A virtual private network, more commonly known as a VPN, remains one of the most reliable, effective, and trustworthy online tools to acquire ultimate online privacy, security, and data protection.
The most common reasons behind using a virtual private network include establishing a secure and encrypted tunnel for online traffic, complete anonymity, and accessing various geographically restricted websites or streaming services.
When a virtual private network connection is established, a VPN tunnel laced with military-grade AES-256-Bit encryption is created between your device and the destination. This way, your internet service provider, government, or any other third party can’t intercept or decode your internet traffic that is being passed through this tunnel.
Apart from all the security, privacy, and data protection, another reason that is very common among VPN users is avoiding any form of geographical restriction on various content.
For example, the Canadian audience cannot access HBO Max as that content is only available in the United States. But, a virtual private network is truly the answer to the question “how to get HBO max in Canada?”
A decent virtual private network can cost you about a couple of dollars per month, depending on the subscription plan and the provider itself. While a virtual private network may look like an expensive tool, there are multiple ways it can also save money for you.
This is exactly what we will share with you today. Let’s look at how a virtual private network can help you save some dollars.
Local Prices
Usually, airline ticket prices vary on factors such as when the ticket was purchased, purchased from, and purchased online or via any third-party traveling company.
Well, now you can add one more factor to this list. Yes, in many cases, the purchaser’s location also plays an important role in deciding the pricing of the tickets.
With a virtual private network, users can mask their actual location and appear on the internet from a completely different location. This can hugely benefit the user in getting cheaper prices as a result.
It is recommended to connect to the VPN servers located in poorer countries to increase the chances of getting cheaper prices online.
This trick is also applicable to other purchases and bookings, such as finding a cheaper hotel for the stay or purchasing software at a cheaper rate such as Office 365.
Removing cookies
Cookies are just another little piece of information that the website database stores about you. These cookies keep track of you and store information about every website you visit on the internet.
This information or junk can continue to pile up in your system, ultimately causing it to crash. However, this isn’t a big issue today with modern computing power.
Unfortunately, the problem arises when retail websites use cookies to adjust their prices. For example, you are browsing the internet trying to purchase an item. You decided not to go through with the purchase and get a second opinion about it from a family member.
Now that you have finally purchased the item and went to the same website again, the retailer has shown you increased prices. Thanks to your cookies and IP address, the company believes that you are now more serious about the purchase, and hence you see a rise in the price.
Rather than paying the higher price, the solution here is very simple. Just clear your browser’s cookies data and connect a virtual private network to change your IP address for the same retailer company. This way, the company will see you as a fresh/new customer and will show you the original prices.
Geo-blocked streaming
Cable and satellite companies have been in a real jam since over-the-top streaming services became available globally. One-third of the United States households have already disconnected their cable provider and joined hands with a streaming service.
Unfortunately, there’s a problem that almost every streaming service user faces. The insufficient amount of content present on those services. For example, take Netflix. It has divided and categorized its content library based on the user location. So how can you take advantage of its comprehensive content library without having to pay more?
The answer is simple. You connect to a virtual private network and change your actual location and IP address. This way, Netflix will think that you are residing in that country and will open the door of its content for you.
Similarly, you can sign up for a free account with various other streaming services such as BBC iPlayer, iTV, Hotstar, and more, and with the help of a virtual private network, access these geographically restricted content from your TV lounge.
Final Thoughts
So there you have it. Those were the ways in which a virtual private network can really save you some money.
While you may feel some discomfort spending a couple of dollars on a virtual private network service per month, it can easily repay its worth if you use this service intelligently.