We can say that browsing through a VPN is quite common nowadays. It is interesting in order to improve privacy, be able to access geographically restricted sites and hide the real IP address. We will have the option of installing both free and paid VPN applications, in addition to installing a browser that already has an integrated VPN. However, in this article we are going to explain why this last option is not very good.
Using a browser with VPN is not a good idea
Why do we say that using a browser that comes with a VPN is not a good idea and it is better to install a separate program? The reason is simple: it is only going to encrypt the traffic that goes through that browser. That is to say, it will only be encrypting the connection when we enter a web page through its program and not when we send or receive data through another application.
For example, if we have installed Skype or any other instant messaging program, in that case it would not go through the VPN. It would not do it either if we have a game or a program to watch videos online and we need it to connect through a certain country so as not to have geographical restriction problems.
That VPN browser will only act when we enter its program and enter any web address and browse. All the external connection to the browser will access the network in an open way, without any type of protection or encryption. Therefore, if we seek to improve privacy and security, we can say that using a browser that has a VPN is not the best option. Nor to be able to bypass possible geographic blocks when using certain applications.
Using VPN extensions is not positive either
But we must not only talk about a browser that already has an integrated VPN, as is the case with Opera, but also extensions that we can install in others such as Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox. As in the previous case that we have explained, here they are not going to completely encrypt the connection either. They will only encrypt the sending of information when browsing websites.
If you use a program that may be restricted in a certain country, such as Netflix, Spotify or any other application, you will not be able to enter even if you have a VPN extension for the browser. What you will really need is a VPN that encrypts the entire connection on the device and allows you to enter those programs without any geo-restriction issues.
Therefore, once again our advice is to go for a full VPN, a program that you install on the device, and not to install a VPN extension. This does not mean that for something specific, for a specific moment in which we need to enter a website, an extension for the browser is not useful; However, it is not the best in general.
Now, is a paid or free VPN better? Here there can also be important differences, and that is that those that are paid offer better guarantees, have fewer problems and work faster. The free ones can often be a security problem. Still, there are some reliable free VPN options out there.