Why should every Business Professional use a VPN?

As cybersecurity threats continue to pose bigger and bigger risks, it has become imperative for business professionals, employees, and freelancers to practice safe internet surfing strategies.

These often include tools like VPNs that will not only hide your IP address and let you connect to the internet safely but will also encrypt your communication with the internet. This ensures that even if someone does hijack your communication over the internet, they will not be able to make sense of it, preventing them from exploiting your data.

Not only are VPNs a handy tool to help you connect to the internet safely, but they are a valuable investment when you’re traveling and want to avoid connecting through public Wi-Fi connections—which are known not to be safe.

This article will explain why VPNs are security essential for business professionals, remote employees, freelancers, and solopreneurs. Before explaining why the tool is essential, let’s talk a little more about how employees, businesses, and professionals can use them.

Why Is A Business VPN Useful To Employees?

One of the best ways employees can benefit from a VPN is by safely working remotely, from home, or on the go, without posing security risks to the organization. Given the COVID-19 healthcare crisis, this also means that employees and companies can follow healthcare SOPs and do their part in reducing the spread of the virus as much as possible without the risk of data loss and theft.

Another advantage of using a VPN for employees and companies is a more flexible work lifestyle that encourages greater freedom with a more balanced work-life approach. Regardless of the healthcare crisis, working from home or on the go, partially or entirely, is an excellent option for employees with kids following the home-schooling culture, female employees with babies, and employees with health issues.

How Can Businesses, Remote Employees, And Freelancers Use VPNs?

A VPN allows you to connect to the internet through a remote and secure server. This hides your original IP address and lets you borrow that of the server, making your communication with the internet completely anonymous, significantly decreasing your chances of getting hacked into. This, in turn, makes it safer for your organization or clients to communicate with you and send confidential data over the internet without running the risk of landing in the wrong hands and being exploited.

Here are some additional ways that support VPNs in professional and business settings:

Antiviruses Are Bygone

Regarding cybersecurity, the first thing we think of is antiviruses. Even though software and others like firewalls and antimalware are important, they aren’t enough to secure all corners. Great for detecting and getting rid of viruses and other malicious software, the powers of such software are limited. They can’t prevent hackers and cyber criminals from attempting to hack into your devices. On average, antivirus software is reported to be only 25% successful at detecting malware.

VPN tools, especially those specially designed for professional settings like PureDome for business, can shield your device from hackers by hiding your IP address, preventing a criminal from even attempting to get into your machine. As an additional layer of security, even if a hacker can detect your device, built-in encryption algorithms will render their efforts to break in useless because all communication between the device and the internet will be encrypted. As a brilliant preventative tool, a business VPN will upgrade your network security and ensure that the same benefits can extend to remote teams.

Public Wi-Fi And Hotspots Are Not Secure

Public Wi-Fi is most prone to getting hacked and hijacked because they come with the least security integrity. This Wi-Fi is open to all, letting many people connect to them, making them the ideal places for hackers and cybercriminals to access. Since the networks are not encrypted, any cybercriminal who has already infiltrated a public network can easily read and understand your transferred data. This puts all the connected systems on this network at risk of being set up with malicious software designed to capture sensitive information like access credentials and email history, among other data points.

This type of data leak can get dangerous fast. Once a criminal has access to your data, they can exploit it, use it against you to extort money, and even assume your identity to commit crimes, setting off a whole stream of legal issues involving your name. A professional business VPN tool is designed to keep unique business security needs in mind. It can provide the optimal level of encryption needed to keep your data secure.

Cybercriminals Will Try To Take Advantage Of Your Company’s Data

Data is the real pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Companies invest millions of dollars annually in mining their customers’ data and analyzing it to improve their marketing efforts and target their customers more intelligently. Several companies also pay millions to buy datasets belonging to organizations with a valuable clientele to expand their brands. This is something many hackers and cybercriminals use to their advantage. They can steal, sell, and even exploit consumer and customer data for profit.

Examples of big companies that recently suffered data theft include Mimecast, Pixlr, U.S Cellular, and Nebraska Medicine, to name a few. A professional quality business VPN will ensure that all communication between your device and the internet is encrypted with military-grade security. This means that your data, passwords, and client information will be safe from unauthorized hands and ensure that your team can connect to the office network safely from anywhere in the world and enjoy the same level of security.

Professional VPNs Also Let You Test Geo-Blocked Content

Testing is a crucial step when it comes to development. Whether you’re developing an app, a website, or software, you’ll need to run tests on code, algorithms, and even features that your competitors offer while maintaining anonymity to create a truly valuable product. Sometimes, geo-blocking can get in the way. A professional quality business VPN will let you change your location to access content blocked in your country so that your product can be tested against a broader range of features and cater to the needs of a global audience.