Understanding VPNs - Tech-inmotion/VPNTechguy GitHub Wiki
Do you know what a VPN is? Understanding them can be quite important in our technological era. VPNs are becoming increasingly popular in the world and more people are starting to ask themselves a simple question, ‘What is a VPN”.
Before getting into the details about what a VPN is, let’s look at why we need it. As our technological capabilities improve, certain drawbacks develop as well. Privacy and security are at the forefront of any debate surrounding online use. People want to be sure that their information and identity is secure.
There are different applications for VPNs, but they all stem around the need for privacy and security.
A VPN is also known as a Virtual Private Network. VPNs are programs that help cloak a user's identity in a ‘private’ network, to ensure that no one can see their true identity. By hiding your true identity, you are ensuring that your location and private information stays safe. This is important for anyone who wants to remain secure when working online.
Even though security is an important characteristic of VPNs, a lot of people are using them for something slightly more lucrative.
More and more companies are starting to release online streaming services, whereby their users can stream the content they would normally watch on their TVs. These services are very popular, but the companies do not always want any user in the world to access their platform. Certain companies limit who may access their service based on their location. For example, Netflix US only allows American users to access their service.
This is a problem for someone living in, let's say, England, who wants to watch their favorite show that is only available on Netflix US. Instead of having to move to America, VPNs allow users to change their virtual identity (their IP address). This allows the user from England to change his IP to show that he is in America. This allows you to access Netflix, and other streaming platforms, from anywhere in the world.