Internet service providers, social media companies, search engines, governments, and intergalactic lizard men all have one thing in common: they want to know what you do, view, and say on the internet.
This view was once only held in the annals of internet conspiracy. However, our good friend Eddy Snowden was kind enough to let us know that our governments are in fact very interested in who we match on Tinder.
Government agencies are not the biggest threat, however. Our silicon valley overlords also want to collect as much data about us as they can, to analyze it, create weird algorithms with it, then build robot versions of us to take all our jobs - and sell ads.
Governments and weirdo technology companies are still only half the problem. We still have to consider the array of online lynch mob’s ready to DOX us and email gruesome death threats to our grandmothers, the politically correct commissars ready to expose anyone who commits a thought crime, and, of course, the secret Twitter Super Detective Division.
The internet isn't the safe, anonymous, troll friendly wild west it once was.
We need to protect ourselves, and one weapon we can deploy to do this is a VPN.
What is a VPN?
A VPN (Virtual Private Network) is a service that protects you from hackers, enables you to browse the internet anonymously, and helps you bypass regional content locks and censors.
VPN's are able to do this by funneling all your internet traffic through a server. Everybody on the internet thinks your IP address is the server and not you. When you’re behind a VPN, not even your ISP knows what you are doing.
Why do you Need to use a VPN?
- The main reason why people use VPN's is to watch TV shows by buying a subscription to a content provider that does not allow customers from their country. The second main reason why people use VPN's is to watch TV shows for free because they are pirates, Arrr Matey!
- When you connect to a VPN, your ISP can no longer watch or record your internet activity. All your ISP knows is that, for some strange reason, you really like to connect to a server in Romania.
- The NSA/CIA/PUTIN/ZUCKERBERG/LIZARDS/FROGS etc. are unable to monitor your browsing activity as they think that the VPN server is doing all the browsing and not you.
- When behind a VPN connection your location cannot be found out. Right now I'm connected to the internet in Luxembourg … or am I???
- Wifi is a great invention. We can all connect to the magical wireless internet in a Starbucks. The only problem is these public wifi connections are notoriously vulnerable to all types of hacks. When you connect to wifi via a VPN it becomes extremely difficult for your data to be intercepted.
- Most websites will attempt to place cookies on your system to track and monitor your browsing activity. A VPN provider can block these tracking attempts.
- You may also use a VPN because you like to make posts on twitter about how women can't reverse park and don't want to lose your job or catch a Molotov cocktail.
Can you do Anything you Want on the Internet When you are Using a VPN?
No!
If you want to commit a serious crime on the internet then a VPN is probably not for you. Although a VPN is a great tool for maintaining anonymity online, for those on the dark side of life, I wouldn't waste my time reading Steemit posts about VPNs, rather try brushing up on your prison shower etiquette.
VPN's are not foolproof and every VPN provider is different.
Some VPN providers will hide your IP address but will still allow websites to track you. In this case, you need to use a browser like Firefox Focus or the new Brave Browser and/or set your browser settings to block tracking cookies.
Also, the location of your VPN provider matters. In some countries, it is a legal requirement for VPN providers to keep logs of their user’s and their internet activity.
For example, the European Union passed laws requiring VPN providers to keep logs of their users internet history. Fortunately, some countries in Europe, including Romania and Switzerland, used this EU law to wipe their asses. This is why the best VPN companies come from these countries.
The Evil Ones and why I use a VPN
The reason why I use a VPN whenever I connect to the internet comes down to two things: information and power.
Earlier this year, in the United States, while Trump supporters were busy taking up the cause of free speech, their great leader made it legal for their ISP's to sell their internet activity to whoever wants to buy it.
Furthermore, our friends in silicon valley like Google and Facebook, are busy collecting our information. Again, they seek to package and sell this information.
Information is power, and the more information they get, the more power they get. The more information we let them take the less power we have.
Google, Facebook, Twitter and their ilk, don't allow us to use their services for free because they are really nice people. We can use their services for free because we are not their customers – we are their product.
My information is mine. My interests, my opinions, my psychological problems, and everything else about me belongs to me. If they want my information to sell ads they can pay me for it. That’s what the basic attention token is doing on the Brave platform and I commend them for it.
Why I use CyberGhost for all my VPN Needs and you Should too
(not an ad for CyberGhost I just really like CyberGhost)
- I'm not the most computer savvy person on the interwebs. I need something simple. If you can't train a monkey to use it I won’t even try. CyberGhost is easy to set up and so simple to use even I can work it.
- They are one of the few VPN providers to offer a free service. You can use CyberGhost for free right now, however, the free service results in quite slow internet speeds, but at least you can try before you buy.
- CyberGhost is a Romanian company and therefore exempt from the European Union’s “European Data Directive”.
- CyberGhost doesn’t keep any logs of your internet history.
- Every VPN will slow down your connection some. However, in all my time using CyberGhost I have always been able to stream YouTube videos, Netflix, and other legal not pirated content without any issues.
- Cyber ghost can be used with any device, including laptops, phones, and tablets.
- CyberGhost blocks tracking cookies. However, I still use Brave Browser and Firefox Focus.
- And the number one reason why I think CyberGhost is the best is that they accept bitcoin. This is not only good for buying anonymously, but also companies that accept digital currencies are sexy.
Why Aren't you Using a VPN?
Every time you access the internet without a VPN you are feeding the beast. You're helping evil ISP's, degenerate social media platforms, and corrupt governments gain more and more power.
It's time for these archaic institutions to begin their decline into Yahoo obscurity. Stop giving them information. Choke them off from their lifeblood and help usher in the new order of the decentralized blockchain.