I surf the web using a VPN that encrypts my browsing data and lets me send it through one of 4,853 servers around the world — here's what using it is like

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• With cyber attacks and data leaks occurring left and right these days, it's no surprise that many people, myself included, would want to find a reliable way to protect their digital information.
• For the past two weeks, I've been testing NordVPN, a virtual private network (or VPN) that encrypts your data and sends it through a private server, which obscures your physical location  and information about which sites you've visited from your internet service provider (ISP) or cell phone provider as well as advertisers.
• NordVPN has 4,853 servers in 62 countries around the world, 1904 of which reside in the US, so you're chances of having a strong internet connection on the VPN are very good.
• The benefit to connecting to a server in another country is the ability to use services that aren't available in your part of the world. For example, you could connect to one in the US to watch Netflix shows that are only a part of its catalog in America.
• The VPN works so seamlessly I forget it's on most of the time, and the security it provides is a lot better than my browser's incognito mode, which only protects my data from getting collected by my browser.
• An 18-month subscription costs $80 on Amazon and covers six devices (MacOS, Windows, iOS, and Android are supported), which works out to about $4.50 a month.

With the seemingly constant threat of cyber attacks and the realization the our personal data can be easily collected and weaponized, there's never been a better time to invest in digital privacy. That includes creating strong passwords that you never share with others, being diligent about opening e-mail attachments from people you don't know, watching what you post online, and enabling two-factor authentication on your e-mail and social media accounts. See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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