose objective is to create a secure tunnel between two computers in order to protect their exchanges from other web traffic. VPN was first used within businesses to protect sensitive corporate data. Then, subsequently, the VPN was extended to teleworking and finally to any Internet user.
The VPN open to non-company internet users is a secure and encrypted virtual network between the user's computer and the provider server. The VPN could be compared to a kind of tunnel, allowing you to remain anonymous on the Internet.
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VPN and anonymity
Indeed, the VPN allows you to remain anonymous when you browse the net. How ? By using an IP address different from yours.
First of all, what is an IP address? It is an identification number that is assigned to a computer when it connects to a network. This number or registration number allows data to be exchanged on the Internet and the machines to communicate with each other.
What does VPN do? It's simple, it hides your public IP address and encrypts it through a secure tunnel. But in order to access the data, your VPN will highlight another IP address, that of a computer belonging to your service provider's network. Obviously, only your service provider knows your IP address.
VPN and security
If you're in a public place and need to use public Wi-Fi, it's best to do so with a VPN. In fact, you will have less risk of seeing your personal data leaked. When you use a public network, to carry out transactions or simply check your emails, be aware that all this data can be read by a malicious person if they use the same network.
Speaking of wifi network, discover our article: how to improve the wifi of your laptop
So, the encryption that a VPN offers helps protect your online activities. Allowing you to use your applications or surf the web anywhere and in complete security, as if you were on a private network.
What are the criteria to take in order to choose a VPN and best protect your data?
As you may have noticed, the best solution to preserve your online security on a public network is to offer yourself a VPN compatible with all media. Indeed, your future VPN must be compatible with both Android and iOS smartphones or tablets, as well as Windows PCs or Apple Macs.
However, these are not the only criteria for choosing your VPN. The latter must also meet the following criteria:
- Respect for confidentiality.
- Compliance with recent protocols
- Setting data limits
- Server location
- Configuring VPN access on multiple devices
- In case of VPN outage
The first of these criteria is confidentiality, in fact, it is important that the VPN provider you choose adopts a strict confidentiality policy with regard to your data. Because it is your service provider who will collect your data, it is therefore crucial for your security and anonymity that they do not record your data in order to resell them.
In addition, in order for the security that your future VPN should provide you to be the most robust, it must run the latest protocols. For what ? Because the protocols constitute the basis of VPN services with encryption standards. It is the combination of the two that allows you to have fast and secure access to the VPN. Right now, the most reliable and efficient protocol is OpenVPN
Next, you need to look at your VPN's data limits. Indeed, whatever use you make of the internet, it is important and necessary to have good bandwidth. The latter must be complete and without data limits so that you can download as many large files as you need.
Then, you will need to look at the location availability of the servers of your VPN providers. As it is up to you to decide the country in which your server will connect, you will need to ensure that your future VPN covers a large area of countries.
Also make sure that you can configure your VPN on several devices at the same time: smartphone, tablet, computer or Mac, etc.
Finally, it is important that you check the presence of the “kill switch” option so that it automatically activates a system to lock your connection in the event of a VPN failure. This option prevents your connection from passing through an unsecured network.
