That’s almost a trick question, because whilst using a virtual private network (VPN) on any devices a student might use for their studies it can help by keeping their hardware virus-free and prevent slowing down of connections when viewing resources such as TED talks and online videos.
It’s obvious that technology is progressing so quickly now that it is bound to make a huge difference in the way that students study for qualifications. If we briefly think back to the methods of education in the 20th century, before internet technology, in colleges and universities, one of the most important things a student needed to do was attend their college building every day, simply to look at the noticeboard for any important messages. Nowadays, if an in-person lecture is canceled or a one-to-one tutorial postponed, an email or group Facebook message is sent by a tutor to a student group, and everyone knows about it in seconds.
The fact that students do so much of their research and meetings online means that they’re constantly connected with laptops, tablets, and phones. Using a free VPN on all these devices can have several benefits in assisting the educational process:
Protecting against malware, spyware, and ransomware.
A VPN adds considerable extra security to any internet-connected device by creating an encrypted tunnel between the user’s internet service provider (ISP) and the target website or email server. Reputable VPN provider’s servers all have state-of-the-art virus detection facilities and will disconnect any device the moment any malicious activity is detected.
Most people who become victims of identity theft or online banking fraud find that they unwittingly enabled the criminals by allowing their gadgets to be hacked using unsecured ‘phantom hot spots’ on free public Wi-Fi networks.
In the worst case, a student could stop off for coffee in a shopping mall and take out an iPad, log onto the free Wi-Fi, and then check their college email. However, a guy wearing a hoodie, unnoticed in a corner of the café, has created a hotspot that appears to be the mall’s Wi-Fi. He’s already recorded the student’s keystrokes and sends an innocuous-looking message with an attachment, ostensibly a voucher for a shop in the mall.
The student opens the email clicks on the ‘voucher’ link – and her device is infected with ransomware. Within 24 hours, all her essays, files, and notes have been seemingly wiped from her device and the cloud. In order to retrieve the content, she must purchase $300 worth of cryptocurrency and send it to the hacker’s wallet in the hope that he’ll keep his end of the bargain.
But a VPN would have detected that activity and cut the student’s connection to that phantom network before any harm could be done.
Avoid speed ‘throttling’.
If our student shares a house with three others, all studying media and techie subjects, the chances are there’s going to be a lot of streaming, file sharing, and gaming in their downtime. If the students all share the same internet connection, the chances are that the ISP might ‘throttle’ the home router at that IP address due to the excessive usage that the residents are adding to the network.
Throttling is the term for slowing an internet connection down to a crawl so that the data transfer rate is unusable. But if each student has a VPN installed on each device (or they take an umbrella approach and install the VPN on the router itself), the ISP won’t know where the connection is based and can’t throttle the speed.
Saving money by avoiding dynamic pricing online.
Another great benefit of using VPNs is the location cloaking facility, which can save money when online shopping, buying flight tickets, or booking travel and accommodation. Imagine that one of our students comes from a wealthy family who lives in The Hamptons on New York’s Long Island. If they wish to book a flight to return to college in California, a travel website’s AI-driven detection algorithms will recognize the NY state IP address as being one of the wealthiest areas of the USA and offer a high price for the desired ticket.
However, the student can use a VPN to choose a server in, say, Honduras, which is not known for its wealth and prosperity. The travel website then offers a lower price on the basis that the Honduran visitor probably has less money than the NY resident.
It doesn’t matter whether you live in The Hamptons or Holland, there’s always a server from a VPN network in a less developed region than yours. It’s often worth a try, as these dynamic pricing algorithms fluctuate constantly.
The overall message is clear: if you’re a student on a budget, you can protect your online security, save money, and enjoy a better internet connection if you install a VPN onto any of your connected devices, so you can study uninterrupted and stay safe online.
