Nobody wants to be an object of surveillance even when there is nothing to hide. VPN is a widely known solution for every web user who wants to stay anonymous, secured, and protected online. It keeps your personal information safe from different third-party companies like advertisers or your Internet Service Provider (ISP). It masks your IP address, helps to bypass geographical limitations, and generally helps you stay anonymous on the Internet. Sounds great and you even needn’t pay money to use it if you don’t want to. But can a functioning VPN service be free? Let’s discuss.

Imagine that all requests go to the web through a secured tunnel, and responses return to your computer through that tunnel as well. That’s why it’s really hard to detect what you are doing online. This is how VPN works. VPN encrypts all your traffic and redirects it through a VPN server, which you can choose by yourself. In this case your ISP only sees that you're online, but doesn’t have access to your data. The websites and web services see the IP address of the VPN server, not your actual IP, and it’s hard for them to identify you.

When you go online, your ISP assigns your device a public IP address. This is a unique string of numbers, which is visible to all web servers and sites you visit. It means they can track your activity, create your user profile or sell this data to advertisers. Also, by knowing your Norwegian IP address it is easy to find out your geographical location, or your ISP name. Generally, the easiest way to protect your IP address is to hide it behind another one with a VPN. When you use a VPN, all your traffic goes through the VPN server. And the websites you visit see your IP address as that of the VPN server you’re using.

When you are abroad, some Norwegian web services, websites or applications may become unavailable for you. The reason is geographical limitations, which different companies use to block access for users outside of their country. This limitation can be a bit irritating, but luckily it can be easily bypassed with a VPN. As we already know, VPN redirects all your traffic through a VPN server. All you need for changing your current IP to a Norwegian IP address is to choose a VPN server in Norway. It’s important to check the availability of VPN servers in Norway at the stage of choosing a VPN service provider.

A common complaint about using a VPN is that it affects Internet speed, and might make the connection slow and unstable. It can be a serious disadvantage, especially for users who want to play online games or watch streaming videos. The good news is that high-quality VPNs use up-to-date protocols, fast encryption, and other features which guarantee an unnoticed effect on connection speed.

A VPN is a good solution for increasing your online safety and privacy. However, it doesn’t provide protection from viruses, trojans, or spyware directly. This is a job for antivirus software.

It takes just a few minutes to get a free VPN in Norway. Many VPN providers offer web users high-quality protection, strong security, and privacy without getting paid for using their services. It sounds too good to be true. And it is! Here’s why. A trustworthy VPN with full functionality can’t be free not only in Norway, but in any other country. Developing a VPN service is a complicated process that requires financing on each stage. Opening new server locations and supporting the already existing ones also costs money. Companies need to cover these costs, and while some of them do it with a paid subscription, others track and sell users' data. That’s why the first rule to stay safe is to read the VPN policy carefully before downloading. The second is to stay away from free VPNs.

It’s a good habit to turn on VPN every time you are going to connect to the Internet. It's especially important when you use free Wi-Fi networks. Wi-Fi spots in public places are widely known for their vulnerability and often become the target of hackers. It's such a big problem that some VPN providers add the feature of automatic VPN activation when users connect to an unsecured network.

Like most democratic countries Norway provides an Internet freedom policy. This means that using VPN services in Norway is legal for legal online activities. But VPN status in different countries might change and it’s always the right idea to check it before using a VPN in the country you are currently in.