Demand for personal VPNs is increasing due to web security concerns and other benefits
It would be a huge understatement to say that the Internet has affected the way the world works. Most of our lives and livelihoods are in many ways affected by trends that affect the way we use the Internet.
As much as using the Internet has made things like financial transactions, educational pursuits, and keeping in touch with friends and family much more accessible, pouring our personal lives onto this information superhighway has also brought with it some unique challenges. Many of these challenges are unpredictable and undetected until malicious individuals discover a vulnerability and exploit it.
VPNs provide security
Hackers most often target organizations that stand to benefit financially: banks, medical provider networks, and other large companies that have the most to lose from having their data and Internet interactions monitored and exploited. To address security issues and ensure efficiency among remote offices and people, businesses use virtual private networksor VPN networks.
The demand for online security has driven the VPN market to reach over $90 billion by 2026. For businesses, VPNs allow them to secure the highly critical and sensitive business information that moves across their network. VPNs also provide remote access to employees. VPNs have functionality that allows management roles to control who can access what information within the company.
Uses for custom VPNs
However, businesses and large institutions are clearly not the only ones facing internet security issues. There is a noticeable trend on the part of individual Internet users to install and use VPNs for use when accessing the web for browsing and for several other purposes, including:
- abstracting and encrypting data as it passes between the user and those websites and applications accessed
- hiding the private information including the location of the VPN user
- avoiding location-based restrictions from streaming providers and other content providers (Netflix, ESPN, etc.)
According to a 2021 study by Security.org, 29% of VPN users said they only use a VPN for personal use. Another 15% said they use a VPN for personal and business use (many businesses require VPN use by their employees, who also tend to use a VPN for their personal online activities), and 24% of survey respondents said they use a VPN strictly for business purposes.
User use of VPN not only for security
Using a VPN for personal online activities is often less about gaining security than gaining access to things that would otherwise be unavailable. For example, streaming services like Netflix only make content available in certain countries or have other geographic restrictions. Using Netflix with an unblock service (usually integrated with a VPN provider’s service) can give a person access to content as if they were in another country, as VPNs can mask this information from Netflix. Likewise, sports broadcasts and other programs that are regional in nature may be unavailable unless it appears to the provider that you are accessing their service from another location.
The increase in demand for security when accessing the Internet, along with the added benefit of masking or changing your browsing location, means that the VPN market is trending toward much greater adoption than even in the recent past.
#Demand #personal #VPNs #increasing #due #web #security #concerns #benefits