A VPN can make it look like your computer traffic is coming from elsewhere… Cue drumroll for the big battle of the VPNs. This battle is two-fold: between VPN providers, and, increasingly, between other services and VPNs. Say whaaaaat?
What is a VPN?
“VPN” stands for Virtual Private Network. Let’s break that down:
- It is virtual because you don’t have a wire running to the server from your computer
- It is private because it’s just between your device and the server – and there should be security features to aid in this
- It’s a network because there’s more than just your computer – there’s the one on the other side too
Effectively, when you’re accessing the internet, all your internet provider can see you doing is going to the other server… But where that server takes you is what you see on your screen, and that’s where the magic happens!
There are loads of positives to using a VPN, especially in light of legislative changes like on net neutrality, and even when thinking about security and speed of connection (don’t ask me how that works, I’ve just been told it does)! But everything aside from a straight line is two-dimensional… On that cryptic note, let’s get into some of the nitty-gritty.
What’s this Big Battle of the VPNs?
The two-fold big battle of the VPNs is an immense one…
First-fold, and most obviously, there are multiple VPN service providers because there is demand in the market. TechRadar describes it as “an insanely strong pack of top VPN providers” – security and awareness is ramping up and companies are listening. We use NordVPN and because we like their service, we signed up to be affiliates. More on that below!
Second-fold (is that a thing? It is now…), other services are getting wiser. The positive message of VPNs is all about removing content restrictions and censorship… But you need to remember that there are legitimate reasons behind censorship as well.
“WHAT!?” I hear you cry, and rightly so: “censorship” is a very emotive word. What is probably more accurate is “licensing” – for the most part, it’s a load of red tape.
We’ll jump back to the battle momentarily…
The Red Tape
I’ll reiterate – it’s easy to point to countries where there is political censorship to sing the praises of VPNs! But against this backdrop, we need to consider countries that have censorship in the form of licensing.
For a moment, let’s imagine VPNs don’t exist. We’ll use a TV show as an example. Assume it’s an independent filming studio, who has raised funds either through a loan or investors. They use these funds to pay staff, rent out studio space et cetera and now are selling and marketing:
- The producer has an agreement with a national broadcaster to distribute the show
- It is featured live and uploaded to their on-demand service (with a small time lag, to maximise advertising revenue)
- As they’re national, their potential market can be estimated as being the population of that country. They price subscriptions and charge advertisers on this basis
- The agreement between the producer and the local broadcaster is for a year
- After the first couple of episodes air, there is a lot of buzz around the series. A bigger international streaming service approaches the producer and wants to distribute
- The national broadcaster doesn’t have the infrastructure of expertise to distribute internationally
- The agreement with the national broadcaster would be very expensive to renege on, so the producer can only make agreements for other markets
- This means everyone bar the citizens of that country use the bigger streaming service
- None of this really matters to the end user… But it does affect them: everybody has made agreements and there are barriers stopping the end user from accessing the show, depending on time lag and/or location
Back to Reality
(Oop, there goes gravity)
VPNs do exist. They’ve ramped up since about 2017 when it came to light that internet service providers could sell information about their users. This TechTarget article is really interesting and a more comprehensive and technical look at VPNs if you want to learn more.
Our red tape example is pretty simplistic, and there are a lot of countries, services and agreements going on. With a VPN, an individual can bypass a lot of the faff and just watch the show. However, back to our simple example, the national broadcaster will lose out.
It’s a very easy thing in our impatient Information Age to get frustrated and expect access, but there are all sorts of things going on in the background.
That’s not to say this is the way it should be… but it is the way it is.
Now (deep breath), I want access to the information I want access to when I want access to it as much as the next person… But just remember there are people that are affected by misuse. Arguably, certain industries need a shake-up in this new internet age, but having an awareness is an asset.
Return to the Second Battle
What services are doing to combat users effectively dodging licensing issues is getting smarter about spotting VPNs. For example, they can scan their servers and see whether multiple accounts are logging in from the same one, then they block that IP address. They’re doing it to protect their ad and subscription revenue.
Now, if you choose to use a VPN, what you use it for is your business. We’re not talking about accessing the Deep Web and doing all sorts of unspeakable things… We’re talking, for the most part, about a legal and effective way to access the worldwide web. But now you maybe have some sympathy when you get a popup that interrupts you and accuses you of using a VPN!
Who We Use
We are travelling around and have a VPN. We didn’t really before we started to travel, but the conversation came up around being able to access our home services, as well as some security considerations.
All of our purchasing decisions are made by looking at the costs and benefits to us at that point in time, and at that time, we chose NordVPN. We felt it to be the fairest price for the best security; we’d also heard of it from YouTubers and other influencers we follow.
Because use their service, we reached out to become an affiliate of NordVPN – that means if you purchase through one of the links on our website, we’ll get a commission. This commission is effectively coming from their central marketing budget, which means the cost to you is the same as if you went with them through another route.
By far the most useful noticeable feature we’ve found using our VPN has been the location switching: we want to be able to access local restaurant menus and log into our bank!
The other feature I think we’re using a lot is the inherent security of NordVPN’s service. Again, because we’re on the road, the wifi we use is totally out of our control and can be public. It’s one of those things you don’t actively think about day-to-day but having that extra layer of protection (and one of NordVPN’s key selling points is about that extra security) is a real comfort.
Click on this link for 59% off NordVPN with a 30-day money-back guarantee. It’s got an interesting infographic comparing internet speeds, servers and other top-level stats with other VPN providers as well.
Final Note
For the average layperson, this is relatively new, and a little complex. It’s also a shifting playing field, with all sorts of technological advancements and legal nuances playing out in the background. If you want to learn more and missed it above, I found this article on TechTarget an eye-opener on the history and more technical aspects of VPNs!
We’d not not use a VPN now that we have one, and internet security and rights are such an important thing to be aware of!!! Enjoy your newfound knowledge of the big battle of the VPNs!
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