Top Uses For a VPN While Traveling Abroad
VPNs have taken the tech world by storm over the last decade, and they’ve become particularly effective for those traveling abroad and looking to stay in touch with some of the information and culture from back home.
But for those of us who have heard about the wonders of VPNs and are intrigued by the fact millions of people use them, but still don’t know what they entail, do not worry; we have put together some of the top uses so that you can get a better idea of how they work. Here are the main reasons people use them when they back their bags and laptops and jet overseas:
How do VPNs work?
VPN is short for virtual private network. In a nutshell, a VPN masks your IP address and allows you to connect to servers worldwide. The aim is to stop people from tracking your data and your information and building up a footprint of your internet activity, which can be used to target you for scams.
Once you connect to a VPN and select your preferred location, you can access sites and services from within that country, technically speaking. This doesn’t always work, as some sites have become more aware of IP addresses used by VPN companies, and will block them to avoid issues that can arise from legal and legislative perspectives.
However, thousands of VPN options are out there, and many change their servers frequently, making it very difficult to control the situation.
Online betting
While there’s obviously a risk to accessing gambling sites from countries where it is prohibited, there are thousands of people who use VPNs to access gambling sites from within other countries where it is legal.
Some casino gamers, for instance, might access a poker tournament or event while on holiday. Online poker might be legal in both countries, but they risk being blocked if they access the website or app from an IP address within the country where they reside. However, if they use a VPN for this, they could access and play in a tournament that they may have entered a few days or weeks earlier.
We appreciate this is a specific example, but online betting has surged in popularity worldwide. Those gamers who access the top South African casinos will often do so within the remit of South African jurisdictions.
However, many online gambling sites have operations spanning several countries or continents. They can experience issues if international customers access their services abroad, even though they are only on holiday for a week or two. Again, this is quite a specific example, but by being able to bypass these barriers, online betting is undeniably one of the top uses for people using a VPN while traveling abroad.
Booking air travel
Airline companies can be sneaky in their operations and will stop at nothing to squeeze every last drop of profit from their customers. Budget airline Ryanair isn’t that bad to fly with, and its recent profits showcase just how popular it is with customers in the UK and ROI, but it is a business and has to deal with rising costs.
VPNs have put the ball back in the customer’s court – although after a recent trick went viral on TikTok, airlines have been able to charge customers who they can see have booked cheaper tickets while claiming to be overseas, and they have also put plenty of time and effort into banning customers from being able to book flights while using a VPN.
However, if you are already abroad and are using a VPN as a security measure, you have a strong leg to stand on if you are looking to book a flight on the cheap.
Streaming services – TV shows and films
I remember when I traveled to Australia, and there were plenty of shows from back home that I couldn’t access, but once I got myself a VPN, I could access the latest shows from that week and check out some of the terrestrial channels from back home.
Streaming services like Netflix have a different library of TV shows and films depending on where you access their service. Over the last half a decade, millions of people have used VPNs to access American or UK versions of Netflix, giving them a broader catalog of films and TV series to select from. We use the internet to access music, entertainment content, lyrics and other forms of media, but for localized content, these issues can be more nuanced. VPNs can often provide a shortcut to resolve this.
Netflix, like the airline companies we discussed earlier, and many of the online casino gaming platforms have all become privy to this. They have spent large sums of money getting cybersecurity specialists on board to detect when people are using VPNs, and ban their accounts. So, use one at your own risk.
Enhanced security
If you are in an isolated or underdeveloped country, then the security of the internet connection can be something to be aware of. In the modern age, we use our phones for everything.
We have our emails on there, with all of our travel bookings, information and banking details. Ensuring we secure this information is vital, especially if we are thousands of miles away from home. VPNs can be much slower if you access them from remote regions. Still, they are invaluable if using one stops a hacker or cybercriminal from gaining access to your sensitive data and logins.
If you are using a VPN for work as you travel, this can be an additional layer of security and stops prying eyes from looking at the specifics of your business and your clients, and building a profile of you via this data.