VPNs are great tools to use. They are used in business meetings across the world, and they are popular in the tech space. However, they are somewhat niche, and a bit complicated, so unless one is in the tech field, there’s a good chance someone who is un-technical with the internet wouldn’t know what one is. As a gamer, I feel like most people I know are familiar with VPNs, but most people don’t really use them or know what they are for. Most of the people I game with are males.
Sure, the privacy and anonymity community on the internet is growing fast but a large majority of people are still clueless about VPNs–both female and male.
However, I am inclined to think that more men are knowledgeable or familiar with VPNs than females. Whether due to more men being involved in tech, hacking, or the “tech/gadget space”–or due to some other factor, or perhaps there’s just as many women involved with VPNs as men and I’m completely wrong. Either way, Women should be using VPNs just as much as men. Here’s 5 reasons why.
#1 Prevent “Fappening Incidents”
While this one might pertain more to “famous” celebrities, women should definitely consider using VPNs to protect their Facebook and social media accounts. In the fappening incident, a large majority of famous females had their personal information leaked out of iCloud.
While the complete reason for the leak was never really discussed in detail, critics surmised that hackers used a bug in the iCloud API to have unlimited guesses at passwords. VPNs are great at protecting passwords since it encrypts your personal information so snoopers can’t log your passwords or activity.
#2 Secure Starbucks / Mobile Wi-Fi
Leaking information and passwords is more common than you might think in public Wi-Fi hotspots. The reason is that these Wi-Fi locations aren’t protected or encrypted, and anyone on the network can spy on other users if they have the technical know-how (it’s not that hard).
Hackers can use Man-in-the-middle-attacks, Fake Wi-Fi connections, Packet Sniffing, SideJacking, or even rudimentary Shoulder-Surfing techniques (looking at what you are doing). By using a VPN to protect information on the go, you can secure your personal data or work data.
#3 Access Unrestricted Netflix
Women like Netflix. Men like Netflix. Women and Men like watching Netflix together. If you’re not in the USA, you might want access to “USA Netflix” content. Since the USA version of Netflix has the best and most content, using a VPN can be a great way to bypass geo-restrictions enforced by the website. In order to get around Netflix’s strict policy on VPNs/Proxies you’ll need to use a VPN like TorGuard which has add-ons that work for Netflix regardless of your real-world locations.
#4 Stop Internet Tracking / Ad Targeting
Just last week my girlfriend was complaining how creepy it is that she can look up something and see Instagram suggesting ads to her based on her search history. If you don’t like the sound of this, or just don’t like the idea of the internet “tracking you” VPNs can be great to stop ads and IP address tracking since they encrypt your data and IP address.
#5 Work from Home
If you’re a woman and want to work from home, chances are that your work place is going to make you use VPN. The only bad news is that using a work-place VPN is usually a drag. Work VPNs are usually slow, whereas private VPNs we’ve looked at are more “consumer grade” and tend to be faster and more consumer friendly in terms of usability, pricing, and all around usability. If you like using a VPN at home for work, perhaps consider using one all the time for some of the benefits mentioned above.
