6 Common VPN Myths You Shouldn’t Believe When VPNs first emerged, they were primarily used by businesses and academic institutions. Back then, everyday internet users were hesitant to adopt VPNs for regular browsing due to widespread misconceptions about their legality and fears of reduced internet speeds. Today, VPNs have gained immense popularity, but some of these 6 Common VPN Myths continue to mislead people.
It’s time to address these 6 Common VPN Myths and separate fact from fiction. By debunking these persistent myths, you’ll gain a clearer understanding of the true advantages and practical uses of VPNs in your online activities. Let’s dive into these 6 Common VPN Myths and uncover the truth!
Content
- 1. ISPs Restrict Internet Access for VPN Users
- 2. VPNs Are Only Needed in Illegal or Suspicious Activities
- 3. VPNs Make You Totally Anonymous
- 4. VPNs can Protect Against Malware & Viruses
- 5. VPNs Can Slow Down Your Network Speeds
- 6. Free VPNs are as Good as the Paid Ones
- Geo-blocking: an Additional VPN Myth
1. ISPs Restrict Internet Access for VPN Users
This is by far the most common VPN myth I still hear today. Some of my friends and colleagues are wary of using VPNs, fearing it would make their Internet connections susceptible to ISP throttling. It is a totally unjustified fear.
It is true that ISPs do not favor certain download activities on limited connections. But this is to enforce a fair usage policy (FUP) for everyone’s benefit. An FUP helps ensure all users on a budget plan receive quality network access.
As a digital nomad, I am currently on an international data roaming plan, which requires following certain terms and conditions, such as “no profiting from packages.” However, I have yet to face any problems using a VPN
From my discussions with account managers at various telecom providers, they have no issues with VPN usage. They only draw the line at large block data downloads on limited networks, such as extensive torrenting, or setting up your own VoIP connection for commercial purposes. If you’re on a premium, unlimited bandwidth connection, though, you can use it as you see fit, even commercially.
Moreover, top VPN providers like ExpressVPN and NordVPN use high-quality obfuscated connections that seamlessly blend with regular ISP traffic. This means their encrypted VPN traffic closely resembles standard ISP network data, making uninterrupted browsing on VPN servers easy and effortless.
In summary, you can use a VPN freely without worrying about what your ISP might think. They don’t care unless you’re in a country with extremely restrictive internet regulations, like North Korea or Turkmenistan.
2. VPNs Are Only Needed in Illegal or Suspicious Activities
On a related note, if I received a dime every time I meet someone who still believes VPN usage is illegal, I could probably afford the expensive ExpressVPN subscription again. This myth is surprisingly common, likely because purchasing a VPN service is an added monthly expense that many users are hesitant to include in their budgets.
Some people continue to think that VPNs are only used by cybersecurity experts or those with shady browsing practices. For example, those who frequent the dark web (which isn’t illegal, by the way.) Then there’s the classic fallacy: “If you’ve got nothing to hide, why mask your online activities?” This implies that only criminals need privacy.
While I believe fewer people will hold such opinions about VPN in the future, I wouldn’t be surprised if they remain common even ten years from now.
3. VPNs Make You Totally Anonymous
As much as we wish it, a VPN does not make your browsing totally anonymous. However, if you’re using a top-tier VPN provider, they can get you very close to full privacy. It’s not perfect, but you’re definitely better off routing your Internet activities through an encrypted VPN than without one.
Accessing the Internet through VPN servers is one of the most reliable ways to protect your IP address, browsing data, email headers, and, most importantly, DNS from third parties. For example, ExpressVPN offers live tracking to detect any possible DNS and WebRTC leaks. This does a good job at stopping most if not all browser fingerprinting or eavesdropping attempts.
Most VPNs claim a no-logs policy, meaning they claim not to store any records of your personal data or browsing history. In practice, this varies based on the security and data retention methods of the VPN provider. If your VPN provider is based in one of the “Fourteen Eyes” countries, they are legally obliged to report any illegal activity.
I will again recommend using a top-ranked VPN provider. For instance, ExpressVPN and NordVPN both use diskless RAM to store your browsing data, which gets deleted with every server reboot. Both VPN providers are based around the Caribbean, well outside the Fourteen Eyes jurisdiction.
Many VPN providers additionally let you buy their subscriptions with cryptocurrency or without giving your real personal information. This offers a lot of privacy, but with the advanced surveillance tools that governments have today, I don’t think an average PC or mobile user can stay completely anonymous.
4. VPNs can Protect Against Malware & Viruses
This is not much of a myth anymore because the lines between VPNs and antivirus solutions have blurred in recent years. Technically, VPNs are only concerned with masking your Internet connection. They are not anti-malware products and will not protect your device if it gets infected by a virus.
However, many VPN providers like ExpressVPN or NordVPN now offer advanced security solutions that bundle antivirus protection, identity protection, and even dark web scanning with a VPN subscription. Vice versa, almost all regular antivirus solutions like Malwarebytes have a VPN feature included in them. Personally, I feel this is a great development for budget-conscious users.
In the current threat landscape, you cannot rely solely on Windows Security to protect your devices. Purchasing a separate antivirus solution with endpoint protection is a safer bet for device and user security. It’s just that having it bundled with a VPN subscription is more economical.
Also read: to save money with a VPN, go for an annual plan or even a family subscription, such as Surfshark which connects unlimited users and devices.
5. VPNs Can Slow Down Your Network Speeds
Historically, it was indeed true that using a VPN could negatively impact your network speeds. I remember in 2008, when I was working for one of the cybersecurity divisions of Sophos, we were testing our U.S. corporate VPN servers for the first time. It took over 4 hours to transfer a 25 MB file. It didn’t help that the Internet speed at my office was limited to 1 Mbps, which was considered high quality at the time.
Modern VPNs have minimal encryption overhead and use lightweight protocols like WireGuard or Lightway (for ExpressVPN). They are no longer limited to older protocols like PPTP, L2TP, or IPSec. With today’s Internet speeds being hundreds of times faster, server distances have become less significant. Top VPNs now use multiple 10 Gbps servers, which can combine to form a smart server. This can sometimes result in faster speeds from a VPN smart server than from your ISP.
Related: check this comparison between WireGuard and OpenVPN.
6. Free VPNs are as Good as the Paid Ones
I’m sure you’ve heard of that saying that if something is too good to be true, it probably is. The same thing applies to free VPNs. You probably think that the free VPN app you’re using is protecting your data and not asking for anything in return.
That sounds like a heartfelt gesture, but you’re probably giving up information you don’t know about. The thing is, VPN server are not free, and the app needs to pay for that in some way. With a free VPN, the speed is usually affected. You’re probably also giving up personal information such as your email address, browsing data, and other information, or even have ads injected into your browsing session.
Having said this, we do recommend a few good free VPN offerings such as Hotspot Shield. Its free tier is only capped at 500 MB per day.
Geo-blocking: an Additional VPN Myth
We saw the most popular VPN myths, and clearly saw how unfounded they can be. To wrap it up, there is one more VPN myth you need to watch out for. I know it may be surprising to many, but VPNs aren’t always very good at geo-blocking.
For sure, if you want to unblock streaming sites, the best VPN providers do a very good job, even if you’re overseas. However, not all Geo blocked content can be easily unblocked. I edit articles on Wikipedia, and I am yet to find a VPN server that could unblock my access to Wiki’s editor. Wikipedia maintains an exhaustive list of known VPN IP addresses along with a deep packet inspection capability. Using a VPN with them gets discovered very quickly.
On such sites, I believe you might have better luck if you use one of these lesser-known browsers with built-in VPN.