Whether you’re planning an epic trip across the globe this summer, sneaking a couple of days at the beach or just chilling at home, a VPN is an essential tool for your online safety and entertainment needs.

VPN stands for Virtual Private Network, and essentially, it hides your online activity and makes it appear as if you’re connecting from somewhere else. Using one comes with numerous benefits, whether you’re concerned about privacy, or you just want to make sure you can watch your favourite TV shows.

Here are a few of the top reasons that you should consider using a VPN this summer:

1. Secure your privacy on public networks

Public Wi-Fi is wonderfully convenient, especially when you’re travelling and have limited data to work with, but it also comes with risks. The free Wi-Fi networks at shopping malls, hotels and cafes can be accessed by anyone, unlike your secure home network, and that means bad actors could gain access to your personal data.

When you use a VPN connection, your traffic is shielded from prying eyes. This means you can use the network to access sensitive documents or online banking with less worry about your data being accessed.

2. Watch your favourite shows from anywhere in the world

Popular streaming services have very different catalogues in different parts of the world, and they’re constantly changing which TV shows and movies are available to watch in each location.

Using a VPN, you can make your connection look like it’s coming from a different country, and access the content available in that region. It’s great if you’re travelling and your favourite show isn’t available in your destination country, and it’s just as convenient for accessing different content at home.

3. Prevent throttling and limitations

Internet providers often prioritise different types of network traffic, especially during busy times, and that means you don’t get the best speeds when you’re trying to access something that it deems low-priority. You might see live streams buffering, or game downloads grinding to a halt, but using a VPN might be the fix you need.

When you’re using a VPN, your network provider doesn’t know what you’re accessing, and that means your connection won’t get throttled. High-quality VPNs keep your upload and download speeds as high as possible, so you can enjoy the content you want, exactly when you want it.

4. Save money shopping online

Some websites use location-based pricing. So if, for example, you’re trying to book a hotel in Thailand, you might see a higher price when booking from the UK than local customers see when they book on the same website.

With a VPN you can make it appear as if you are connecting from a different region, and purchase at the best price available, saving yourself some cash. This process typically involves some trial and error, but if you’re determined enough, you could save a fortune.

5. Block advertiser tracking

A standard VPN helps, but it’s usually not enough to just mask your IP address, as these ads have sophisticated methods for harvesting your data. That’s why the best VPN providers include extra ad-tracker blocking tools.

How to choose a VPN

There are many VPN providers out there, which can make choosing the right one quite challenging. Thankfully, there’s a solution from trusted antivirus brand, Norton , and it ticks every box.

Norton offers a fast and reliable VPN with advanced privacy and malware protection plus parental control to keep your family and your devices safer online.

Best of all, you can tailor the service to match your needs. If you just need a VPN, you can select the Norton Secure VPN plan, and if you want extra protection, Norton VPN Ultra includes a VPN, antivirus and dark web monitoring, too. Finally, there’s Norton VPN Ultra Plus, which includes all of the aforementioned features as well as parental control, so you can keep your kids safe online.