The benefits of using a Virtual Private Network (or VPN) on your computers and other devices is well documented. These software programs reroute and secure your internet traffic, making it harder for hackers to intercept your data and for your internet provider to keep tabs on what you’re doing.
They can also be used to get around geographical restrictions on sites and services, and to circumvent certain types of censorship. While VPNs don’t make you completely anonymous online, they do level up the security and privacy of your online activities, and you can read more about the best VPNs here.
If you have decided that a VPN is right for you, then what happens next? How can you make sure you’re making the most of it? That’s where this guide comes in: We’ll introduce you to some of the key VPN settings and features you need to know about, which should be applicable to virtually all the VPNs currently on the market.
1. Save your favorite locations
Most VPNs will offer you a host of choices when it comes to the different countries you can connect to safely and securely—and the selection can often be a little overwhelming. Be sure to get your most-used locations and servers saved or pinned (or however your VPN app does it), so you can connect faster, and don’t have to scroll through the whole list.
2. Auto-start your VPN
VPNs love to launch at the same time as Windows and macOS, and will often ask if they can auto-start on your computer during the installation process (you should also find the option in settings): If you want to make sure you’re always protected online, without even having to think about it, we’d recommend having your VPN start up with your computer.
3. Enable the kill switch
Your VPN software should offer a kill switch feature: It sounds dramatic, but all it means is that all internet traffic gets halted, if the VPN connection is lost. That might sound like an inconvenience, but it means that your data isn’t suddenly exposed to any third parties if the VPN fails for whatever reason. You can recheck the settings, and reestablish the link.
4. Go incognito in your browser
Your VPN won’t protect you against certain types of online tracking, including cookies: Certain sites might still be able to identify who you are, for example. Using a VPN and an incognito or private browser window together is an even better shield when it comes to tracking and privacy, and features such as location spoofing will often work better too.
5. Make use of split tunneling
Most VPNs worthy of the name offer a feature called split tunneling, which essentially means that some sites and apps make use of the VPN, and some don’t. That enables you to protect the most important types of internet traffic (like banking or shopping, for example), and use everything else as normal (which may mean faster connection speeds).
6. Connect to your nearest server
If you’re not using your VPN to try and access services in a specific geographical area, look for a ‘quick connect’ option that hooks you up to the nearest available server, or the one currently offering the best speeds. Even if it’s in the same country as you, you get all the usual VPN protections, but the chances of any excessive slowdowns will be minimized.
7. Install the mobile apps
The majority of VPNs out there offer mobile apps as well as desktop software, so make sure your phones and tablets are protected too. Both Android and iOS can take care of almost all of the necessary VPN configuration options behind the scenes: All you need to do is install the app and log in, and everything you do on your device is then secured.
