If You Bank Online, You Absolutely Should Consider a VPN (Here’s Why)

We stream music, order dinner, send money and pay all of our bills online. That’s life in the digital age. But it’s that last part specifically where we can easily leave ourselves vulnerable to cyber theft or attack. And while the convenience of moving our money online is unparalleled, it does pose a significant threat.

Most banks and financial institutions provide a level of protection like two-factor authentication, but you can’t be too cautious when it comes to protecting your stock holdings and life savings. Whether you’re using a public hotspot (not recommended) or a home connection, you’ll want to add another level of security via a private encrypted IP address. That’s where a VPN comes in.

What Is a VPN? 

A VPN (or Virtual Protected Network) acts as an extra layer of security to both private and public networks. Think of a VPN as a protected tunnel that runs between you and the remote server your VPN provides.

When you start browsing, a VPN makes it hard, if not impossible, for prying eyes to access this tunnel. And if someone does gain access, all of your data is encrypted, meaning it’s indecipherable to the human eye.

As an added bonus, VPNs reroute your IP to servers located around the world, making it easy to stream content outside of your geo-location and access social media (and more) that could otherwise be restricted while you’re traveling. 

How Does a VPN Make Online Banking Safer? 

Traditional VPN services add an extra layer of protection to your Wi-Fi browsing, especially as they encrypt autosaved information, such as credit card data, saved passwords, and usernames.

In addition, some VPNs offer what’s known as a dedicated IP, which basically means that a particular address is assigned to you, and only you. When it comes to online banking, you can ensure trusted IPs, such as your dedicated one, are the only ones that can access your credit or debit card information online, ultimately blocking cyber criminals and more from your money. 

And because you can never be too cautious when it comes to online banking, a combination of a VPN and two-factor authentication makes for one of the most effective ways to bank safely online. 

Best Lifetime VPN Service to Buy 

One of the most trusted and popular VPNs on the market is VPN Unlimited by KeepSolid. It provides everything you’d expect of a VPN service, including reliable protection of data on private and public networks, access to a personal IP address, fast surfing speeds, access to a wide-range of VPN servers (over 70 locations globally), and access to a variety of streaming servers for entertainment.

But where we’ve noticed differentiation between VPN Unlimited and other services is in the longevity of the service as well as the price. Currently, a lifetime subscription to KeepSolid VPN is $59.99. For reference, most monthly VPN services equate to the same price annually. 

That’s a small price to pay to ensure that from now until virtually forever, you’ll have peace of mind when making important purchases online and monitoring your online bank accounts.