VPN, also referred to as a virtual private network, is no longer a tech term used by computer geeks. Now, due to our increase in internet activity, millions of people make use of it.
Day after day, our dependence on our devices continues to increase. We store critical and private information in them. This reliance makes the safety of our stored information a priority. Therefore, we need a security measure.
Over the years, the use of VPN has become popular because of their importance for internet security. Other “not so serious” reasons include leisure activities like gaming and movies. Another function is that individuals use it to commit nefarious activities while cloaking their actual location.
The best VPNs encrypt your online activities and hide your location by altering your IP address. These functions are essential while streaming. If you love to watch online content, read on as we analyze why a secured VPN is suitable for streaming.
Benefits of A Good VPN
Protection of Your IP Address
When you are enjoying yourself streaming online, your device sends out information to the video hosting server. If you cannot secure your device location and other private information, some individuals are going to pry into them.
Your password and some sensitive information may also get into the hands of hackers and snoopers to target you. Therefore, you must utilize a secured VPN with a very high level of encryption like IPVanish VPN which is recommended by CordCuttersAnonymous.
A secure VPN acts like a bodyguard during your online activity and protects your sensitive information from unsecured public servers. If you are still concerned about hackers getting access to your stuff, a secure VPN has got you covered.
When anyone tries to access the information being transmitted from your device, your VPN bombards them with a load of gibberish. So, you remain to rest assured of your internet safety and anonymity.
Access To Geo-Blocked Content
It is a real pain when trying to get into a website and get an access denied popup. Sometimes it is a great TV show on HBO max you cannot watch because of your location. You get where I’m going with this.
However, with a secure VPN with good enough encryption, streaming your favorite movies and shows while abroad or in any geo-blocked location is conceivable.
A secure VPN like IpVanish or Tuxler bypasses your location blocks and makes it seem like you are accessing restricted content from an approved region. It alters your location by redirecting your internet traffic to a properly located server elsewhere.
Furthermore, these VPNs always provide multiple locations to choose from, especially for content restricted to a particular area. With it, evading regulations is easy.
Reduces Buffering While Streaming
Sometimes, your device pauses mid-task so that it downloads enough data to allow you to play music or video without lag. This action of your device is buffering. It works by pre-downloading and stores video in temporary storage before playback commences.
Although, you would agree with me that it is always very annoying. However, it is meant to provide you with fantastic streaming, but this is not always the case.
Because streaming uses a lot of bandwidth, your internet service provider tries to counter this effect by reducing network congestion by reducing its speed. This causes lagging pages and a buffering screen. Not so fun, right?
Thankfully with a good VPN, there is a reduction in the possibility of buffering while streaming because it keeps your internet activity from your service provider. So that’s goodbye to your stop-start viewing experience when streaming.
Prevention Of Data Throttling
When streaming a movie, your service providers cut short your fun time. This is because streaming consumes a lot of data.
During excessive usage of your data to a specific amount, your internet service provider slows down your service in a bid to help you manage data. Your service provider initiates this by causing some websites to load and operate slower than others.
When you use a good VPN, bypassing data throttling is easy because your internet service provider is unable to see how much data you are using.
Helps Avoid Bandwidth Throttling
Although most people confuse bandwidth and data throttling, they are not the same. While data throttling occurs when you use data to a specific limit, bandwidth is the intentional slowing of internet speed by your service provider.
They throttle your bandwidth to regulate traffic in the network and minimize bandwidth congestion and usage. However, with a good VPN, avoid bandwidth throttling is simple.
Problems You Might Encounter While Streaming with A VPN
It is not all roses with VPN. Although we acknowledge its perks, some users complain that their experiences with VPN are not so good. Here are some of the common problems encountered;
Decreased Internet Speed
Although the effect of buffering is efficiently reduced, because VPNs send your online activity through a secured tunnel to a remote server, it might cause your internet speed to decrease. This, most likely, drastically affects your streaming experience.
There are a few reasons why this occurs. Some of them include;
- Significant distance between your location and the VPN server
- Slow internet connection
- Busy VPN servers
However, while there is no quick fix for a slow internet connection, the other two causes are easy to handle. This is because VPNs provide a wide selection of server locations to use.
From the options, a server with a better connection and one relatively close to you is easy to choose.
Split tunneling is another excellent option. It involves routing some of your apps or your device traffic through a VPN. However, the other applications and device software do not make use of a VPN.
For example, while choosing to play games directly connected to the internet and streaming through an encrypted VPN. Opting for this pattern of connection guarantees your privacy and speed when streaming.
Amidst all its benefits, the primary purpose of a VPN is for online privacy and the security of your information. So, if you have not considered using a VPN, you should look for a secure one and take your streaming to the next level.
