All over the internet these days are articles hyping up virtual private networks (VPNs). They’re making it clear that the internet is not a “safe place”. Your very identity is up for grabs, and it’s foolish to leave all your information unsecured. A VPN encrypts your data and hides your location, making you extremely difficult to track.
But as a writer, you might wonder why a VPN is necessary. After all, you’re using your computer to research and write stories. You’re not downloading torrents or playing games on online networks. Your internet usage is not compromising in any way.
However, even writers should be using VPNs, as online threats are real for everyone. If you’re one of the endless writers using a Macbook, you should check out comparisons for the best VPN for Mac.
Here is why you need a VPN.
Your diverse internet use
You may not do anything that requires particularly intense usage, and definitely not anything compromising, but your internet use is almost certainly diverse. As writers, we need to know about everything. And in order to know about everything, we need to do a lot of research.
One writer’s browser history might contain everything from finance websites to pornographic content. We can write about it all with some research, and we are necessarily taken to vastly different parts of the web.
While ideally you use highly reputable sites for research, sometimes you have to go into less reputable corners. Websites that don’t value your privacy as much as you do, and which hackers use as gateways to your data.
For the same reason…
Diverse companies target you
Does Facebook show you adverts that have absolutely no relevance to you? Most people are targeted by companies that have some connection to their interests. For us, however, adverts are related to what we’ve been writing about.
The adverts are not dangerous. But the companies behind them might be. Your information is coveted by corporations trying to sell you stuff. And it’s in your best interests to keep this information away from them. Not only are they violating your privacy, but they may also let it slip into the wrong hands.
A VPN will protect you from companies who may not be malicious, but could indirectly cause you harm.
Access restricted content
This applies mostly to writers in countries where the government cracks down on certain content. Whether it’s content that is offensive to the state religion or political activism repressed by the government, you can find yourself blocked from getting information crucial to what you’re writing.
And, if you are a political writer, you want to stay safe from the government’s watch when you’re researching this content. Even if you can gain access, you’ll want your identity to be safe.
A VPN will block your location, pretending you’re somewhere else and thereby giving you access to content restricted in your country.
Protect yourself
The internet is dangerous – if you’re foolhardy about how you use it. Make sure that you protect yourself, even if you think you’re immune from the problems other types of users face.