How to secure your startup business in the online space: A guide to VPNs

We may not realize it now, but we live through a revolution that the history books will write about. Not since the invention of the printing press has the world’s communication technology changed so much.

Even people who are just 40 years old today have grown up in a world different from what we can currently see.

Computers, smartphones, and the internet are here to stay. Of course, at first, they were seen as gimmicks, but nowadays, the online space has been integrated into every aspect of society, including the business world.

You must create and manage an online presence, even if you run a butcher’s shop or a bakery. Today’s article concerns online security and how a reliable VPN service can help secure your data.

What are VPNs, and why do we need them?

Currently, a VPN for a small business is non-negotiable.

Have you ever wondered why Google is a trillion-dollar company, but most of its products are free? Well, there’s a saying: if you don’t know what the product is, then you are the product. Every time you use a “free” piece of software, that program gathers information about your startup and sells it to the highest bidder.

Of course, most buyers are not interested in your personal details but more in your meta-data, allowing them to sell you, their product.

In addition, the company that supplies you with the internet is gathering info and making money while selling it.

This is bad for private individuals, but it can be even worse for businesses. Data regarding your activity, browsing, and purchases are all up for grabs. This is why VPN solutions for small businesses are so essential.

So, what is a VPN?

In the physical world, every person has an ID number. Using that number, the government can verify your identity. The same concept applies to computers.

Every computer has a special ID identification code called an IP address. This is how they can tell what sites you are visiting, what suppliers you are contacting, and what strategies you are researching.

A VPN, or virtual private network, creates another IP address while you browse the web, thus hiding your real IP address. By using a “fake” address, you are misdirecting people who wish to track you. Your data will still get collected, but it will not form a coherent pattern that is easy to track.

Motives and incentives

Some startup owners may say that their business is too small to attract attention, so nobody is interested in spying on them. That line of thought can be inaccurate.

VPN privacy is also important for smaller companies. Large multinational corporations are larger indeed, and their size also brings disadvantages. Massive companies are less agile, and they have trouble changing and taking risks.

Even the smallest changes can cost them vast sums of cash, so they cannot stay competitive in the same way that a startup can.

A company with only 30 people can afford to take risks because they don’t have endless processes and bureaucracy to worry about. In some aspects, corporations fear startups more than other large corporations.

As a result, if your primary advantage is your agility and ability to get creative, then your data must be guarded. Most businesses only need one good idea to carve out a niche for themselves on the market.

Of course, you will still need to be careful with your data in terms of handling employee and personal info, but you cannot afford to neglect using a VPN for digital businesses.

As a final mention for this point, it should be noted that massive corporations use VPNs too. It is not a service that is restricted to just smaller startups.

Downsides

Now that we’ve covered the major advantages of using a VPN let’s analyze the downsides as well.

Legality

Most people are aware that governments like to spy on people. Governments do not like VPNs because VPNs work. They manage to successfully hide your identity and permit users to access websites that are banned in a specific area.

Depending on where you live, good VPNs may be banned, so that is a factor that has to be taken into consideration. The good news is that the list of countries where such virtual private networks are illegal is small. So, in most cases, you are free to purchase such a service for your company.

Internet speed

We mentioned that VPNs hide your current IP address by simulating another IP address. Usually, that result is obtained by redirecting your connection and giving you another address from a different city, area, or country.

This process, by its very nature, can slow down your connection and internet speed. The speed reduction usually depends on the quality of the VPN. The best companies only slow you down by a little.

If your connection is good, the impact will be barely felt.

As a business owner, you have to be aware that a poor internet connection will be made even worse by a VPN, but most urban areas have solid connections, so the concern is negligible.

Data safety

Back in the day, the Internet used to be like the Wild West. There used to be less transparency, and even companies that sold themselves on privacy used to collect data. Even VPN providers and antivirus companies were caught selling data.

Nowadays, things are much different. High-profile companies that you see everyone using are very safe and take data security very seriously.

As a precaution, you may want to steer clear of smaller, lesser-known VPN companies and stick to the main brands.

Conclusion

“Safety first” is a saying that applies to the online world as well. Most of the economy runs on selling information, so it is your primary duty as a business owner to protect your startup’s privacy.

Virtual private networks are a primary contributor to your employees’ peace of mind. It is a cheap, easy, and convenient solution that hides your computer’s address while browsing the web.

As long as VPNs are legal in your country and you make sure that you are contracting a reputable provider, the cost is more than it pays for itself.