While using a VPN is completely legal, you should never engage in illegal activity while using a VPN. Never do anything that violates your VPN’s terms of use policy or download any copyright materials with your VPN. Because of this decision, internet privacy is no longer guaranteed. If you’re not using a VPN, companies can sell your information and browsing patterns to other companies. Businesses and private organizations originally used VPNs to provide secure networks for their employees and teams to use. Because some people perform illegal activities while using a VPN, some countries decided to ban them. You can use a VPN for many legitimate purposes. People who are concerned about their privacy often use VPNs to help them stay anonymous. Many government organizations and non-governmental organizations use VPNs to keep their work private as well. This article provides more information about VPNs and why you should use one. Even if your VPN client provides servers located in that country, you never know what restrictions are in place. Every county has different rules for how the VPN can operate, despite their logging policy. If you want to make sure your information is kept as private as possible, find a VPN that’s registered in a country outside of the United States, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. These five countries often share online data and have greater authority for forcing VPNs to give them private information. CyberGhost and ExpressVPN are great VPN services to use if you want a wide range of server options to choose from (both have servers located in over 80 countries). When choosing a VPN, look for something that best fits your needs. For example, some VPNs are faster than others, while some prioritize having a large number of servers to choose from. This guide can help you choose from the best VPNs available. If streaming movies over Netflix and Hulu is important to you, consider a VPN known to work well for streaming like NordVPN or Mulvad. If you’re more interested in the best security, then look for a VPN with a great encryption software like ExpressVPN. Remember to think about whether the VPN has a “no logging policy” and check to see which country the client registers in. The last thing you want is for a VPN client to sell your personal information to another company. Fortunately, VPNs are legal in the United States, and using one can protect your privacy.
- Kimberly Kindy, The Washington Post, “How Congress Dismantled Federal Internet Privacy Rules,” May 30, 2017.
