Did you know that hackers, governments, snoopers or attackers can identify you through the IP address you use? By default, the IP address you use is public and interested parties or snoopers can intercept your information very easily. The good news is that you can always count on VPN to hide your identity on the Internet or access content that is geographically blocked in your location known as Internet Censorship.

VPN has spread across markets owing to the high risks involved with online privacy. This is because of the increase in the number of cyber attacks. Hackers and malicious users constantly employ sophisticated techniques to intrude into networks. Today, a lot of people understand the importance of VPN and how VPN can encrypt data and provide security to the users while online. However, there is no specific guideline available for a VPN buyer. Not every VPN will suit your personal requirements and hence there is a comprehensive checklist that we have compiled to help you guide through buying a VPN.

Smart DNS proxy is a technology used to unblock geo-restricted contents from around the world. A Smart DNS proxy server collects data related to your computer's geographical location and re-routes it through a computer server.

Life is incomplete without social networking and online communication, especially when it comes to well-known sites such as Facebook, Netflix, YouTube and etc. If you are living in a country with stringent Internet censorship policies, which deny access to popular sites such Facebook and Netflix, you definitely need help!

IP ban is a block set up by a server to reject the request made from a particular IP or range of IP addresses. The IP ban may have been implemented automatically due to an abuse pattern detected by the server or placed manually by an administrator. IP ban is implemented to protect the server from abuse such as brute force attacks, block emails from known spammers, and limit usage by users.

Internet censorship puts restrictions on what information can be publicized or viewed on the Internet. Governments and other organizations commonly use internet censorship to block access to copyrighted information as well as to harmful or sensitive content. However, internet censorship can also be used as a propaganda method to promote specific religions and political agendas.

Domain Name Service (DNS) is a mapping of a domain name to an IP address, so that humans can remember computer address by a domain name instead of IP address. A DNS service is requested automatically when someone enters an web address on the web browser, so that the server knows how to find a website. When a user connects to the internet via a home router, the router gets an IP address and DNS server IP addresses via the DHCP it's Internet Service Provider (ISP). You may choose to use public DNS servers instead of the ones provided by your ISP by configuring your Internet connection manually.

A VPN, or Virtual Private Network, is used to securely connect to another network via a public or a private network. A VPN creates a private network within a broader network, thus providing added-security using encryption and network tunneling mechanisms. A VPN is like a bridge that connects two islands (here, LANs) to establish an private, secure and more reliable connection between the two islands (here, local networks). This helps ease security and privacy issues; since the data transmitted over a VPN is encrypted and unreadable to general Internet community. There are two types of VPNs, namely remote-access VPN and site-to-site VPN.

The main purpose of using both proxies and VPN services is to hide the IP Address of the users or to prevent tracking bodies and individuals from identifying their location. For example, this may even be used to access certain sites that are not otherwise accessible in the user's country. A lot of VPN providers also provide proxy services apart from providing VPN services. You can also use many public proxy servers at little to no charge.

Tor is a free software program that allows users to communicate anonymously. The name, Tor is an acronym that has been derived from the original name of the software project, which was The Onion Router. This software directs all Internet traffic and usage through a free volunteer network that exists worldwide, and has over six thousand relays to hide ip and location of the user; and hide Internet usage from individuals and authorities that are in charge of carrying out traffic analysis or network surveillance.