Maximise your Internet usage with a VPN

Get the most out of the Internet

Do you know that a Virtual Private Network(VPN) can help you maximise the use of your internet? Most people know VPNs as a corporate network – a kind of internal web that allows employees to access private and confidential information and file within the company. But increasingly, people all over the world are installing VPN at home.

How a VPN works

VPN is a technology that creates a secure connection between your device and a remote server run by a VPN service provider. When you connect to a VPN server, all your internet traffic goes through an encrypted virtual tunnel, making it extremely difficult for others to track your data. Your device is assigned the IP address of the remote VPN server, making it difficult for anyone to know your true identity.

Typically, when you access a website on your device, your Internet Service Provider (ISP) receives the request and redirects you to the site. This also means your ISP monitors the whole internet traffic that passes through their servers. This literally means that all your online activity is not private.

Using a VPN hides your communications and sensitive information from your ISP. Not only is your browsing data private, nobody knows your identity as well.

Why use a VPN?

Now, you might be thinking, “I’m not quite afraid of others browsing my data because I have nothing much to hide.” Yes, that may be true, but do you want to have more access than what is allowed in your country?

One of the main usages of VPN by the man-on-the-street is to get access to content that’s blocked by certain regulatory bodies. These include:

Internet Service Providers
Countries (censorship or political reasons)
School/workplace
Geo-targeted sites

Take, for instance, a local journalist travelling to China to cover a political event. Does he want to risk having his identity exposed? A VPN not only serves to hide his identity, it’d also make his research outside of the Chinese network much easier.

For home usage, you can use VPN to bypass content censorship by government, and gain access to sites which only allow certain country’s access. For example, many would know that Netflix provides different types of content to different countries, which means that you may not get the shows you want here in Singapore. Using a VPN allows you to use a server located in US and get access to Netflix’s shows that are available to the US audience. This is also a great way for expats to stay current with their home country’s news and TV content so that they remain close to their roots.

4 Fun things you can do with VPNs

1. Stream your favourite TV shows from anywhere

Love American TV shows but don’t get them here in Singapore? Use a VPN to swap your IP address to show from a US server, you’ll be able to access all of their programming.

2. Book cheaper air tickets

It’s already well-known that buying air tickets online are never transparent. Prices may go up when you go back on the airline’s booking page a few times in the last few days. Did you know that airfare is often cheaper if you book it from a different country as well? Use this tip the next time you’re looking for a long-haul trip.

3. Use your favourite software everywhere you go

Certain software or apps are not available in all countries, but it shouldn’t prevent you from using them when you travel. If you use Spotify regularly, using a VPN can allow you to “fake” that you are in your home country where it is available and have access to all of your favourite tunes.

On the other hand, if it’s not allowed in your country, you can use a VPN to gain access to it.

4. Watch hidden YouTube Videos

When certain content is not available in your country, your search engine may not even turn up the results. Take YouTube for example – if you are searching for an Australian video through YouTube on local servers, you may not get the result in your search at all. But if you search for it through an Australian VPN server, you’re able to see more results and even the geo-blocked videos become available to watch.

Keen to look for a VPN available to you here? Search for it under our new VPN channel now!