VPNs are more popular than ever today, but despite that, there are still many people who do not know what service they can offer. Well, we are going to discuss the real benefits and disadvantages of VPN services in this article, to make it easier for you to decide whether they are right for you or not.

1. Advantages and Disadvantages of VPN (Everything You Need to Know)
VPNsare more popularthan evertoday,butdespite that,there are still manypeoplewhodonotknow
whatservice theycan offer.Well,we are goingtodiscussthe real benefitsand disadvantagesof VPN
servicesinthisarticle,tomake iteasierforyouto decide whethertheyare rightforyouor not.
Firstthingsfirstthough,let'smake sure we're onthe same page whenitcomesto whatVPNsare and
howtheywork.
What is a VPN (Virtual Private Network)?
A VPN isan online servicethatyoucan use to unblockrestricted/geo-blockedinternetcontent,and
protectyour online datafromhackersandgovernmentsurveillance byencryptingyouronline trafficand
hidingyourreal IPaddress.
How Does a VPNWork?
A VPN reliesonaVPN serveranda VPN clienttoestablishasecure connectionforyou.Basically,you
install the clientonyourdevice anduse itto connectto the VPN serverof yourchoice.Whenthe
connectionisestablished,an encryptedtunneliscreatedbetweenthe clientandthe server.
Anyconnectionrequestthatyousendthroughthe clienttothe webisencryptedandsentto the server.
The serverthendecryptsthe requestsandforwardsthemtothe Internet.Once the requesteddatais
received,the serverencryptsitandthenreturnsitto the client.Inthe last phase,the VPN clientonyour
device decryptsthe receivedinformationsothatyoucan accessit freely.
The 8 advantages ofVPN services
Whenit comesto the pros andcons of VPN services,you'll generallyfindthatthe prossignificantly
outweighthe cons:
1. A VPNhidesyour identityonline
Since a VPN hidesyourIPaddressandencryptsyour online traffic,itessentiallyensuresthatyour
fingerprintscannotbe tracedonthe Internet.Onlinehackerswillnotbe able touse your real IPaddress
to discoveryourpersonal data,andgovernmentsurveillance agenciesandISPswill notbe able to
monitorwhatyoudo online byprobingyourtraffic.

2. As well ashelping youavoidgovernmentsurveillance,thatalsohelpskeepyourprivacysafe from
advertisers.Don'tforget:inthe US,ISPsare free to sell userdatato third-partyadvertisers.If you're not
inthe US, itmay not be a big concern,butkeepinmindthat youcan't know 100% that there are no
suspiciousoffersbetweenyourISPandotheradvertisers.Also,thatcanstill happentoyouif youvisit
the UnitedStatesas a tourist.
Evenif you ignore the “ISPthat sellsyourdatato advertisers”,there isstill the factthatplatformslike
Google can share your personal datawiththirdpartyadvertisers.Also,advertiserscantrackyour
movementsonline tosome extentthroughadvertisementsandothermeans.
2. VPNsHelpYou Bypass GeoBlockages
Don't knowwhatgeo blocksare?Well,have youevertriedtoaccessa website onlytoreceive the
followingmessage (oravariationof it):"Sorry,the contentyourequestedisnotavailableinyourarea."
Geo-restrictions
That's geo-restrictiontechnology inaction.It'sbasicallyawaythat contentproviderscancontrol in
whichgeographicareastheirwebsites,movies,music,andTV showsare available.Theyusuallydothis
because theyneedtocomplywithcopyrightregulations,licensingregulations,andvariouslegal
procedures.
How doesa VPN helpwiththatproblem?Here'ssomethingtoknow first:Websitescanusuallyhide
contentbehindgeo-restrictionsbecause theycansee yourgeographical locationwhenyou're online.
Essentially,the platformyouwanttoaccessseesthe connectionrequestyourdevicesendsandalsothe
IP addressthe requestiscomingfrom.Once the website knowsyourreal IPaddress,itcan easilytrack
your geographiclocation.If youare blacklisted,youwillbe deniedaccessorredirectedtoadifferent
page.
Since a VPN can hide yourreal IP address,itcan helpyouavoidgeoblocks,asthe platformyouwantto
access will thinkyouare fromthe “correct” geographicregion.
For example,if youare fromBulgariaandare connectingtoa UK server,youwill be able toaccess
platformssuchas BBC iPlayerandNOWTV.

3. Therefore,aVPN canbe veryuseful if youare lookingtounblockcontentfromanywhere inthe world,
or if you travel or workabroad frequently.
3. VPNServicesSecure Your Online Connections
Wi-Fi iseverywhere todayandextremelyconvenienttouse,especiallyif youhave atightmobile data
plan.The onlyproblemwithfree WiFi isthatitis oftenunsecured, whichmeansthatyouare putting
your personal dataat riskeverytime youuse it.Afterall,cybercriminalscanfindouta lotabout you,
whichcan leadto themstealingyour:
Creditcard details
Bank account details
Email logincredentials
However,if youuse a VPN,youwon'thave to worryabout those dangers.Why?Because aVPN uses
encryptiontoprotectyouronline communications,make sure noone cancontrol it. Basically,if ahacker
triedto see yourconnectiontraffic,theywouldjustseebullshit.
Thisis alsowhyVPNsare a goodoptionforaccessingworkfilesremotely.If youeverneedtogothrough
a clientfile while takingacoffee breakandusingyourWiFi,yourbestbetisto use a VPN to make sure
no hackercan compromise yourconnectionandworkdata.
4. A VPNCan PreventBandwidthLimiting
Haven'theardof bandwidthcappingyet?It'sbasicallywhenyourISPlimitsyourbandwidth,effectively
reducingyouronline speeds.Theycoulddoitregularly,orjustonce a weekora month.Typically,ISPs
do thisto improve theirservicesbygettingridof networkcongestionandmakingsure there isenough
bandwidthforall users.
However,mostof the time theyengage inbandwidthcappingasaway to "convince"users(like you) to
buymore expensivedataplansandsubscriptions.
Well,the goodnewsisthat since a VPN encryptsall of yourinternettraffic,yourISPwon'tbe able to see
whatyou're doingonline.Theywon'tknow if you're using“toomuch” bandwidthtoplayonline games,
downloadfiles,orstreamTV shows.Therefore,theywill notbe able toreduce theirbandwidthbydoing
any of those things.

4. 5. VPNsCan Bypass Firewalls
Whenyouare at work,school,the airportor evenina hotel,youmayhave to deal withannoying
network firewallsthatpreventyoufromaccessingcertainwebsites.Networkadministratorsdoit
because theyoftenneedtocomplywithvariousregulations,butthatdoesn'tmake itfairto you.
Fortunately,youcaneasilybypassanyfirewall youfindwithaVPN asit hidesyourIPaddress,the
addressto whichthe firewall restrictionshave beenapplied.
Andyes,a VPN wouldevenallowyoutobypassgovernment-enforcedfirewalls(like the GreatFirewall
of China,forexample),soyouwon'thave to deal withgovernmentcensorshipwhile browsingthe
internet.
6. VPNsOfferSecure Torrenting
Torrentingisn'treallydangerousif youknow whatyou're doing,butitcan jeopardize yourprivacyif
you're not usinga VPN.Yousee,all the membersof the Swarm(all the people whodownloadand
uploada torrent) can actuallysee yourreal IPaddress.That meansyouhave unwantedstrangerswho
can see whatcountry andcity youare from, and possiblyfigureoutwhatyourzipcode isand whoyour
ISPis.
Also,don'tforgetthat torrentsmaybe illegal underthe lawsof yourcountry.Usinga VPN is a smart way
to make sure you don'trun intolegal trouble,receive DMCA notices,orhave yourISPterminate your
contract justfor downloadingasimple torrent.
DISCLAIMER: CactusVPN doesnotencourage illegal copyrightinfringementandtorrenting.However,we
are aware that for some people,filesharingisthe onlywaytheycanget accessto the filestheyneed,
whetherit'sforentertainment,school orworkpurposes.
7. VPNsMake Online GamingBetter
Where youneed bestCPU forgamingthere youneeda bestVPN,because aVPN encryptsyour
connectionsandhidesyourIPaddress,there are manyreasonsto use thisservice toimprove your
gamingexperience.Youwillbe able toplayinthe geographicregionsyouwant,youwill be able toplay
bannedgames,youwill be safe fromDDoSattacks andyou can evenavoidunfairIPbans.

5. 8. VPNsCouldHelp YouAvoid Online Price Discrimination
Online retailersandairlinessometimeslike toshow differentpricestotheirwebsitevisitorsbasedon
the geographicregiontheyare from.Theyusuallydothatto bettersegmenttheirmarketsandalsoto
generate more profit.Of course,havingtopaymore moneyforthe same product/ service justbecause
youare from anotherpartof the worldisnot fair.
Since a VPN hidesyourIPaddress,italsomasksyour actual geographiclocation.Soif youare froma
more developedcountry(like the United Statesforexample),youcouldtrytomake it looklike youare
froma lessdevelopedareaof the worldto geta betterprice.
Justrememberthata VPN isnot 100% guaranteedtoalwayshelpyoudeal withprice discrimination
online.Why?Because websitessometimesuse cookies(filesthatare downloadedtoyourdevice)to
"remember"yourdevice,whichcanresultinexposure tohigherpriceswhenyouvisitthe websiteagain.
It's generallybesttoclearyourcache as well,inadditiontousingaVPN.
The 4 disadvantagesof VPNservices
There reallyaren'tmanydownsidestoVPN servicesthatwouldn'tmake thistype of service agood
option.Still,the followingthingsthatyoumightconsiderproblemsare worthmentioning:
1. VPNsCan SometimesSlowYour Online Speed
Dependingonvariousfactors(howfaryouare fromthe VPN server,how strongthe encryptionis,what
type of VPN protocol youuse,etc.),yourinternetconnectionspeedmaybe affectedwhenyouuse a
VPN.The slowdownmaynotalwaysbe very noticeable,andsometimesitmaynotoccur, especiallyif
youhave a verystrongCPU and powerful bandwidth.
However,youshouldstillbe preparedforapossible dropinspeed(usuallyjustafew Mbps) if you use a
VPN.
We alreadyhave a detailedguide thatexplainshow usingaVPN affectsyouronline speedsif youwant
to learnmore.
2. Usingthe wrong VPNcan put your privacy at risk

6. VPNsare designedtoprotectyourdata online,butif youdon'tdo yourresearch,youcouldendup
choosinga service thatdoesthe opposite.
Thisis usuallythe case forveryinexperiencedproviders(commonsignsinclude buggyapps,lackof
tutorialsandsupport,andthere are no cleardetailsonthe type of securitytheyoffer) andfree VPN
providers.The latterare usuallythe onesmostlikelytogetyouintrouble,asfree VPNstypicallydon't
offerproperlyconfiguredencryptionorcouldevenexpose youtomalware.
Also,if youchoose a VPN provider(paidorfree) thatkeepslogsonyouronline activities,itwill also
jeopardize yourprivacy,nottomentiondefeatthe purpose of usingaVPN inthe firstplace.
Fortunately,thisproblemcanbe easilyavoidedif youchoose apaidVPN service thatdoesn'tkeeplogs
and offershigh-levelsecurity(VPN protocolslikeSoftEtherandOpenVPN,military-grade encryption,
DNS leakprotection,accesstoa switchemergency,etc.).
3. QualityVPNs Will CostMoney
Since free VPNsare clearlynota reliable option,youwill definitelyneedtochoose apaidVPN provider.
If you're shorton cash, thatcan be a problem, especiallysince some providerscancharge up to $ 9-12 /
month,whichaddsup inthe longrun.
However,itisnotall bad news.There are VPN providers(like CactusVPN,forexample) thatofferquite
affordable pricesthroughsegmentedsubscriptions,andtheyalsoofferdiscountsandpromotionsquite
frequently.
4. Not All DevicesSupport VPNsNatively
While VPN servicesgenerallyworkonthe mostpopularplatforms(Windows,iOS,macOS,Android),
there are still some operatingsystemsanddevices(Linux,Chromebook,Boxee Box) thatare not
compatible withVPN appsorplatformsforwhichVPN applicationsare notdevelopedbecause theyare
not sowidelyused.Insuchsituation,youwillhave tomanuallyconfigure VPN connectionsonthe device
/ operatingsystemyouwanttouse.
Besidesthat,there are alsoplatformsthatdon'thave native supportforVPN applications(game
consoles,some smartdevices,set-topboxes).Inthatcase,youwill needtosetupa VPN connection on

7. your router(whichmustruncompatible firmware),andthose deviceswill use the configuredVPN
connectiononce theyaccessthe webthroughthe router.
So Is A VPN The RightOptionForYou?
Consideringall the VPN advantagesanddisadvantagesthatwe have justdiscussed,itisquite obvious
that a VPN isthe perfectchoice if youwantto enjoyasecure online connectionandfreelyaccess
censoredorblockedcontent.
Evenif you're onlyinterestedinaccessinggeo-blockedTV showsandmovies,andyou're concernedthat
a VPN will slowyouronline speedstoomuch,youcan put yourconcernsto rest bylookingfora VPN
providerthatoffershigh-speedconnections,VPNprotocols.fast(like SoftEther)andunlimited
bandwidth.Alternatively,aVPN providerthatalsooffersaSmart DNS service couldalsobe helpful as
that service doesn'tinterferewithyouronlineconnections.
time
Advantages and Disadvantages of VPN - Conclusion
In general,there are manymore advantagesthandisadvantagestousingVPN services.Whethersucha
service wouldbe usefultoyouor notdependsonwhatyou wantto do on the web.Butsimplyput,if
youwant to enjoyasafe online experience andavoidcensorshipandgeoblocksonline,aVPN isthe right
choice.
Advantages of VPN
 A VPN service hidesyourreal IPaddress,effectivelymasksyouridentityonline,andallowsyou
to bypassgeoblocks.
 Since a VPN masksyourIP address,italsohelpsyoubypassfirewalls.
 A VPN encryptsyouronline connections,protectingyourdatafrom hackersandISP /
governmentsurveillance.
 By encryptingyouronline traffic,aVPN ensuresthatyourISPcannot limityourbandwidth.
 A VPN offersyouabetteronline gaming experiencebykeepingyousafe fromIPbans,DDoS
attacks,and givingyouaccessto geo-blockedvideogames.
 Witha VPN,youare much saferwhentorrenting,asyourISPcannot see whatyouare doing,
and otherpeople whoare downloading/uploadingthe same torrentcannotsee yourreal IP
address.
 A VPN can potentiallyhelpyouavoidprice discriminationonline (suchaswhenairlinescharge
more for the same ticketif youare from a differentgeographical area) byhidingyourIPaddress.

8. VPNdisadvantages
 VPN servicesgenerallycostmoneyasfree VPNsare notan optionas theydo notwork properly
and putyour data at risk.
 Notall devicesandoperatingsystemsnativelysupportVPN apps,sosometimesyoumayhave
to setup a connectionmanually.
 Usinga VPN will generallyslowyouronlinespeedstosome extentdue tovariousfactors
(distance fromthe server,type of encryptionbeingused,whatVPN protocol ituses,etc.).
 Some VPN providersloguserdata,whichcanput your privacyat risk.