In the age when all our actions can be traced and nothing remains truly private, having a VPN running in the back might be a good idea.
Firstly, to make sure you’re keeping the details of your personal life to yourself, and secondly, to protect your sensitive data from being hijacked.
However, having a virtual private network enabled at all times often makes us doubt the feasibility of doing so.
You, as well as many other VPN users, probably asked yourself before, “Should I leave my VPN on all the time?”
We believe that in most cases the answer will be positive.
And, though it may sound for you a bit irrational, we strongly recommend that you should always use a VPN.
Here are 10 main reasons why.
Why You Should Leave Your VPN On All The Time
1. To protect your sensitive data
All the sensitive data you transmit over the Internet must be encrypted.
It can be your personal documents, private photos, audio or video recordings, or anything else that’s associated with your identity.
If you don't encrypt your Internet connection when transmitting such data, your connection can be exploited and your data stolen.
A VPN client working on your device by default will save you from a data breach by ciphering your network traffic and hiding your IP address.
2. To access geo-restricted content
If you want to watch geo-restricted content, a VPN is certainly your go-to tool.
However, if you don’t keep a VPN on while browsing content on a geo-censored platform, it’s very likely that the platform will see your real IP and permanently block your access to stored content.
Sometimes, even with a VPN, streaming platforms can ban you from viewing video content, if your VPN connection suddenly drops.
In this case your real IP address gets revealed for a period of time, and when you reconnect to a VPN again, the platform may figure out you’re using some software (as your IP address changed again) and quickly ban your connection.
Therefore, it’s important to choose a VPN offering advanced security features like Kill Switch.
3. To keep your physical location hidden
Our exact location is something we don’t really want to disclose to the entire Internet.
Unfortunately, our online privacy gets compromised each time we are landing on a new website.
Today, Internet technologies have become so advanced and digital marketers so sophisticated that they collect every possible bit of our personal information, including physical location.
Usually, the process takes place when we allow our web browser to accept cookies, however, often our data is logged even without our permission.
You may wonder, “Why am I still seeing these annoying ads of a product I’m no longer interested in?”
Well, you’re on the radar of salespeople who bought your browser logs to improve the odds of selling the product.
But what if some cybercriminals apply their tricky techniques to spy on your physical IP address?
Then, everything can be much worse.
Luckily, when you are surfing the Internet with an active VPN connection, no one can trace your exact location as you appear to be browsing the web from a completely different place.
4. To stay safe on a public WiFi
Unsecure connections are one more reason why we recommend that you should leave your VPN on all the time.
The temptation of using public WiFi in a cafe or any other public place may inflict a great deal of damage to your privacy and personal data.
That’s because public Internet access is never secure.
Moreover, if there were a list of hackers’ top go-to places to practice circumvention, places such as parks or public libraries would certainly hold the first lines.
Therefore, it’s better to always have your VPN on: the more secure you connection is, the better.
5. To fight off hackers
Ordinary people, as well as seven-figure-plus corporations, regularly become victims of hacker attacks, and as the technical progress goes on the number and the complexity of such attacks are only increasing.
Exploiting vulnerabilities of the Internet-enabled devices and the Internet itself, cybercriminals get their hands on the most valuable data we have: credit card details, account passwords, important documents, etc.
To strengthen your protection and reduce the possibility of hackers picking you as a target, you can use a VPN service.
By using a VPN, you disguise your physical IP address and cipher your Internet connection in a manner that puts you out of sight of potential intruders.
And even if somebody tries to hack your VPN connection, it’s rather impossible that he will exploit an advanced VPN encryption protocol like AES-256.
6. To protect your online transactions
For many of us, performing online transactions has become a daily routine.
Online banking, payment service providers, financial services corporations – it’s all out there to make things like money transfers and stock investments easy and enjoyable.
However, all the joy of nearly instant financial operations can all of a sudden turn into regrets if you don’t do anything to ensure your online safety.
According to data from RSA, money transfers are the second most affected vertical after airlines when it comes to online payment fraud.
Such types of fraud as account takeover or identity fraud are prevalent, and there are lots of people who became vicitims of cybercrime and had their money lost.
All because they neglected security when making transactions.
If you choose to keep a VPN software active at all times, you’ll create a solid layer of protection preventing unauthorized hands from getting on your financial data.
7. To bypass ISP connection throttling
Sometimes your Internet Service Provider can manually slow down your connection speed if it thinks you’re trying to use up extra bandwidth (ISPs usually perform deep packet inspection to evaluate how you’re using the connection).
Unexpected speed drops may happen during peak Internet times (your provider tries to reduce network loading) or when you’re downloading torrents, playing games, or streaming content.
To stop your ISP from monitoring your packets and capping your connection speed, you can leave your VPN running in the background.
This way, you’ll be confident nobody can spoil your gaming or streaming experience.
Your provider simply won’t be able to see what you’re doing on the web because a VPN traffic is always masked.
8. To remain anonymous on a P2P connection
Here, we should start by saying that we never advocate things like torrenting or copyright infringement.
More than that, we are strictly against piracy.
However, it’s a well-known fact that some people are using VPNs to remain anonymous while downloading torrents.
Though in some countries torrenting is punished with severe monetary penalties or even imprisonment, people still use programs like UTorrent for various purposes.
Of course, you might utilize torrent software for downloading legally acquired files faster.
But, you’ll have a hard time proving that to cyber police.
And, believe it or not, your ISP provider always knows what you do online unless you have a habit of using a VPN all the time.
If so, you can be sure that you have your digital footprints hidden and your personal data private.
9. To save money on online purchases
Given that websites adjust their pricing based on your current location, keeping a VPN on may be a great way to find fair deals and eliminate online price discrimination.
By staying connected to a VPN server in a low-income country, you mask your real IP address and therefore avoid being overcharged for flight tickets, products, and services.
10. To play video games comfortably
Usually, having a VPN enabled when playing video games isn’t necessary if it’s a single-player or a coop game.
However, you might want to keep your VPN on if you need to:
- Avoid ISP throttling
- Bypass unfair IP bans
- Reduce your ping
- Get access to content that’s not available in your region
Wrapping Things Up
In this article, we’ve outlined 10 main reasons why you should leave your VPN on all the time.
A virtual private network is a great and necessary thing for your daily online activities.
Whether you surf the web, use online banking, or go on a public WiFI, a good VPN service will be one of your best investments.
So use it at all times without any hesitation, and stay protected at all times.
