You might think that the life of a Hollywood or international celebrity would mean that all the tasks such as cyber security, publicity requests and daily itineraries were taken care of by personal assistants and a small army of domestic staff. But let’s not forget that celebs aren’t immune from the day-to-day issues that form part of most people’s regular routines. Film stars still have their own phones and laptops, they still check email and post on social media, even if they have advisors recommending content.
The more well known a person might be, the more likely they are to attract attention from cyber criminals wanting to extort money by one way or another – from stealing a celeb’s personal emails to installing ransomware on their computer. So, whether you’re a social media influencer with a few thousand followers or Tom Cruise, you’ve still got to make sure that your privacy is protected. One of the simplest ways to do so is to install a free VPN for PC. Not that celebrities couldn’t afford to pay, but if something’s free – why look a gift horse in the mouth?
A Virtual Private Network (VPN) works simply enough, by connecting an encrypted third-party server between the VPN user’s device and their internet service provider (ISP). As the VPN server is encrypted, it not only hides the identity of the person logging on to the ISP, but also cloaks their geographical location.
There are many advantages to this dual level of anonymity, let’s look at a few of them here:
Streaming geo-restricted content
It doesn’t matter who you are, but if you log onto the internet using Wi-Fi from a country that isn’t your primary residence – you’ll likely be blocked from a platform like Netflix in the USA. Picture the crazy situation whereby someone like Robert De Niro is staying in one of the best hotels in France – the $2,000 per night George V; Bob gets a call from his agent telling him that a new director’s cut of ‘Heat’ is available on Netflix, and he should watch the movie in case any journalists request quotes.
Even the hallowed deity of cinema De Niro himself can’t access his Netflix account from France – but if he used the VPN client on his laptop, he could choose a stateside server from which to access Netflix, and he could be watching himself play the roguish robber opposite Al Pacino’s top cop in a matter of seconds.
Avoiding malware and phishing attempts
Imagine you’re someone as fabulously wealthy as famous Brit songmeister Elton John. Legend has it that Elton’s management company overcharged him by $14 million and he didn’t even notice until his accountants flagged the alleged fraud. With that sort of money, a phishing scammer would have thought he’d caught a blue whale – and it’s easily done, just by a victim clicking on the wrong link. But if a VPN is active, it will disconnect its host device from any network the instant that fraudulent activity or suspect emails are detected.
It’s true that virus protection also helps against such threats, but a VPN will disconnect the device before the malicious content is downloaded, whereas virus protection merely isolates any questionable files.
Sidestep data throttling
You’d think that celebrities could afford the most expensive package of internet connection on the market. Someone like Ben Affleck isn’t going to worry about saving $10 per month by having an ISP contract with a low ‘fair usage’ policy – but regular citizens do encounter such problems.
ISPs slow down data transfer rates to a crawl (‘throttle’) for any customer who consistently uses more data than their fair usage policy sets out. This most often happens to online gamers and binge-watching TV streamers. But by using a VPN, its location and identity cloaking facilities mean that an ISP can’t throttle an account if they don’t know who or where it is. Another win for the VPN user.
Getting the drop on dynamic pricing
Hollywood wild man Charlie Sheen probably needs no introduction to most people. Famously wealthy and known for his unbridled hedonism, it’s unlikely that he’d worry about the price of a flight ticket to go see a friend for a beer (or 12!) on vacation in Cambodia. But again, regular citizens do pay well over the odds for flights and hotels online due to the vagaries of dynamic pricing.
Dynamic pricing is the simple concept, driven by complex technology, whereby the artificial intelligence (AI) analytics of a travel or accommodation reseller website assesses the likely socio-economic demographic of the potential customer and offers a price accordingly. If Charlie or his PA were to log on to a flight website from a brand-new Apple Mac machine located in their office in Hollywood, the price offered will be inflated by the website’s AI. However, if the same person were to use a VPN and choose a server located in a suburb on the outskirts of Philadelphia, the price reduces. The AI assumes that the Philly customer is not wealthy, because their device can’t be recognized, and the location is in an economically deprived area. Again, it’s VPN user 1 – Airline – Zero!
In summary, it doesn’t matter whether you’re a celeb, TikTok legend or a work from home accountant – using a VPN has all your online security bases covered.
