No matter what your reason is, it’s easier than you think to change your online location. Geo-spoofing is the process of changing your country or location online to make it look as though you are in a different chosen location.
It’s a popular move and typically accomplished with a VPN. The most frequent uses of geo-spoofing are to access restricted websites, apps, and streaming services or to hide your true location in order to safeguard your privacy.
Behind the acronym
A Virtual Private Network (VPN) has many advantages. It allows you to appear to be somewhere else so you can access content that is normally unavailable in your current location. VPNs do, however, also have several security benefits.
For instance, they conceal your true IP address and location while encrypting your internet data. As a result, when using a changing VPN, you can benefit from increased online freedom as well as better privacy and anonymity.
VPN use cases
While browsing, you’ve probably encountered geo-restricted content online. The reason why streaming services like Netflix or Disney+ offer different material in different regions is frequently because of copyright and licensing concerns.
Some countries have extremely strict online censorship, which could result in the blocking of anything from news sites to online gambling.
In particular, VPN usage soars in countries amid conflict. Citizens of countries such as Iran showed an increase in VPN demand during 2022. Downloading VPNs helps to get around limitations on prohibited websites in order to circumnavigate government crackdowns.
Fortunately, a VPN enables you to pretend to be somewhere else, giving you access to content that would otherwise be blocked. You can continue to access your regular home streaming services, websites, and apps even if you travel abroad.
Moreover, some banks might likely restrict access to your account from abroad for security concerns if you do need to travel. They follow the IP address of the location from which you’re connecting, so it’s typically automatic and impossible to avoid.
Connecting to a VPN server in your home country will allow you to get around this without any ramifications.
Another major use case for VPNs is security. This is what makes them a great asset for businesses. All of the traffic and data entering and leaving our devices, during Internet browsing is vulnerable.
Hackers can easily intercept your data transmission and steal it without your knowledge or consent. This could include sensitive information such as passwords for your online accounts, banking details, or private work documents.
When using VPNs, all data entering and exiting our devices are protected by the encryption they provide. The majority of armed forces across the world use 256-bit encryption, which is employed by virtually all VPN service providers.
With a VPN, your data is better safeguarded, so you can rest easy.
How do I change my location?
When you use a virtual private network to mask your physical location, you also alter your IP address in the process. Your Internet Protocol (IP) address is the unique series of numbers that identifies your device on your network.
IP exposure can leave you vulnerable to cyberattacks and other problems. This is how many of us leave a digital footprint on our online activities and why were are susceptible to tracking and hacking.
The How-to
Firstly, you will need to set up the VPN on your device.
A VPN browser extension is a plugin you can either toggle on or off when you wish to browse the web. To use many VPNs, you may need to manually modify your device or download and install the software on whatever system you use.
VPN browser extensions work by solely safeguarding your web browser.
Other apps or services on your device are not protected by them. If you want to use an encrypted internet connection when using a VPN browser plugin, you will still need to install a native VPN program to safeguard your other apps and tools.
For example, to configure Urban VPN on any browser, follow these steps:
- Via the Urban VPN website or the official store for your browser, download and install the browser extension.
- Log in by opening the browser extension.
- Connect and change your location by choosing a server.
With Urban VPN, there is a drop-down menu with about 80 countries located across five continents.
From this, you can select the server location you want.
Conclusion
You can get around geo-restrictions and access content from all over the world by altering your location with a VPN.
Moreover, a VPN protects you against online hackers and third parties by encrypting all of your internet traffic. By doing this, you can always be protected, even when utilizing free Wi-Fi. It’s easy to change your IP location and enjoy fewer restrictions while browsing online.