Best VPN for travel during holidays
Last updated on June 10th, 2016 in VPN
Summer is upon us. We have acknowledged that with the start of our Summer VPN sale. Summer is also time when we travel a lot, quite often abroad. Here is our simple guide about best VPN for travel, and why you should use it and few additional tips.
Before we discuss VPN for travel – basic things first!
You will definitely take some electronic gadgets with you, when you go on your holidays in order to be able to connect to the internet. You might want to be able to check spending’s on your credit card, send photos, chat over Skype with your family or simply check weather or maps. If you are going abroad or if your GSM data bundle is not that big (during a year you might not be away from safe Wi-Fi that often) there is a good chance you will be forced to use public Wi-Fi networks. Here is what you need to remember.
Switch of Wi-Fi when you do not need it. First of all, you will save juice in your battery, secondly your device will not be available for random Wi-Fi attack. For example when your are in and airplane or restaurant that offers Wi-Fi access. There is plenty of data flying around and even if you do not connect to such network, your device will be visible and potentially accessible.
Make sure you know how much you will pay for international data roaming! For example EU travelers going away from EU will see much steeper prices for every single Mb of transferred data. Remember to check if your data are not flowing.
And when you use available Wi-Fi networks you might encounter additional problems. No Skype (some countries ban this type of communication – for example Morocco), no Facebook, no Netflix and similar. This is all due to local laws and restrictions. It also depends on local setup of the Wi-Fi network you use.
Best VPN for travel – solution to problems and safety net!
Lets start with solving problems first. If you want to chat with a family member or a friend at home and your communicator does not work, there is a good chance such type of software and traffic is banned. Simple solution to this is using VPN. Once VPN tunnel is created and you are connected to VPN server your “local” provider can no longer see the type of the data you exchange or services you use. We have tested it this year few times. In Morocco – where Skype and some other VOiP clients are censored and banned from use. With VPN connected we had no problems talking to our families with the use of hotel Wi-Fi.
Access to certain sites can be limited. For example hotel might offer two types of Wi-Fi access – free and Premium. The only difference you will see is that accessing sites like Hulu, BBC iPlayer or Netflix with the use of such free connection might be impossible at all or very uncomfortable (throttling of such data). Again, connect to VPN and Wi-Fi in hotel will no longer be able to detect that you connect to Netflix service.
As we have mentioned VPN is also a safety net. When travelling abroad, with no access to Internet via GSM there is a good chance at least few of you will want to check your bank or credit card balance. But when accessing such sites and exchanging confidential data you need to make sure your connection is secured. Restaurant, bar or any other public place with Wi-Fi access can be a threat.
Make sure no one is looking over your shoulder on your screen and trying to see what codes you enter. Definitely do not keep any of such info written anywhere – God forbid, but what happens if your luggage gets stolen?
Activate your travel VPN and your connection and device will get additional security. Your data will flow encrypted and during connection to such public Wi-Fi network it will be a lot harder for anyone to try steal data from the device itself.
Summary: why travelers should use VPN?
VPN for travel will help you stay connected with your favourite sites and services if you need them. It will make contacting your family or friends possible. What is even more important, using good VPN for travel will also make accessing your bank or e-mail a lot more secure. Get VPN for holidays and enjoy your leisure time with no consequences after your return home!
