How can I get access to Netflix from abroad without paying exorbitant fees? Can I watch Game of Thrones or other premium streaming services outside my country? Is it safe to use a VPN service? These questions and more can be answered only after knowing a bit about VPN (Virtual Private Network).
A virtual private network allows you to connect to the Internet through an encrypted tunnel that hides your identity and location. The idea behind using a VPN is to secure your connection to the web. This way, even if someone is spying on your traffic, they won’t be able to see who you are, where you are, or what you are doing online.
VPNs have become essential nowadays given the many ways hackers try to steal our personal information. If you’re unsure whether you should use a VPN or not, then read on.
But how do you choose the right VPN for your needs? The good news is that some VPN services offer free trials so you can test them out before you commit. Here’s the review of the Pur VPN U and what makes it unique. But first, let's talk a bit about what a VPN is and how it works.
The term “virtual private network” was coined by Cisco Systems back in 1989 as part of its development of IPSec technology. It describes a type of encryption used to protect data while traveling over public networks like the internet.
In simple terms, VPN encrypts all your internet traffic and sends it across the internet in such a way that no one else can intercept it. When you log into a website with a VPN, the site knows that you are coming from somewhere else because your IP address has been changed.
This means that websites will load faster and you can browse anonymously without being tracked by third parties. You also don’t need to worry about your ISP blocking certain sites, since they won’t know which sites you are accessing.
When you first open up a browser window, there is usually a small icon at the bottom-right corner of the screen. This icon shows the current connection status of your device. Depending on the settings of your router, this may show either your local IP address or the external IP address assigned to your computer.
If you click on the icon, you will see the name of your current connection. For example, if you are connected to Wi-Fi, the name would say something like "Alicante Wi-Fi". This way you're connected to the internet is public and everyone can see where you are browsing from.
Photo by Dan Nelson on Unsplash
However, when you connect to a VPN server, the name changes. Instead of showing your actual IP address, it will display the IP address of the VPN server. So instead of seeing Alicante Wi-Fi, you'll see something like "Pur VPN U".
Now, when you visit a website, the website doesn't know where you are connecting from. Your browser will ask the VPN provider to send the request to the website. Since the VPN server has replaced your real IP address, the website thinks you are connecting from another country.
So, when you visit a site, it loads much faster than usual. In addition, your privacy is protected because no one can track your activity.
There are two main reasons why people use VPNs: To access geo-blocked content and to stay anonymous online.
To access geo-blocked content, you must be aware that most countries block certain types of content. Most notably, Netflix is blocked in many countries around the world. If you want to watch movies and TV shows from outside your home country, then you need to use a VPN service.
To stay anonymous online, you need to hide your IP address. There are several ways to accomplish this, but none of them are 100% effective. However, using a VPN makes it very difficult for anyone to identify who you really are.
So PUR VPN U is a great addition to the VPN world and even though it's a new competitor Asize Soft has made a great job to make the application on par with others. At the moment it's only available for mobile in Android devices but soon expect more adaptability.
With this VPN you can change your location to these different countries:
- Bulgaria
- Romania
- Spain
- Germany
- Kazakhstan
- Ukraine
- The United Kingdom
- France
- Italy
- The United States with 2 Servers
- The Netherlands
- Russia with 2 Servers
- Luxemburg
After carefully checking out each one of these locations and performing some tests in the form of opening Facebook, Playing a YouTube video, and Googling random information. I was able to determine that there are no real drawbacks when using VPN servers. All the images load fast and without interruptions, I was able to watch YouTube videos without stuttering, and there was no noticeable lag.
You can try out this VPN for yourself by going to this link here and installing it, it's going to take no more than 5 minutes.
Once you have installed the PUR VPN U, open it and you will see a clean and simple-looking dashboard. In order for you to connect to a VPN server before browsing you need to select the desired location. Then you can choose one of the countries mentioned above. Once you've chosen the selected country you just have to press the big square button in the middle of the screen.
Make sure that you've given the app permission to change the Network Settings of your mobile device otherwise the app is not going to work. These permissions will open once you press the connect button. Then you will have to allow the application to make the changes to your device.
The best thing about this PUR VPN U review is that the application is completely free and unlimited. The drawback to this is that you are going to get blasted with ads when you use the application. That is not deal-breaking and it's going to be slightly annoying at best but it will not ruin the experience.
In case you don't want to be bothered by the ads at all then there's a solution for you. The developers Asize Soft have made it possible for you to remove the ads on this application by paying a small fee. You can remove the ads completely for only $3.28 a month or $32.8 if you make the payment yearly. If you're going to use this product then I suggest you go for the yearly plan since it's going to cost you less.
Remember that you don't get anything else with this subscription it's just to remove the ads.
There's a cool feature in the application that lets you use the VPN servers for only some applications. You can find it at the left side menu it's called 'Allowed apps' and from there you can switch a toggle to allow or not allow certain applications to route their network usage through the VPN servers or not. This is especially useful if you want to use the VPN only for some applications and not others.
If you're a fan of Dark Mode then don't worry PUR VPN U has you covered. It has the dark mode ready and available for everyone. You can find it under the settings option. To change it you just need to flick the switch and you'll see the difference in real-time.
Well to begin with the fact that it's a free VPN and offers all this stuff should be the main thing that you look at. You have 13 different locations to choose from and a total of 15 servers which will never get full and will always allow you to surf the internet anonymously. On top of that, you're not going to get internet speed that's dependent on the VPN server that you're on. From my experiments I've noticed that there are no drawbacks and no speed issues using this application.
Having a VPN in today's day and age it's something that everyone who surfs the internet should know how to do. It's crucial if you're also a privacy nerd and want to stay anonymous without sending personal data to big companies like Google for example. You may want to use a VPN just to see your favorite TV show and that's totally acceptable too since Netflix restricts its content based on the country that you're in.
I hope that this article has helped you understand what VPNs are and how they work. But also it has helped you create an idea about what the PUR VPN U is and how it works as well. Either way, I've provided you with valuable information to help you kickstart your internet journey in a protected and anonymous way.
If you have any questions or suggestions about the article don't hesitate and leave a reply in the comment section down below.