VPN Uses | Project X VPNs

While many companies have long used a virtual private network connection to encrypt sensitive data traffic between employees, VPNs can also be used when surfing the Internet at home. In fact, there are several advantages to finding a VPN service and using it from a home connection.

Access Content Restricted by Copyright Protections

Copyright restrictions can seem mysterious. It’s annoying to search for a scene from a film or music video on YouTube or DailyMotion only to have the website return the message “This content has been blocked in your country by copyright.”

A VPN connection hides your real, geographically-based IP address and replaces it with one in an address block outside your country. This new address allows you to view blocked content.

Ensure Your Privacy When Using a Search Engine

Most commercial search engines such as Bing or Google routinely log the contents of web search traffic. While it is possible to opt out of some of it, these companies monetize this information by recording not just search terms but the IP address from which they originate. A VPN connection not only masks your IP address, but a VPN also encrypts all of your web surfing.

Keep your VoIP Chats Confidential

Many users are aware of the necessity of encrypting texts and emails. It is no less critical to secure conversations or video chats conducted over the Voice over Internet Protocol via Skype and other services.

Everyone has had a conversation or video chat so private that they kept them from other members of their household. Now, imagine a hacker eavesdropping on this same conversation! Sending your VoIP connection over a VPN ensures that your privacy will be kept intact end-to-end.

Secure your Data Transfers to the Cloud

Online cloud storage solutions offer backup solutions that enable you to access your sensitive data anywhere. While online storage companies have made strides in securing your information when it arrives on their servers, it is still accessible in transit over an unsecured Wi-Fi connection. As long as your VPN speed is acceptable, it offers another layer of security for the end user and hides your uploads and downloads from prying eyes.

Enable Online Security and Privacy Everyday

The above is a list of the more noteworthy uses for a VPN connection, and there are even more. You may want your online communications with your banking institution to be kept secure. Or, perhaps, you may wish to message a friend or loved one without the fear of these text messages being intercepted. A VPN can even save you money. It protects your online anonymity whether you are browsing, chatting, or consuming media.

No one should feel as if their web activity is an open secret or commodity for sale to the highest bidder. Users have a fundamental right to online privacy. VPNs offer that peace-of-mind.

The internet has undoubtedly made life cheaper. Retailers like Amazon can deliver goods for less money, sometimes within only a few hours. Competition for airline and hotel room pricing has led to a number of different online travel agencies. And, perhaps most relieving, late return fees are now a thing of the past due to services like Netflix and Hulu permanently destroying the video rental segment.

But there is still more considerable savings to be had! For many people, using a virtual personal network (VPN) allows them the chance to save even more money. This opportunity happens because different companies price their services differently across markets. Some also choose to make completely different packages of content available across international borders.

There is a word of warning, however. Some companies do track your purchases and get suspicious if you use VPN. That said, there are several ways to counteract those measures, depending on the VPN you ultimately choose.

Saving Money on Tangible Goods

One of the significant advantages of the internet is that it has leveled the playing field for pricing domestically. However, that is not the case across borders. That is where a VPN can help.

By letting you search for a particular good with an IP address that appears to be in a different country, you get to see the local prices for that good or service. This often leads to saving significant amounts of money.

How much money? Many sites run region-specific flash sales, often with savings of at least 70%. By using a VPN, you can gain easier access to these deals and take advantage of the decreased prices. From golf clubs to furniture, anything available online can be purchased at a saving.

Saving Money on Intangible Goods

It might make sense from a business point of view to set different prices across borders for tangible goods. But, many companies charge different amounts for apps too. On some level, this makes sense and avoids constantly calculating exchange rates. However, often those prices are unfairly set in a way which discriminates against consumers in a given country.

A VPN can help by going around those barriers. Anyone anywhere can purchase apps, content, or anything else online for the lowest price possible. Best of all, because apps and content do not require shipping, there is no increase in shipping prices as a result of buying them from outside of one’s home country.

Flights and Hotel Rooms

While the internet has made the world feel like a smaller place, it is still quite expensive to get around. This fact is especially true when it involves flights or hotel rooms. The economics of flight and hotel room pricing go far beyond merely wanting to address fluctuations of exchange rates.

For a variety of marketing reasons, companies like to set prices to be more affordable for those in different countries. For example, a flight with a South American carrier is often available for less when using a VPN from that airline’s home country than the United States or Europe.

Hotels are quite similar. And, due to the more open economics regarding the pricing of hotel rooms, the savings can be even more drastic. While saving 5-10% on a flight using a VPN is worth celebrating, savings of more than 20% can happen with a hotel room.

Getting Access to More without Paying More

Finally, in many cases, a VPN can allow you to access a completely different version of a particular good or service without having to pay more. For example, Netflix famously has different content libraries across various borders. A VPN can let subscribers get access to shows that they would otherwise have to purchase or rent.

The same is true of using a VPN to access other content, even on YouTube. Producers like to limit their content to a specific geographic region. With a virtual private network, you can access it without additional cost, and often with less trouble than other methods.

As long as you are spending money online, chances are a VPN could help you save a considerable amount of money. It can also get you more from services for which you are already paying. Remember, of course, to do proper research first. Avoid blatantly violating any terms of service agreements. That said, for those who go with a quality VPN service, that will not be an issue.

Tag: VPN Uses

5 Advantages of Using a VPN at Home