How To Use My VPN

Can I Use A VPN On Any Device

No matter what kind of device you use, youll most likely be able to set it up with a VPN. Thats because most VPN services offer dedicated apps for Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, and iOS operating systems. In other words, a VPN of your choice should perfectly function on both desktop and mobile devices.

Now, if you tend to use a lot of devices at the same time , you should consider getting a VPN that allows for multiple simultaneous connections. Most of the time youll get five, however, some VPNs dont limit the number of simultaneous connections at all.

Theres also the possibility to install a VPN directly onto your router. In this way, all the devices connected to the router will use the VPN connection even those that dont support VPNs on their own. Some VPNs make the installation process easier by offering you specialized router firmware.

Finally, some VPN providers help you enhance your streaming experience by allowing you to watch geo-blocked content on smart TVs and gaming consoles. This is done with the help of SmartDNS.

VPN Uses: Access Home Networks Securely

Unless you take all your hard drives out with you when you go to work or on holiday, your entire repository of files and data likely lives on one computer at home .

If this is the case, you might have remote access set up so you can access this machine and the info it contains when you’re away from it. However, keeping that data safe should be a priority, so using a VPN to encrypt your traffic when remote accessing your main PC in a no-brainer.

What Is A VPN And How Do I Add One To My Mobile Device

VPN is short for Virtual Private Network. VPNs have multiple purposes. They are often used within organisations as internal networks, but are also often used by individuals to add an extra layer of privacy and security, especially when using public Wi-Fi.

How do I get a VPN on my mobile device?

This will depend on the device and your requirements. You will need to decide on a VPN provider.

There are a large range of VPN providers. Most charge a monthly fee with the price increasing or decreasing depending on the type of service they offer. You can search for VPN providers in the Play store.

You can either access the VPN via your VPN provider’s app or by entering their VPN settings directly onto your device.

Newer devices have an option in the settings to add and manage direct VPNs. You will need to get the VPN settings details from your VPN provider.

Please note:

• If you are accessing your VPN directly through the providers app you do not need to follow the steps below.
• To check if you already have a VPN configured on your device go to Settings > Connections > More connection settings > VPN. Any VPNs already configured on your device will show here.

How do I manually add a VPN configuration to my mobile device?

Please note: Steps may vary slightly depending on your device and operating system.

Open Settings

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VPN Uses: Access Free Voip Services Like Whatsapp

Strict national governments with huge stakes in mobile networks will often restrict access to free VoIP services like WhatsApp, Skype, Messenger and more because doing so ensures they make more money.

This is a huge reason why you might want a UAE VPN when living or traveling to Dubai or elsewhere, and while rules change frequently, it’s been known for UAE residents to have to use a VPN to even access voice chat on video games.

Paying for a VPN and using free VoIP services usually ends up costing much less than spending money on the monopolized telephone networks. For those who are short on money, a cheap service like Surfshark less than $2.50 a month is a great way of saving cash and staying in contact with loved ones.

VPN Uses: Avoid Location

Most prevalent amongst car hire and plane ticket merchants, being offered different prices depending on where you are and what you’ve searched is more common than you may think.

If you’re thinking of purchasing a digital product whether that’s Microsoft Office, a game, or Spotify taking a moment to check prices from around the world might save you a good wad of cash.

Those in lower-income countries are usually offered a cheaper price, but that’s not always the case. In practice this process is often more trial-and-error than exact science, so having a VPN with plenty of servers worldwide is worth the investment and could end up paying for itself.

This also ties into the earlier benefit of avoiding trackers. If you’ve searched for a product a number of times without purchasing, the seller will often inflate the price to urge you to buy sooner rather than later this is most commonly seen with plane tickets, but not unheard of with other products. With a VPN, you’ll be seeing the true price and potentially saving yourself serious money.

Cheap VPN save money on your VPN as well as avoiding price targeting

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Sign Up To A VPN Service

The first step to using a VPN is to choose a service. You can see our recommendations of the best VPN services, but if you’re in a hurry, here are three to investigate:

• VyprVPN

When signing up on the provider’s website you’ll find a choice of how long to subscribe for. In most cases, the longer you go for, the cheaper the monthly cost becomes. In all but rare cases, they offer a money back guarantee so you can try the service and get a refund if you’re not happy.

Once you’ve paid – and you can pay via cryptocurrency if you want to be anonymous to the VPN service you’re using – install the app on your device from the app store or the provider’s website, launch it and enter your username and password .

Some providers let you log in with an activation code instead, but the app will tell you what you need to enter.

What Should A Good VPN Do

You should rely on your VPN to perform one or more tasks. The VPN itself should also be protected against compromise. These are the features you should expect from a comprehensive VPN solution:

• Encryption of your IP address: The primary job of a VPN is to hide your IP address from your ISP and other third parties. This allows you to send and receive information online without the risk of anyone but you and the VPN provider seeing it.
• Encryption of protocols: A VPN should also prevent you from leaving traces, for example, in the form of your internet history, search history and cookies. The encryption of cookies is especially important because it prevents third parties from gaining access to confidential information such as personal data, financial information and other content on websites.
• Kill switch: If your VPN connection is suddenly interrupted, your secure connection will also be interrupted. A good VPN can detect this sudden downtime and terminate preselected programs, reducing the likelihood that data is compromised.
• Two-factor authentication: By using a variety of authentication methods, a strong VPN checks everyone who tries to log in. For example, you might be prompted to enter a password, after which a code is sent to your mobile device. This makes it difficult for uninvited third parties to access your secure connection.

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Use A VPN Router With The Built

As described above, although it is cheaper, turning your own computer into a VPN server can be pretty cumbersome. In that case, another alternative solution is to use a VPN router with an integrated VPN server setup capability. It is good if the router you buy supports a more secure VPN protocol other than PPTP, like the OpenVPN protocol.

However, this can be expensive because if your current router does not have that capability, you may have to buy a new one.

Setting up your VPN router is relatively easy. In summary, the following are the essential steps you need to follow to set up your VPN router as a VPN server.

VPN Router Setup

VPN Client Setup

Once you have enabled VPN in the router, download and unzip the VPN configuration files for the clients from the router control panel, then copy the files to the client devices. Finally, you can connect to the VPN from client devices.

The Best VPN Services

The first decision you need to make is whether to go for a free or paid option. Free VPNs generally exist as a way to get you to upgrade to the paid version, and they come with one or more of the following restrictions: bandwidth and speed limits, advertising, fewer endpoints, time limits, and busier servers.

Here are some suggested companies you can check out to get started. They all have free trials, as well:

• NordVPN
• TunnelBear

Expect to pay anywhere from $3-10 USD per month of a reputable VPN service. Usually, you can sign up for an annual plan to save beween 50-75% off the regular price. If youre going to be traveling often, thats a great deal.

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VPN Uses: Maximise Your Bandwidth

Expanding on the torrenting section above, your ISP is quite likely to impose bandwidth restrictions or ‘throttling’ on you at some point.

If you notice your internet speed slowing to a crawl when doing certain things on the internet, or at peak times, your ISP may be reducing your speeds based on your activity. This is easily remedied by using a VPN.

No matter what you’re using your connection for, if you’re using a VPN your internet provider won’t be able to tell what you’re doing, and subsequently won’t be able to make the decision to throttle your connection.

While VPNs can minimally reduce your peak speeds , throttling can be far more severe than that. If you want to be able to rely on your connection 24/7, a VPN can help you get the most out of your internet service.

What A VPN Does And Does Not Do

As with any security tool, it’s important to understand the limitations of a VPN. After all, you wouldn’t expect a Kevlar vest to save you from falling out of an airplane or a parachute to stop a bullet.

When you switch on a VPN, your traffic is routed through an encrypted tunnel to a server operated by the VPN company. That means that your ISP and anything connected to your router won’t be able to see your web traffic. From the VPN’s server, your traffic exits onto the public internet.

Because your traffic appears to come from the VPN’s server, your actual IP address is effectively hidden. That’s important, because IP addresses are distributed geographically and can be used to find your rough location. This can come in handy if you want to spoof your location. By connecting to a VPN server in London, you can make it appear as if you were accessing the internet from the UK.

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Everything You Need To Know About VPNs For Travel

: 7/17/20 | July 17th, 2020

Dave Dean from Too Many Adapters is a tech expert. In this guest post, he delves deep into Virtual Private Networks to explain what they are, how they work, and why you as a traveler should be using them.

These days, everyone travels with a computer. Whether its a smartphone, tablet, or laptop, were all connected when were abroad. While this technology does make travel easier, it also opens us up to new risks.

From stolen credit card numbers to governmental spying to hacked emails, cybersecurity is usually something we overlook when were planning our trips. Sure, well buy travel insurance to protect our health. But we often overlook ensuring that our data and information are kept safe too.

Free Wi-Fi is available pretty much everywhere to travelers, from coffee shops to hostels to airport lounges. Yet as we casually surf the web and connect with friends and family back home, were opening ourselves up to some serious risks.

Anybody on the same network can easily grab your unencrypted data as it flies through the air. Usernames, passwords, credit card numbers, browser cookies, and other identifying information can be ripe for the picking from your web browser and mobile apps.

With so much potential risk out there, how do you stay safe?

You use a VPN.

Bluestacks Is Even Better With A VPN

If you were wondering how to use a VPN with BlueStacks, we hope this article was helpful. You can turn your Windows PC or a Mac device into an Android hub at any time with BlueStacks. The app allows you to install Android apps and run them on your device. ExpressVPN is an excellent addition that increases your privacy and security and opens access to numerous apps that are unavailable in your region.

Have you ever used a VPN with BlueStacks? Did you use ExpressVPN? Tell us in the comments section below.

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Where Do I Start

You have now known how to use a VPN, but you are not sure what VPN to start using. The truth is that there are so may VPNs today that are vying for your attention. However, all VPNs are not created equal. Some offer you total security and privacy, while others compromise your privacy by keeping logs.

What you should mainly consider is why you need the VPN. Is it to unblock geo-restricted content? To evade censorship? To stay safe and anonymous while doing your online activity?Most of the time, you need a VPN that can address almost all these issues.

A safe place to start is with Hidester VPN. Hidester VPN greatly combines privacy, security, high speeds and customer support with good pricing to offer you one of the best deals in the market. Take advantage of our 3-7 day money back guarantee and test out the service by yourself!

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Selecting A Secure VPN Provider

It is also important that you choose a VPN provider that you can trust. While your ISP cannot see your internet traffic, your VPN provider can. If your VPN provider is compromised, so are you. For this reason, it is crucial that you choose a trusted VPN provider to ensure both the concealment of your internet activities and ensure the highest level of security.

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VPN Uses: Protect Your Identity

When most people think of a VPN, they think of a privacy solution first and foremost and with good reason. The original primary VPN use is to protect the user and their data, ensuring safe internet use whatever the activity.

A core element of a VPN is tough encryption usually AES-256 combined with a secure protocol and this means every last bit of traffic sent through the VPN is unreadable by anyone who intercepts it. That interceptor might simply be your ISP trying to log or limit what you use their connection for, or it could be a malicious individual or program looking to steal your data.

Who or whatever they are, VPNs avoid them by using a ‘tunnel’ that starts at your device and ends at your destination be that Netflix, a geo-blocked social network or your online banking.

In between your device and your destination is where your data is at risk, so a VPN eliminates that by both encrypting your data and routing your connection through one of its own servers, masking your IP address and any other identifying information. If you’ve chosen a quality, zero-logging provider, you should be able to trust your VPN’s servers more than your ISP’s.

In essence, a VPN removes or encrypts any information that could link you or your device to your activity on the web. It’s a one-stop shop for taking back personal privacy online.

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