It’s very convenient to bank, shop and post photos and status updates online. This means you don’t have to physically bank, store, or travel long distances to catch up with family and friends spread across the country.
The drawback to doing these and other things online is that your information is traveling through the Internet. This is not a direct shot between you and the site you are using. Data can bounce around the country or through servers around the world.
This gives hackers many opportunities to steal your information. If they can catch it in transit, they can learn your passwords, details about you they shouldn’t know, or even pretend to be you to trick your bank or other secure sites can do.
This is especially true if you are using public Wi-Fi. Hackers on the same network have tons of tools to spy on what you’re doing.
In addition to hackers, the government and your Internet service provider can also monitor your connection to see where you go, and if they want to, what you do. If you’re not a fan of this, and some people are, there’s a way you can keep these parties off your business.
internet security status
Before we talk about it, let’s take a quick review of the already existing safe solution. Any finance, medical or shopping site that is even the slightest security conscious will provide you with an encrypted connection.
Encryption spoofs your traffic so that hackers cannot obtain your passwords or other information. When the web address in your browser begins with “https://”, you can tell that a site is undergoing encryption.
In addition to the sites we have already mentioned, Facebook, Google and other major sites have also adopted Always On Encryption. However, not every site you encounter will be and some only offer partial encryption.
This means they can’t encrypt the connection until you log in, which gives a potential opening for hackers to steal your password. Or they just encrypt your login information and leave things like email messages exposed to traffic espionage.
Fortunately, more sites are moving to full-time encryption. Most of the major news sites do this, and you probably didn’t even notice.
Of course, you don’t need to wait for others to provide you with that level of security. You can completely encrypt your connection today.
VPN Basics
To encrypt your connection, you can use a Virtual Private Network (VPN). In the business world, VPNs let employees working remotely create an encrypted connection with the company network so they can work securely, as shown in this handy diagram:
Both Windows and Mac have VPN features built in for just this purpose. However, for the average home user or traveler, these aren’t very helpful because you need something to connect to. That’s where a third-party VPN service comes in handy.
A VPN service lets you create an encrypted connection with one of its servers and you use that server to browse the Internet. The connection through the server is encrypted, so the VPN can’t even see your traffic. OK, it’s a little more complicated than it is behind the scenes, but this is the result.
To get started, you’ll need to choose a program or service to use. There are dozens that offer a mix of security features, privacy options, server locations, and other considerations.
For the average user, it’s important to make sure they have US-based servers, know how much bandwidth you can use, and that they don’t keep logs of your activity. Payment services will naturally require some personal information and payment information, but you can find one that is at least essential to know.
Some services will accept prepaid cards and alternative payments that are more difficult for you to locate. However, even if you give your information to the Service, as long as it does not keep a log of what you do with the Service, it may not matter so much.
using a vpn
Once you have installed the VPN of your choice, fire it up and let it establish a connection. You can then browse the Internet as usual. Traffic will flow through the VPN’s servers and encrypted connection on your computer, tablet or smartphone.
This means that any unencrypted sites you visit will be protected from prying eyes and encrypted sites will basically have double encryption. As an added bonus, your Internet service provider will no longer be able to see which sites you are visiting. It will only look at the connection to your VPN.
Note: If you are searching for VPN, you will see VPN services and “Proxy” services. A proxy service can hide the identity of your computer, but it does not encrypt your connection.
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