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You might be surprised at how easy it is to track a person’s movements on the internet. In fact, every site you visit is likely to be tracking what you’re doing for various reasons – you usually agree to this when you enter the website.
Aside from being tracked by the website you’re browsing, your movements might also be tracked by third-party trackers as well. What are third party trackers? They’re usually there for advertising purposes – they will help to make any ads displayed as relevant to you as possible. Looking for golf clubs? Don’t be surprised if you’ll get bombarded with ads from the closest golf links.
Third-party trackers are there for many reasons – better analytics, personalized advertising, or even the knowledge of clients’ purchase history and location. The personal data possible to get out of a single website entry is likely to be collected. The main aim of this is that the companies behind the trackers create an individual profile for each internet user, based on the personal information they get. The patterns are used for any purpose, from targeting people with personalized adverts to following them on the web.
Scary? Might be. There is, however, a simple way out. It is called a VPN. A virtual private network lets your device create a safe connection to another network somewhere on the planet. If you have ever found yourself wanting to keep a low profile or looking for some more privacy when browsing the net, you have probably heard of this solution.
Unfortunately, it is easy to get fooled when choosing a VPN. They are all well-advertised. They all assure 100% privacy and security. But that is not always the case. While some of them do keep their promises, others not so much. If you are looking for a worthy piece of information on the different VPNs, feel free to visit https://securitygladiators.com/ to get the advice you are looking for.
If you have mastered the basis of the subject and want to know how to be sure that your VPN is protecting you, keep on reading.
It keeps the data logging to the minimum.
Keep in mind that complete anonymity is almost impossible. Ideally, you are looking for a VPN that keeps only the record of connection logs or no logs at all. Most of the VPNs, especially the cheaper ones, keep track of the IP addresses you have used, session times and dates.
When choosing a private network, be mindful of how much of your data will be kept. You are aiming for anonymity, so lowering the data loggings should be of interest. To find out the information necessary to know whether the VPN loggings are kept to the minimum or not, you will need to go to the Privacy Policy or Terms of Service section. Trust those VPNs that are transparent about the exact type of data they collect and the ads policy they have. Do not fall for the “no loggings” marketing trick many are using. Good as it sounds, it is highly unlikely to be true.
It has reliable security protocols.
A trustworthy VPN uses secure encryption and leaves no open door for the third-party trackers to exploit and snoop on you. You must know what methods the VPN is using to connect you to the other server.
This sort of information should be displayed on their website. It may, however, not be as detailed as you would want it to be. Searching for more details might be a good idea – look for the Features section. If you are still in doubt or the technical language is too difficult for you to understand, feel free to ask the customer support service a couple of questions to get a clearer idea.
Be very cautious if the security protocols are not listed and readily available; this might mean a VPN is not worth your trust.
It is leakproof.
You can always double-check the VPN on your own. Go to What My IP Address Is and check it. Remember it, take a photo or write it down. Then, turn your VPN on and go back to the website, telling you the IP address.
The two results should be different. If they are the same, it means that the VPN is not protecting you, thus not worth your trust. To be extra sure, run the test several times, using various sites and methods.
Conclusion
Choosing a trustworthy VPN may seem steep at first glance. Keep in mind that it should have strong security protocols, and minimal loggings are crucial when deciding on one. Moreover, it is a good idea to do some research and see the best VPN rankings. If it rates well in comparisons, it is probably worth a try.