How a VPN can help you with Research

If you’re like many online researchers, you care about your Internet safety. You want to stay away from computer viruses and hackers. More importantly, you want to protect your personal information. These reasons alone warrant an Internet security tool such as a VPN (Virtual Private Network). However, there are a lot more reasons as to why researchers need to use a VPN at all times.

Here is a list of how a VPN can be used to help you in your online research:

Research anonymously

Worried that you might not get accurate data if you reveal your identity? A VPN can solve this problem by masking your computer’s IP address. After that, you can visit dozens of websites without exposing your location.

Conducting research anonymously comes with more benefits besides protecting your real location. Think of hiding your identity from ISP providers, website trackers and governments. Without a VPN, an interested person can easily reveal your identity or discover the sort of research you conduct online. But with a VPN in place, you surf the web anonymously.

Unblock restricted content

Doing research is challenging when dealing with geo-restricted content. Picture this. You want to get an e-book availed to people in the US. However, you’re in the UK and need the book urgently. Another example is trying to access social media in countries where they are banned.

The Best solution for unblocking content is to find the best VPN UK. Virtual Private Networks are affordable, easy to use and unblock content in seconds. All you need is to select a country where the blocked content you need is allowed. Then you can access the e-books, documentaries and social networks like you live in that nation.

Speak up your mind

Depending on your research, you might need to ask controversial questions. And to encourage people to be honest, you can also request them to reply anonymously. By using a VPN, you get the freedom to speak up your mind without worrying about authorities and bullies.

A VPN essentially protects you by hiding your identity. It ensures you post whatever content you want without attracting personal attacks from people who can trace you. As mentioned, it also protects you from government authorities who could harass or arrest you based on your research.

Download files safely

Some VPNs also provide antimalware solutions. They can detect potentially harmful files and warn you against downloading them. Others neutralise viruses so that your files are safe. What’s more, they encrypt your data when downloading files from torrent websites.

Torrent websites aren’t always legal, which is why it’s essential to exercise caution when downloading content from them. When downloading large files, a VPN also comes in handy in speeding up the process—some companies provide a dedicated torrenting server.

Use public WiFi securely

When conducting research in different locations, there’s a chance you’ll rely on public WiFi to upload and send data to your colleagues and superiors. The WiFi at coffee shops, restaurants, bars and parks is free and reliable after all.

Unfortunately, and you don’t need to be a cyber-security expert to know this—public WiFi isn’t always safe. Anyone can intercept and see your research. What’s more, they can identify your IP address and trace it back to you. To avoid these security mishaps, your best option is to install a VPN. It will protect your identity and encrypt your data such that no one can get access to it.

Access your home network

If you’re like many people, your primary computer or laptop stays at home. This might also be the device through which you store your data. That said, you could require some of the data on this computer while abroad on your fieldwork.

In that case, you could wait until you get back home to get this data. Or you could use a VPN to access it securely. The latter is a more meaningful, more secure option. The best VPNs have dedicated features to help with remote data access.

Like torrenting, they also give you an exclusive server for retrieving data from your home network securely. What’s more, they facilitate the process quickly and conveniently.

Protect your data from campus or workplace bosses

If you’re in school, you might have limited access to the websites you can visit through your campus WiFi. Some colleges also monitor the data transmitted through their WiFi. And if they find out you’ve been researching on topics they prohibit; they could come after you.

Many organisations are also pretty keen on monitoring the information transmitted through their Internet connections. You can’t even research job offers without getting a visit from your boss. Fortunately, a VPN can protect you from these inconveniences.

You can mask your IP address and visit websites your college or workplace bosses ban. You can also use it to encrypt your data so that no one in your school or office determines what your research is based on.

Avoid traffic throttling

Traffic policing, traffic shaping, traffic throttling—they all lead to one thing: Slow Internet connections. ISP providers enforce traffic policing when you use your bandwidth heavily, usually after you exceed a certain daily, weekly or monthly limit.

On the flip side, traffic shaping is a process of packaging your data to minimise the amount of bandwidth you use. All the same, you should be bothered by these measures as a researcher. If they can limit your Internet connectivity and interfere with your data, then you need to protect yourself by using a VPN always.

Avoid hackers

Getting hacked is one of the worst things that could happen to your research work. You spend weeks interviewing people, collecting data and compiling it. Then one day you wake up and it’s gone—all your hard work and efforts.

There are a few ways you can avoid this. For starters, you can back up your work. That way, not even a cyberattack can take away all your efforts. On the other hand, install a VPN. It might not take care of the malware already on your computer. But a VPN could prevent potential hackers from targeting you. It does this by hiding your identity and encrypting your data. And in doing so, it becomes a challenge for hackers to identify you or your data.

VPN’s have many benefits for a wide range of professions and job roles.

More on cybersecurity roles.