Today, many people believe that VPNs are only helpful for extremely tech-related stuff. However, they often fail to understand that VPNs have several other uses, too, in our day-to-day life. For instance, if you’re a hardcore gaming fan, you ought to know that VPNs are really helpful in that case too.
So, why should you use VPNs for gaming today? What are the benefits of it? Read on to find out more!
What Does a VPN Do?
VPN – also known as Virtual Private Network aims to provide a protected or encrypted channel when you’re using public networks.
Therefore, when you’re using a VPN, your surfing activity is hidden under layers of encryption. This way, no one (including your Internet Provider) can access your data or search history even if you’re using a public network.
Today, you will find a variety of VPNs available in the market. Some of the most popular ones include – ExpressVPN, NordVPN, SurfShark, and many more. ExpressVPN is one of the fastest and the most secure VPNs out there. You can install it within a few seconds by checking out its detailed guide.
Why Do You Need to Use VPN For Gaming?
Now that you’re aware of what VPN stands for let’s check out its benefits when it comes to gaming.
1. Defend Yourself Against Swatting
You and I both know how aggressive gaming can get. One minute you’re enjoying
playing while the next random player is sending you death threats!
Occasionally, this aggression may lead to some serious crimes. For instance, some players can find your IP address and track you down offline. They can further engage in a technique known as swatting.
In swatting, someone can report a false hostage situation to the emergency services. At times, swatting has led to severe issues.
So, if you use a VPN, there are almost no chances of anyone finding your IP address or location.
2. Use Public Wi-Fi Safely
If you’re a hardcore gamer, free public Wi-Fi must be heavenly for you! However, you might be unaware of all the risks public Wi-Fi can put you through.
Note that you allow potential hackers to see and track your activity online if you’re using public WiFi. Moreover, most public Wi-Fi networks don’t have encryption. So, the data transferring between you and the router is accessible for everyone.
In all, you should always use a VPN while using public Wi-Fi, be it for gaming or other purposes. It can hide all your information under a secure and encrypted channel.
3. No Geo-Restrictions
Did you know that several games are banned in certain countries due to some or other reason? For instance, the UK bans games that contain extremely violent or sexual content. Some other countries like Germany ban games containing pro-Nazi content.
You’ll find that Australia also has a lot of banned games that contain violence, drug abuse, nudity, and many more.
Therefore, you will need to have a VPN if you wish to access the blocked games in your country. All you need to do is change the IP address of your device to one of the other countries and unblock any games that you want!
Apart from unblocking games, you can also download the latest versions of games available in some other country, except yours.
4. Reduced Bandwidth Throttling
At times, internet service providers may reduce your bandwidth at specific times during the day. It could be to ease network congestion. However, some ISPs may also track your activity. So, if you spend hours gaming, they may throttle your bandwidth.
Now, you can easily prevent bandwidth throttling with the help of a VPN. It can encrypt all your activities and hide them from your ISP too! This way, they may not be able to figure out your activity and that you’re gaming for long hours.
5. Reduced Lagging
Imagine you’re about to make the greatest kill of the century while gaming and your internet starts lagging! Now, that is bound to make you feel furious and agitated.
Lagging occurs due to long ping times (time taken to transfer or receive data between the game server and your device). Therefore, you can essentially reduce ping times and, thus, lagging by choosing a fast VPN.
In all, VPN can truly make your gaming experience fun, secure, and rapid!
Final Thoughts
Gaming is an immersive and one-of-a-kind experience once you get into it fully. However, there are still some risks to hardcore gaming, such as swatting, malware, and data leaks. You can easily remove them by installing a VPN.
Apart from these risks, VPN also allows you to access blocked games in your country, reduce bandwidth throttling, and lagging. So, consider opting for a VPN and check out its benefits for yourself!
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