With the internet being probably the most important invention of our lives, it is no surprise that individuals are trying to take advantage of it at the expense of other people. Cybersecurity has become of great concern to internet users in the last decade or so (before which hackers mainly tried to hold corporations hostage), and everyone is trying to come up with a better solution for it.
How to use a VPN to protect yourself when browsing the internet
A Virtual Private Network makes sure no one can spy on you by routing all of your internet traffic through one of its secure servers. On top of that, it also encrypts all of your data with bank-grade AES-256 encryption that guarantees that even if someone is able to intercept any private information from you, they will not be able to access it.
There are a lot of good VPNs out there, and we recommend taking a look at PureVPN. PureVPN is a great VPN which also offers a try out package for 3 days on which you can try their product before you buy it. Take a look at this PureVPN review to find out more.
Add additional protection using MalwareBytes
Once you have set up your VPN, you need to make sure that you protect your PC from any offline threat as well. The best way to do that is by using MalwareBytes. MalwareBytes is a security suite that will protect you from any sort of malware that tries to enter your PC or is already there.
Once you have both a VPN and MalwareBytes, you can start enjoying your newfound privacy and anonymity whenever you are on the web. Not sure who might be a threat to you? Read on Bot Traffic: The Good and the Bad, to find out! Read on to find out!
What you may not know about Cybersecurity
Here are a total of 7 different facts about Cybersecurity that many people browsing the internet do not know of.
Governments spy on you
If you have heard about Edward Snowden, then you already know what we are talking about. It is no secret that most governments have set up surveillance programs which they use to tap into the lives of their own people.
They also share data with each other
Many governments are a part of alliances which have agreed to share data with one another. The biggest example of this is the 14 Eyes group. 14 Eyes has some of the most powerful countries in the world working together and sharing data with one another.
Your ISPs might be selling your browsing history
This is one of the main reasons why using a VPN is so important. ISPs often end up selling data to third-parties who use it to target you with ads. What is even worse is the fact that governments often support this.
Websites can also collect information
You should have it figured by now that almost anything that you do on the internet can be stored by someone else. Websites such as Facebook and Google probably know way too much about you. Not only that, in most cases it is you who is allowing them to collect your data legally by agreeing to their ‘Terms and Conditions’ as well as their ‘Privacy Policies’.
Public Wi-Fi is never safe
It is best to avoid using public Wi-Fi since you are susceptible to a ton of different Cybersecurity threats. Betternet, a fairly well-known VPN provider with a decent free version of the service, does a really good job of explaining why it is in your best interests to avoid using public Wi-Fi (unless you have a VPN and MalwareBytes).
The internet is censored
Unless you are living in a truly free country such as Switzerland or Panama, chances are that there are at least a few websites that you are not allowed to access in your country. This can lead to a lot of problems for some people as they might need to access one of the banned websites for work or educational purposes.
If you are using a VPN, then you can enjoy a completely uncensored version of the internet due to the fact that you have a lot of countries to act as a proxy between you and the website that you are trying to connect to. For example, a website banned in Iran may be available in Germany, and those who use a VPN in the US can use the German server to access the aforementioned website.
Not all VPNs are the same
Since we have mentioned how a VPN can be integral to your Cybersecurity problem, remember to go for a well-known VPN which has a lot of good reviews from both the reviewers as well as the users. Some of the lesser known VPNs have a reputation for tricky no-logs policies (which means they were storing customer data) as well as other shady practices.