Should You Use a VPN At Home?

The answer is yes. You should set up and use a virtual private network (VPN) at home if you respect your privacy and want to shield yourself from the hostilities of the web. Sure, you may only be using the web to surf, for social media, streaming shows, or just downloading apps. But all of this still calls for an extra layer of protection, similar to how antivirus software protects your devices from viruses. Phishing and malware attacks are not limited to certain applications. Even something as routine as checking your email can attract them.

Communicating via a VPN has several benefits, with the most important ones being hiding your IP address and encrypting your communication. This way, you can safeguard your identity and web location when online and protect your data from snoopers. 

Here’s everything on how a VPN can help you protect your privacy online and improve your overall web experience.

Benefits of Using a VPN at Home

Buying and installing a VPN at home can make you and your devices safe and secure. Here’s how.

VPN hides your web/physical location

When you visit a website, it usually collects information such as your IP address, browser data, and browsing behavior while you are on the website. It then uses this information (or gives it to third-party advertisers) to target advertisements at you, sometimes through its website but mostly through other avenues like social media.

These advertisements are tailored for you, so it’s possible that you would see an ad that suggests you join a workshop happening in your neighborhood. But how did the ad target you so well? Simple: your IP address.

Now, when you browse via a VPN, your IP address is switched. Depending on what server in what country you selected, your original IP is cloaked by that server’s IP address. This effectively separates you from your activities, making you near anonymous. Outcome: no more targeted advertisements about local workshops and the like.

Plus, it also ensures identity and data protection. Should your ISP or a hacker choose to track you, they cannot tie back your web activities to you. They will instead be tied to the VPN’s IP address. But a VPN will also cover your activities, as you can see in the next point.

VPN makes your personal communication secure and safer

It’s true that your ISP will know if you use a VPN. We have discussed this before, but a VPN double protects you to prevent anyone from accessing your web traffic. That’s where encryption comes into the picture.

Along with tunneling (i.e., routing through another server), a VPN also encrypts your communication. When you visit a website, your request is first encrypted before tunneling happens. This covers your web traffic and prevents snoopers from accessing it. Anyone who does access it will only see garbled text. Only the VPN application can decrypt it.

This is an important point to note if you work from home, shop online using credit cards, or simply exchange personal emails. You can do all these without worrying about anyone intercepting your communication. In other words, you can secure your work files and communication, avoid credit card fraud and the like, and protect your data.

VPN helps unblock restricted websites

When was the last time you visited a website and it denied you access? In today’s increasingly closed web, there is more content that is region-restricted than ever. Thankfully, a VPN can fix it.

Since most websites and content portals use your IP address to block access, you can use a VPN to bypass this blocking filter. Simply choose a server in another country and browse away. 

TuxlerVPN is best known for its website unblocking prowess, thanks to its community-powered residential IPs. You are more likely to bypass a geoblock using a residential IP than with a data center IP. 

VPN protects you from malware

Having a VPN installed on your device increases its security cover and protects you against malware attacks, fraud, and phishing scams. Just like websites that use your IP address to record your data, snoopers can also use your IP address to target you. While the majority of cyberattacks are executed randomly (meaning they attack random vulnerable devices), some are targeted at specific users or user groups. For instance, a hacker with animosity towards you or your family could execute a direct attack on your network. 

If you have an anti-malware application, firewall, and other security software installed on your devices, you can prevent these attacks. A VPN can be an extra layer of security. The question, then, is: why not create such a layer for your home network that is used by everyone in the family for a variety of purposes?

Ways to Set Up a VPN On Your Home Network

You can install a VPN on any home device or network in three ways:

• Install on your smartphone, laptop, computer, and smart TV across operating systems
• Install on your web browser (Firefox and Chrome)
• Install on your Wi-Fi router

If you’re new to VPNs, start by installing one on your phone. This will give you a fair idea of how it works.

The case against using a VPN at home usually has to do with low speeds, additional cost, and the hassle of setting it up. However, the benefits outweigh the cons by a huge margin. If you have never used a VPN before, try our free VPN browser extension to get started.

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