5 Things You Need To Do After Setting Up Your VPN For The First Time

If you are not yet familiar with the VPN services, and just discovered their benefits to protect and secure your online activity, it will be quite complicated for you to set up the VPN connection for the first time, let alone using it properly. Many people, especially the ones that are not tech-savvy, will just feel confused after installing the VPN software, and they might not know what to do with it after installation. They don’t even know what it does.

So, if you are like this, knowing nothing about VPN means that you need to do several step-by-step methods to ensure that you can use it properly. Also, you should learn more about VPN from the service provider that you use by browsing their website and reading their FAQ or general information. Here are 5 things you need to do after setting up your VPN for the first time:

1. Make Sure That Your Internet Connection Is Active

Please understand that VPN is not the same as an ISP or internet service provider. Some people might confuse VPN with ISP due to the similar features between the two. So, before you start using the private connection, you have to turn on your internet connection as usual. Make sure that the connection is active, and make sure that you can connect to the internet properly. This is because some people might think that the VPN doesn’t work, while the reality is that they forgot to connect their devices with their WiFi network or a regular internet connection.

2. Connect To The VPN Only After You Activate Your Internet Connection

Once you are sure that you are connected to the internet, you can start your VPN software and connect to the private network by clicking the “Connect” button. After a certain process of connecting, then you will be able to connect to one of the servers that is available for the private network. You will be able to see which server you are connected to by taking a look at the flag. Some common private server locations include USA, Canada, Germany, and Singapore. Depending on your VPN provider, you might find more server locations, which you can easily use according to your preference.

3. Choose The Server That You Want To Use

On the VPN software, usually you will be able to choose between the optimal server location or individual server location. When you choose the option to connect to the optimal server location, the software will choose the server based on your connection speed, so that you can get the best performance from the VPN connection. However, if you prefer to choose the server location manually, you can always switch between server locations in the software interface. Remember that you can switch between server locations as much as you like. However, you have to ensure that you are connected to the server location that you want before you continue your browsing session.

4. Browse The Web Using The VPN Connection And Check Your IP If Necessary

You should be able to start browsing securely once you’ve connected to the VPN connection via the VPN software. However, to ensure that your IP is already masked, you should check your IP location on the internet by visiting a website that can check your IP address. Once you are sure that your IP is already masked to the VPN server location, you can begin browsing the internet privately. You can visit websites that are previously blocked by the government. You can also stream content that is previously only available to other regions. You can also do online banking and shopping securely without worrying about being monitored by the government.

5. Set Up Other VPN Connections In Other Devices

If you are proficient enough in using the VPN software for the desktop, perhaps it is time for you to set up other VPN connections for your other devices as well. For instance, if you want to set up virtual private connection for your mobile devices, you can download the mobile VPN app from the service provider’s website, and install the app on your mobile devices. Then, you can enter your username and password on the app so that you can secure your mobile data connection as well. A VPN can also be set in routers, depending on the support of your VPN provider. If you can set up the VPN for your router, you can connect other devices with VPN as well, such as game consoles.

Those are the 5 things that you need to do after setting up your VPN for the first time. Make sure to learn more about your private connection from the official website of your VPN provider. If you have some problems that you would like to troubleshoot, you can contact the customer service of the VPN company, so that you can get timely assistance for your problems.