Setting Up Your Own VPN On Linux VS. Buying A Premium Subscription

Did you know that in 2015 alone over 429 million identities were unprotected? According to Internet security study from Symantec, there is a bigger story behind this number. Organizations and individuals are not obliged to reveal the full extent of security breaches. The number of people affected could be even greater than the stated figure.

Unfortunately, most people do not appreciate the need to protect personal identity. They usually react after the damage. This is where VPN comes in to save you from such risks. You may already know what VPN is, but you may not be using one. Whether the VPNs you are accustomed to are the ones you use at work or school to access resources when you are out of LAN, or the ones you use to access movies from another country, they all do the same function.

A VPN or Virtual Private Network is a group of discrete networks or computers connected together over the internet. It is an amazing tool if you value protecting yourself online. VPN can help businesses connect securely to remote data centers. It also helps individuals to access resources or encrypt their communications over untrusted public networks.

This tool allows you to alter your device’s IP address, protect online anonymity, and secure internet traffic, all at the same time. Fortunately, there are several options for Mac, Windows, and Linux, to help you secure your online activities. However, this situation may leave you torn between buying premium subscription vs. setting up your own VPN.

Generally, DIY enthusiasts prefer to set up their own VPN on Linux. Some prefer to go with a premium VPN for Linux and let the provider take care of the whole business. Let’s take a look at what each option etails for you, as the user.

Setting up Your Own VPN on Linux

Setting up your own VPN may appear to be too technical and time-consuming task. However, with basic technical skills, you can set up a secure connection in under an hour. Here are the best scenarios where setting up your own VPN on Linux is desirable.

You want to take control of data usage

When you used a paid VPN service, you let the provider redirect your internet traffic to conceal your identity. However, this may not provide total protection since you rely on the VPN service provider to secure your identity, which is a security risk on its own. First, you give your company your payment information.

The VPN provider can also see all your traffic (if they wanted to). Some internet service providers have been accused of selling customers’ information to scammers, and the Senate in the US just made it legal for ISPs to sell your data. Also, paying for premium VPN services sometimes means sacrificing connection speed. If you relate the situations or want to avoid such risks, setting up your own VPN is the best option.

You want to access your small business remotely

Many businesses have secure local networks to help them secure communications and store files. In most cases, these businesses make local network accessible through devices on the company premises. But at this age of digital era and remote working, it is almost impossible to prevent your staff from remotely accessing the network. In such situations, VPN will come in handy. However, finding a reliable VPN service may be expensive.

In most cases, big corporations can hire technology specialists to design bespoke VPN networks to take care of remote login. This is a privilege that most small businesses lack, so you may be forced to rely on an improvised solution. Bearing this in mind, setting up your own VPN on Linux can facilitate for remote access of the company network without stretching the budget. If you have the resources, consider using dedicated business VPNs.

You are curious about VPN connections

Even if you have a tech background, setting up your own VPN is a paradox with several solutions. You can run the VPN server through the PC, on your router, or even your mobile device. When you add cloud hosting into the mix, you even have more choices in terms of how you redirect traffic between your VPN server and your devices.

Buying a premium service

With all said and done, there are scenarios where setting up your own VPN might not be the best option. Consider the following scenarios.

Hassle-free experience

Best VPN packages offer apps for various platforms such as Mac, Linux, iOS, Windows, and Android. This means you can control everything from the UI dashboard and make quick connections to all your devices. Setting up your own VPN might not give you the same capabilities, and if you were to tailor connection for each operating system, it will require a lot of configurations, which can scare away most people.

It is hard to unblock your own VPN

One of the biggest selling points for VPN subscription is that the providers have servers in various locations across the globe. This comes in handy when you want to access restricted content from another country. With such service, you can bypass the access and blocks by selecting a VPN server in a specific country.

When you set your own VPN, it restricts you to routing traffic through the local IP. This can restrict you from accessing restricted content in another country, which limits your online experience.

Besides these, a good premium VPN service will offer you functionalities you will not access using your own VPN. These include:

• Secure IP-bind.
• DNS leak prevention.
• Access to several protocols such as PPTP, UDP, OpenVPN, TCP and IPsec.
• Let you use different IPs from different countries.

Hopefully, you have ultimately decided on the best option that suits your situation. If you are operating on a tight budget or need full control of your online privacy, consider setting up your own VPN.

It may require some technical know-how, but the benefits of having full control of your data privacy justify the effort. To learn how to set up your own VPN, read or watch publicly available online tutorials or consult a techie friend for help. On the other hand, if you think a DIY job is not for you, consider looking for a VPN provider that’s reliable and covers all your needs.

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