When does a VPN protect you and should you use it?

We can use a VPN to protect our data when browsing the Internet, avoid censorship. There are many options available, both free and paid, so we can choose which one best suits what we are looking for. In this article we are going to focus on explaining under what circumstances we should always use this type of program and thus avoid problems.

When does a VPN protect you

When to use a VPN

Keep in mind that a VPN is not necessary in all circumstances, far from it. However, there are times when it is recommended and even essential to be able to navigate correctly. Let’s see which are the main ones.

When browsing public networks

The first reason to use a VPN is when we surf on public Wi-Fi networks. For example, in an airport, shopping center, library … We do not really know who has been able to create that network, whether it is legitimate or not, nor who may be within it and their intentions.

Therefore, if we are going to navigate from places of this type, where security is not always going to be present, our advice is to install a VPN program and thus protect our security. What this type of program does is encrypt the connection and prevents our data from being filtered. Of course, you should know that the VPN works without problems.

Enter unencrypted pages

A VPN can also protect us when we enter a web page that is not encrypted. We are talking about sites that are HTTP and do not have an SSL certificate to protect user data. In these cases, the information we send and receive can be intercepted and end up in the wrong hands.

What these programs do is encrypt the connection. They act as a kind of tunnel and everything we send reaches the recipient in encrypted form, avoiding interference from anyone who might have access. It is one more way to surf the Internet more safely.

We want to hide the IP

On the other hand, we may want to hide the real IP address . This can be interesting for privacy, since we avoid giving more data than necessary when we open a web page or use any program that has access to the network.

It could even happen that our IP is blocked. This would prevent us from accessing any services that have been banned from us. We can easily avoid this by using a VPN and modifying the real IP address.

datos oculta una VPN

Countries where there is censorship

We can also find countries where it is difficult to navigate the Internet or use certain services. For example, social networks may be restricted in certain places in the world. They are basically blocked and not working.

To avoid this we can use a VPN. What these services do is simulate that we are in another place, with a different IP address. It is a way to bypass the censorship against web pages or programs that may be on the Internet.

In short, having a VPN can be very interesting on certain occasions. It is essential even to maintain security when entering services that can be dangerous and can be used by cybercriminals to steal personal data.