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Why a German VPN can help with Streaming TV and other things

The internet has divided opinion ever since it was first created. There are a lot of wonderful things to do when you go online- think of social media, which gives us the opportunity to chat with people on the other side of the world as though they’re sitting right beside us. Think of the ability to click onto news websites and discover all the goings-on all over the world at the touch of a button, and think about the huge wealth of knowledge we can gather simply by going onto a search engine and entering a few keywords. The plethora of options available to us, in my opinion, makes the internet very worthwhile and it’s strongly believed that it’ll be at the forefront of our society for years to come (and it’s hard to disagree). The rise of the internet has been an exponential one, and it shows no sign of slowing down.

That doesn’t mean that it’s all sunshine and rainbows, however. Just as there are plenty of good things to do on the internet, there are also a number of dangerous scenarios that are always best to avoid. Plenty of people are out there to exploit online users and they tend to be very good at it. Hackers are always looking to get into other people’s computers and devices, with bank details, addresses and identities often being stolen for their personal gain. There are a lot of other dangers on the internet as well, with viruses often causing people a lot of issues. However, I believe hackers are the ones that are both the ones you want to avoid the most and the ones that are the hardest to protect yourself against.

There are ways to do it, however. The ever-growing number of hackers out there has seen a number of preventative measures being created, and I don’t think many of these are as effective as a Virtual Private Network (VPN). VPNs have really risen to prominence in recent years due to the overwhelming protection they can offer and the range of tasks they can allow you to complete, but what actually are they? How do they protect you, and what kinds of avenues do they open up? Here’s everything you need to know about VPNs in Germany and the kinds of things they can help you with.

If you want to look at some VPNs for Germany, follow our link.

What is a VPN?

So what actually is a VPN, then? Well, it’s partly explained in the name; Virtual Private Network. It’s virtual because it takes place on a computer and isn’t actually a physical thing. It’s private because it’s limited to your use of it and noone else can reap the benefits of it, and it’s a network and you join up with a host of different web servers when you use one. They’ve been around for a fair while now and have become really popular in recent times. In essence, they’re used to block any unwanted hassle and to provide the user with extra security, but we’ll talk more about that later.

How does a VPN work?

If you’re struggling to understand so far, think of it this way; a VPN almost acts like a tunnel. When you connect to one, a sort of online tunnel is created. You cease to use your own Wifi and actually connect to a completely different server, and this is usually somewhere on the complete other side of the world. If you live in Germany, for example, your VPN could connect you to an internet server in the USA and you’d therefore be able to access everything that that Wifi allows you to. How does it actually do this, though?

VPNs do this by changing your IP address. Whenever you purchase a VPN and turn it on, it’ll change your IP address every single time. Your IP address is more or less your unique identifier whenever you sign in to your computer or internet powered device, and it’s the way that both internet providers and governments can see what you’re doing online. Whatever you do can be traced back to you and the device that you were using the internet on. If someone is trying to hack you, it’s this IP address that they’ll use to find you and get into your computer- that’s when they can start their criminal activities and steal whatever valuable details you have on there.

By constantly changing your IP address, these hackers won’t be able to find you online. You’ll be well hidden after effectively crawling through a tunnel to another country and using a random IP address from there. After this has been done, it’s incredibly difficult to track you and therefore take any of your details. This is a very effective line of defense, especially if you’re using public Wifis frequently as these are among the easiest to hack into. I’d definitely recommend getting a VPN if you use public systems, but they’re really valuable for all internet users.

Who uses VPNs?

I’ve already touched on this a little, but it’s still an important question that can be expanded on; who actually uses VPNs? The truth is that everyone can use them if they want to, but there are still certain people or groups that use them more than others. People who use public Wifis regularly are among the most common to use them due to the low security measures on these systems. These kinds of Wifis are a hacker’s playground due to the ease with which they can crack into them and take their share of goods (primarily private details such as bank codes). Having a VPN installed on your device when you use these kinds of networks will help protect you, connecting you to a variety of different servers and putting you out of reach of crooks.

Big companies with huge computer systems also tend to use VPNs. These were among the first groups of people to use VPns at all, and it’s not hard to see why. Think of it this way; if you’re involved in a big company who all share the same computer network, if you’re hacked into on one computer then you could be hacked into on every single system in your building or company. This is a very dangerous game to be playing- just think of all the files and private details that could be breached. By setting up VPNs on each of their internet-run devices, these companies are effectively putting up a wall to hackers which are incredibly difficult to breach. This has been done for a while and will continue to be done- it’s a very effective method of protection.

Why use them?

So what actually are the benefits of using a VPN? Well first of all there’s the fact that they’ll really benefit your security whenever you’re online. As I’ve already mentioned, there are a lot of different dangers out there on the internet and it’s your job to prevent them getting to you as best as you can. That’s why VPNs are so great- they effectively make you invisible when you’re online and almost impossible to track. Your IP address is altered and you’re connected to a completely random network, so finding you among millions of other internet users is nigh on impossible.

The price you have to pay for this protection doesn’t tend to be too damaging either. A lot of services on the internet tend to be a bit expensive- that’s the simple fact in our society nowadays. Even the price of certain protection programmes tends to be a bit out of reach, but VPNs are normally pretty cheap. In fact, most are available at just a few euros per month, which is nearly nothing when you’re thinking about protecting yourself online. Of course a lot of people don’t want to spend anything at all, but in my opinion, it’s much better to spend a little bit of money and ensure you’re safe than spend nothing and end up regretting it once you’ve been hacked. There are a lot of great deals out there and I’m sure if you do the right research you’ll find one that suits you.

Can you get past certain site blocks with VPNs?

The simple answer to this question is yes. As I’ve already mentioned, VPNs work by connecting you to Wifi networks on completely different countries and continents. This means that if you want to access some content that is restricted in your country but is available in other countries, you could simply connect to a VPN in that country and you’ll be able to access all sites that country can. For example, if you use Netflix in Germany and want to watch a show that’s only available on the US version of Netflix, you could connect to a VPN service in the US and therefore you’ll be using a server from that country. You’ll therefore be able to watch whatever shows people in that country can, which is always great. This works with other blocked sites as well, so do your best to find out what VPNs you should buy to access the restricted content you’d like.