Did you know that a VPN can help you make big savings online? Those among us that are familiar with what a Virtual Private Network is in-depth and have been using it for some time may already know this clever workaround. Saving money is also not VPN software’s only clever trick, which goes to show just how versatile a software it is.
Albeit, a large portion of people using VPNs today know the software only for its cybersecurity features or privacy-enhancing abilities, which are in no way to be underestimated, however, the versatility of a VPN reaches far beyond just outright security.
A VPN can help you make shocking savings on some of the banalest and most trivial things online, as well as help you make savings where you need the most. Savings in the hundreds of dollars is not uncommon, simply by following a few steps while using a VPN. All of this can be done in a streamlined, legal way thanks to the power of modern VPNs.
The popularity of VPNs has been steadily increasing for about the last five years or so since it hasn’t been long since their commercialization and the rising public awareness about VPNs. Furthermore, growing levels of cybercrime, government surveillance, and data collection have expanded the VPN market significantly. The software has helped millions (in fact, hundreds of millions) to establish a new level of cybersecurity, privacy and improved everything from digital streaming, unblocking censorship, and more as you shall find out below.
What is a VPN?
A VPN, or Virtual Private Network, is cybersecurity software. It is available to everyone, across all major platforms for all major operations systems. VPNs are offered as applications, or apps, that run in the background of a computer system, or other devices that run an operating system. VPN software comes as an app that can be downloaded either from a website or an app store for desktop or laptop computers. For smartphones, VPNs can be downloaded from either the Android Google Play or Apple App Stores. The software comes in both free and paid versions, the latter being preferable for security and support reasons.
Technically speaking, a VPN reroutes the internet connection coming from a router to a computer system. It takes the internet connection, encrypts it with high-layer security such as AES 256-bit encryption (the standard most premium VPNs nowadays) which both makes it practically impossible for attackers to compromise a connection, as well as anonymizing the user using the internet while on a VPN. By connecting to a variety of proprietary VPN servers around the globe, the user can browse the internet as if he/she were in that country because a VPN modifies the user’s IP (internet protocol) address.
How Can You Save Money With a VPN?
Now comes the interesting part. Since a VPN modifies the IP address of a user’s internet connection, this is reflected towards what the user’s ISP (internet service provider e.g., Verizon, Vodafone, AT&T, etc), the government, and the rest of the internet can observe about the user’s system. Let’s say that a user lives in Switzerland, and his IP address is something like: 105.44.22.11. This hypothetical IP address can be looked up and it will point to a rough location within i.e., close to where the user is connected to the internet (i.e., city and town.)
With a VPN activated, a user in Switzerland can switch his IP address to India, Belgium, Australia, or anywhere else offered by the VPN service provider in the server selection area of the VPN app. For all intents and purposes, the user is anonymous and secure with a VPN connection. The most that advanced scans can do is reveal that a VPN connection is being used, but it will be using the VPN provider’s DNS and not the user’s actual IP address.
The next bit of information is how online services function. Online services such as online shopping and online bookings websites for flights and hotels offer region-specific prices to users browsing these websites. Even still, more services do that with their catalogs and premium packages such as digital streaming services like Netflix or YouTube. Any subscription service, booking, or e-commerce platform that can be accessed online will have different prices for different regions. Since most shopping and booking is done online today, a VPN can really be a game-changer for most people looking to purchase quick seats on a flight, book a nice vacation, or get a lower price on a digital streaming service subscription.
Finally, let’s look at how to do this. First of all, it is critical that you download premium, verified, and trusted VPN software (that will be paid, of course) such as NordVPN, ExpressVPN, Cyberghost, Surfshark, and some others. Once you pay for the subscription, install the app on your system (whether that is a laptop, desktop, smartphone, or tablet). Next, connect to one of the many global servers and browse to your preferred website. The next steps will require a bit of experimentation from your side.
Before you start browsing, open the “incognito”, “private browsing” or “anonymous browsing” mode in your browser (the name will be browser-specific). If your browser does not have this, download a browser such as Brave browser to be able to do so. You need to enable this mode for cookies and historical data to not be stored about the VPN region-changes you are going to make that will confuse the website and will not give you the proper results.
Now, let’s say that you want to book a hotel or flight. You would access your usual hotel or flight booking website, whatever that may be. Now, input the dates you are traveling, the type of room, and all the rest that you would normally. Now check the price offered to you. Now, repeat this process by closing the website, changing the VPN server you are connected to (to say, India), re-start the process, and checking the price again. You may have to convert Indian Rupees (in this case) to a currency you understand.
By experimenting with different servers, you will see how prices change regionally. You may even save hundreds of dollars on online services, all while being encrypted and safer than you were before when you get out your cards to pay online. This is why VPNs are such a versatile tool. Remember not to use free VPN services, as websites may catch the weaker encryption protocols with free VPNs and these workarounds may not work for you.
