Are VPNs Obsolete Or Is There Any Value to Them in 2020?
As the natural reaction to the increasingly intrusive behavior of the world’s leading governmental systems, many online users are trying to protect their valuable personal and financial information from prying eyes and malicious people roaming the Internet. To do so, most of them opt for VPN services as one of the last bastions of free and anonymous Internet. At the same time, many users are arguing that VPNs have become obsolete over the years, and don’t provide you with much value for money or actual protection. With all of this in mind, are VPNs worth the subscription price and do you really need them? Read our take on this topic.
Do You Need a VPN In 2020?
Many privacy and security analysts have been proclaiming the death of VPNs for several years now. But, the number of VPN users continues to rise on a global scale. Some people use a VPN because they want to have the freedom of being anonymous whenever they want to, while others simply prefer to always have multiple layers of security between them and the Internet. Whatever your motivations for using a VPN may be, one thing is certain – the benefits of using a VPN heavily outweigh the drawbacks. With that in mind, let’s take a look at the most significant pros and cons of VPNs.
Pros of VPN Services
Complete Anonymity
You can never know who’s watching on the other side. Whether it’s your ISP, the government, or a malicious online user, no options are good. A VPN is still the best way to make your digital presence private and to safeguard your valuable information. This is especially important if you live in a country with lax privacy laws or an overly-invasive censorship policy.
Data Safety
Aside from providing you with a privacy shield, a VPN also acts as a great security tool. This feature is great to have if you’re banking online, shopping, or engaging in any other online activities in which you require maximum security and protection against hackers. As some reports show, the NSA can still break a VPN encryption with enough effort, but this would take them a lot of time and millions of dollars, something they wouldn’t invest unless you’re deep into illegal activities that can harm others.
Uncensored and Unlimited Content
In the early days of the Internet, everything was available to everyone, no matter where they were in the world. That said, reminiscing about the good old days won’t help you access restricted content on Netflix, Youtube, or any other major platform. Luckily, a VPN can help you turn back the clock and remove any restrictions and limits posed by geo-blocking systems.
Cons of VPN Services
Free VPNs are a Security Liability
Most people who claim that VPNs are obsolete and don’t contribute to safety and privacy, think about free VPNs. In this context, they might be right, as nearly all free VPNs are unsafe to use. If a VPN service is entirely free and doesn’t offer any premium subscription plans, it means that they’re profiting some other way. This is most often from selling user data. For this reason, try to avoid free VPNs at any cost.
Aside from this, in reality, there aren’t any glaring flaws to VPN services. They enhance the overall experience and make the Internet a lot safer and more enjoyable to use. However, to have the best possible experience, it’s crucial to choose the right VPN you can trust.
Every Online User’s Needs are Different
Undoubtedly, the answer to the question “Are VPNs obsolete?”, is a firm no. These handy tools can offer you a lot of advantages, but it all depends on your online activities and privacy and security needs. So, if you’re still weighing in the pros and cons, consider looking at it from a different point of view, and ask yourself whether your online experience would change for the better and be more secure with a VPN.
The idea is definitely worth giving some thought. But, ultimately, only you can decide if you need a VPN service. To make the decision-making process easier for you, at ZoogVPN we offer a 10GB free subscription plan you can use for as long as you wish.
If you find it useful and want to upgrade to get all of the bells and whistles that come with a paid version, you can subscribe to one of our premium paid VPN plans for less than a couple of bucks per month. Sign up today and enjoy all of the benefits a VPN can provide you with.
- Yaroslav S.CEO at ZoogVPN. Yaroslav is a versatile manager with extensive customer support experience. His historical background and a deep passion for philosophy perfectly complete a real desire to create meaningful content and tech products.
