VPN Articles and News

Why Expats and Business Travelers Need a VPN Service

By Paul Liu
Wednesday, January 9th, 2013

If you are a businessman or professional who has to travel abroad frequently or are based in another country for months or longer then you should consider getting a virtual private network (VPN) subscription. As strange as it may sound, VPN for expats has become more of a necessity than a luxury. Without a reliable VPN service at your disposal, you could soon find yourself cut off from your family, business colleagues or your favorite networking or entertainment options. Below we list down the reasons why virtual private networks are the need of the hour for the expat community.

Maintain Constant Accessibility to Websites

A lot of countries block certain websites or online activities for a variety of reasons. For instance, China has blocked major websites like Gmail, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Google Docs, Google Maps, and Google Drive among others; Brazil has blocked all VOIP services, Skype is banned in many Middle Eastern countries, and so on. So if you are travelling to China and use Gmail for all your communications, Twitter or Facebook to connect with your friends and family or Google Drive to store all your documents, you could suddenly find yourself cut off from the rest of the world. Similarly if you are travelling to Middle East on a business trip and your company has a policy to use Skype for online meetings, you would be forced to look for alternatives to Skype since you won’t be able to access it through Middle Eastern Internet Service Providers (ISP).

Similarly a lot of business sites such as banks, online shopping malls use IP address of the visitors to identify their location so you may not be able to check your bank balance or buy a gift for your loved one when you are abroad. Virtual private networks shield your online activities from local ISPs and your location from business sites and allow you to access websites, emails and documents without any blockage or censorship.

Enhance Your Web-Browsing Security

As well as providing accessibility, VPNs excel in keeping your personal details safe. Virtual private networks make use of advanced security and encryption techniques to protect your identity and data. They also use tunnels to secure all web traffic within them for a totally secure browsing environment. This makes it possible to carry out your personal or business activities uninterrupted without fearing about getting your data hacked or your system attacked. Most major VPN providers also provide public hotspot protection to keep your personal details safe while using public Wi-Fi networks such as those in airports, hotels and shopping malls.

Access Home Entertainment Websites

Being away from your country doesn’t mean that you have to be away from your favorite entertainment options. Unfortunately a lot of entertainment and news websites like Netflix, Hulu, Pandora, BBC iPlayer etc. use your IP address to determine your location so you won’t be able to access them when you are abroad. VPNs again come to the rescue and allow you to watch your favorite TV shows, news channels or stream movies simply by choosing a VPN server from that country. Most big VPN providers have servers in major countries like United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, Netherlands, Japan, Australia etc. so you can watch content from these countries regardless of your current location. Many VPN providers also allow you to switch servers without any additional cost so you can access the best entertainment channels from around the world regardless of your current location.

As you can see from above list, VPNs have become an indispensable tool for expats. Whether you are visiting another country for few days or getting relocated for few months, VPNs allow you to remain connected and access your favorite sites without any interruption.