If you’re using bittorrent on a campus Internet connection, you’ll want to get a VPN service. There are several reasons why this is the case and starting with the most obvious it’s easy to see why.
Traffic Monitoring
Many campuses monitor their Internet traffic for P2P downloading. This could at best mean that you cannot connect to your bittorrent site or, at worst, mean that the campus will actively monitor your traffic to see what you’re downloading. Because most campuses do restrict P2P traffic, a VPN makes good sense.
A VPN connection makes it impossible to see what type of data is being exchanged. The people monitoring your Internet traffic may see an increase in your usage, but they won’t be able to tell what you’re downloading or from where, which makes it possible to get around restrictions on certain types of usage.
What it Does
The encryption that VPNs provide hides your IP address and your data from spies. It makes it possible for people to get work done on networks like most campus networks, where the traffic is generally restricted. This means that computer science majors who may be downloading a new distro of Linux, for example, will be subjected to the same restrictive policies as someone downloading for illegitimate purposes. It’s hardly fair, but it can be overcome.
A VPN connection is one of the best options. For downloading large files, another option is to use a USENET service that provides SSL encryption. Again, the people monitoring the network may see that you’re downloading a lot of data, but they cannot tell what type of data you’re downloading simply by watching your
connection.
Options
VPN subscriptions come in two forms that should be highly useful for college students. The first is a regular monthly subscription. Some providers offer different packages with different download limits and many offer packages with no download limits at all, which means you can use the VPN connection all the time, increasing your privacy a great deal.
There is usually an option to buy block access, as well. This type of service allows you to use the VPN connection to download a specified amount of data and, after that data is downloaded, you have to buy more download bandwidth. This is a good option for those who don’t want to set up a subscription and who want to control their costs as much as possible.
VPN services are must-haves for students in college. Not only do they protect against spying by campuses, they provide overall privacy protection for all your Internet usage.
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