What kind of cyber threats can a VPN save you from?
VPN is a must-have tool to have on your smartphone or your computer for numerous reasons. It not only hides your IP address by making you invisible to your ISP (Internet Service Provider) but it also gives you unrestricted access to the internet and geo-locked content. However, VPNs can also be instrumental in saving you from many cyber threats lurking online.
Let’s look at some of the instances where a VPN can stop some of the cyber attacks-
1. MITM (Man-in-the-Middle) Attack
MITM or Man-in-the-Middle attack is a kind of cyber attack where a hacker or a threat actor will come in between you and the web server that you’re accessing or using on the internet. In layman terms, it is basically eavesdropping on a virtual level as the hacker steals the data from the server between you and the website you are using. At times, it can also be some information from your past activities as there are always digital footprints embedded in the website.
The hacker only needs to know which network you are on and by exploiting the encryption model of that website, they can easily barge in and intercept all your data transfers. The worst part of it is that you won’t even know that this is happening with your data. And this way hackers and threat actors can easily steal any form of sensitive and confidential information like login details or credit card credentials.
One important thing to note here is that most wi-fi networks, especially public wi-fi networks use the outdated WPA2 security standard, whose encryption is very weak. Hence they are most vulnerable to MITM attacks. Even their next rendition, which is the WPA3 standard, is also not entirely secured.
So, how does a VPN help in this situation?
Well, a good VPN encrypts your internet connection giving it an extra layer of privacy and security. These encrypted data tunnels are so layered that it is nearly impossible to crack them down. In addition to that, while using a VPN, your IP address will go through a multitude of different locations, making it harder to trace. It’s like finding a needle in a haystack. The hackers won’t be able to find out which one is your real IP address. Since, they won’t know your true IP address they won’t be able to figure out which websites you are surfing, hence making it impossible for them to intercept in between to steal your data. VPN for the win here!
2. Remote Hacking
Remote hacking is one of the oldest and most effective tricks pulled by hackers and threat actors by which they get access to your system using your IP address. It is a predominant fact these days that almost every website on the internet tracks your IP address. If the hackers can bypass the security protocols of any website, they will have access to your IP address. Then they can use your IP address as a digital key into your system. They can easily have access to anything that’s connected to your home’s wi-fi ranging from your smartphone or your smart TV, your computers, and even your CCTV or smart fridge, etc.
So you may wonder- how does a VPN be of any help here?
Well, a VPN successfully masks your IP address, making you untraceable on the internet and consequently preventing hackers from gaining access to it. Hence, being connected to a VPN while browsing the internet, the hackers won’t be able to trace your real IP address, making you safe and secured without any hassle.
3. DDoS/DoS Attack
DDoS or Distributed Denial of Service attack, by definition, is –
“A distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack is a malicious attempt to disrupt the normal traffic of a targeted server, service or network by overwhelming the target or its surrounding infrastructure with a flood of Internet traffic.”
Read more at – www.cloudflare.com/en-in/learning/ddos/what-is-a-ddos-attack
The hackers aim to forcefully make you go offline by crashing the service or the server of the website, which you are trying to access. Yes, they can be frustrating and annoying, and it is fairly easy for hackers to achieve this.
Try to visualize for a moment how annoying it can be when you are logging on to a website for your work or maybe any other entertainment purpose but you are getting kicked out constantly and you are not given access to it!
Hence, having a VPN is the need of the hour as you have seen.
Download a free VPN today with all the features mentioned above-