“No one on the internet knows that you are a dog,” read the famous cartoon published by New Yorker way back in 1993. Almost thirty years later, we know that not only, on the Net, everyone can discover who we are, but also what we buy, how we find out, where we go on holiday, what clothes we prefer, even where we go to the restaurant and even what our hopes or fears are (for which we usually ask Google).
Simply put, privacy on the Internet is very limited. And it is for this reason that software that prevents the tracking of our online activity through cookies is becoming more and more widespread, which they keep our conversations private or more. Tools that therefore act as a (partial) shield to anyone who wants to monitor our activities on the Net, usually for advertising purposes, but also for surveillance, data theft and more. One of the tools that most widely protects our online activities from prying eyes, while also providing additional security, is the Vpn: the acronym stands for Virtual private Network and in Italian it can be translated as Virtual Private Network.
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What is a VPN and how it works
When we are online, the device we are using constantly sends data, receiving others in return (for example, the content of a site): all this data can be monitored by our Internet service provider and any third parties able to intercept us while browsing. However, if we use a VPN, all data is encrypted, therefore made incomprehensible to anyone who comes into possession of it with the sole exception of those who have the key necessary to decrypt them.
The second benefit is that if we use a VPN the visible point of origin of our connection it will no longer be the geographic area of our provider, but one of the servers employed by the company providing the VPN we are using. Before leaving our computer (or smartphone), the data is then encrypted and then sent to one of the servers used by the VPN software. The IP address of this server (the unique series of numbers that usually identifies each device), wherever it is located in the world, will therefore become our IP address, effectively making our true position no longer traceable.
This is a fundamental aspect: the companies that offer this type of services have thousands of servers scattered in every corner of the planet. When we connect to the Internet using a Virtual Private Network (which we can choose and change at will), our encrypted data is sent to one of thousands of servers, which decrypts them and sends them to the destination we are looking for.
An analogy with the real world (however extremely simplified) can be useful to understand: that’s enough imagine filling out a postcard and then to send it by traditional post; usually, the postman and maybe even the neighbors are able to find out what is written on the postcard, who sent it and from where. Using a VPN, what is written on the postcard is incomprehensible to anyone until they reach the place where the VPN server is located; here the postcard is decrypted, entrusted to a courier hired by the same VPN and taken to the destination, indicating the geographical area of the VPN server as the place of origin.
Why use a VPN
Thanks to Virtual Private Networks, therefore, you can hide any online activity. But why do it? Protecting privacy, in addition to being a right, can have several concrete benefits. One that yes prevents so-called price discrimination, the practice for which we see different prices, perhaps of a plane ticket, depending on what our presumed purchasing power is, derived mainly (but not only) based on our position.
Another practical reason is to also be able to access blocked sites: use social networks even within a company network that blocks them, connect to banned platforms in Italy (such as a torrent site), or watch Netflix even if you are in countries where it is not available. Finally, it is important to use a VPN every time you connect to a public wifi network, which is notoriously insecure.
Not only that: VPNs become tools crucial to circumvent the censorship of authoritarian regimes, which prevent access to countless platforms (the classic example is that of China, where Facebook, Google, Twitter, Whatsapp and others are blocked). Also in non-democratic countries, the VPN is also very useful for making it more difficult to track down dissidents who organize protests and more through the Net. Precisely for this reason, using VPNs is prohibited in China, Iran, Russia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates and others. In democratic countries, however, using a VPN is absolutely legal.
How do you install a VPN?
First of all, it depends on which operating system you are using, on which device you are installing it and which Vpn you choose. In principle, the steps to take are always the same. After you register on the Vpn website and have downloaded it, we need to install it as we would any other software. After this process, we need to open the program and enter our credentials. We will be faced with a screen that will indicate that we are still disconnected from the VPN.
At this point, there are usually two options: one, simpler, let the software decide which server to connect to, while the second shows a menu from which we will have to choose the server that is right for us and then click Connect. Some browsers, such as Firefox and Chrome, allow you to download VPN extensions, very simple to install, but which guarantee protection only while we use that particular browser. Operainstead, it offers a default VPN.
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Which VPNs to choose and how much they cost
There are free VPNs, but it is not recommended to use them because the protection they offer is very partial. It is also important to choose a VPN that allows you to protect multiple devices, because today no one uses the Internet only on the computer, but also (if not above all) on smartphones and tablets. That said, what are the best VPNs?
The best known is probably NordVpn, which allows you to connect up to 6 devices and offers a selection of over 5,000 servers worldwide. It is not free: prices range from 10 euros for the monthly pass, but go down to 4 per month if you subscribe for one year and € 2.6 if you choose the two-year formula. NordVpn is compatible with Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, iOS and so on.
Another very popular VPN is ExpressVpn, particularly easy to use and very effective for circumventing territorial blockades. However, it only protects 5 devices and offers around 3,000 servers. The prices are not low: 11 euros for the monthly rate, 8.6 euros per month for the six-monthly one and 5.8 for the annual one (with 3 free months included). Surfshark instead it is a Vpn known for its speed and the offer of unlimited connections: prices range from 10.9 euros for the monthly subscription to 2 euro / month of the two-year one.
In the end, Private Internet Access, which in addition to offering 10 simultaneous connections can rely on 11 thousand servers: its clients are widely configurable, which is an advantage for the most experienced users, but could discourage those less experienced. The cost ranges from € 11.69 for the monthly subscription up to less than 2 euros per month for the 3-year long one.
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