VPN Benefits and Usage for Travel
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Beyond the well-known advantages of a VPN to protect your identity while being online, it also offers some distinct advantages to circumvent blocked access to popular social media sites that may otherwise not be available to you while on travel in individual countries.
The control of information is a favorite tactic of many governments for political, social, and psychological reasons. Compared to the social media of today, traditional media outlets were much easier to control.
The social media revolution has disrupted traditional media channels to the extent that the governments of the world either exploit, block or in some way censor the information being posted to those media outlets.
That’s because the primary contributor to social media is the common population of each country which has the tendency to report things as they perceive them to be and not spin the content for personal gain.
The result that most governments fear is the ability of a single person or group to mobilize a population on issues directly rather than depend on traditional government, news, and media outlets to represent their cause. Those in powerful political and economic positions have lost control.
However, that doesn’t mean they won’t maneuver to change tactics and reestablish that control over the people they govern or influence.
International Social Media Control and Censorship
The list of countries that block social media access continues to change as political situations in the international community evolve over time. This is the current list of countries that outright have policies to block particular channels.
- China bans access to Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.
- Iran blocks Facebook, Skype, Twitter, and YouTube.
- North Korea bans access to Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.
- Turkey effectively blocks Twitter and YouTube for the most part.
- Vietnam blocks Facebook.
Interestingly enough, the real value of the social media revolution is the ability to find out and understand the sentiments and behavioral characteristics of the people you govern. Data mining and analysis might be the much more efficient way to govern the people you represent.
VPN and its Advantages to Access Blocked Social Media Sites
Beyond the political, socially sensitive demographic groups are blocked from accessing certain sites on the Internet from places such as school and work.
However, if you are in the mood to relax and stream your favorite TV series online, you probably encountered instances of censored, blocked, or geo-restricted content.
Obviously, “This site is not available in your country” is not the message you want to see. There is an effective solution – a VPN.
The VPN servers that most companies in the VPN business offer are located worldwide and outside the Internet infrastructure of the country you are located in. The VPN server masks both your identity and location thus giving you the opportunity to connect to social media sites that are otherwise blocked.
Of course, this works perfectly in theory. However, the reality is that the countries restricting your access also know the VPN services and move to shut down access to servers in other nations that circumvent their attempts to control the unrestricted flow of information.
VPN technology, however, counterpunches with new technology and algorithms that circumvent the circumvention. It’s a never-ending game of technological one-upmanship.
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VPN Travel Tips
Before you depart on travel for business or vacation, choose two or three VPN solutions that appeal to your pocketbook and functionality. VPN services such as PIA are perfect for the job.
VPN encryption will protect you from being hacked. This is particularly important if you’re using public Wi-Fi hot spots or unprotected hotel Wi-Fi service while traveling. VPN also allows you to change your IP, further masking both your identity and location.
Be prepared for slower connection speeds and intermittent operation as you will be using public access Wi-Fi on travel. This is not a limitation of your service provider but rather the inferior connection speeds offered at public access points in your travel location.
The bandwidth of the public router can be quickly overwhelmed by multiple users. Try each VPN option you installed on your device to find the one that works best. One might work better during business hours in heavy Internet traffic. Another might be better suited to after-work hours time slots. Each service you’ve subscribed to will have different capabilities in different companies.
China, in particular, is very aggressive in combating VPN circumvention of the “Great Firewall” that has become known as the most powerful digital information boundary in the world.
However, it has been proven to be vulnerable to circumvention.
Conclusion
VPN is your friend while on travel. It can enable you to use the Internet for unrestricted access to the content you prefer just as you would if you were at home. VPN encryption and location masking protect your identity to prevent the local authorities from harassing you. VPN services are always adapting to counter the efforts to restrict access and censor content.
