The internet is a wonderful place, especially during times of country-wide quarantine. To many, it’s the only place to turn to. We run our lives and personal and professional networks in a streamlined way that was impossible just 20 years ago. We can be entertained for hours, mostly free of charge.
We do, however, pay for these conveniences in a number of ways. Not least of which is collating data for ISP providers who then sell it for a profit. Or by leaving ourselves open to hackers and identity theft. We are bombarded with targeted ads that magically appear after we’ve spoken with a friend or made one search.
Many of us already use a VPN to avoid the annoyance of targeted marketing, obfuscate our browsing history, and keep our data secure. But your VPN has applications that you might not have considered.
You can amplify the net and get more off the good stuff (and suffer less of the drawbacks) with our handy list of VPN tips and tricks.
More of the journalism you want with none of the cost
Many major newspapers and magazines — think The Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The New Yorker and so on — have paywalls in place. These paywalls prevent users from reading articles and news unless they have a subscription.
Although non-subscribers can usually access a couple of articles per month, it’s often not enough when you need access to the reports or information the papers contain and you’ve run out of views.
While it would be great if we could afford to pay subscription fees to all the papers we want to read, the reality for many is that it’s simply too costly. And there’s always the argument that paywalls defeat the very purpose and goals of journalism.
What a lot of people don’t realize is that their VPN software can skirt paywalls and unlock high-quality journalism. This doesn’t hold true across all VPNs and you’ll need a high-quality paid version.
Take Firesticks from standard to super
VPNs aren’t just for your phone and laptop. They have a broad range of uses in the home and on devices you didn’t know needed a VPN. For example, did you know that VPN for Firestick is a thing?
Firesticks are already pretty cool, they allow us to turn any TV into a smart television just by plugging the USB-sized device into the set. But with your VPN enabled and installed on your device, you can bypass geoblocking and unlock content from around the world completely free of charge.
Whether you want to watch a BBC documentary or an Australian SBS miniseries, you can with thanks to your VPN. And if your Netflix account was looking a little stale, simply change your country and you’ll find heaps of fresh, unique content.
Cheaper air travel is just a few clicks away
We travel internationally more than ever before. With globalization, the world has become open and explorable on an unprecedented level. One of the reasons we can travel the way we do is the advent of cheaper seats on international flights.
That said, these “cheap” seats aren’t always affordable. But there is a way to find better deals.
Have you ever been researching flights with a friend overseas and their searches consistently yield cheaper prices than you are getting?
That’s because airline and air travel booking sites track your IP address when you visit their websites. The prices you see are directly related to your present location. It seems a bit unfair, right?
Bypass the expensive rate and get access to lower prices by changing your location. Turn your VPN on and select a server. Often, connecting to a low-income or developing nation results in the best prices. Make sure you clear your cookies between searches and use incognito mode too.
Et voila, you’ll be en route to Paris or anywhere you please at a fraction of the cost.
These are just a few of the nifty things your VPN can do to help you amplify the internet in 2020. And, of course, when you use your VPN all the time, you’re keeping your data safe, secure, and protecting your valuable privacy.