Start Using A VPN on Your Smart Phone & PC

In the time today, one of the most important things in our world is privacy, from changing laws that want more transparency in our data to the hackers sitting in bars and cafes to sniff the packets we send via the public Wi-Fi.

This brings us to very important technology that everyone should know how to use – Virtual Private Network or a VPN. This software allows users to keep their information secure and keeps the data private from our internet service providers or from the ghosts lurking the cables in a public hotspot.

Moreover, they can be used to open up websites that you are not allowed to view in your work place or they can be used to evade government-implied censorship.

Understand the VPN Technology

Image Source: Google Image – An image showing the overview of VPN connectivity.

To put it simply a VPN is a secure method of exchanging information between your smartphone or PC to the website or the service that you are using over the internet. As the former hacker and now a Cyber Security Consultant, Kevin Mitnick says that when you use a VPN you are sending bits of information in sealed envelopes that cannot be read while till they have reached their destination.

Once you switch the VPN service on in your phone it will connect to the VPN server making the connection secure. It will also ask you what location do you want your connection originating from.  So let us say if you are sitting in the Malaysia and you want to watch East Enders then all you have to do is to choose the United Kingdom and you will be able to browse the internet as if you were in the UK.

It is Cool but Why Should I Use It

Image Source: Google Image – An image showing how a VPN protects your connection from the hackers and gets you to the internet.

The heading says it all, and we have good reasons here that will make you think twice as for why you should use it.

Protecting Your Identity

As mentioned earlier that once you use the VPN it is going to protect your data from the prying eyes of the government and your ISPs, along with that the VPN is also going to protect your real identity so that those companies and other agencies do not have access to them. And there are many reasons for companies and people to get your information one of them is a phishing scam which allows the third parties to get your information and sell them to other companies for making money out of it.

Therefore, if you use a VPN, chances of getting into a phishing scam gets less as many VPN services provide additional protection services.

Using Public Wi-Fi with a Peace of Mind

If you are one of those people who have to use the internet from the airports, coffee shops, restaurants, or any other public place and you think it secure, then believe us it is not.

In fact, it’s the total opposite, and it gets easy for hackers to read the traffic that is being channelled via those Wi-Fi.

However, if you use a VPN than all of the traffic, which is being routed via the Wi-Fi, is going to be routed via the VPN application on your phone or pc then to the website and then back to you, encrypting everything in the middle. This will make browsing Facebook and other banking or online shopping safe.

Protecting Your Uploads and Downloads

There are many people who have to deal with upload content on the web every day, for instance, uploading everything on Instagram, Facebook, Snap Chat, Twitter etc.

If you are not using a VPN then your ISP, the government or the hacker who is scanning the public Wi-Fi is going to be able to see what you are uploading and downloading through your device. So if you use a VPN everything you upload and download, whether being pictures, music, or anything is going to be secured.

Opening Closed Doors

If your workplace or your school has restrictions on the internet which are not allowing you to access the desired website, maybe they are stopping you from using Facebook or any other social media platform.

Therefore, in order to jump over these restrictions you need to use VPN, it will not only give you access to those websites, but it also keeps your data encrypted.

How to Setup a VPN on Your Smart Phone

Image Source: Google Image – The home screen of an iPhone.

“The NSA has built an infrastructure that allows it to intercept almost everything,” says Edward Snowden. “With this capability, the vast majority of human communications are automatically ingested without targeting. If I wanted to see your emails or your wife’s phone, all I have to do is use intercepts. I can get your emails, passwords, phone records, credit cards.”

We have already talked about how to set up a VPN on Android and also how to set on up for your PC.

So let us talk about how to setup a VPN for your iOS devices.

We are going to be working with Opera VPN here because they are a free service, which is easy to setup.

However, we will also guide you on how to set up a VPN manually, which requires you to have a service already setup.

First of all in order to setup an application based VPN, you need to download it from the App Store and then install it following the wizard. Once that is done go into Settings > General > VPN > VPN Client, then selects the VPN Client you want to be as your default. Toggle its Status to On and you are done.

Now setting up the VPN manually – assuming that you have your VPN credentials and related information ready in front of you.

To set up it go into Settings > General > VPN  > Add VPN Configuration > Type, now select anyone L2TP, IPSec or IKEv2 – whatever your service provider is offering.

Once that is done hit Add Configuration, and then go back to the last screen.

Enter the information required to use the VPN i.e. the description, remote identification, server address etc.

Once that is set up enter Login Credentials as in your username and password. Then select the choice of your proxy and then tap Done.

Now it’s a matter of Toggling the Switch to On.

Safe surfing.