The usage of VPN services is one of the most talked-about subjects among internet users across the globe and that’s because of its importance and how essential it is. Trust me, VPN can be a true data saver, helping you secure your access to the internet and so forth.

While the usage of a VPN is often synonymous with routing your IP address from one region to the other in order to disguise as though you’re from that region, VPN can offer much more help in terms of cybersecurity to users.

When accessing the internet via a free and public Wi-Fi at your local coffee shop can be a good thing, we’re often told that data can be exposed to hackers which is why VPN is often encouraged among internet users but one other aspect is the usage of VPN in your own home.

The majority of people don’t see the need to make use of a VPN service while accessing the internet from their home network since it’s trusted and they have no reason to doubt its safety, the reality is that adding an extra layer of security can be a good thing, hence, VPN.

To all of my fellow anonymous internet users, understanding the fact that all of your internet traffic can be easily monitored by your ISP, making it easy to trace activities back to you can be one of the many reasons to make use of a VPN service in your home in 2022.

Have you ever wondered why advertisements constantly target your keyword searches on Google or even on Facebook? The usage of a VPN service doesn’t necessarily guarantee a total blackout against advertisers trying to collect as much data as possible about you in order to market their products to you but thanks to modern web browsers like Firefox and even AdGuard Adblocker extension, you can ensure that no one is following you around the internet.

Tricking your device by auto-switching SSIDs

As mentioned earlier, the usage of public Wi-Fi can be a serious risk considering the fact that numerous internet hackers often disguise their own wireless connections with a legitimate business name making it easy for anyone to fall victim of their play.

Anyone that connects with any of these questionable networks can be hacked – that way, the hacker can monitor your web traffic and possibly intercept some of them.

Another interesting thing is that if your device is configured to auto-recoonect to a familiar network each time it comes across it, that is another good way for hackers to continuously have easy access to your device without doing too much.

An interesting truelife story about hackers being able to trick your device was told at a Black Hat conference a couple of years back when a security vendor detected a questionable access point that was able to switch its SSID about 1,047 times – by doing so, it was able to trick about 35,000 devices into connecting.

That is where VPN comes in. Although the usage of a VPN service in itself won’t curb hackers from attacking your device but as far as your internet traffic is concerned, you can expect the best result from these services.

Even your home network isn’t safe anymore

Home networks can be safe 90% of the time because we are the ones that set them up but the reality is that there can be a huge 10% chance of falling victim despite using your home network.

In fact, research says that attackers will try to gather as much info about you in order to understand you more. In as much as your residence can be walked into, there are chances that your home network can be compromised by hackers.

As a rich person who can afford all the monitoring gadgets and paid security personnel, you may be less worried about hackers strolling down into your residential premises but also do note that your internet service provider (ISP) can also pose a big threat to you.

In fact, the US Congress has allowed ISPs to sell data about users. That way, anyone interested in purchasing your data can get them legally. Although ISPs made it known that those information will be anonymized but the fact that your data can be sold and the government knew about it should get you worried.

There have been several reports of big ISPs in the United States selling or installing spyware on their customers’ devices. One of such is a Verizon app that allegedly steals your browser history, call history, location address and so much more.

Anonymized or not, a really determined attacker will eventually locate you and compromise your home network in a matter of time.

VPNs won’t save you but it can help

While all of the above can be doomy and gloomy, the reality is that the usage of VPN services can come very handy. While you can easily re-route your device’s IP address to another location in one click and be able to view content from that location, VPN services can be a fun thing to have – unless you’re in China because it’s certainly illegal there.

I mean if you relocate to China and want to visit western social media services such as Meta’s Facebook, Instagram, or even search through Google, you’ll simply be blocked out but re-routing your IP Address away from the Great Walls of China to another country or even the United States can give you those access.

It in fact applies to Netflix as well as other online streaming platforms that often make their contents location-based. So a show available in the UK may not be available in South Africa or Nigeria and so forth.

So the job of a VPN service is to help route your internet traffic to your preferred location at anytime. Big VPN providers nowadays do have numerous servers across multiple countries across the globe which makes it easy to switch your address to anyone within seconds.

Selecting a VPN service

Just like web hosting providers, there are just so many VPN service providers out there from freemium ones for your mobile devices to premium ones that often cover plethora of devices and applications such as Chrome and Firefox (for Windows/Mac users), picking the best VPN service for you either free or paid can be a daunting task to say the truth.

One of the main downside especially when using the freemium services is that they often allocate limited internet bandwidth to you and if you’re an avid Internet person, you may run out of the allocated bandwidth in a short amount of time and that could result in a super-slow-mo internet connection.

Paid VPN services are often the most sought-after because they provide good quantity of internet bandwidth as well as speedy connection. Also, they have responsible customer care services that can be reached any time you have an issue.

One of the great advantages of most premium-tier VPN service providers is that they often offer split-tunneling which allows you to designate certain applications and even URLs to make use of VPN connections.

Also, you can just outright install a VPN service on your home wireless router so that all traffic coming through the device can be protected so you whatever device that is connected to the Wireless router can be secured when surfing the internet.

Thinking about using VPN at home?

What you do in your home, the VPN service you are using and other important factors will determine whether you should really continue or even consider using a VPN service int he first place.

As mentioned earlier, VPN service speeds can be a big disadvantage to some individuals or even everyone because everyone wants a blazing-fast internet connection. That way, the usage of VPN services might just not be the right thing for you.

But if what I mentioned earlier about the US Congress willfully allowing ISPs to sell out your data to buyers, this might motivate you to continue the usage of your VPN even in the comfort of your home especially if you’re security conscious.

Some situations might warrant you switch off your VPN – devices such as Apple AirPlay and Google Chromecast doesn’t allow the usage of VPN. So those might be the two exceptions (unless there are other important devices that forbids it as well).