Are you a gamer who engages in frequent matches or multiplayer games over the internet? Then you will know the significance of low pings. If you have a lower ping than your opponent, you can get a competitive advantage. With a VPN, you can get that advantage. But it is not the only reason to use a VPN for gaming.
We have done some extensive research to find out why VPN is important for online gaming. Let’s take a look at these reasons.
No More Bandwidth Throttling
Often, while you are playing over the internet, you encounter bandwidth throttling. Some internet service providers tend to slow down or throttle bandwidth leading to slow connection speed. The ISPs throttle on specific days or times to ease traffic congestion on the network.
Some ISPs throttle your connection when they detect specific activity, especially streaming, gaming, or file sharing on their network. At times, your ISP might throttle your connection speed when seeing a certain amount of data transfer.
A large amount of data is transferred every hour when you are playing a game. If your ISP puts a data cap on your network and you play for over a few hours a day and download all updates, you will attain the data cap in no time.
But by installing a VPN, you can prevent this. It encrypts your data and makes it difficult for your ISP to track what you are up to or how much data is being transferred. Some VPNs allow you to switch ports to make it harder for the internet service providers to throttle your connection.
Protects You Against Swatting
It is not that common that there have been a few reported cases. It happened when players were indulging in multiplayer games. Opponents get so angry with their defeat that they start to stalk you. This can be dangerous. They are basically encroaching on your privacy.
If a discontent player gets hold of your IP address, they might hack into your account and track your location. In some cases, these stalkers have even used a technique called swatting. It is a form of harassment. The stalker can send an emergency service to your home by calling in a bomb threat or suicide. At times, this can become deadly.
But if you use a VPN, your opponent, no matter how angry he is, won’t be able to get hold of your IP address and track your location.
Get Around Geo-Blocks
Many online games use your location to provide a customized gaming experience. So, your version of the game might be different than the version of another player accessing from a different location. One such game is Pokemon Go. The whole game depends on real-world locations. In some locations, this game is not available at all.
But if you use a VPN, you can change your location and play the game. It allows you to connect to a server from a different location to spoof your real location. Hence, you can easily access games that are not available in your country.
At times, some games are rolled out for the first time only in certain locations. But if you use https://thefastvpn.com/, you don’t have to wait for the game to be released in your location.
Avoid DDoS Attacks
If someone is sending a lot of requests from a compromised system to another system to force it offline, it is called a distributed denial-of-service or DDoS attack.
Previously, DDoS attacks were only associated with websites and rarely with online games. But presently, DDoS attacks have become quite prevalent. It can be performed by almost anyone against users or websites. So, your opponent might launch a DDoS attack on you.
But since VPN can hide your IP address, anyone attempting a DDoS attack won’t be able to locate your connection and bombard you with ping requests.
Play Banned Games
It might sound a little odd but there are some countries that have banned some video games. This might be because of their content or game type. Some of these countries include China, Germany, Brazil, and Australia.
These countries either ban the game or impose censorship to keep people away from downloading or playing them. In case you are from a country that geo-restricts or bans games, you can use a VPN for connecting to the server in some other country where the game is available.
Remain Protected on Public Wi-Fi
At times, when you are playing on your smartphone or tablet, you might connect to the public Wi-Fi. But this increases the risk of your phone being hacked.
Public Wi-Fi is available in coffee shops, airports, and various other locations. With these hotspots, you can connect to the internet. However, they post a lot of threats.
Usually, public Wi-Fi uses an unencrypted network. So, anyone can get access to the data that is being shared between your device and the router. It allows cybercriminals to snoop around and knows what you are doing. Not only can they see the websites you are visiting but also the information you are typing. The hacker then uses the information to hijack your credit cards, social media, and banking accounts.
Public Wi-Fi is not secure enough. There can be software vulnerabilities that enable the hacker to install malware on your device. Another risk posed by public Wi-Fi is man-in-the-middle attacks. In this case, the attacker intercepts your data and uses it to spy on you. By taking your personal and login details, they can sabotage or corrupt your communication.
But a VPN will encrypt your data when you use public Wi-Fi and save you from the prying eyes of hackers.
Bottom Line
No matter whether you are playing on your PC or gaming console, a VPN will protect you from many security and privacy troubles. It will also let you play with friends from different countries or access geo-blocked content.
Don’t know which is the right VPN for you? Choose TheFastVPN. It provides you with the security and privacy you need. It has 1000s of servers across the world and is available for different devices.
