Should You Set Up Your Own VPN at Home?

Deciding whether or not your home broadband needs a VPN can be challenging, however, if you are working from home it may be just the right thing for you. A VPN, or otherwise known a Virtual Private Network, creates a more secure online connection which can keep sensitive information safe and not fall into the wrong hands.

 

 

What Does a VPN Do?

 

VPNs, or Virtual Private Networks, are designed to hide your IP address, along with protecting your data from hackers, trackers and even your internet service provider. VPNs accomplish this by ensuring a secure and encrypted tunnel between your device and the internet, effectively shielding your data. Apart from protecting your data, VPNs also provide geo-restriction bypass, enhancing privacy and boosting digital security on both private and public networks.

 

Is a VPN Crucial For Home Internet?

 

For most households, a VPN may not be categorised as essential. Its valuation increases as users begin to handle sensitive documents, wish to have remote access and crave privacy over their digital life. Not to mention, a VPN can also be useful to access global content.

 

Why Use a VPN?

 

Online privacy and security are a priority. It keeps your personal data private and protected (especially while accessing public Wi-Fi). A VPN also prevents an internet provider from tracking online activity. In addition, a VPN allows access to shows and websites that are blocked in your region. Regardless of watching videos, working from home or even while casually browsing the internet, a VPN bolsters online safety and freedom.

 

 

What Are the Benefits of Using a VPN at Home?

 

VPNs, together with a person’s home network, present multiple benefits. These include hiding your internet activities and location, protecting your data from interception and much more:

 

Comprehensive Device Protection

 

With a VPN, all smart devices, including phones, tablets, smart TVs and computers, can be protected with a single service through installation on routers or using device-specific applications.

 

Remote Work Protection

 

For employees on a remote work setup, a VPN provides a way to securely connect to the remote company resources and ensures sensitive information is not intercepted.

 

Global Content Access

 

With a VPN, you are able to access geographically restricted content and stream television shows, sports or films from overseas libraries.

 

Prevent ISP Throttling

 

VPNs are capable of covering data usage, giving internet providers a hard time capping specific data types from traffic such as video streaming or online gaming.

 

Increased Security

 

VPNs encrypt your personal data so even if a guest logs on to your home network, your sensitive information remains protected.

 

Evading Targeted Advertising and Data Collection

 

Because your traffic is encrypted and anonymised, advertisers and trackers cannot create a comprehensive profile for you based on your internet activities.

 

 

Is Home Wi-Fi Safe Without a VPN?

 

Home Wi-Fi networks secured with a password provide significant cybersecurity protections. WPA3, the latest encryption standard, adds heightened protection. Your internet provider and some websites, however, can still monitor your online behaviour, unless a VPN is utilised.

 

Do VPNs Help With Working From Home?

 

For remote employees, a VPN offers additional cybersecurity protections by safeguarding communications through encryption and keeping confidential business information private. Many companies mandate the use of VPNs for remote employees to access private networks and internal systems securely.

 

Does VPNs Help Streaming Service at Home?

 

VPNs for streaming purposes allow users to access content from other regions, for example, US Netflix from the UK. Some VPNs have specialised servers that are optimised for seamless streaming, however, lower quality networks and free VPNs can provide slower connections.

 

Will A VPN Make My Internet Slower?

 

For many services, the degree to which speed is affected is insignificant, especially when using a trustworthy VPN provider paired with a robust internet connection. This is because of the additional server data needs to be sent to and additional data needs to be encrypted.

 

Can I Use a VPN on My Smart TV or Streaming Devices?

 

Some smart devices will be able to run VPN apps directly and others will use smart DNS features. A few devices will require that the VPN be configured directly on the router which creates a VPN hotspot for all devices in the house. This allows all of these router-connected devices and even the ones that do not support VPNs natively to be covered by the VPN.

 

Do VPNs Work with All UK ISPs?

 

Most of the large UK internet service providers BT, Virgin Media and TalkTalk work with VPNs without any restrictions. They can also be useful for avoiding ISP throttling in which they limit the bandwidth for specific services by disguising what is being sent over the connection.