Do I need a VPN at home

Airports worldwide often provide free Wi-Fi to travelers passing through. It’s possible to connect to the internet within a few seconds since you typically don’t need to enter a password.

Do I Need a VPN at Home? 4 Reasons You Might

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A VPN, or virtual private network, creates a network connection that could help hide your location and protect your online privacy. VPNs are commonly used when connecting to public Wi-Fi networks that lack certain security measures.

But if you primarily use your home internet connection, do you need a VPN?

In some cases, maybe not. But VPNs offer multiple benefits, including hiding your online activity from your internet service provider (ISP). See the benefits of VPNs and whether you might need one.

In this article

Do I need a VPN?

You typically need a VPN if you want to improve your online security. Cybercrime could happen whether you’re traveling or at home, but having a VPN could help reduce your security risks. This could include protection from hackers and preventing your online activity from being tracked.

Here are a few examples of situations where it might make sense to have a VPN.

Surfing the web on airport Wi-Fi

Airports worldwide often provide free Wi-Fi to travelers passing through. It’s possible to connect to the internet within a few seconds since you typically don’t need to enter a password.

But public Wi-Fi networks pose huge cybersecurity risks since there are often no protections involved for its users. This means your online activity, including emails and any websites you visit, could be visible to other people.

VPN apps are designed to offer improved security measures, including encryption, to keep your information private. This could help protect personal data such as credit card numbers and addresses.

Using hotel Wi-Fi overseas

Hotel Wi-Fi might seem more private than airport or cafe internet — after all, you typically have to be a guest to use it, right? This is correct in many cases, but it’s likely still an unfamiliar network that potentially hundreds of people are connecting to.

You can’t be sure what security measures were put in place by whoever set up the network, which raises security concerns for safely using the internet.

But with how a VPN works, there’s an added layer of security that a hacker would have to crack.

Working while traveling

Apart from using the internet for personal reasons, you might also need to get online for work. Businesses often have loads of sensitive information they wouldn’t want getting into the wrong hands.

Using a VPN, especially while traveling, could help protect your and your employer’s data.

Using your home internet

If you’ve set up your home’s Wi-Fi and router with security measures, you might not see much reason to use a VPN. Other than friends and family, nobody else is likely to access your network.

But one of the main reasons to have a VPN at home is to hide your online activity from your ISP. Internet providers often have full access to your online activity, which could include your searches, downloads, emails, and more.

With a VPN, you’re able to mask your activity and increase your privacy. However, a VPN connection could slow down your internet speed and decrease your bandwidth.

The benefits of VPNs

VPN apps can come in handy in a variety of situations, but what are their benefits and how do they work?

The primary benefits of VPNs are to encrypt your data so it can’t be accessed and to mask your location. These benefits could help maintain online privacy against cybercriminals, governments, and internet providers.

Here are how VPN benefits work in a few different ways.

1. Protect against hackers

VPNs encrypt your internet and provide a secure connection. This means your online activity is kept private so other people, including hackers, can’t see it.

A VPN might make the most sense if you’re away from home and using different Wi-Fi networks. This could include using Wi-Fi at a shopping center in another country or using the internet at the coffee shop down the street. In these cases, the connection might not be secure and your data could be stolen.

But with a VPN, your connection is encrypted and secure — providing opportunities to use public Wi-Fi without giving up online security.

Hackers might not be as big of a concern if you’re at home on your own Wi-Fi network. You likely have security measures in place, including a strong password. And you might not have more than a few trusted people accessing your network.

If you’re worried about the strength of your Wi-Fi password, consider using a password manager to generate a random string of numbers, letters, and symbols.

2. Get around firewalls

Firewalls are a type of security measure that can be used to monitor and block certain types of internet traffic. You might personally use a firewall to block traffic from a malicious website or program. Cybersecurity companies such as Avast offer firewall, anti-malware, antivirus, and VPN services for comprehensive security.

Some governments use firewalls to prevent access to specific websites. This means anyone in certain countries typically wouldn’t be able to access any blocked content — unless they use a VPN.

It could be against the law to access restricted content in these countries, which begs the question, are VPNs legal? It depends on where you are. It could also depend on whether you live in a country or are only visiting.

For example, China is known for “The Great Firewall of China,” a restrictive set of internet censorship laws. These laws block access to certain content, but the legality of using a VPN in China is vague. To err on the side of caution, you’d likely want to avoid using a VPN where the laws fall in a grey area.

3. Protect your online privacy

Do you need a VPN at home if you’re worried about hackers? Probably not. It’s likely far easier for most hackers to use public Wi-Fi networks to snoop around and access information than it is to use your private home network.

But there’s still a major case for using a VPN at home if you don’t want your ISP to track your online activity.

From a privacy standpoint, there’s a flaw in the relationship between consumers and internet service providers. You pay money and an ISP gives you internet access. That should be the end of the equation, but it’s not.

ISPs often have access to your online activity, including:

Browsing activity, data, and history
Downloads
Social media data

This is because you’re assigned an IP, or internet protocol, address that’s associated with all your activity. So if you’re doing something as common as online shopping, your ISP might know.

A VPN assigns you a different IP address and provides encryption to mask your actions online, effectively protecting your data from your ISP.

Free VPNs may not be the answer

A free VPN app can sound like the perfect solution, but not all free VPNs are made equal. Many log your personal data, and some even sell it to third parties. If you decide to go with a free VPN, make sure the one you choose has a good reputation.

4. Get past geographic restrictions

One of the most common uses of VPNs is changing your IP address location to skirt geographic restrictions on streaming services. This is a popular strategy for viewing content in other countries.

Let’s say you’re located in the U.S. and a new show releases on Netflix in the U.K, but not here. Using a VPN provider, you could change your IP address to a VPN server in the U.K. and try to watch the new show while still physically located in the U.S.

Since many streaming platforms have varying content libraries in different countries, this is a simple way to access more content with little effort. And you most likely aren’t breaking any laws.

Though, using a VPN in this manner is typically against the terms of service for streaming providers. You might get an error if you try to use a VPN while streaming. It’s also possible for your account to be banned or suspended.

Find the best VPN by comparing different VPN companies, including ExpressVPN, CyberGhost, and NordVPN.

Do I need a VPN at home?

Are you tempted to invest in a VPN service provider for home internet access? You could, but learn whether it’s a wise financial move for you.

A virtual private network — better known as a VPN — is an essential privacy tool when you’re logging onto the internet from a coffee shop, library, hotel lobby, or any other spot that offers access to free public Wi-Fi. A VPN can block your online activity including the links you click or the files you download, from being visible to cybercriminals, businesses, government agencies, or other snoops.

But what if you’re logging onto the internet from your home? Do you need a VPN?

Probably not. When you established your home Wi-Fi network, it is likely that you protected your network with a password. Because of that, you may not need the added security of a VPN to shield your online activity.

Investing in a VPN for home use, then, might be a waste of money, unless you want to keep your web surfing private from your internet service provider (ISP) or if you choose to access streaming content or sports coverage that you couldn’t otherwise access from your location.

Tempted to invest in a VPN service provider for home internet access? You could do that, but it might not be a wise financial move. It’s worth noting you might consider a free VPN, but those services may cover their costs in other ways such as selling your data to third-parties for marketing purposes.

How VPNs work

VPN use is important for online privacy whenever you’re logging into the internet from a public spot because cyber snoops could track your online activity when you are using public Wi-Fi, whether it’s on your computer or your mobile device.

If a cyberthief intercepts your online activity when you are using public Wi-Fi, they could steal the usernames and passwords you use to log onto your credit card or bank accounts. They could also gain access to your email accounts and other personal information. They could also potentially see what files you download or links you click.

A VPN, though, provides a secure connection for users through which to send and receive data, which can make cyber snooping more challenging.

When enabled, A VPN creates a private network through which to access the internet. Consumers can sign up for a VPN either for free or for a monthly or annual charge. If you’re using a VPN, your computer or mobile device will first connect to this outside VPN server before it connects to the web. A VPN also encrypts the data you send and receive while searching online.

This combination — your connection to the outside VPN server and the encryption of your data — helps keep your browsing private. The only people who will know what sites you visit or links you click are you, your VPN provider, and the people or companies running the sites you visit.

This protection can help take much of the danger out of connecting to the internet through public Wi-Fi.

Why you don’t need VPN at home

When you log onto the internet from home, you are typically doing so through your private, secured Wi-Fi. Your private Wi-Fi network should have a password, which keeps outsiders from seeing your internet activity. And you get this protection without having to take that extra step of first logging into a VPN service before accessing the web.

This only works, though, if your home Wi-Fi is protected by a complex and unique password. Your internet service provider, or ISP, probably required that you choose a password when setting up service. Make sure that password is a strong one so others can’t guess it.

Worth noting: Most Wi-Fi routers come with default passwords, and those passwords can often be easily found online, so it is wise to change your default password to something unique and complex.

Another issue related to using a VPN at home? Your online browsing could become more frustrating. Because you first connect to another outside server when using a VPN, your browsing speed could slow.

There are exceptions where you might consider using a VPN at home. You might want to use a VPN if you’re worried about your ISP tracking your online activity. If you connect to the internet through a VPN, the provider of your internet services won’t be able to see what you’re doing online.

However, the company that provides your VPN service will. If you trust that company more than your internet service provider, then using VPN at home might make sense.

Another solution? A no-log VPN can help if you’re concerned about privacy. A no-log VPN means that the VPN provider does not collect, or “log,” any information transmitted through the network. That means they don’t save information about your personal details and your online activities. With a no-log VPN, your online privacy and anonymity are likely protected from everybody — even your VPN provider.

There’s another reason to use VPN. It can help you stream content or watch sporting events that aren’t available in your location. Keep in mind you should understand any contractual agreements you’ve accepted with your streaming provider. Further, governmental regulations in other regions or countries might make this a bad idea.

Even so, here’s how it would work.

Maybe you subscribe to a streaming service that offers different movies or TV shows depending on whether you’re in the United States, Britain, Spain, or Germany. You might want to access a movie that’s only available in Britain. Problem is, you’re based in the United States.

One way to do this is to first log into a VPN service that is based in Britain. You could then log into the streaming service, because that service may think — based on the IP address that identifies location — you’re based not in the United States, but in Britain.

Be aware, though, that many streaming services recognize this trick and will block it. Others, though, won’t. In any case, keep in mind that you might be violating certain regional rules.

Why you may need a VPN as a cyber-safety tool when not at home

Most people won’t need to log into a VPN service when accessing the internet from home, whether from an Android phone, a Windows computer, or other connected device. That doesn’t mean, though, that VPNs aren’t important online privacy tools, particularly when you’re accessing the internet on the go.

Many of us rely on public Wi-Fi to get online, whether we log on from our favorite coffee shop, the local library, or in hotel lobbies across the country. Using a VPN connection when accessing the web from public Wi-Fi hotspots is an essential way to protect your privacy when online and to keep your most important data away from prying eyes.

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Dan Rafter
Freelance writer

Dan Rafter is a freelance writer who covers tech, finance, and real estate. His work has appeared in the Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, and Fox Business.

Editorial note: Our articles provide educational information for you. Our offerings may not cover or protect against every type of crime, fraud, or threat we write about. Our goal is to increase awareness about Cyber Safety. Please review complete Terms during enrollment or setup. Remember that no one can prevent all identity theft or cybercrime, and that LifeLock does not monitor all transactions at all businesses. The Norton and LifeLock brands are part of Gen Digital Inc.

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