What are the advantages and disadvantages of VPN services?

Posted by Team Maria on December 28th, 2019

When it comes to really understanding the benefits and disadvantages of VPN, there are many things to consider. We will begin by discussing the disadvantages of VPN services to eliminate them first, and then we will cover the main advantages of VPNs. Read Virtual Shield VPN review to know why you need  a VPN.

The 4 disadvantages of VPN services

The use of VPN services has some drawbacks. However, it is not something too serious, and most of these problems are only minor inconveniences. However, it is important to know the disadvantages of VPNs, so you can see if that service is right for you.

1. The best VPNs are not free

While VPN services can offer many benefits, they will cost. Some services can make you pay $ 10 to $ 12 per month, which can mean more than $ 100 per year. For some people, that might not be much, but for others, it can be quite a high expense.

2. VPNs do not work natively on all platforms

It is true that VPNs usually work on the most popular devices and operating systems ( we have a detailed article that explains this in depth here ), but there are still some platforms that do not have native support for them.

3. The use of a VPN can decrease your connection speeds

You may have heard that this is only a myth, but in reality it is not. Actually, it is one of the main disadvantages of VPN services that people have problems with. While it doesn't happen 100% every time you use a VPN to access the web, your online speeds can sometimes get a hit.

4. Some user data from VPN registration

Unfortunately, some VPN providers tend to record user data, usually information about their connection. But, sometimes, personal information can also be stored. Most of the time, suppliers do that to comply with the laws of their countries. While that is understandable, a VPN that records your data virtually cancels the idea of ​​using a VPN in the first place.

The 9 main benefits of VPN

With the disadvantages of VPN services already reviewed, we can begin to focus on the main benefits of VPN, which significantly outweigh the inconveniences.

1. VPNs get rid of geographical restrictions

Geographic restrictions are content control methods used by content providers to decide which online users access their platforms or not. Because of the "geo" in its name, it is quite obvious that geographical restrictions (also called geographical blocks) restrict access to content based on its geographical location.

2. With a VPN, your online privacy is no longer at risk

Since any website can see your real IP address, it is quite clear that almost anyone else can also see it when it is on the Internet. It may not seem like much, but, unfortunately, people can learn many things about you only with your IP address:

• What country do you live in?

• What city are you from

• Even who is your ISP.

• Potentially even what your zip code is

3. VPNs protect you from cybercriminals

Cyber ​​criminals are becoming increasingly intelligent. Not only can they secretly listen to their WiFi connections if the network is not well protected, but they can even fake WiFi networks (essentially creating fake networks) and trick them into connecting to them.

4. VPNs keep you safe from online censorship

While the Internet can provide you with access to tons of information and content, the level of access you get may be limited by governments if they force national ISPs to use firewalls to block several websites.

5. A VPN service is perfect for the job

If you run a business and your employees need remote access to confidential data of the company and customers on the go, a VPN would be the ideal way to offer it. Since the service encrypts employee connections with your company's servers, there is no way that hackers can spy on your traffic to steal valuable corporate data.

6. With a VPN, your ISP cannot reduce your bandwidth

Have you ever noticed a random drop in speed when playing your regular online gaming session or downloading some files? Did that drop in online speed occur at regular intervals?