Internet is a technology that is found all around us in various shapes and forms. In some places, it is used as an intangible service whereas in other areas it can be found in physical forms through the internet-powered gadgets that we use in our daily activities. All these modern internet-powered devices like smartphones, smartwatches, smart TV, smart home assistants, and basically any other device with the word “Smart” in it are part of the internet ecosystem. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that the smart factor of these devices comes from the internet, and without the internet, these devices would be deemed useless. This is exactly the concept of the internet of things according to which the internet has transcended into a physical form through these internet-powered devices.
Since we heavily use these gadgets in our daily lives so directly or indirectly we have become dependent on the internet, because the internet power these devices, and unfortunately these devices power us. This dependence on the internet has increased even more after the pandemic when the world was struggling to maintain the balance as economies were going through a recession and people were dying because of the deadly virus. In times when physical interaction could prove to be fatal, humanity found an alternative.
This alternative was the internet that helped mankind traverse through this bleak path by providing ways to continue some sort of normalcy. People started working again on the internet, educational activities were resumed, businesses transcended online, and even most entertainment activities were centered on the internet. This compelled many people to use the internet and those who weren’t a user before also started using this service.
As of now, the internet has gained the status of an essential service. That is why today there are financial assistance programs for citizens around the world living in different countries helping them remain connected to the internet. On the other hand, service providers also contributed their share by lowering the internet tariffs and offering discounts to the customers. For example providers like Spectrum, Cox, Suddenlink along with many other offered special promotions during the pandemic.
And even after all this time when we are hopefully looking at the end of the pandemic Suddenlink internet plans are still quite economical because Suddenlink is one of many providers that realized that even after the end of the pandemic the lessons and working patterns that we learned during this time are here to stay. This is a good thing but also poses some serious concerns as well.
Security Concerns Associated with the Internet
With the user base of the internet skyrocketing in the past couple of years, there is a surge of new users, most of which are being introduced to this technology for the first time in their life. These new users especially need to be cautious about the security threats that are present on the internet, because to be honest there are a lot of them. Common threats include phishing scams, financial or credit card frauds, breaches of personal files and information, identity theft, virus and malware, and intrusion by hackers.
All these threats originate from only a single root cause, using an unsecured internet connection. In simple terms, all internet connections are unprotected and vulnerable to threats unless some kind of protection mechanism is applied to them. That is why it is always recommended to use some kind of internet security suite or a VPN or to seal the deal with a combination of both.
Advantages of a VPN
The most basic and probably the most advanced type of internet protection comes from a VPN. This is the most recommended tool that every new internet user should must-have. That’s because it doesn’t have too many complex features and gets the job done, which is to mask the original IP address with a dummy address in order to provide encryption and anonymity to users across the web. These small features have so many benefits in retrospect that we will explain further below.
Anonymity
This is the best feature of a VPN. A VPN provides essential anonymity to internet users. In a time when big companies like Facebook and Google are openly selling their user’s data to advertisers, it almost feels scary how much information these websites have about us. This intense activity tracking was brought on record by Facebook’s CEO in that infamous Congress Testimony. The amount of surveillance that these so-called free-to-use online platform has put on us is quite troublesome. Not only this, but most governments and service providers also track their user’s movement and online activity. So in order to remain protected from this unnecessary tracking, it is essential to use a VPN as it masks the original IP address of the user making them invisible to all this tracking.
Free from Censorship
Similarly to tracking many countries also place censorship on different types of content and news. These censorships work in accordance with a user’s IP address which determines their physical location. Through VPN a user masks their IP address and thus their physical location as well. That is why we see people using streaming platforms through VPNs to access certain types of content that are not available in their country, and similarly opening news portals through VPN which their countries have banned access to. VPN allows users to break the shackles of censors, and make them equipped with tools to access anything and everything available on the web regardless of their physical location.
Data Encryption
The most beneficial thing that a VPN provides in terms of security is the ability to encrypt a user’s online path. This encryption provides users security in such a way that every kind of data passed through a VPN is protected from any type of breach or unauthorized access. That’s because the data is protected by a layer of the additional security provided by the VPN server through which the communication is made. Since there is no direct communication a hacker or any unauthorized person cannot directly access a user’s data and resources.
Conclusion
As much as there are benefits of the internet it has its fair share of cons as well, and the biggest one is the security threats and cyber criminals present on the internet. The simplest way to protect your network from these types of threats is to use a VPN that encrypts a user’s online activity making them secure from any threats, hackers, security breaches, and online tracking.
