5 VPN Myths that Need to Go Away Right Now!

Despite our never-ending love for VPNs, we aren’t supposed to believe everything about these nifty little web-specific resources.

VPNs are great, but they aren’t actually holistic solutions to everything. For instance, you will still need a doctor when you get sick, VPN might only help you with the search.

Similarly, everything bad about the VPN isn’t always true and you should check every statement with a discerning eye. Facts are credible but myths can be dangerous.

Therefore, we have taken time out to talk about some of the more prevalent VPN myths that need to be debunked, stat.

But then, why are these myths even around!

Most VPN myths are deliberately seeded so that VPN sellers can come with specific plans, technologies, and features to help you out when actually help isn’t needed. Plus, the entire premise of a VPN is wittingly set to make you more receptive towards threats by making you believe that you are in greater danger than what follows you in reality.

Therefore, it is important to take a look at these believable VPN myths that have been carefully introduced into our psyche, so as to make us more dependent and judgemental towards select resources:

1. VPN is a Ubiquitous Solution

VPNs are important, period! But they aren’t exactly indispensable.

While the VPN sellers wouldn’t actually like this statement, things cannot get more real than this. For starters, if you are a traditional web-surfer and not interested in accessing region-restricted content or media, you can do without a Virtual Private Network.

For example, if you are located in India and looking to access Netflix content that is created precisely for the American audience, a VPN can certainly come in handy. You can also consider using proxies but VPN offers added security, which might come in handy in certain situations.

Moreover, if you aren’t concerned about violating the TOS, anything apart from the VPN can also work, provided a strong WPA2 password has been configured to keep the network free of threats. This shows, you might or might not rely on a Virtual Private Network to surf the internet but it is a myth to believe that you cannot and should not connect to the Internet without one turned on.

2. One VPN is Better than the Other

VPNs aren’t elusive resources anymore. While most companies used to set up their own private servers to plan for a curated VPN, things have changed in the last few years. At present, VPN is more like a cloud-based service and not an actual product offered by a company.

A modern-day VPN subscription is a company renting out access to the network usage. Be it the likes of NordVPN or ExpressVPN, no VPN client requires you to set up remote servers on your own. Instead, the access is provided as a part of the on-demand service module.

Still, the service module is more or less the same, with a standard set of protocols like PPTP, being used by most service providers. Apart from that, most VPN clients also offer the Linux-powered GUI followed by the Zero Log policy as a part of their marketing approach.

Therefore, it would be wrong to state that one VPN is better than the other as the feature sets depending on the usage patterns and preferences. For instance, if you want to use a VPN on your smartphone, PC, streaming device, or even the router, your surfing and usage habits would determine your preferences.

For instance, if you want to use the internet for torrenting, a VPN with higher speeds, a dedicated kill switch, and split tunneling support is the way to go. However, for enterprise VPN seekers who are looking for something that might help the remote workforce, it is important to select one that relies more on VPN security and safeguards.

Lastly, streaming fanatics need VPNs with exceptional server spread. Therefore, it is a myth to put one VPN above the other as each comes with a select clientele to cater to.

3. A VPN is needed every time you shop online

A subset of the first myth, this speculation also makes VPNs look indispensable. While we wouldn’t deny that cyber crooks are always on the lookout to invade your systems and siphon off your finances, credit card purchases are usually protected by the banking systems via instituted mechanisms.

Besides, if you are purchasing products from reliable websites, security shouldn’t be a matter of concern. Plus, you must be privy to the fact that packet sniffing is exceedingly difficult over mobile networks and you must rely on a good quality VPN only if a majority of your tasks are initiated over public hotspots and unsecured networks.

4. A Free VPN is as Good as a Paid One

Even though a VPN isn’t absolutely necessary, it is no excuse to persist with a free one. Paid VPNs are extremely powerful, regardless of the processes you use them for. Most free VPNs aren’t as equipped as the paid ones unless you are using a trial version of a premium client and planning to make a purchase at some point.

Besides, VPNs, as IP masking sources can be used with multiple devices, including the likes of Chromecast, Roku, Amazon Fire TV Stick, and other media streamers, precisely for enjoying unrestricted content streaming and torrenting. Therefore, if you plan on using a VPN with a streaming device or smartphone, free isn’t the way to go as the bandwidth is mostly restricted.

Even though connecting a VPN on Firestick is easier than you think, a free variant would only allow you to tunnel 500MB or a similar volume of data, as opposed to the unlimited bandwidth offered by premium services.

Therefore, if you are more into content streaming, downloading massive files, and torrenting, a paid VPN client is also imperative to get.

5. VPN can slow down your Internet speeds

Quite the opposite actually!

However, if you are looking for more technical expositions concerning VPNs, they do constrict the data flow, ever so slightly. The speed-specific trade-offs are virtually imperceptible. Still, if you are wary of the speed drops, persist with a VPN that has several servers in play, which lowers the chances of overloading.

Now back to how VPNs increase internet speeds! Certain VPNs have what we call the channel bonding technology, allowing you to pair two different internet connections for increasing the overall speeds. Plus, a VPN also masks the IP address, keeping the anonymity quotient intact and dissociating your connection from the privy eyes of the ISP that often throttles the internet speeds upon discovering torrenting and streaming as the usual online habits.

Bottom-Line

VPN myths continue to roll but a bit of research can help you steer clear of the misnomers and make an informed decision. The crux of the discussion, however, is the balanced nature of VPNs. This means, you can do away with them if you have pretty basic requirements but having a premium one is necessary to access every aspect of the internet in its entirety. Therefore, the next time you plan on getting a VPN that works as per your expectations, skim through these myths and ensure that you do not fall prey to one.