Top 10 Reasons Why You Should Use a VPN at Home

Home is where the heart is. It is also your personal den where you watch Netflix and communicate with friends, family, and colleagues. Home is also where your office may be, especially in the Work-From-Home scenario, the new norm since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic.

As a result, most of your internet activities, including streaming, surfing, social networking, video calls, file transfer, now take place from the comfort of your home. However, although your home can provide you with physical shelters from thieves and elements, the locks and bolts on your door can neither safeguard your internet activities from potential hacks and security exploits nor keep you anonymous from third-party eavesdroppers.

Now, the question is- do you need a VPN in your office or public WiFi? If the answer is ‘yes,’ then you also need a VPN at your home because of the diverse online activities you do while leaning on your couch or cozying up on your bed. This article aims to enlighten you about all the crucial reasons for using a VPN at your home. In addition, we also tried to give you a brief about how to set up a VPN at your home and more!

So, read on to find out how a fast and secure VPN can be your best friend while roaming the world wide web from your home.

Faster Internet Speed

This may not be the main reason people opt to buy a VPN app, but it is crucial. It is a widespread misconception that VPN slows down your internet speed since it transfers your incoming and outgoing via a private server instead of your ISP’s server. However, your ISP’s server is usually overloaded with traffic by all its users, especially during peak hours.

On the other hand, a VPN service provider processes your data through its own server and sends a compact and encrypted version of the same data to your device through your ISP. This essentially means reducing or eliminating lags and slow download/upload speeds, especially if the server of the website you are browsing is close to the VPN server to which you are connected.

Unrestricted Streaming

Streaming online videos is something that we almost ritualistically do with our home internet connection every day. For example, suppose you regularly use streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, etc. In that case, you are probably already familiar with error messages that tell you that specific contents are not available in your region. Then you probably either feel like traveling(!) to a country where your desired content would be unrestricted, or you resort to downloading the content via torrent, which is often not only hard to find but also illegal.

A good VPN service can eliminate such geographical restrictions by simply streaming through one of its fast and encrypted servers where the geo-restriction is inapplicable. As a result, you can stream anything all you want, whenever you want and wherever you want from your preferred streaming services if you use a VPN at home.

Privacy, Privacy, and Privacy!

You are probably sharing a confidential office file online from the apparent safety of your home internet, thinking that your data would reach the other side safe and sound. But would it really? Just because someone is not ‘always’ peeping at your online activity every time you download/upload or share something does not necessarily mean that they cannot do so if they want to. Your own Internet Service Provider (ISP) can monitor everything you do on the Internet, including your search history, social media activity, browsing history, streaming record, and even the files stored on your PC if it has network access.

Of course, you may boast that you don’t do anything illegal and have nothing to hide. Still, when an eavesdropper accesses all your credentials, including your name, address, hobbies, etc., they will sell that data to third-party advertisers, turning you into a mere guinea pig of capitalism! Would you accept such a fate for yourself, or would you instead download a fast and secure VPN to safeguard your privacy 24/7?

Working from Home

Just as much as we enjoy the flexible timing and comfort of just being home and working remotely, we should be concerned about privacy and data security. But unfortunately, VPNs have no alternatives to safely access email, Skype messages, user data, and personal information processing. Why? Remote work is a security risk in many ways, especially as it presents new attack opportunities for cybercriminals. For example, hackers can intercept unencrypted connections. Passwords can be intercepted and stolen and used, and sensitive data can be stolen.

You can connect to your employer’s VPN secure network, and you can work with confidence. But if you work independently, a premium VPN service for your home can give you encrypted connections and secured credentials. On top of that, staying at home and using a VPN to connect to your work network is actually cheaper than commuting to and from work! So if you have an option to choose whether you want to work from home or take a commute to your office place- VPN can surely make your choice easier.

Device Protection

Keeping your camera and other internal or external devices connected to the Internet exposes them to potential hacks and sensitive audiovisual data breaches. Furthermore, modern smart home devices such as doorbells, CCTV, baby monitors, and even doors and windows may be hacked into if they are not connected to a secure network. If you set up your router with a VPN service, then all your devices connected to your home network would be secure, and you can leave your home to the safe, fast and secure ‘hands’ of the AI while you are adventuring outdoors.

Getting Past Firewalls and Network Restrictions

When browsing online at home, you do not want to be disrupted by any network restriction. You want your horizon of browsing online activities to be widened, not confined. A VPN allows you to bypass firewalls set up by governments and universities. These organizations need to see the specified movement in real-time to restrict online movement. A VPN can mask your activity so that you can get through the firewall at ease.

Some VPNs may disconnect and show your activity immediately. That is why premium VPNs like Symlex VPN have a built-in kill switch. This feature will automatically disconnect your internet connection if your data is not secure and only reconnect when the VPN is re-enabled.

Gaming Safety at Home

DDoS attacks are widespread in large online games such as World of Warcraft and Call of Duty. This is a security bug in the game server and can pose a significant risk to the player. However, you can play with increased security if you have a VPN with dedicated DDoS protection at home. Besides, it is not uncommon for angry losers in games or intrusive snoopers to stalk hostile players, find their IP addresses, and track them down in real life. This behavior is confusing and rare, but if the ID indicates that you are connecting to the game from a rural location rather than an actual IP address, you can save yourself from the opponent’s threats. VPN can help you do that.

In other words, the world of online games is full of risks such as hackers, phishing scams, and viruses, all of which can endanger your device and personal information. So if you want to enjoy online games at home, you need to use a VPN. Not only does it improve connectivity and stability, but it also protects against threats and works around the restrictions.

Avoiding Targeted Advertisements

Remember all the times when you browse your favorite shopping site or search for a specific item on Google and find ads popping up all over the place? These are targeted ads that help websites make the most of their money. This is essentially done through cookies and a tracking code that tracks you on the web. Pretty scary, right?

You can avoid this with a secure VPN setup at home. Of course, not all VPNs can overcome cookies and tracking, but the most anonymous premium VPNs do. In general, free VPNs use ads to make money, meaning user data may be shared or selected without permission.

For users, this is frustrating because ads can slow down their internet connection or contain malware. If you see ads on free VPN services, it can also be a privacy issue, as providers are more likely to share information about your online activities with third-party services. Premium paid VPNs include ad-blocking tools as well as features like anti-malware and unlimited bandwidth to keep your data safe.

Maintaining Maximum Privacy

Everyone has the right to privacy, both in the real world and on the Internet. However, there is no shortage of people and businesses that want to see your activity on the Internet. In fact, many ISPs are legally permitted to sell data to companies, advertisers, research institutions, and government agencies. Some apartment buildings also offer WiFi to their residents as an incentive, but just like ISPs, others on the network can see the sites you visit.

Do you know all your neighbors; let alone whether they are real crime podcast fanatics or real cybercriminals? Are you sure, your landlord or housekeeper doesn’t monitor your internet traffic? If there is a problem, a VPN can add extra privacy to a shared network by encrypting the traffic between your VPN service provider and you so that no one on your local network can decrypt or change it. So if you turn it on, even your ISP won’t be able to track you.

Making Digital Sharing More Secure

When you share files with others, you do not want strangers to spy on your transfers. Unfortunately, a low-quality home VPN does not offer efficient peer-to-peer file sharing, unlike premium fast and secure premium VPN services. However, with strong encryption protocols and a strict zero-logs policy, uploads and downloads are unobtrusively secure.

Reliable VPN providers arrogantly claim that they should keep an identified log for anyone who wants to know. For many privacy-conscious VPN users, this is just a lullaby that lets you browse any website with complete confidence and confidence. But, the websites indeed collect users` accounts and payment information. So if you don’t want to worry about any imposed privacy concerns, simply go for a VPN. If the user does not provide this information, a premium VPN will permit secret payments by receiving cryptocurrency.

Moreover, optimized servers allow hassle-free access and streaming to various torrent sites. Overall, a premium VPN ensures a strict no-log policy for its users. This means that no activity is recorded, stored, tracked, or shared with third parties.

How to Set Up a VPN at Home?

Most premium VPNs offer a seamless, hassle-free setup process for users. As the best VPN in the UAE, Symlex VPN provides only a few simple steps. If you want to set up Symlex VPN on your PC, all you have to do is go through their offered plans from their website and select the one that caters to your needs. Then, you can choose your preferred payment method- mobile banking or card payment and set up an account of your own! You can also download Symlex VPN application compatible for all major OS, log in and click to get started! And that’s it! You can even connect to the VPN automatically whenever you go online.

Final Verdict
Devices on your home network are interconnected. A data breach on one device can disrupt an entire network. No matter how careful you are, just one careless online action by your housemate can put your privacy at risk.
Besides, you can access your email, social media account, or banking platform from your laptop as well as your phone and tablet. However, this means that sensitive information is duplicated across multiple devices. If you set a strong WiFi password, you may still think your home network is very secure. Additionally, the latest software updates are available to add router security. However, using a home VPN provides an extra layer of protection against hackers and snoopers that your local ISP does not.

A home VPN hides your IP address when you are online and prevents your ISP from tracking your activity. In addition, using a VPN on your home network gives you the bonus of anonymous browsing that can lead to better flight deals, unlimited streaming access, and no digital censorship. So if it’s a question regarding whether or not you should invest in a fast and secure premium VPN service at home, the answer will always be yes! Using a VPN at home is as vital as installing an antivirus — it is critical protection. Of course, the number one reason for a VPN is safety and privacy; however, they are undoubtedly versatile.