You may think that there are a lot of VPN services and that their number is constantly increasing. In fact, it is not so, it is the need to access particular websites has increased because of new restrictions imposed by various governments.
At the same time, to use the services like Pandora, Spotify, Hulu, always required a VPN. But using VPNs to visit websites is only the tip of the iceberg. VPNs open many more opportunities.
First of all, VPNs provide anonymity on the Web (within reasonable boundaries) and help protect private data like passwords, emails, billing data, and more.
What is even more important is the ability to “trick the system” by saving money on popular services, for example, making purchases in websites that are inaccessible for users from specific countries.
As it was said at the very beginning, there are really a lot of different VPN services. Advanced users have already learned how to choose a good VPN. Bad services are often lured by low prices, while having just a few servers available, which, provide catastrophically low connection speed in peak hours.
Therefore, it is always better to prefer bigger services that have been on the market for many years. For example, HideMy.name exists since 2006 and has dozens of servers located in more than 100 countries.
How to use VPNs
It is very simple. Just go to the website of the desired service and download the application for the desired platform. There are VPN for Mac and iOS operating systems a well as for Windows. After launching the application, some services send a special code to the specified mail, which allows you to test features for free for several days.
Since the VPN service is intended to provide the IP address of another country, it allows you accessing unavailable services. In addition, the use of VPN is crucial when connecting to public Wi-Fi networks, where hackers often intercept private data. Because of a strong encryption algorithm, hacking a VPN connection is not possible.
How to save money using VPN services
It has long been very well known that most popular services show different prices for the same services for residents of different countries. It all depends on their welfare. For example, you need to go to a conference in Switzerland. You open the Booking.com website and see that all currently available hotels cost too high.
You can lunch your VPN and select Indian server, where the cost of living is relatively low. Now, after cleaning all the cookies, visiting the same site, and selecting the same dates and hotels, you can see that the same rooms can now be booked much cheaper. Sometimes the difference makes 30%.
However, this is always a matter of luck, usually, savings are not so great but 5% is almost always can be guaranteed. It is important such tricks often open “hidden” discounts. For example, for a specific country, the service shows an affordable flight with a 15% discount, although for another location it costs more.
You can do the same trick with car rental services, air travel, cruise firms, etc. Sometimes it is good to become a local resident to get a discount for traveling around the country.
Many VPNs boast convenient applications for iOS and Android, with which you can stay incognito on the web.
Selecting a VPN service mind what protocols are used: OpenVPN, PPTP, L2TP. Protocols offer different speed and the level of security. It is good to have all possible protocols available.
Costs
With many paid VPN services, if you subscribe for one year, the monthly cost will be lower than if you choose to pay each month. Yes, as an alternative, a monthly subscription is available too. You can often find service that offers lifetime subscription or just buy access for a single day.