UK citizens have to be more careful of regarding their internet use. With stricter rules in the country, their online activity is more openly available for tracking and more internet content is restricted. To be protected from UK government surveillance and to access censored websites, a vpn in Uk will help you unblock the content restricted in your region and protect your activity to be monitored by security teams.
Maintaining privacy is everyone’s right, but in such strict rules it is hard to stay safe. Utilizing a VPN can help you take control of your privacy on internet is the most reliable way.
These 3 VPNs are on top of our list
1. Astrill VPN
Starting from $12.50 per Month
Astrill VPN has around more than 15 servers based in UK. It is mostly favorable VPN for UK residents. It offers five simultaneous connections through various devices. Its exclusive feature enhances security by including an ad-blocker and anti-malware function. With its feature for 256-bit AES encryption, DNS leak protection and kill switch it has built great place among privacy-conscious users. It also maintains no logs. It has set up for Windows, Android, MacOS, iOS and can be manually configured to work with Linux and selected routers.
2. Private Internet Access
Its main features are malware and ad blocking, OpenVPN and support for P2P. With an easy to use interface it is among favorites but design sense in not much attractive. Five simultaneous connections can work simultaneously with malware and ad-blocking options.
3. NordVPN
With multiple UK servers based in England, it unblocks BBC iPlayer, ITV Hub, All 4 and exclusively British Netflix Library. It also offers six simultaneous connections per account.
Why do I need a VPN?
Your Internet Service Provider can see everything you do; and may also sell it to other parties. Mostly advertising companies can use this data to promote their product to the right audience. You must use the VPN in the following situations
- Protect yourself in public Wi-fi.
When same Wi-fi network is used by multiple people, hacking becomes really easy. That means if you are using a public Wi-fi, there are higher security concerns. A VPN creates safe transfer of information by creating tunnels that encrypts the information exchanged by sender and receivable, making it secure for use by not allowing anyone to see your activity.
- Stream blocked content online:
Content broadcasted online is blocked in many place, so if you are travelling to other countries and your favorite show is blocked due to geo-blocking regulations, you can use a VPN to access most of the content with HD and fast streaming with smooth buffering.
- Avoid government surveillance:
Security is a major concern for every country, and to maintain secure operation every government has designed a set of regulations. Since advancement of technology has significantly improved communication, it has also increased threats. Latest government rules include more monitoring of people via their online activities. If you don’t like being monitored, a VPN can be helpful.
Why can’t I Access a specific site?
British residents know that, that most common services like BBC iPlayer cannot be accessed if you are in some other country. Few countries have also blocked Skype, so if your family or friends are traveling, you may not be able to connect with them. But a VPN can help you get access to the blocked content and also use the blocked services. It does that by encrypting your traffic and provides it a route through your VPN’s British servers.
UK Surveillance
UK has had a history in setting strong surveillance since a long time, when it allowed the permission for mass surveillance. It has been fighting in European Court of Human Rights to protect it surveillance power. Recently, the court has considered it unlawful as it is against human right to monitor someone’s online activity.
Internet Service Provider Blocks
Internet Service Provider may block specific content to be accessed. It mainly involves piracy websites that may violate copyright rules by making downloading of media files easily accessible and downloadable for people via torrenting.
ISPs have access to the activity to everyone’s activity online. But, with this fact there is a high threat to everyone’s privacy, an ISP may sell your web history and personal information without your permission. By taking few steps you can maintain your security:
- Use HTTPS Everywhere
You can install this browser extension, this will encrypt all websites with SSL/TLS encryption. Your ISP will be able to see which websites you visit, but it won’t see contents that you watched. It won’t be able to collect history of your internet activity. Although it is easy to use but it will only work if the website to be accessed supports the protocol.
- Get a Premium VPN
Getting a paid VPN is an easy and effective way to protect your internet activity to be monitored, but think wisely before selecting a reliable VPN. There are many VPNs in the market, but many of them may sell your activity history to third parties. A VPN works automatically after being installed and secures your internet activity by tunneling your internet traffic.
- Adjust your DNS
Your computer translates a human readable website name into a machine-friendly numerical Internet Protocol address; your PC’s configuration is set to use ISP’s DNS, enabling your ISP to see all your browser requests. VPNs help by configuring your PC to use their DNS and with a DNS leak protection feature of a VPN, your PC doesn’t use the IPS’s DNS.
Can I use a Free VPN to Access British Streaming Channels?
There’s a large number of free VPNs in the market, and they may seem reliable enough to be prioritized over a paid VPN. A VPN is used in exchange for the trust you may have for the VPN server that they will protect your private information. The chances of installing a virus are higher with a free VPN. Even if you trust a free VPN, they may hideously log your Internet usage. The worst part is that they may sell your private information to third parties. So paying a small amount for protecting your privacy is better than availing a free service.
Final Thoughts
Government takes steps to ensure resident’s safety, today these steps include surveillance by monitoring internet activity. Privacy is your right, and a VPN in UK can help you protect against security threats and constant monitoring by third parties. But make sure, you choose a reliable one, otherwise a free VPN may also have chances to sell your internet activity. This guide for ‘best VPNs for UK’ will be really helpful in highlighting which is the most appropriate one for you.