Technology connects the dots between a virtual private network (VPN) and Artificial Intelligence (AI). The technological aspect that connects both these terms is security. No doubt, AI, with its wide range of technical features, has been a revelation to all users so far. But it is not above security that makes a VPN an absolute necessity for securing data.
“These days, VPNs are available in both free and paid versions. Check vpncheck.org if you plan to buy one. Users can choose one based on their preferences. Paid VPNs are more in number compared to those that are free. Urban VPN is the top choice among free VPNs. It offers advanced features that relate to paid VPNs. This feature makes it unique among the VPN services that are free of cost.”
Almost one-third of the total internet users use a free or paid VPN. This highlights the relevance of VPN in this day and age. Going by statistics, around 49% of users use it for security, and around 40% of users use it for privacy. On the other hand, 31% of users use it on Public Wi-Fi, and 29% use it for work requirements.
At present, both VPN and AI co-exist and complement each other. Here’s how VPN is redefining the definition of cybersecurity in an AI-powered business landscape.
What is AI?
To begin with, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a specialized field of computer science. It relates to the development of smart machines for handling tasks automatically without human intelligence. The fusion of artificial intelligence and machines is what makes it possible.
From Siri and Alexa to conversational bots and Robo-advisors, a long list of things exemplifies AI. It is a concept that has a wide scope. However, it saves both time and money from a business standpoint by performing repetitive tasks briskly. With manual effort, the conclusion of such tasks may take hours, days, and even months.
While AI has several positives, it also has many downsides. The prominent one among them is that it puts users’ online privacy at risk.
The Growing Influence of AI – A Challenge to Online Privacy
The whole point of working on projects linked with Artificial Intelligence (AI) has a major purpose. Such projects are geared towards developing machines that can reason or think like humans. While AI-based machines are still far from fully doing it, they can do it at certain levels.
Companies rely on AI to ease the workload of complex tasks. At the same time, some companies also employ AI to collect the data of their target audience and other individuals.
Companies do not shy away from employing new methods to study customer behavior to formulate marketing and business strategies. Such methods involve using AI technology and put the online privacy of internet users in jeopardy.
Further, companies also feed data into algorithms that AI powers. Such algorithms are vulnerable to data breaches and can create personal data of individuals without their permission.
Such issues put a big question mark on the online security of internet users. For this reason, using a VPN is necessary for online security.
In addition, VPNs are also necessary to overcome censorship which prevents individuals from freely accessing a few websites.
The Evolving Face of VPNs in the AI Space: More Protection to Online Privacy and Prevention of Censorship
Unlike in the past, more people have digital assets. They use them for work-related requirements, such as connecting their digital devices to the Internet. Without a VPN, they can be vulnerable to online privacy vulnerabilities.
Many experts predicted that VPN technology would evolve with AI a few years ago. It is becoming real these days as VPNs have become a necessity.
Today, a large chunk of internet users knows how a VPN works. This has been possible due to the accessibility of the Internet. The knowledge of the working principle of VPNs has led to a surge in the number of internet users who use a VPN service.
A VPN creates a secure tunnel for data transmission. It bounces the data to the intended server from a device through one of its secure servers. This process prevents trackers on different websites from capturing the actual IP address of devices. Instead, they read the IP address of one of the secure servers of a VPN which acts as the safe tunnel.
In addition, a VPN also encrypts data or makes it unreadable. When transferring the AES keys, VPNs utilize the public-key encryption feature. Thereafter, a VPN sends the key to the client’s program on a user’s computer. This feature of a VPN encrypts data and prevents the possibility of eavesdropping in an internet session.
Some website and their content are blocked in certain regions. From licensing agreements to security reasons, there can be many reasons for such restrictions. A VPN with multiple servers can help address this problem. Such servers of VPNs are located in different regions.
A user can choose any one of the servers depending on the blocked website or platform they wish to access. When one chooses a VPN server, its IP address becomes the virtual IP address of the device connected to it. This gives the trackers of websites the impression that a user is located in the server’s location.
With these features, VPNs refine and redefine online privacy, encryption, and access to censored content in the AI-powered space.
Final Thoughts
While AI enables a quick conclusion of repetitive tasks, it can be used for data collection and censorship. In the latter case, the role of a VPN becomes vital. It closes the online privacy and censorship loopholes which ensures data privacy and online freedom for the benefit of internet users.