VPNs are the best way to protect your online security and privacy. They encrypt all the data that travels across your network, making it virtually impossible for hackers, ISPs, and governments to access your personal information. In most cases, you should use a VPN, and in particular, VPN Gateways, but not always. It depends on why you're using a VPN in the first place. If you're only using a VPN while streaming your favorite TV shows, it makes sense to turn it on or off for those purposes (for example, turning it off when you want a faster Internet connection).
With good quality VPNs, the loss in speed is minimal, usually unnoticeable. For example, Hotspot Shield offers a speed loss of only 0.41%. Our research has shown that VPNs increase data usage by between 4% and 20%, depending on the protocol you use. Poor quality VPNs can carry serious security and privacy risks, leaving you worse off than if you weren't using one.
If you're signed in to a Google or Facebook account, a VPN won't be able to stop those companies from monitoring your activity. Whether it's for school research or accessing government-monitored websites, keeping your VPN turned on will prevent you from falling into website censorship. Netflix can accurately guess when you're using a VPN, which can be annoying if you just want to watch a movie. Worse yet, some paid VPN providers claim not to log in but were later discovered to do so.
CyberGhost prevents WebRTC leaks and gives you the option of using a dedicated IP so that PayPal doesn't recognize it as an address that belongs to a VPN company. Configuring your router to use a VPN may seem overwhelming, but some VPN companies will sell you a pre-configured router if you want to try it out. Free VPNs are tempting but they often come with serious security and privacy risks. Trusted VPN companies ignore this information and most make sure you never sign up in the first place.
If your VPN causes the network to run out of time and causes you to log in several times, it may be affecting your battery. Companies like Netflix are experts at detecting and blocking the use of VPNs. The main disadvantages of a VPN can be frustrating, but they don't necessarily affect most users. However, keep in mind that there are many other ways to track yourself online, and a VPN won't protect against all of them.
