When you connect to a shared Wi-Fi network, the operator of that network can potentially see everything you do. An attacker on that network could do the same.
With a VPN, both of them are blind to your activities.
This makes a VPN an enormously useful tool for improving your privacy, especially when you're connected to a Wi-Fi network you don't manage. And one place where you're highly likely to be connecting to Wi-Fi networks you don't manage is when you're going to college.
But which VPNs are the best for school Wi-Fi use? It's not a simple question, because not every top VPN service is suited to students' needs, as we'll explain.
When you switch on a VPN, it creates an encrypted tunnel between your computer and a remote server operated by the VPN company. Your data travels through the tunnel, to the server, and then out onto the open internet. This means your data appears to be coming from the VPN server, not from your computer, and the ISP or whoever is running the network you're connected to won't be able to see what you're up to online.
It's a fair assumption that there are a lot of Wi-Fi networks on college campuses. You might use one at a dorm, at the library, or at the quirky local coffee shop. Most of those networks are probably safe, but it's always a good practice to use a VPN wherever possible to make ensure that no one is spying on your activities.
Even if HipsterCoffeeShopWiFi is safe, it's all to easy to accidentally connect to the very unsafe HipsterCoffeeShopWiFi_ that someone might be running with the express purpose of sucking up your private info and passwords.
Another reason to use a VPN is to get around restrictions imposed by whoever is running the network. Back in the history (maybe nowadays as well) the University hadn't gotten wise to BitTorrent and some people may have taken advantage of the enormous bandwidth the school provided to download several hundred episodes of a popular anime series, for example.
If you're using a network that blocks BitTorrenting, or some other online activity, a VPN may help.
VPNs are enormously powerful tools. They protect your internet traffic from snooping, make it harder for you to be tracked online, and can help you circumvent restrictions on your browsing. However, they aren't a magical shield that protects against all the threats out there.
While some VPNs offer a modicum of protection against malicious websites, VPNs are no substitute for antivirus. If you just got a new laptop to take to school, you should protect that investment from malware.
A VPN also can't adequately protect you against phishing attacks. That's when an attacker uses a convincing email or specially built website to trick you into entering your personal information. Browsers are very good at catch phishing sites, but better safe than sorry: scrutinize every site you visit and every link you click.
Lastly, VPNs do help improve your privacy, but they cannot provide total anonymity. For that, you'll want a tool like Tor, which does far more to obfuscate your online activities at the expense of speed.
Can Schools Block VPNs?
The other criteria we looked at to make this list was whether the VPN included the tools to get around networks that block VPNs. Your college, for instance, might very well have a blanket ban on the use of VPNs, since using a VPN could potentially prevent them from enforcing other usage rules—like the prohibitions on BitTorrent for example.
The most likely way a VPN would be blocked would be if the network administrators block the specific ports used for VPN traffic. The OpenVPN protocol, for instance, requires port 443 or port 7011 to function, for instance. To test if those ports are being blocked, you can type www.portquiz.net:XXX into the URL bar in your browser, and replace the XXX with the port you're curious about.
It's possible, albeit less likely, that a university might block the VPN at the protocol level. Some VPNs include tools to get around this. They work by disguising your VPN traffic as something innocuous, such as HTTPS traffic. This has different names depending on the VPN service you chose.
Lastly, we only accepted VPNs that allowed BitTorrent on their servers. Note, however, that free trials and free versions sometimes limit the servers you can access, which may cut you off from the VPN servers designated to handle BitTorrent traffic.
Contribute, add your point to this blog & see more about our VPN Services here
Comments