Cybersecurity measures are getting essential more than ever these days. With our increased use of the internet in this digital world, we are often exposed to the elements that may threaten our online security. This is why many people now entrust top-notch VPN service providers to keep their online activity hidden from hackers. It can be a USA, UK, or Sweden VPN that helps you stay anonymous while surfing the internet; as long as it protects you, it is surely worth using. It can be an individual or an entire business that benefits from a VPN, keeping in mind the increase in cyberattacks.
What is a VPN?
A VPN (a virtual private network) is software that effectively encrypts your internet traffic and passes it through its own server placed in a specific location. The primary purpose it has is to limit your information from being exposed when you are online.
Because of the encryption protocols that VPNs have, it is impossible for anyone to see what you do online, even if they successfully penetrate your connection to the internet. With the help of a VPN connection, not even your internet service provider can see what you are doing online.
Another thing that a VPN does is the masking of your IP address. It enables you to connect to one of its servers, allowing your internet traffic to pass through it with a different IP address. This prevents the websites on the internet from tracking your real location.
How does a VPN protect you?
This is something that most users want to know. Well, a Sweden VPN encrypts your data by routing it on its server, which hides your actual IP address and makes you untraceable on the internet by third parties. Let us say that a hacker gets access to the network you are connected to, for instance, free Wi-Fi; he will not be able to see what you are doing online. They will all see a bunch of random strings and not understandable characters.
Your IP address is the key to tracking you on the internet, but thanks to VPN, you connect to a server virtually, which lets you have a different IP address. This makes you much more secure on the internet and enables you to browse the internet quite safely.
What are the situations in which VPN protects you?
VPNs do provide you with a much safer gateway to the internet; but there are many other areas where it comes in handy.
- Man-in-the-middle attacks
It means that hackers can see and intercept your connection to the internet. On the other hand, if you have a Sweden VPN effective on your device, the traffic that leaves your device will be encrypted and fully hidden from everyone. This means that even if hackers intercept your connection, the effective encryption protocol will make it impossible for them to see what it really is.
- DDoS attacks
DDoS, a distributed denial-of-service attack, can be prevented using a VPN. Here the flooding of the network is done using artificially inflated traffic. This causes the servers to overload, which crashes the websites. This is seen mostly in gaming communities which are done to remove the players from the game. However, using a VPN masks your IP address which makes you an impossible target for the attacker to launch a DDoS attack.
- The Fake Wi-Fi Spots
Free Wi-Fi connections are loved by everyone. Although there is one thing that you should always know, maybe those free Wi-Fi are set up by hackers. They can appear legitimate and named after a business, but as soon as you connect to them and start using the internet, everything you do online is accessible by hackers. This is why a VPN is needed when you use free Wi-Fi so your traffic can be encrypted and cannot be seen by hackers.
Are there any Cyberattacks that a VP cannot prevent?
Although VPNs are pretty useful when it comes to cyberattacks, there are limitations even in them where you need to stay extra alert. They come in handy in protecting your data while it leaves your device or comes back through the VPN server. But, in the case of a hacker directly accessing your phone, a VPN cannot do much. Or if they are waiting on the destination for your data to come.
If the hacker’s attack is effective outside of the parameters where your data leaves and comes through the server, there is nothing a VPN can do. Basic human errors or the device that has been compromised lie outside the scope of your VPN protecting you.
- Basic Human Mistake
There is no way a VPN can protect you when it comes to basic human mistakes. If you knowingly or unknowingly click on a malicious link that can contain malware, no VPN in the world can protect you then.
- Phishing
There are many hackers that lure people into phishing emails that look professional and 100% legitimate. If you end up falling for the scam, there is no VPN that can help you against it. Clicking on such websites can install malware on your device, which can expose your information. The best way is to avoid such emails by verifying if the URL of these links is authentic or not.
- Malware
If you accidentally click on a link that has potential malware, it can give access to the hacker to your online activity. It does not matter whether you are connected to a VPN or not; if you click on a malicious link, a VPN will not be helping you at all.
Conclusion
The number of people using VPNs is increasing every day. This shows that awareness is increasing regarding online security. This is a high time you should get yourself a VPN subscription to surf the internet without being at any kind of risk of online security.