Tired of always feeling like someone’s watching your every move when you browse websites? Worried that your data is at risk on public Wi-Fi? Fed up with ISPs that sometimes single out and throttle gaming speeds?
A VPN can help with such issues. It protects your web browsing, secures important data on unencrypted networks, and makes it harder for ISPs to selectively slow down speeds. And it’s not limited to just those three things. Keep reading to find out what other benefits it has in store for you.
Want to Use a VPN? Install CyberGhost VPN in 3 Simple Steps:
- Sign up for CyberGhost VPN. It has high-speed servers in 100 countries, strong security features, and intuitive apps for many popular platforms.
- Download and install the VPN on your device.
- Connect to a server to start securely using the internet.
What Can You Do with a VPN? (12 VPN Use Cases)
You can use a VPN to protect your internet traffic, whether you’re on a public or private network. A VPN also makes it difficult for sites to see your location, limits third-party tracking, and much more.
1. Secure Your Internet Traffic
VPNs encrypt your internet traffic, meaning they make it difficult for online snoops to monitor your activity. This protects your internet connection and limits surveillance because ISPs, network administrators, and malicious actors have a difficult time seeing what you do online.
A VPN keeps you safe on public Wi-Fi networks, which often don’t use encryption. It helps protect against packet-sniffing, which cybercriminals often use to capture passwords or financial information. VPN encryption could also prevent man-in-the-middle (MITM) attacks that might intercept your connection and redirect it to a malicious website.
You can also use a VPN to protect sensitive data on a secure network, like when you’re at home, in a hotel, or using mobile data. It adds a layer of encryption, providing extra security if you’re worried about potential cyberattacks. In addition, it keeps your online activity private because it protects against surveillance.
2. Change Your IP Address
When you connect to a VPN server, it changes your IP address. This happens because you use the VPN server to access websites and online services, so they only see the server’s IP address. This makes it harder for online platforms to use your IP to see and track your location.
Changing your IP address also provides partial protection against data brokers because they can’t log it. In addition, it makes it difficult for malicious actors to launch cyberattacks against your network. For example, it reduces the risk of DDoS (Distributed-Denial-of-Service) attacks while gaming.
3. Limit Third-Party Tracking
VPNs change your IP address, so they might limit digital profiling. This involves collecting and analyzing data about your online activities to create personalized ads. For example, an ad tracker could associate your IP address with the sites you visit most often.
However, ad trackers use more than your IP address to target you. This means a VPN doesn’t stop ad tracking completely. It also doesn’t prevent ads from loading. That said, CyberGhost VPN has a built-in feature that blocks ads in addition to trackers and malicious websites.
4. Make Content-Based Bandwidth Throttling More Difficult
Some ISPs throttle users’ bandwidth. This means they intentionally slow down speeds for online activities that use up a lot of data, like streaming, gaming, or downloading files. Your ISP might do this to optimize bandwidth and speeds during heavy network usage, which is usually at night or over the weekends. ISPs might also throttle speeds for users who have subscriptions with data caps and go over them.
A VPN can make content-based throttling harder because it encrypts your connection, which limits traffic classification. For example, if you stream or game at night, your ISP can’t see what you’re doing because you’re using a VPN. However, your ISP can still throttle your overall connection based on how much bandwidth you use, regardless of whether it can see your activity or not.
5. Securely Access Websites While Traveling
When you travel abroad, you might lose access to websites you often use back home. Online forums, streaming platforms, or online retailers may not work the same way outside your country. Also, some countries restrict access to specific websites for political or cultural reasons.
A VPN service lets you connect to a VPN server in your home country, changing your location online and encrypting your internet traffic. This can help you maintain secure access to essential online accounts, like your bank’s site or local news sites, for example.
6. Improve Your Gaming Experience
Using a VPN for gaming can sometimes improve routing because the VPN can shorten the connection path to a game server. Your ISP might use a longer, more inefficient route. This usually happens if you use a VPN server in the same country as the game server.
A VPN could also reduce the risk of DDoS attacks while gaming, which are cyberattacks that force you offline. This is because the VPN changes your IP address, and a DDoS attack needs it to successfully target your network. This can help you avoid accidental IP-based bans as well.
CyberGhost VPN has fast servers in 100 countries, including gaming-optimized servers that help you maintain a smooth ping. This might prevent in-game lag or random disconnects while playing MOBA or hero shooters.
7. Protect Your Privacy While Downloading Files
You can use a VPN during P2P/file sharing to change your IP address. This way, it’s not visible to any users you exchange data with. They can still see the VPN’s IP address, but this doesn’t compromise your privacy.
A VPN can also help if your ISP singles out and slows down file transfers, which can happen if your downloads use up a lot of bandwidth. It encrypts your P2P traffic, making it more difficult for your ISP to see and throttle it based on your activity. CyberGhost VPN offers P2P-optimized servers that prioritize file-sharing over other online activities, ensuring smooth download speeds.
8. Shop Safely in Your Local Currency
A VPN may help you compare region-based prices, as websites might display different prices based on your location. They might do this to match local costs and wages, make up for exchange rates, or maximize profits.
Some sites require a local payment method and may restrict cross-region purchases. Always review the merchant’s terms and conditions before buying.
You could use a VPN to connect to a server in your home country while traveling, which might allow you to shop safely in your local currency. To improve your odds, you should clear your browser’s cookies or use its private/incognito mode (or even use a different browser).
9. Secure Connections While Working Remotely
If you work remotely, you sometimes use public Wi-Fi networks to access company files, work accounts, and business tools. For example, when you’re on a business trip and have to use an airport or coffee shop’s Wi-Fi to join a Zoom call or address a support request. Public networks often lack encryption, so a VPN improves your security because it encrypts your connection. This makes it harder for cybercriminals to use packet-sniffing tools to monitor and compromise the data you exchange with your company’s network.
10. Access the Web on Restricted Networks
Some workplaces, schools, hotels, or cafés use firewalls to restrict certain sites. They might do this for security reasons, to block inappropriate content, or to control bandwidth usage across the network. A VPN can help maintain a private connection on such networks, provided your use complies with their policies.
Some networks block VPN traffic. If that happens, always follow the network’s rules.
11. Maintain Consistent Online Access While Traveling
When you travel, you may need to sign in to important services like email, banking, cloud storage, and work platforms from unfamiliar networks. A VPN adds a layer of security to help protect your login details and personal information from potential threats on public or hotel Wi-Fi.
Using a VPN can also help you reliably connect to your regular online accounts, especially since some services may block you if you’re accessing them from abroad. A VPN provides you with a familiar IP address from back home, which lets you securely check financial information, access work tools, stay in touch with family, and more.
Always follow local laws and regulations when using a VPN. Availability and legality vary by country and it’s your responsibility to ensure compliance while traveling.
12. Securely Access the Dark Web
People use Tor (The Onion Router) to access the Dark Web. Tor is a privacy network that changes your IP address and encrypts your traffic, similar to a VPN. However, unlike a VPN, Tor sends your data through multiple servers, so it encrypts it several times. Tor servers are also generally run by volunteers.
Some people choose to use a VPN together with Tor for extra privacy while browsing the Dark Web. That’s because entry servers can see your IP address and could even log it if configured to do so. Exit servers can’t see your IP, but could record your traffic if you access unencrypted sites. If you use a VPN, only its IP address is visible to Tor servers. It also encrypts your traffic, making it hard for your ISP to see that you’re using Tor.
However, the order in which you connect matters. The safer setup is VPN-before-Tor (you → VPN → Tor → website), which hides your Tor usage from your ISP because it only sees encrypted VPN traffic. The less private option is Tor-over-VPN (you → Tor → VPN → website), which still encrypts your data but lets your ISP see you’re using Tor. Using the correct configuration ensures your Tor activity stays as private as possible.
What Can You Do With CyberGhost VPN?
CyberGhost VPN offers many benefits discussed so far. It also includes other features that offer additional protection and give you more control over your connection. Here’s a list of what you can do:
- Use the built-in ad blocker:It blocks known ad and tracker domains. This helps cut down on intrusive ads, reduces digital profiling, and stops you from landing on sites that might host malware.
- Connect to specialized VPN servers: CyberGhost VPN has dedicated servers for specific online activities. For example, you can use servers dedicated to safe streaming or gaming-optimized servers to maintain smooth speeds when queuing up with friends.
- Use the Smart Rules feature: It lets you automate VPN connections to save time, enjoy more convenience, and stay safe. For example, you can make the VPN auto-pick the fastest server and open a specific app on launch, or auto-connect when it detects an unsecured network so that you don’t accidentally access it without first protecting your data.
- Turn on the split tunneling feature: It lets you choose which traffic goes through the VPN connection. For example, you can choose to only encrypt specific apps to improve VPN speeds. Or you could exclude a streaming site from the VPN connection to watch local content while you secure file downloads.
- Use the kill switch: This feature disables internet access if the VPN disconnects, re-enabling it only when the VPN reconnects. This helps protect against traffic leaks, ensuring sensitive data doesn’t leak outside the encrypted VPN tunnel.
- Enable Identity Guard: This is a tool available in your account dashboard. It provides extra privacy because it lets you monitor email addresses and receive alerts if they’re compromised in a data breach. It also lets you check if your password has been exposed.
What Can’t You Do With a VPN?
A VPN has many use cases, but there are things it can’t do.
- Prevent malware infections: Malware is malicious software that infects devices, runs in the background, interferes with system processes, and steals sensitive data. VPNs secure your online traffic, but can’t stop malware from infecting your device. CyberGhost VPN has a content blocker that blocks sites known for hosting malicious content, but should be used together with an antivirus for enhanced protection.
- Make you completely anonymous: VPNs make your traffic difficult to monitor and change your location, but they can’t make you 100% untraceable on the internet. For example, a VPN can’t stop online services from logging data you willingly share with them. It also can’t stop sites from using browser fingerprinting to collect information about your device (like the operating system version or timezone).
- Bypass internet blackouts: An internet blackout is the partial or complete loss or shutdown of internet services across an area. A VPN can’t get around internet blackouts because it requires an internet connection to work.
- Reduce data consumption: A VPN can’t lower data consumption. It actually increases it because it encrypts and decrypts your traffic and also routes it through a remote VPN server. That said, you shouldn’t notice a dramatic spike in data consumption.
Should You Use a Free VPN?
Some VPNs have free plans, which are good for testing the VPN before you buy it. However, free versions might include restrictions. For example, they might impose daily or monthly data caps, limit the number of simultaneous connections, or lack streaming and P2P support. Some free services could even log your IP address and browsing traffic, compromising your privacy.
Paid VPNs usually don’t have such restrictions. Most of them provide unlimited bandwidth, don’t cap simultaneous connections, work with streaming sites, and allow file-sharing. Some of them have independently audited no-logs policies. Also, paid VPNs generally offer a money-back guarantee, allowing you to test the service risk-free.
Bottom Line: What Can a VPN Do for You?
A VPN can make your browsing more private, add security on unencrypted networks, and reduce risks like targeted content-based throttling or IP-based attacks. The important thing is to choose a VPN that delivers on these promises with the features you actually need.
CyberGhost VPN includes everything we’ve covered here, with servers in 100 countries, built-in privacy tools, and easy-to-use apps across most popular devices. You can try it out risk-free with a 45-day money-back guarantee and see how it works for you.
FAQ
No, VPNs are simple to install and use. First, you download the VPN app from the provider’s site or your device’s app store, then install and configure it. The process generally takes one or two minutes. After that, you can normally connect to the VPN with one click or tap via a quick-connect feature (usually, it’s a large power button on the main screen).
Some VPNs offer free versions that are mainly good for light use because they come with trade-offs. For example, they might impose data caps, limit speeds, or only let you use a few server locations. Some free VPNs might also lack important security features or log your personal data. On the other hand, many paid VPNs generally offer unlimited bandwidth, allow unrestricted access to servers, have a no-logs policy, and don’t cap connection speeds. They also often come with a money-back guarantee that lets you test the service risk-free.
Yes, VPNs are widely used for remote work because they let employees securely connect to company resources from anywhere. A VPN encrypts internet traffic, making it harder for cybercriminals to capture sensitive data, like work files, emails, and logins. This protection is especially important on public Wi-Fi because it’s often unencrypted, but also adds a layer of security on home networks. Many companies generally require remote workers to use VPNs to comply with security policies and standards.
Yes, as top VPNs usually have apps for Android and iOS. To use a VPN on mobile, sign up for one, download and install its mobile client from the app store, and use the quick-connect tool to connect to a server with one tap.
A VPN can reduce targeted ads, but not get rid of them completely. It changes your IP address, which stops ad trackers from associating it with your online preferences. To also stop ads from loading, the VPN would have to offer access to an ad-blocking feature.
Yes, it’s generally legal to use a VPN to access streaming platforms in many countries. However, keep in mind that some streaming services’ terms of use prohibit the use of VPNs. If you’re caught, the site might terminate your account. Always check the streaming platform’s terms of service first to make sure the service allows VPN connections.
VPNs provide journalists and activists with enhanced online security because they make their internet traffic harder to intercept and monitor. VPNs also help people appear to connect from another region. If a journalist or activist is located in a restricted region, the VPN could help them securely maintain access to essential services. However, you should always comply with local laws, wherever you are.
People mainly use VPNs to encrypt their internet traffic, change their IP addresses, and limit third-party tracking. This offers them extra security while browsing the internet. Some users also rely on VPNs to make it harder for ISPs to selectively throttle speeds for specific online activities. Others use VPNs to protect their privacy while downloading files or secure data when working remotely.
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