VPN is three letters that scare many. As a rule, most users do not understand: what it is, how it works, what opportunities it offers, how to set it up, etc. And at the same time, everyone probably already knows that without a VPN, there is no freedom and guarantees of personal safety on the Internet now.
There are many sites that are simply blocked. Typically, these are provider-level and geographic restrictions. That is, if in one country access to certain sites and online services is blocked, then from another country they are opened. There are also many popular resources that can be accessed only from a certain country, or countries. And this is all very sad. Why? Because the Internet is a free environment. And with such restrictions, the worldwide network loses its main feature.
VPN allows you to erase all these boundaries and remove restrictions. Now I'll tell you how. I will try to explain as simply as possible how a VPN works, and for what purposes you can and should use it.
Consider 2 options:
- Connection without VPN. When we try to open a site, all traffic in an unencrypted form goes through the provider directly to the server where the site is located. We go to sites under the IP-address that our provider gave us. By this IP-address, the site (the server on which it is located) "understands" which country we are from. How does blocking work in this case: either access to a particular site is blocked at the provider level, or the user is blocked by the site itself by IP address. If a user from that country is denied access (for example, the Spotify music service can only be opened from the United States).
- VPN connection. Traffic passes through the provider in encrypted form (which is a big plus, since the provider does not see which sites you visit and other data), then you connect to the site not directly, but through the server of the VPN service that you use. And via the IP address of that server. And since there are many of these servers, and in different countries, we just change our location on the Internet. The traffic is encrypted, the IP address is not ours, and in general we seem to be in another country. For example, you flew to rest in Italy. And you cannot live without the popular Yandex.Music service (which is available only from Russia, Ukraine and Belarus). We turned on the VPN, chose the Russia region in the settings and listen to music.
As stated on Wikipedia, a VPN is a virtual private network. Such a network within the network. And it gives us the ability to encrypt the transmitted information, change the IP address, change our location on the Internet.
What you can use a VPN for:
- Access to sites that are not available from your country.
- Anonymity on the Internet. Change of IP address and location.
- Traffic encryption. It's no secret that a provider can easily find out which sites you visit, which videos you watch, or which files you download. And since the traffic through the VPN is encrypted, the provider will not have access to this information.
- The ability to save money by simply changing your location before visiting services for renting hotels, cars, buying tickets, etc.
I think what a VPN is and what it is for - we found out. Now I'll show you which VPN service is better to choose, how to set up and use.
Which VPN service should you choose?
Yes, there are free VPNs. But only their advantages end there. Speed, stability, security - everything is at a "free" level. And the number of users is constantly growing, which greatly affects the stability of free VPN services. Some, for example, could not bear the load at all that fell on them after the blocking of Vkontakte, Odnoklassniki, Yandex and Mail.ru in Ukraine.
There are paid VPN services. There are not many of them. And there are few good, inexpensive and time-tested ones.
I can recommend HideMy.name. A VPN service that's really time tested. Previously, it was called HideMe.ru and has been operating for over 10 years. I will list its main features and pluses:
- The most important thing for us is the stability and security of the VPN connection. Good speed and stable server performance. HideMy.name has no problems with this. In addition, they have a very large number of servers in different countries.
- Reasonable prices. At the time of this writing, 150 rubles, or 70 hryvnia per month. When buying a subscription for a year. There is a refund system and of course a trial period. Below I will show you how to get it.
- The ability to set up a VPN connection on almost any device. On a computer (Windows, MAC, Linux), tablet or smartphone (Android, iOS), SmartTV and even on a Wi-Fi router. The site has programs and detailed instructions for setting up.
- You can use the connection on two devices at the same time with the same subscription.
- Technical support that responds 24x7.
- Nice, clear and informative site. A simple procedure for activating the trial period, purchasing and setting up a VPN connection.
I propose to check everything in practice. If there is a trial period, then why not use it 🙂
How to try for free and set up VPN from HideMy.name
We go to https://hidemy.name/ru/vpn/ and click on the "Try for free" button.
We enter our email, which will receive an activation code. Click on the "Get Code" button.
We see a message that the code has been sent. We can immediately download the program for working via VPN. For Windows or other devices.
I am setting up on a computer. I downloaded the program and installed it on my computer. Everything is simple there. Next, launch the "HideMy.name VPN" program with a shortcut on the desktop, copy the code that came to our mail and paste it into a special field in the program. Click the "Login" button. You can also immediately enable the autostart of the program.
Select the server and click "Connect".
That's all. All connections will now go through the VPN server. Which, by the way, can be changed at any time in the program settings.
When the trial period ends (the program indicates how much time is left), you can buy a subscription. You can buy it for a month to still use it and understand whether HideMy.name is right for you or not. But for six months, or a year, buying is much more profitable. After purchasing, just enter another code in the program and use it further. It's the same on mobile devices. You just need to install the application and activate the code.
What else can a VPN be useful for and how can I use it when traveling?
By using a VPN, you will always have access to your favorite sites, even if they are blocked in the country you are traveling to. But that's not all. I myself have just found out that with the help of a VPN, you can also save a lot when buying goods in various foreign online stores, or when buying tickets, for example.
How it works? We take some kind of service, for example, for booking hotels. We go without VPN, under our real IP-address. We set the search parameters and look at the prices. Then, in the HideMy.name VPN program, change the server. And we go already for example from the USA. Most likely, search results and prices will be different. So you can buy tickets cheaper, rent a car, buy some product in a foreign online store, etc. We just change our location in the network.
Not infrequently, in such popular online stores as Amazon, the price of the same product can vary depending on which country you visit the product page from. And changing your country is easy with a VPN!
If you want a stable and inexpensive VPN, HideMy.name is a good choice. Everyone can customize it. It is very easy to use, both on a computer and on mobile devices.
Try it, test it and don't forget to write reviews!
