The coronavirus outbreak has forced more and more people to stay at home. Most people, stuck at home, rely more on the Internet to study, work or have fun. They are spending more time online for chat, conference calls or videos, content streaming, gaming, etc.
Thus, a virtual private network is more frequently needed. According to a research, there is a general increase in VPN uses across countries affected by the COVID-19 outbreak. In last week, VPN uses in Italy, Iran, Spain, Germany, the UK, Switzerland, South Korean, France, the US, and Russia increased by 112%, 38%, 36%, 29%, 10%, 8%, 9%, 21%, 53% and 36% respectively. VPN usage is on the surge during quarantine in these severely affected countries.
Do you know why VPN usage rises?
Actually, VPN services had become more and more widely used among Internet users before the coronavirus outbreak. Since people in lockdown have no choice but to spend more time on the Internet, they use VPNs more often. It is the increased Internet uses that leads to a surge in VPN usage.
Here are the reasons why you need a VPN to surf the Internet.
1. Work remotely
Working remotely means that employees are away from their companies’ security protections. They are exposed to the unprotected home wireless network or insecure public WiFi. To access the private network of the company and stay safe from spying eyes, hackers and cybercriminals on the Internet, they need to connect to a VPN. It is an extremely significant tool for employees to work remotely.
2. Bypass geo-restrictions
You will also need a VPN service when you want to enjoy online streaming.
It is often the case that the library of a streaming service varies from country to country. The bad thing is that your favorite show or film is not included in the content library for your country.
Netflix is a good example. Many popular shows and films on Netflix are only available to those living in the US. Even though you subscribe to it in the US, you won’t be able to watch them when you travel abroad, which is rather disappointing.
With a VPN service, you can bypass geo-restrictions to access your favorite content at home. For instance, by changing your IP address to appear to be from the US, your request for content that is only available in Netflix US will be approved.
However, popular streaming services like Netflix even block VPN users. So, you may read the following sentences when you try to access Netflix with a VPN.
“Whoops, something went wrong…
Streaming Error
You seem to be using an unblocker or proxy. Please turn off these services and try again. For more help, visit netflix.com/proxy.“
Don’t worry, there are still premium VPN service providers like RitaVPN work with Netflix, Disney Plus, Prime Video, BBC iPlayer and other popular streaming services. Before you dive into purchasing the subscription plan of a VPN, you should check whether it does unblock your favorite content for you.
3. Save money
Aside from geo-restrictions, people also use a VPN service to save money. Basing on physical locations, a product or service is charged differently, which is called price discrimination. That is to say, you may need to pay more for the same subscription plan offered by a streaming service.
To save money on subscriptions, flight tickets, car rentals, hotels, and so on, people choose to get cheaper prices by spoofing their locations with a VPN.
It is known that Pornhub is offering free premium access to Italians in lockdown. VPN services might be used by Internet users to pretend to be in Italy and get free premium content from Pornhub.
4. Security and Privacy protection
A VPN is also a powerful tool that ensures your security and privacy online. Without a VPN, what you do online is known to the website you visit, your ISP and even hackers. Sometimes, your private information is only used for customized advertisements. But it can also be exploited by hackers to further compromise your privacy.
If you want to keep your online activity to yourself, you should always connect to a VPN while surfing the Internet. In this way, nobody else can keep track of your activity on the Internet.
5. Avoid government surveillance
Government agencies are spying on their people in an attempt to catch the criminals and prevent crimes. Every move you make in the digital world is monitored by the government. And some countries even adopt more strict surveillance.
A VPN is an effective way to avoid government surveillance. But you should also take location into consideration when choosing a VPN. Don’t choose a VPN service provider from Five Eyes, Nine Eyes, and Fourteen Eyes countries.
Meet RitaVPN
RitaVPN is a very popular and reliable VPN service provider that secures your online privacy and security. Although it is a relatively new VPN service, you just can’t go wrong with this service.
As one of the cheapest in the industry, RitaVPN is commonly used by Internet users.
Besides, RitaVPN has a strict no-log policy, which means it doesn’t store any connection or usage logs.
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RitaVPN also offers Military-grade encryption, built-in Kill Switch, DNS and IP Leak Protection and other features that you’d expect from a premium VPN service.
If you’re interested in RitaVPN, don’t miss its free trials. For all new users, they can get 6-hour free access to RitaVPN. After the free trial expires, you can still use RitaVPN for free on your phone by watching ads.
