5+1 reasons why you should use a VPN while traveling

In this article, I explain what is a VPN, why you should always use one while traveling, and which is the best.

There is no doubt that the internet has changed our lives, sometimes for the best other times for the worse, and this within a few years. For example, traveling in our times means being able to stay in touch with family and friends even if we are on the other side of the world. Also thanks to the internet it is possible to keep working virtually from any corner of the planet.

However, this freedom is not evenly distributed throughout the world. It’s becoming increasingly common to find websites that in some countries are censored by local governments (think about China, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, and many other countries). This can be a big problem if you need these websites to work and you are traveling in one of those countries. Imagine for example what could happen if you were waiting for an important email on your Gmail account but you are in China (here my travel guide) and since Google it’s censored, you can get it.

Besides the rising number of countries that are censoring content online, there are other things you should worry about when using the Internet. One of these is the danger of getting your devices hacked. Using a public Wi-Fi connection for example is ALWAYS risky, no matter where you are.

So the question is: what can you do to reduce these problems? Simple: using a VPN.

What is a VPN

On this blog, I wrote a post about the best VPN. I think it is a very important topic but often underestimated or even ignored by most people who use the internet while traveling. But what exactly is a VPN?

This is how Wikipedia explains it:

A bit confusing? Let me rephrase it.

Imagine that the Internet is like a river. If you try to pour on that river a bit of red paint (the unencrypted internet connection) anyone can see the paint flowing, where it started. and where it will end up.

Now imagine that instead of pouring the paint into the river, you use a pipe that is located on the river bed. No one can see what’s going on under the water and doesn’t even know whether or not there is a pipe. Your VPN is that pipe. It hides the connection, encrypts it, and does much more.

Even if you haven’t understood well how a VPN works, the good news is that using it is very simple: just download an app, or software, and click a button to activate it before browsing the internet. The only thing you’ll have to do is to choose from which country you want to connect to. Then all outgoing traffic from your device will be encrypted: navigation, email, streaming of music and videos, voice calls, and video calls and it will seem that it comes from the country you selected.

In recent years some free proxy services have appeared, such as Hola, which actually only protects the internet traffic from your browser. These kinds of proxies are in most cases totally useless or even harmful. To give an example, check this article to see why services like Hola are dangerous.

If you are using this service or other similar, I strongly recommend that you delete them and use a safe VPN that actually works and protects your traffic.

If you’re still not convinced, here are 5 good reasons why you need to use a VPN both when you’re traveling and when connecting to a Wi-Fi hotspot.

5+1 reasons why you should use a VPN while traveling

Protect your privacy when using a public Wi-Fi

Hackers are constantly looking for new devices to infect and it’s easier for them to do it when these devices are connected to a public hotspot (it doesn’t matter if access is password protected or not). Whether you are at Singapore airport, in a Chiang Mai Starbucks, or in a public library in Milan your devices are vulnerable.

A VPN it’s the best way to encrypt your connection and reduce security issues. An unprotected Wi-Fi connection can compromise your email and other private information. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that there is nothing interesting for hackers to steal from you and therefore it is not worth protecting your device: most of the time, these kinds of attacks are not aimed at stealing personal information but rather at using the victim’s PC as a starting point for other attacks.

In other words, if the hacker successfully infiltrates your devices, he will try to use them to attack other devices, so it will seem that you are the hacker!

Improve the speed of the connection

A VPN can be used to bypass the congested traffic of an Internet Service Provider (ISP) and thus improve the speed of sites such as Youtube. This is very useful when traveling especially if you are connected to a network with many other people. You can watch your favorite TV series or movies without the annoying lags that slow down the streaming.

Avoid the censorship

If you have visited countries such as China, Egypt, the Arab Emirates, Vietnam, etc., you know what I am talking about. More and more countries are trying to prevent access to some websites by blocking them. The reasons are different and more or less justifiable. The result is however always the same: some sites are not accessible without a VPN.

In China, for example, Facebook, Google, Gmail, Instagram, Twitter, Youtube, and many other sites are blocked. With a VPN you can bypass these restrictions.

In western countries, you can find some blocked content too. For example, some websites like Netflix restrict their content too. Most of the time, you can bypass this limitation by getting a VPN and connecting to a server located in another nation.

Keep in mind though that if you want a VPN just to stream movies and tv series I recommend you try it first before getting one. This is because sites such as Netflix and major VPN developers are constantly fighting each other and from time to time some VPNs might not work as expected.

Prevent your Internet data from being stored

Many countries have laws that establish that the internet browsing data of each individual user is stored for a certain period of time. In Australia, for example, the data is stored for 2 years.

Sadly the world in which we live is increasingly resembling the dystopian reality described by Orwell in 1984. If you think that you HAVE THE RIGHT to have some privacy, then you have another good reason to get a VPN. In Italy currently, personal data are stored for a period between 6 months and 2 years.

If you don’t know if the country you are currently in has similar laws, you can check this list.

Save money when booking flights, hotels, and car rental

Airlines and car rental websites use geo-location to decide the final price you’ll pay. With a VPN you are in control and you can change the location of your IP address. This means that you can try to get the cheapest ticket by simply changing your VPN connection to a different server.

Remember though to delete the cookies and the chronology history of your browser before using it to book something online or, even better, to browse in an incognito window. One thing to keep in mind is that some airlines try to prevent these shortcuts but completely block access to their websites if you use a VPN. This happened to me with Emirates.

Prevent getting locked out of your home banking and Paypal accounts (among other websites)

One of the security systems adopted by many sites to prevent account theft is checking your IP address. For example, if you access the bank’s site while you are in your country and the next access is from an IP address on the other side of the world, it is very likely that you’ll be locked out.

This always happens to me with Paypal, one of the sites with the most restrictive filters. If you travel often it can be a problem because many sites require a confirmation code sent by SMS, but if you are on the other side of the world sometimes you won’t receive it. To avoid these and other problems you can use a VPN. Before connecting to your home banking website select the country where you usually log in from and you should be good to go.

A VPN doesn’t solve all the problems associated with using the Internet, but it is certainly one of the best ways to considerably reduce the risks and help you save some money on your next booking.

Which are the best VPN for travel?

There are literally hundreds of different VPNs with prices and performances of all kinds. There isn’t such a thing as a perfect VPN, because different VPNs are specialized in different areas. So before getting one think about the reason why you want to use it. These are some of the most popular VPNs with their relative pros and cons.

ExpressVPN

ExpressVPN is the best VPN for accessing censored sites in countries like China. I’ve been using it for a couple of years and I’ve never experienced any problem, except for a couple of occasions when the Chinese government managed to block it for a few days. It’s not the cheapest but it’s among the fastest. It’s my favorite VPN. Click here to download ExpressVPN.

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AstrillVPN

I should write a full article about this VPN. In a few words, while ExpressVPN was not working I tried Astrill. It’s a bit slower but it does its job. At least until they decided to deactivate my account, twice. This is because for some reason Astrill does not allow the use of SEO tools such as Screamingfrog and Lighthouse. If you work in the industry you know what I’m talking about. Imagine being in China and suddenly, without being warned, being cut off from the internet. This is a big problem for me and for this reason, I can not use it, even though honestly this VPN works well in China. Click here to download AstrillVPN.

What are your thoughts? Which VPN have you been using? Let me know in the comment section.