This post is sponsored by Bitdefender Premium VPN

As my seventh-grade students entered our classroom, they picked up the day’s Entrance Ticket that contained a simple question, “How do we keep ourselves safe online?” Before we started our final unit of cybersecurity, I wanted to know how much they already knew.

One by one students turned in the half sheet of paper. On the single line, I found one-word answers, single sentences, and in some cases, bulleted lists. Don’t share passwords, use unique passwords, only play online games with people you know, and don’t click on links in email were among the answers. But on one paper, a student scrawled just 3 letters in pencil— VPN. 

In my classroom, I always talked to my students about the risks and rewards of the internet. There are real risks our kids face when being online because at any time, they could end up on a rogue network operated by a hacker and compromise their family’s personal information. Hackers can be so sophisticated that it is  difficult for some adults, let along kids, to decipher real versus fake.

It’s always a good idea to talk to kids about online safety and how to keep information secure online but sometimes talking isn’t enough. A VPN helps ensure you’re safe when using public WiFi, financial information is kept away from cybercriminals, and helps mask what data is collected about you, for example what sites you visit and brands you prefer.

How a VPN Works

A VPN, or virtual private network, creates an encrypted tunnel between your device and a VPN server hosted by a provider so internet traffic traveling between your device and server is completely anonymous .

This allows you to browse the internet incognito whether using public Wi-Fi while out and about or watching Netflix on a wired connection  from the comfort of your living room. 

The source of your internet traffic to outsiders like advertisers or even hackers will be the VPN provider not the coffee shop’s internet service provider (ISP) or your home internet provider, both of which are easily geo-tracked to identify your location.  Your traffic will come from the VPN provider, lumping you in with all the other people using the VPN, regardless of where they’re located.    

Using a VPN at Home and in Public

There are many reasons why you might need a VPN . A VPN  adds an extra layer of security to keep our kids safe online and protect our personal information . Here’s how you might use a VPN at home or when out in public.

Using a VPN at Home

Instead of your internet traffic originating from your home ISP with an address that is well-known to be from your local city, your traffic “originates” on the internet from a generic location run by your VPN provider. Using a VPN keeps  ISPs and data trackers out of your browsing data.

The internet is not a friendly environment, especially for kids. Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Roblox, Discord, and other platforms put our kids at risk. Cybercrooks are constantly phishing and using other social engineering tactics to extract personal information through bad links or attachments in emails, texts, or DMs.

Sometimes VPNs are used to access geo-restricted content. For example, if you’re traveling abroad and want to watch your favorite subscription-based streaming service like Netflix, Hulu, or HBO Max the content you can access is sometimes restricted based on the country you are visiting. You may end up missing episodes of your favorite show or games of your favorite team.

If you travel abroad and open a VPN back to the United States your whereabouts remain hidden. It may look like you’re in the United States when in reality, you might be on a tropical island far, far away binge watching a series.

High School students on the West Coast vying to get into Ivy League colleges may use VPNs to adjust local time zone to view East Coast AP test scores the minute they are released.

Using a VPN over Public WiFi

When you are using a VPN with public Wi-Fi, everything you do is encrypted over the air-link and all the way to the VPN server, preventing hackers or a malicious WiFi provider from reading or modifying any data inside this tunnel. 

It’s like having an exclusive private lane on a busy highway.

Should I Let My Kid Get a VPN?

VPNs can help keep our kids safer online, but curious and often inventive tweens and teens might want one to bypass school content filters or internet security measures in place at home.

A friend once told me his 16 year-old daughter, who is 100% non-technical, asked if she could load a VPN on her mobile phone. When he asked why, she immediately blurted out, “Oh, to bypass the school’s content filters.  Everyone’s doing it.” 

As a parent you must be careful about a VPN’s ability to protect privacy – most kids don’t care about privacy, they are more concerned with quick gratification – like accessing content (some of it they shouldn’t have) downloading free game skins, or chatting.

Which leads us to our next topic.

Kids can certainly download VPNs without parents knowing. The Bark blog has a few ways to find out if your kid is using a VPN.

Whose VPN Should You Trust?

When you run a VPN, you’re masking identity from your ISP and other people inside the coffee shop. At the same time, you’re choosing to send all your data to one company or place, where they can see it. 

So who do you trust more— the customers in the coffee shop or the VPN provider? It’s critical to choose a VPN operated by a reputable company.  

If you download a VPN from an untrustworthy source, you may be exposing yourself to MORE risk than simply using the open internet.

Twelve years ago, I worked with Bitdefender as their Chief BitMom, sharing internet security tips with other parents through my blog and their online community. As a cybersecurity leader providing advanced cybersecurity solutions, Bitdefender has always been committed to defending people all around the globe against cyberattacks to improve their digital experience.

Much of what I shared as Chief BitMom is still relevant but there’s even more of a need to secure the connection to our many devices to keep ourselves safe. As the risks have evolved, so has Bitdefender.

When Bitdefender reached out to me about working together to take a look at Bitdefender Premium VPN + Total Security, I thought this was a good opportunity to take a look at a product I hadn’t tried and do a deep dive into VPNs for my audience.  

Setting up Bitdefender Premium VPN + Total Security

If all the information about VPNs feels overwhelming, setting up Bitdefender Premium VPN is easy. Securing my personal laptop and mobile device with Bitdefender Premium VPN took about 10 minutes total. Here’s a look at how easy it is to set up Bitdefender Premium VPN + Total Security even if you’re not tech savvy.

Once your subscription is activated, Bitdefender Premium VPN starts working right away to protect you.

For one cost, Bitdefender Premium VPN can protect all devices in your home.

I started by installing Bitdefender Premium VPN on my Mac.

Once Bitdefender Premium VPN + Total Security was installed, I could access Bitdefender Central, a helpful dashboard for monitoring my device’s security. Bitdefender Central contains information about my devices, Bitdefender apps currently installed, and device activity with a history of threats detected. One quick look tells me the status of my devices, including what apps are currently installed and running and if there were any malicious attempts to infect them.

I was able to turn on and set the location for Bitdefender VPN to secure my internet connection.

VPNs create an encrypted tunnel between your device and a secure VPN server, so your entire internet connection becomes encrypted. Once Bitdefender VPN was on, I could see that my connection was secured through a server somewhere in the United States.

Since Bitdefender Premium VPN users can add multiple devices to their account through their subscription, I decided to install the Bitdefender VPN mobile app on my Android. The Bitdefender Central dashboard made it easy to install Bitdefender VPN. I simply clicked on Other Devices and a QR code popped up.

I scanned the QR code with my phone and was taken the Google Play store to install the mobile version on my Android. Set up on my mobile device took about 2 minutes and runs in the background whether I’m connected to my home WiFi or public networks.

Summary

Bitdefender Premium VPN is easy to use and adds a layer of protection for your family whether at home or using public WiFi. Bitdefender Premium VPN + Total Security is available as an affordable monthly ($6.99/month) or annual subscription (currently $29.99/year) for PCs, Macs, or mobile devices. The subscription automatically renews to ensure your online identity and activities are safe from hackers, ISPs, and snoops.

About Bitdefender

Bitdefender provides cybersecurity solutions with leading security efficacy, performance, and ease of use to enterprise organizations and consumers. Guided by a vision to be the world’s most trusted cybersecurity solutions provider, Bitdefender is committed to defending organizations and individuals around the globe against cyberattacks to transform and improve their digital experience. For more information, visit https://www.Bitdefender.com.

Bitdefender provided me with Bitdefender Premium VPN + Total Security for the purposes of this sponsored post but all opinions are my own and based on personal experience.