You may have seen the acronyms VPN and VPS, which stand for Virtual Private Network and Virtual Private Server. Don’t be put off by the technical, geeky terms; there are very good reasons to know a little about them, especially if you are using the internet from outside your home or base country.

These services are invaluable for both travelers and those living abroad or expats overseas. They affect the way you access the internet and are useful for several different reasons, such as watching your home country TV channels or Forex (currency trading) or getting access to websites blocked in some countries by the government. Examples are China, Myanmar (Burma), the United Arab Emirates and Oman.

Conversely, there are national websites that will prohibit browser or download access from other countries; the country where the visitor is located can be identified by its local IP address – every device connection to the internet displays one. There are several ways to avoid access restrictions or ensure anonymity, but the VPN is the most popular and serves most internet users’ needs; it’s also much better and safer than using a ‘proxy server’. A VPS  has more capabilities, but is technically more advanced and expensive and not really needed for most internet users. See the relevant post.

Most countries now have reasonable mobile phone and internet services, adequate for local people’s needs. Residents and visitors can communicate and browse the web from a computer, laptop, tablet or phone, but there may be restrictions or limitations on access to certain websites. These vary country-by-country.

There are places where Skype or Torrent and popular websites are blocked. For those living abroad, there are restrictions imposed by the home country. For example you may be an American who wants to see US TV network programs or use Hulu and other viewing and video download services, or a Brit who wants to watch or use iPlayer for BBC, ITV, C4, C5 programmes. Simply put, you probably can’t, but there are solutions – not all of them legal or genuine.

You may have come across sites selling software that promises you access to every tv channel and show on the planet. Absolutely not true. They only offer you FTA (Free to Air) channels and video streams which can be found easily but these do not include most national network television or subscription services. There is only one real (and simple) solution: the VPN.

A Virtual Private Network  subscription is easy to set up and you can choose the country or city you wish to be ‘virtually’ located in. As far as anyone who may be interested in your online activities is aware, that’s where you are physically located.

The VPN provides a route or ‘tunnel’ between the US, UK or other country (many are available) internet server and your computer (or smartphone) which is physically located in a different country. The VPN gives you a local Internet Provider address (location identity) and therefore allows you to visit any site or use services available in that country.

Apart from a usually minute drop in speed (the data detours via the VPN server), there is no other difference in the way you browse the web or use web-based email services.

When your VPN is connected you can visit the websites direct and use their video streams and players, or watch as well as download shows from Hulu or videos from YouTube for future viewing with a program like TubeDigger. Download it and use it free for 14 days. Here is a screenshot:

One of the best-known of the VPN providers (and one I use myself) is Super VPN Services. A connection located in one of many different countries can cost less than 4 dollars per month for unlimited access. The connection can be set up on multiple devices e.g. your desktop, laptop, iPad, Android tablet or smartphone – but only one can be used at a time for numerous purposes like anonymous browsing, tv show, film and video downloads, Skype or other VoIP, Torrent, as well as circumventing government website blocking in some countries.

A mouse click on a shortcut to your connection manager changes your internet access from direct (showing your local IP address) to the VPN which will show you as using an internet provider located in your chosen country and unblocking any restrictions you have experienced. It’s as simple as that.

Visit the Super VPN Services website to learn more. There are plans available for different purposes and budgets costing as little as $4 per month.

See also the post on VPS. For forex traders needing to be continuously online, or a business that requires a more ‘acceptable’ online presence or location, a VPS may be the better option.

ADDING ‘PRIVACY’ TO DOMAINS helps keep personal information away from ‘prying eyes’. When you register a domain name, unless you opt for ‘Privacy‘ (usually a few dollars extra per year), your contact details are made public and available to anyone who does a ‘whois’ domain name query.

Scammers can see not only a domain owners name, address and email, but also the domain’s expiry date unless it is renewed. This gives them a great opportunity to scam you into not only paying a high renewal price (to them and not the domain registrar) but giving them your credit card details too.

HOW TO SEE WHAT IS SHOWN TO THE PUBLIC. Check first what information is being displayed by performing a ‘WhoIs’ yourself by using one of the many free services available for this e.g. http://cqcounter.com/whois/; or do a search on Google or Yahoo for whois. Enter your domain name in the box and see what comes up.

If your personal details appear, you might want to add Privacy for that domain name. Log in to your account with Spry, GoDaddy, Netfirms, ENOM etc and look for domain management options. Once you add Privacy, then only the host name or ‘proxy owner’ details are published – not your personal information. It usually costs less than $10 per year extra, and in my opinion is money well spent.

Also check that your domains remain Locked (only you can sell or transfer the name from the host server). This is a free service offered by all registration agencies. You can switch it on and off at will.

Before your domain expires, you will probably receive reminders by email directly from the registration agency and possibly from the host you are using if the domain has not also been registered through them.

Renew your domains before they expire through the domain registration agency you originally signed up with and where you will be required to log into your user account.

If you have lost the details, check your email archive for the confirmation information or you can ask for a new password to be sent to the email address you used for signing up.

BE EXTREMELY CAUTIOUS before responding to an email request to renew one of your domain names. Check that it is not from an unknown third party such as ISP Renewal Reminder which is a scam. They ask for a payment of $79.95 and your credit card details. You have been warned!

Many companies and individuals are happy for their domain name details to appear in public as it gives them and their sites credibility, adding to user (and possibly customer) confidence, but there are security issues that should also be taken into consideration.

You need to decide what is best for you as a domain name owner: Public disclosure or Privacy.