As the world and the economy go digital, online security gains more importance and VPNs play an important role in that
I must admit that I never paid much attention to VPNs despite hearing people talk about it quite often in my crypto social circles.
However, I was recently invited to be a Brave Android VPN beta tester, so I decided to dig a little deeper into this universe and share what I learned in this article.
Let's start with the basics.
What is a VPN?
A Virtual Private Network or VPN is designed to encrypt your internet traffic and disguise your online activity by hiding your IP and your virtual location. It creates a sort of tunnel for your data that works as an additional layer of security.
That can be very useful for things like accessing content from your streaming service that is not available in your country or watching videos that are restricted in your physical location, but the applications of VPN services go way beyond that, and some say that they are fundamental in protecting internet users from censorship and other potential threats to individual freedom.
Privacy is huge among crypto users, but it's essential to understand that while most cryptocurrencies offer a certain level of privacy, they are not inherently anonymous, and that is one of the reasons why so many people prefer to use a VPN for their crypto-related activities.
VPN and crypto
Should you use a VPN when dealing with crypto? That is for you to decide, but some of the features present on most VPN services make a compelling case. Let's have a quick look at some of them.
Security and data privacy
Thanks to the real-time encryption capabilities of Virtual Private Networks, your internet traffic gets an extra layer of protection because data is a lot harder to "read". This is extra important if you are using a public network such as those in your local cafe or at an airport, for example.
You are much less likely to be attacked while connected to your home Wi-Fi, but that doesn't mean your data is entirely safe. Your internet service provider (ISP) can access all your internet data and sell it to advertisers. A VPN can make it that much more difficult for them.
The same goes for the apps and services you use. For example,Facebook or Instagram can use your browsing behaviour to show you ads that are tailored to your profile.
Security is also critical because the internet is infested with malicious services and websites. The crypto space is not different, and you probably know someone who had their data or assets compromised while dealing with crypto, or maybe you have been a victim yourself.
While VPNs aren't explicitly designed to protect you from malicious crypto websites, some services have blacklists that will warn you or flat out block you from accessing potentially dangerous websites that could steal your crypto assets or other important data.
Bypassing censorship and geo-restrictions
Crypto-related websites, exchanges, and sometimes even specific cryptocurrencies are blocked in some countries, making them impossible to access by anyone connected to the internet.
A VPN allows you to connect to servers worldwide, which makes it look like you're accessing the internet from a different location in the world, bypassing most of those restrictions.
No logs
This is not inherent to all VPNs, but most decent ones will have this policy. It basically means that they don't keep any records of your activity on their servers.
If they did, they wouldn't be much better than your regular ISP provider, so make sure you pick a service that clearly states they won't keep activity logs when choosing a VPN.
Kill Switch
Again, this is not standard for all VPNs, but I find it an interesting feature to look for.
A Kill Switch will basically shut down your internet connection if your VPN connection goes down. I can see how this can be a bit annoying at times but keep in mind that if your VPN goes down even for a few seconds, you are exposed to the eventual annoyance caused by the kill switch shutting you down may be a small price to pay.
Notable VPN providers
DISCLAIMER
As I previously stated, I don't have a vast experience with VPNs, and I'm currently having my first experience with them by beta-testing Brave VPN for Android, so I can't vouch for any of these services. I'm just listing a few that came up often while I was researching the subject if you want to know more.
Final thoughts
A good VPN can be a crypto enthusiast's best friend, and in fact, some people point out that everyone should use a VPN while connected to the internet, even when on a private network.
My first few days of using one have been very positive. I'm not really tech-savvy, and still, I was able to set up and start using my VPN really quick because the process is very straightforward, so I recommend everyone to at least try and see what they think.