Unlike people who fly to the other side of the world to enjoy a little summer break, online personal data security does not take a vacation.
Whatever the destination and whatever the Internet policy in the host country, it is highly recommended to use a VPN for traveling to connect to the Internet once you have arrived at your international travel destination. But beware, not all available solutions are suitable for all uses. Hence the importance of anticipating your needs to make a secure choice before leaving.
If you’re planning on going on vacation abroad, packing a VPN (virtual private network) won’t add much weight to your luggage and will prove to be very useful. By allowing for bypassing geoblocking and encrypting your internet connection, a VPN can make you forget the glitches that you sometimes encounter when browsing the Internet outside of the US.
Accommodation, transport, sunscreen and drinks: here is what we usually include in our holiday budget list each year. A subscription to a VPN is rarely included, although it is very relevant if you plan to spend your holidays in a foreign country.
By securing your connection and unlocking new content on the internet, a VPN like Surfshark can help you have a better vacation if you don’t practice total disconnection. Especially since with the current promotion, Surfshark costs 3 times less than a burger!
For the summer holidays, the two-year Surfshark VPN subscription benefits from promotion of 81% compared to the price charged for one month. Indeed, the two-year subscription costs only 2.49 $ per month, or 59.76 $ for 2 years. In addition, the service offers a generous 30-day “no questions ask refund policy” if the service fails to convince you.
Bypass geo-blocks to watch your favourite programs when abroad
If in the past you have already tried to watch your summer reality show broadcast on a North American channel during a stay abroad, then you have probably faced the message “this content is not available in your country”.
This is called geo-blocking, and it’s a very common practice on the Internet. For a question of broadcasting rights, television channels are generally forced to broadcast their content only in the country where they are headquartered.
Here’s what happens when you try to watch your favourite channel from abroad. A VPN avoids this.
The main benefit of a VPN like Surfshark is precisely to be able to circumvent these blocks and access blocked websites by using the many servers distributed in several countries that the service provides access to. Surfshark has more than 3200, spread over 65 countries. Concretely, when you use a VPN, your connection will pass through these remote VPN servers and in the country of your choice. By connecting to a US-based VPN server when you are abroad, you can then access the same content as when you are in america, even if they are geoblocked.
It is also thanks to these servers located around the world that you can also take advantage of the foreign catalogues of on-demand-video platforms. By connecting to a Surfshark server located in the United States, it becomes possible to enjoy Netflix’s American catalogue when abroad. This works with all the main streaming services from Disney +, to Amazon Prime, HBO Max and much more!
We all know that for example, Netflix foreign catalogues are significantly different from the one offered in the US, with films and series that are only available in these markets.
Surfshark is also equipped to circumvent the censorship applied by certain states. A good point if you are fond of staying in countries with authoritarian regimes.
Securing your connection on public wifi networks with a virtual private network
Summer holidays often go hand in hand with saving data on your mobile plan. Pre-paid mobile packages are often stingy with mobile data available abroad.
To fill this gap, it is sometimes necessary to connect to public Wifi network to save your data. WiFi networks can be compromised for 2 main reasons:
- anyone can generate a “fake” public Wifi to spy on the activity of those who use it
- they may also not be sufficiently secure and allow malicious people to intercept the data passing through your device
In both cases, hackers can examine your online activity, and therefore potentially have access to your passwords, credit card codes, bank accounts or even private files. Unless you are using a VPN when connecting to public Wifi.
You can secure your connection with the Surfshark app available on many platforms
A VPN like Surfshark also has the advantage of encrypting your internet traffic by passing it through a secure tunnel and hiding your data from internet service providers. The data passing through this tunnel is encrypted and impossible to decipher by a potential hacker who would seek to know your activity. You can thus connect to a public Wifi network without fear of having your data siphoned off or spied on by a third party.
More generally, VPN providers prevent any entity from spying on your activity based on the data passing through your internet connection. However, this service does not guarantee your anonymity on the internet if you connect to services that use your personnal details (Google, Facebook, etc.). Online security is a daily struggle these days unfortunately!
Bypassing Internet censorship thanks to a VPN service
Of course, one cannot consider travelling without a VPN in some countries notoriously subject to cyber censorship such as China, Russia, Venezuela, Egypt, Iran and India.
If you are planning to travel to any of these destinations, it is imperative to anticipate the censorship in these countries and subscribe to a VPN service before you leave. It is also important to know that not all VPN companies are operational in the same way, hence the importance of being well informed about the options provided (Kill Switch, stealth mode) and the proper functioning of the service on-site.
Ideally your VPN for traveling abroad will offer a wide range of security features such as a kill switch, DNS leak protection, double VPN and other advanced features such as stealth servers, a strong and reliable VPN protocol and multiple servers on top of excellent connection speed!
Surfshark: fast, easy to use and protects an unlimited number of devices
Highly rated by our team, Surfshark VPN is one of the best performers on the market and the only one allowing an unlimited amount of simultaneous connections. This is a service that offers high download speeds while maintaining excellent value for money. Above all, Surfshark does not apply any connection limits to its service.
Our Pick
Surfshark VPN
Surfshark VPN is one of the latest VPN on to take over the market! It offers protection on an unlimited amount of simultaneous devices, has a vast and fast growing network of servers, provides great security when abroad and offer some of the best speeds on the market with the Wireguard protocol!
That is to say, you can share the service with your loved ones without the risk of having your account access sweetened. Especially since Surfshark has apps on just about every platform where a VPN is useful: Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, Smart TV, etc.
Thanks to a major promotion, the two-year subscription to Surfshark is currently priced at 2.49 $ per month, or 59.76 $ for the whole period. This still represents a saving of 81% on the price that Surfshark applies for a one-month subscription. And if commitment scares you, Surfshark offers a money-back guarantee. You have 30 days to try the service and ask for a refund if you are not satisfied with the service.
