Thanks to countless stories in the media about data breaches and hackers, you’re probably aware the internet can be a dangerous place. But it’s unclear to most of us what the dangers actually are. Here’s a quick primer. When you …
Thanks to countless stories in the media about data breaches and hackers, you’re probably aware the internet can be a dangerous place. But it’s unclear to most of us what the dangers actually are.
Here’s a quick primer.
When you engage the services of an internet service provider (ISP), you get an IP address. This is the unique numerical identifier for the devices connected to your home network, enabling websites to send information to those devices.
IP addresses are either static or dynamic, and yours is probably the latter. Contained within this IP address are your location, the ISP you use, and many other things besides. Websites, along with other less savory online entities, collect and store this information.
Problem is, your IP address is public. You can take steps to keep your email address, your phone number, and your home address away from prying eyes, but all the while your IP address is flapping about on the internet like a giant inflatable dancing man, advertising information about you that you might want to keep to yourself.
Fortunately, there’s a solution to this obscure but terrifying problem: you can install a virtual private network (VPN). Here are five good reasons why you should.
1. Hackers Can Snoop on Anyone
Open a new tab in your browser and Google “what is my IP”. See those numbers? That’s how easy it is for somebody to look you up on the internet.
All it takes is a bit of knowhow for somebody to find out exactly where you live, which is why swatting – i.e., making a hoax call to emergency services that results in a SWAT team arriving at an unsuspecting victim’s house – is such a problem in the online gaming community.
But there’s more. While an IP address gives relatively little away beyond a person’s ISP and location, a competent hacker armed with invasive software tools can uncover a whole lot more information. They can use this information in a variety of ways, none of them fun for you.
2. There’s No Way to Protect Yourself against Cyberattacks
Now that you know just how public your IP address is, you’ll appreciate that going online without a VPN is like printing your phone number, home address, and email on a t-shirt and wearing it everywhere you go. That makes it pretty difficult to maintain your privacy or defend your devices against cyberattacks.
A VPN will protect you in two ways. Firstly, it encrypts the data you sent over your network so that nobody outside the VPN can read it. And secondly, it keeps your IP address private.
How does it do that? Simple: VPN providers have servers around the world, and every user connecting to a given server has the same IP address. It’s the equivalent of Altair merging with the crowd in Assassin’s Creed, if the crowd was 10,000 times larger, in a completely different game, and being played on the other side of the world.
3. Outsiders Can Gather Your Data and Pinpoint Your Location
Whenever you transfer data using a public IP address, whether from one device to another or to a cloud server, you run the risk of that data being hijacked by an unscrupulous web goon. Cybercriminals can breach your network and steal anything you upload or email.
Plus, while your IP address doesn’t exactly give away your GPS coordinates like some kind of futuristic spy satellite, it can give third parties enough information to track you down – particularly when combined with other trackers.
4. Governments and ISPs Restrict Your Online Activity
ISPs and governments both use your IP address to keep tabs on you and restrict your online freedom. Dramatic as that sounds, it’s happening right now. ISPs do it for profit, while the government also orders them to block access to certain websites, and, more worryingly, to collect certain data.
This sort of thing is worse in some countries than others, but it touches everyone – even if the issue is as trivial as not being able to access your Netflix account abroad. A VPN will fix that for you.
5. Everything You Do Online is Logged
Your ISP keeps a log of everything you do online. Think about that. Every website you visit, every product you buy, and every person you communicate with. This is dangerous because it gives ISPs, and the governments of the countries where they operate, enormous surveillance power. Imagine if the stasi had had the internet.
And the government are the good guys. Probably. The data your ISP is collecting is a hugely tempting target for cybercriminals. If they can get into your ISP’s database, there’s no limit to the potential mischief they can get up to.
It’s not just your ISP, either. Social media companies like Facebook and Twitter, advertisers, and e-commerce websites are all busily building their own databases of precious personal data. As you’ve no doubt gathered from the frequent news stories about data breaches, these databases are equally appealing to unscrupulous hackers and equally vulnerable to attack.
Let’s Summarize
Maintaining your online safety is really no different from maintaining your offline safety: you need to be aware of the threats, act responsibly, and look out for yourself. That means staying abreast of the latest cybersecurity threats and ensuring that your devices are protected from prying eyes and sticky fingers.
Installing a VPN is one of the most effective steps you can take.
