Summer vacation is coming! Another few weeks of hard work or learning and then the Chromebooks and overcrowded trains can be temporarily put in the back of your closet. If you were not one of the early bookers who already planned their trip in September, the costs may frighten you. Anyway, holidays have become a lot more expensive in recent months. Still, we all want to go on a holiday together, especially now that the lean corona years are finally behind us. Here’s how an affordable vacation is still within reach thanks to a VPN.
With a virtual private network, shortened to VPN, you establish a secure connection. All data you send from your device is routed through an encrypted tunnel to the VPN server. This ensures encryption of all data. They are therefore encrypted so that unauthorized persons such as cyber criminals can no longer read them. In this way they are forwarded to the server of your own provider or a public server.
The main advantage of a VPN is that it secures all your online communication. No one can watch your online activities, not even your own provider. This also means that your provider can no longer throttle the bandwidth in your specific case at peak times. A VPN is also extremely suitable for protecting your IP address. If the VPN server forwards your encrypted data, only the IP address of the VPN server is visible to the recipient. In addition, you can easily change your IP address by simply connecting to a different VPN server. It is also important to mention that a good VPN immediately protects you against malware and many other forms of cyber scams.
VPN SERVERS
That switching between different VPN servers can provide several benefits. If you want the fastest connection, it is best to choose the closest server. Usually this choice is already indicated by default. But you are by no means obliged to select a Dutch server. You might as well go for an Australian, Vietnamese, or Chilean VPN server. If you do that, and you have first cleared all cookies, you will see all web content suddenly appear in the language of the country of the chosen VPN server. This can be useful for learning a new language, but also for getting around regional blockades. For example, do you live in China and is access to Facebook blocked? Then you can still access the platform via a foreign VPN server.
The recipient only sees the IP address of the server. And based on the location of this IP address, it is determined which content will or will not be shown. This applies to censored content, but also to dynamic prices. That is, sellers adjust their prices according to where their customers come from. Usually they charge lower prices for local consumers than for foreign customers. Airlines, hotels and car rental companies have a long tradition in this regard.
TRAVEL DEALS
All you have to do to take advantage of these lower rates is pretend to be a local website visitor. So act like a local. Remember this tip, because it will also come in handy during your holiday. For example, do you want to book a ticket via Turkish Airlines? Skip the ticket providers, select a Turkish VPN server and go straight to the Turkish Airlines website. This way you can quickly save tens of euros on your airline tickets. It is also definitely worth trying out different VPN servers. Lower prices may also apply to visitors from certain countries. With a Kenyan VPN server, you can save considerably on a hotel in Europe, while Japanese visitors often experience the opposite. In the same way you can also play with various currencies. Does an iPhone cost 400 dollars in the US and 400 euros in the Netherlands? Then you choose the American VPN server and then visit the official web store. Please note the shipping costs if you have it shipped from America. It is also important to check whether your bank charges a fee for transactions in other currencies. So don’t immediately assume that you’re cheaper, but first make a calculation.
ON HOLIDAY
The ticket is booked, you have a nice hotel and the rental car is waiting for you at your holiday destination. Once at the train station or airport, you can quickly open your internet banking app to transfer some extra money. That free public network then comes in handy. Yet this is precisely the most risky situation in which you can perform financial transactions. Anyone who is at the same airport or train station could just watch what you do online. The security of public networks is in a sad state. This also applies to the free WiFi that you can use in your hotel. Great, if you want to read some Dutch news in the evening. Or if you want to buy an online ticket for your museum visit tomorrow. It is therefore very understandable if you do connect to the existing WiFi network. But before you do that, switch on a VPN. This way you know for sure that you keep prying eyes out and that you are not hundreds or thousands of euros lighter when you return home.