Adam Mulligan

Are VPNs Safe?

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Adam Mulligan, (2021, September 7). Are VPNs Safe?. Psychreg on Cyberpsychology & Technology. https://www.psychreg.org/are-vpns-safe/
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You may be wondering how safe it is to trust a VPN provider. Your internet traffic is diverted and passed through the servers of the VPN provider, which is able to see everything you do if it wishes. Therefore, it is important that you trust your VPN service. Many free VPN services don’t log your activities and don’t store your data.

However, some VPN services misuse the data passing through their servers, for example by selling it to advertisers. This is especially true for free VPNs, which are often not safe. Before choosing a VPN, it is important that you do some research. We’ll give you some tips for finding a reliable and safe VPN service later in this article.

Does a VPN slow down your internet connection?

Some do not know whether to use a Virtual Private Network because they have heard that it can slow down the Internet connection. After all, a VPN directs your connection to a remote server. This takes longer, so it can slow down your Internet connection. But that’s not always the case.

Many VPNs go out of their way to ensure that your Internet connection is as fast as possible (sometimes even faster than the standards you are used to). If you want to make sure you’re choosing a fast VPN, check out our research on the fastest VPNs right now. All the VPNs we recommend have been proven to work flawlessly and cause little or no delays. Streaming, gaming and browsing happen at the usual speed, but with more freedom, security and privacy.

If your Internet connection speed is artificially reduced by your internet provider or elsewhere, a VPN can actually make your connection faster. Thanks to the VPN, the restriction will no longer apply to you, and you can take advantage of the full potential of your connection.

Is it legal to use a VPN?

Woman justice Some wonder if using a VPN is legal. After all, a VPN allows you to stay much more anonymous online, and this can be very useful for hackers and cybercriminals. After all, if these individuals cannot be tracked online, it is much more difficult for them to be punished for their crimes. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean a VPN is illegal.

Conversely, many perfectly legal companies use VPNs and recommend their use. The European Union also supports Internet freedom, which is what a VPN for Windows guarantees.

But doing illegal activities using a VPN remains illegal. Therefore, using a VPN for legitimate activities like browsing, gaming, Netflix, and YouTube is not a problem at all. Instead, using a VPN, for example, to download illegal files, such as unofficial copies of movies and music, is most likely a violation of your local laws. A best free VPN for Windows gives you greater online anonymity and makes it much harder for institutions to track you, but illegal downloading remains illegal.

There are some countries that consider it illegal to use a VPN. On our site you can find more information about these countries and the legal and illegal use of VPNs. However, in most Western countries using a VPN won’t get you in trouble, far from it. So we recommend it.


Adam Mulligan did his degree in psychology at the University of Hertfordshire. He is interested in mental health and well-being.


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