As far as we are concerned having a safe VPN is a non-negotiable when it comes to today’s online world. It becomes even more important when you are travelling or living away from your home country. A VPN is a means of keeping your data/passwords safe and protecting yourself from getting hacked. But it has a lot of other cool used too! VPNs are cheap and super easy to use. There are many different options when it comes to choosing a VPN service. For the past 5 years, we’ve used Express VPN and find it to be one of the best and fairly priced ones on the market – here’s why you need a VPN in Bali, or anywhere in the world.
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VPN stands for Virtual Private Network. It is a means of protecting the information that you use on the internet and especially crucial when you access your accounts in public places and use public WIFI networks.
A VPN will also allow you to bypass different countries restricted sites. For example, if we want to watch Australian TV online, these channels are restricted from being accessed outside of Australia, but by turning on our VPN and using an Australian location we can override this restriction and access these sites. It is the same for any restricted channels in the country that you are visiting, just connect your VPN via the country the site you want to access is available in (it’s may sound complex, but it’s not… just a simple click!).
We enter so much of our sensitive information on the internet and this doesn’t stop when we travel (think passwords, credit card information, identity details). When we travel, we are often accessing and using public and unsecured WIFI, these places are breeding grounds for hackers. By using a secure VPN you are adding an extra layer of safety to protect your private information, the VPN routes you via a secure network, making it much harder for a hacker to intercept your data.
Not all websites are available in all countries. Many websites have restrictions on which countries they can be accessed. By using a VPN you can access almost all websites by setting the VPN to the country that the website you want to view is available in. Don’t miss any of your favourite shows! Also, it’s interesting to search for different topics with your VPN set at different countries… you’d be surprised to see how different the results can be!
If you are like us and your credit cards are still based in your home country, but you use them mostly abroad, it can sometimes be difficult. Your bank or the payment gateway you are trying to use them on will often see this as possible fraud. By setting your VPN to your home country when purchasing something online with your credit card you will are much less likely to experience problems with completing the transaction.
Speaking of banking, we also highly recommend using Wise (former TransferWise) for overseas transaction. In this article you can read more about Wise and other businesses we can’t live without in Bali.
When booking your accommodation and flights (to anywhere, not just Bali), you’d be surprised at how prices change depending which country you are in (or at least which country the internet thinks you are in). It certainly pays to route your VPN to a few different countries and search flights and accommodation when booking. For example, in some countries, domestic flights are cheaper if you are booking them from within the country, than if you are booking them from outside the country… the same goes for hotel searches when using online travel agents such as booking.com.
There are many VPNs on the market, but they aren’t all created equal. Be sure to do your research and read reviews on whichever you choose. We’ve eventually settled on Express VPN for quite a few years now. At $12 USD a month (and cheaper if you buy for a full year) we find it super easy to use on both our phones (which is just a simple app where you can turn the VPN on/off and choose which country and city you want to route through) and on the desktop. It’s super-fast, which is important as many VPN’s can slow your internet right down. We’ve found this VPN to be consistently reliable… and of course secure.
Getting started is as simple as going to the Express VPN website and signing up! Choose from either monthly, 6 monthly or 12 monthly packages. Once you create a login you will receive an email with all of the details on how to download it on all of your devices. There is nothing technical about using a VPN, it is just so simple.
As far as we are concerned, using a VPN when travelling is a MUST… but it’s also super helpful to have one at all times if you are interested in accessing websites from other countries, want to be extra careful with your data, and like to compare deals for flights and accommodation!
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