How Important is VPN and How Can It Protect Your Browsing Habits?

What is VPN?

VPN, or Virtual Private Networking, is becoming a popular Internet security technology that is basically an added layer of security for private and public Internet networks. A VPN allows users – individuals or group entities – to send and receive data while maintaining secrecy and anonymity for its private network.

Having a VPN is like creating a “secret tunnel” for any network to enjoy access to private internal systems. It also means that users can browse in complete anonymity online and access content not allowed by an ordinary ISP (Internet service provider) such as Netflix or BBC’s iPlayer.

Why is VPN a must these days?

In many countries, privacy is of utmost importance. Thus, when using a VPN, you prevent your ISP and government from seeing your Internet history. VPN’s are also emerging as popular tools for those conscious of their freedom of speech rights in order to avoid censorship by their employers, by third parties, and by the government. Therefore, even if you write negative reviews against your employers anonymously on another site, your employer won’t find out.

VPN can also be used to either hide or “geo-spoof” the exact location of a user. Users can customize their location settings to either bounce off their location from different countries or to be able to use overseas services not available to specific countries because of legal or licensing issues, such as TV streaming services.

VPN’s can also protect users against hackers since the technology protects when using a public Internet hotspot or third-party networks. This is important with business trips that necessitate using public Wi-Fi in places like coffee shops or open office networks. When using VPN, cybercriminals will find it difficult to penetrate into your gadgets, and even preventing phishing and malware attacks.   

What VPN service should users choose?

In reality, there are over 400VPN services all over the world, some specializing on mobile devices only. We did our research and found at least 3 of the best.

ExpressVPN

ExpressVPN is the best all-round VPN service for speed, privacy, and unblocking. It has 1800 plus number of servers, 148 server locations, and at least 30,000 IP addresses. Maximum devices supported are 3.

§  15 months - $6.67/month

§  6 months - $9.99/month

§  1 month - $12.95/month

§  Wide range of secure VPN apps

§  Superb 24/7 live customer support

§  Ultra fast VPN servers in 94 countries

§  Only supports 3 connections

IPVanish

This VPN service is awesome for torrenting and other P2P traffic. It has 950 plus number of servers, 60 server locations, and up to 40,000 IP addresses. Maximum devices supported are 5.

§  24 months - $2.87/month

§  12 months - $6.49/month

§  3 months - $8.99/month

§  No traffic logs

§  Excellent download speeds

§  Configurable software

§  No free trial

VyprVPN

Another service that’s great in performance and security is the VyprVPN. It has 700 plus number of servers, 73 server locations, and over 200,000 IP addresses. Maximum devices supported are 3-5.

§  12 months - $5/month

§  12 months - $6.67/month

§  1 month - $9.95/month

§  Very fast performance

§  Good value annual plans

§  Powerful, configurable clients

§  Monthly plans are more expensive

Apps that Can Help You Save Time and be More Productive

Technology – for all its advances – has long been known as one of the biggest productivity killers, instead of helping people become more productive. Many people, in fact, lose many hours in a day glued to their computers or mobile devices in a constant state of staring and searching, all in the name of trying to improve work. However, the advances in technology and growth of mobile app development has given rise to some incredible apps that can actually help people create balance in their work by promoting positive mental health, tracking and managing work and home to avoid stress, and protecting the most valuable resource: time.

These apps can help you achieve work-life balance by being more productive and saving time for a better quality of life.

Timeneye (for smart time management)

Timeneye is a free, visually appealing, and non-distracting time tracking app for personal use to monitor how you spend your time on work projects, hobbies, home chores, and virtually everything else. You can easily sync it with other software like Basecamp, Google Calendar, Asana, Trello, and track your time without switching between them. In time the app will learn about your habits and automatically create suggested time entries for you. That means you spend less time on dull work and have more room for creativity and innovation. Timeneye is available as a web service, Android and iOS app for free for personal use. It costs $9/month for teams up to 5 people.

Focus Booster (for staying on task)

Focus Booster is an app to help you stop wasting time on unnecessary tasks and get straight to the real work. The app allows you to set “focus time” windows and breaks and switch on the timer to start work. During your work time, you can’t stop the timer as your session won’t be recorded and added to your time sheet. This app is essential for freelancers to bill their clients correctly by setting up hourly rates for each client and have auto-tracking for time spent on the project. Available as a desktop app for free with premium features starting from $2.99 per month.

Splashtop Remote Desktop (for spending less time using a desktop)

If you need to get things done on the go and need to leave your desktop, install Splashtop Remote Desktop. The app allows you to access all your PC or Mac files and programs from a smartphone or tablet so you don’t need to turn off your desktop. It also streams video and audio from your computer, and can interact with PowerPoint, Keynote, Word, Excel and other applications. Starting at $4.99, Splashtop Remote Desktop is available for all operational systems and numerous types of devices.

Make Things Easier With Your Large Screen Device With the Help of These Cool Android Apps

When the era of smartphones began, screen real estate became one of the most significant features. In an instant, people are now after for bigger screens, which is why most manufacturers are producing larger smartphones.

Unfortunately, phones with larger screens can have an impact on usability. Attempting to operate a large device with only one hand can often lead to screen shattering drops or unintentional commands. Luckily, manufacturers have noticed this growing problem and attempted to remedy the situation.

Apple has a feature called “Reachability mode” for one-handed operation of iOS devices, and companies like Samsung and LG have similar settings you can enable for certain Android devices.

However, if you happen to use an Android device that doesn’t have a “one-handed” mode, don’t worry. Below are some apps to help you operate your large device easily with only one hand.

Simple Control

Reaching down to the bottom of your device to tap your Home, Back or Overview buttons can require some serious dexterity. Users of bigger phones often have to awkwardly adjust their grip on their device in order to reach these buttons. This can increase the risk of dropping the phone.

Fortunately, Simple Control places virtual Home, Back and Overview buttons on the edge of either side of your screen. This enables users to access these functions without having to stretch their thumb to the bottom of the phone. Furthermore, the buttons disappear from view when not in use, so they won’t obstruct your homescreen.

Circle Sidebar

With a large device, simple tasks like opening your app drawer can be a dangerous balancing act. Luckily, Circle SideBar allows users to organize and access apps easily via a radial menu. After installation, users can determine what action opens Circle SideBar, like a swipe from the left edge of the screen. Once open, users can scroll through a customizable list of apps and settings using a single thumb. There are numerous customization options, including the size of the wheel and app icons. While Circle SideBar is a free app, there is a premium version that boasts additional features.

Omni Swipe

Phones with larger screens simply require bigger hands. Unfortunately, if you have smaller hands, this can pose a problem. Simple things like launching apps or pulling down your notification bar can be a chore.

Omni Swipe is an easy way to access your favorite apps, contacts, settings and notifications, all with a single flick. Users simply swipe from the bottom left or right corner of a device to open a fully customizable radial menu that houses all of your most used shortcuts. In addition to being easy to use, the app is tiny at just over 1MB and completely disappears from view when not in use.

Assistive Touch

Assistive Touch places a small button icon anywhere on the device’s screen. Tapping on this button opens a floating panel that allows users to access their favorite apps, settings and toggles. The button is fully customizable and can open your notification bar, adjust the brightness and much more. In addition, you can assign commands for double tapping or holding down the button.

For example, you can make it so that double tapping the button opens your camera, and holding it down shuts off the power to your device. This gives the user access to a wide variety of controls all in a single spot, with no more reaching.

Google Keyboard

The keyboard from Google is one of the best available, with speedy performance and accurate text prediction. In addition, it supports swipe typing. Unfortunately, large screen devices typically have to be held with both hands, rendering the user unable to reach all of the keys to make use of the swipe typing feature.

Fortunately, Google Keyboard has a one-handed mode that makes typing with one hand easy. To activate one-handed mode, simply hold down the comma key for a few seconds. The keyboard will shrink and shift to one side of the screen, enabling users to reach all keys with a single thumb.