Cryptography

8 reasons you may not want to use VPNs

You probably have heard about VPNs before. It’s even possible that you might have used one. In this post, we will be learning about VPN, some of its basic concepts and will be reading more in-depth on the limitations of using VPN software.

What is a VPN?

VPN stands for Virtual Private Network. It provides a secure connection between sender and receiver, i.e. it connects users securely to each other over the internet. Technically, VPN is a secure tunnel that encrypts your connection and keeps your activities invisible from others.

So, a VPN is a software tool that protects your identity and data from cybercriminals, government, tracking, eavesdropping and more. It is so well-designed that it is impossible to track you or to dig into your network.

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Why use a VPN?

Day by day, the amount of cybercrime is rising. Consumers are also becoming aware and concerned about risks and attacks related to cybercrime. It’s now understood that everyone should have a secure network and the network data should be encrypted. Thus, VPN services are becoming a popular way to access the internet securely and remotely.

A typical VPN software offers several advantages. Some of the major advantages an ideal VPN software should offer are:

Privacy: A VPN in action hides your online activities, IP address, browsing history and so on. Your Internet Service Provider (ISP) can no longer monitor your activity.

Security: Secure browsing through an encrypted connection and comes with advanced security features.

Accessibility: It allows you to connect with multiple servers globally. You can access blocked websites and different libraries of OTT platforms unavailable in your region.

Anonymity: VPN connection hides your real IP address, replacing it with the server’s IP address. Using your IP address, there is a chance that someone can identify you and can monitor your activities; this type of monitoring and tracking can be prevented by using a VPN.
Business purpose: Apart from personal uses, it is also used in businesses. Using a VPN, you can access corporate networks securely and remotely.

8 reasons you may not want to use a VPN

As every coin has two sides to it, VPN software has several disadvantages that one should consider before using VPN. Here are the major disadvantages one should know before using any VPN software:

1. Using VPN is illegal in many countries

There are few countries that don’t allow the use of any type of VPN services for their citizens. Most VPN services are blocked by countries that consider private networks to be illegal. If VPN service is blocked, it shouldn't be used since the government may impose hefty fines and citizens may have to serve in jail for a short duration like 3-6 months.

2. Performance issues while using the private network

This is the biggest disadvantage one experiences while using a VPN service. The VPN connection works by connecting your network to a private network, thus consuming time more than a normal connection and might give rise to performance issues in the process. Also, many times the connection speed when using a VPN connection is slower than the regular connection.

3. VPN service might use your data and monitor your activity

Many VPN services allow users to use their private servers in exchange for personal data like email, telephone numbers or more. There have been many cases where VPN companies were caught monitoring user data for their benefits and personal motives. These VPN services may help protect your identity and hide your IP address, but they might actually do the tracking instead.

4. VPN service may be difficult to set up for business users

It is easy to set up a VPN for individual users, however, for business purposes, the case might not be the same. For business users, a VPN is much more complicated and difficult to set up on the business network. Also, a VPN setup still needs a separate and dedicated network management team to look after the VPN network.

5. It might add more cost to your network connection

VPN software is not available for free and companies have to pay a hefty amount to purchase VPN software. Also, additional network devices and infrastructure is needed to set up the VPN, thus incurring more cost and budget.

6. Free VPN softwares cannot be trusted

Many VPNs are available for free to use for end-users. It may not be safe to use these free VPNs for some of the reasons mentioned above. Also a user may not come to know what data is being saved by the software and how they are being tracked.

7. Using it can not guarantee 100% anonymity

There are many ways a user may end up revealing their identity using a VPN. What if the DNS is leaking or while browsing the website the VPN client is suddenly disconnected. Also, the VPN provider may consent to provide the government with critical information about you. Also, there are still many ways data get leaked through software or hardware or any other means.

8. Platform compatibility issues if you’re using a less-popular platform

VPNs work fine on popular platforms but may not work well on less popular platforms, thus creating compatibility issues to the user and may not be possible to configure the VPN for every user. To overcome this, many times the VPN software is installed and configured on the router instead of the user device.

Other reasons to consider is that even using a VPN, it is not possible to bypass all restrictions. Also, users have reported intermittent connection drops while using certain VPN software.

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Conclusion

VPNs and VPN connections have become the prerequisite in today's world and most organizations should opt for some type of VPN software. Though VPNs have their disadvantages, most of them can be overcome by using VPNs from reputable service providers.

Sources

Posted: February 1, 2021

Nitesh Malviya

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Nitesh Malviya is a Security Consultant. He has prior experience in Web Appsec, Mobile Appsec and VAPT. At present he works on IoT, Radio and Cloud Security and open to explore various domains of CyberSecurity. He can be reached on his personal blog - https://nitmalviya03.wordpress.com/ and Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/nitmalviya03/.