Australians are no less worried about their personal information online than any other nation but are slower to act and respond, says a survey about online privacy habits in Australia. The survey reports that Australians do not bother reading the terms and conditions of websites they visit and hardly ever spend time pondering the possible consequences of lack of privacy.
The truth is that in Australia, like almost anywhere else in the world, both the government and corporations have a lot of power, and both can abuse it to penetrate into the domain of civil or human rights. There are stringent guidelines on the information that can be collected by websites and whom it can be shared with, but are these things actually well supervised by anyone? It’s hard to tell, but it is probable they aren’t. Then you have the government constantly empowering law enforcement agencies with greater access to more data with less reporting.
Do Australians use a VPN and why?
For these reasons, a VPN service product has become extremely popular Down Under. That VPN software serves multiple purposes for as little as 10 or 15 Australian dollars per month. The first function a VPN has is enhanced internet security. It makes it more difficult for malicious attackers to breach your connection. The second function you could use a VPN for is to stay anonymous. While you are using a VPN and abiding by the rules of staying anonymous online, it is increasingly more difficult for governments and commercial companies to understand who you are and connect you to their vast databases. The third function a VPN connection has is that you are able to choose where to mimic your location; that means that if there is any form of content that is normally blocked in Australia, you could be accessing it.
Is Using A VPN Illegal In Australia?
Using a VPN is not illegal in Australia. However, it’s important to note that while the use of a VPN itself is legal, certain activities performed while using a VPN may not be. This is consistent with the legal status of VPNs in most other countries: the tool itself is legal, but any illegal activities conducted with it are still illegal.
VPN for Expats
For all 3 reasons, finding a good VPN service is absolutely essential for expats. When you are in Australia, you would want to watch content from your home country. When you go back home to visit, you’d want to access Australian sites from an Australian IP. And, of course, knowing that expats and immigrants are more prone to government surveillance, you would want to stay protected from big brother as much as you can.
Choosing the best VPN in Australia is not an easy thing, as many would imagine. Due to the fact most servers in the world are already extremely removed from Oz, you would want to find a quick VPN software. What does quick means? That it doesn’t hinder the connection speed too badly, not that it will somehow be as quick as a direct connection, because that will never happen. You would want to find a big company offering a VPN that boasts as many locations and IPs as possible, the ensure that there are sufficient servers for the number of concurrent users.