Why I upgraded to a VPN router

I consider myself a modern man. Have the Philips Hue lights, work on the internet, subscribed to more streaming services than I really need, and a robot does my vacuuming.

But I have to confess that VPNs are an area where I’ve been uncharacteristically slow to adopt. I didn’t pick up a VPN until last year. I know, I know. Bad cyberdad.

When I finally sprung for a VPN, it changed my life. As a tech writer, I’m sometimes called upon to dive deep into some shady parts of the internet, and now I’m no longer concerned about my search history landing me on some kind of watch list. My wife definitely enjoys the geospoofing capabilities, which let us get regionally locked streaming anywhere in the world. And, for the first time in my life, I feel completely comfortable using the Wi-Fi at my local coffee shop.

I’m an ExpressVPN user, for the record. So far I’ve enjoyed the service, but I kept butting up against the issue of active devices on the account.

Ah, we’re at the cap. Does the PlayStation 4 really need the VPN? Well, that’s where we watch most of our movies, so it does if we want to keep binging content that’s not available in our area. What about the iPad? Our son’s phone? I’m sure as hell not taking it off my phone, since that thing is basically an extension of my brain.

So I finally made the leap and got a VPN router for the home office. Let me tell you, it was worth the investment.

No-hassle connection protection

All it takes is one sensitive message on an unsecured network to broadcast your private information to everyone watching. Data bounces back and forth between devices no matter how much you actually use them. Once I had a VPN service, I quickly realized that if I was using secure and unsecure devices willy nilly, the end result was that none of my devices were truly secure.

Relying on a single VPN outside of your router can leave the rest of your devices open to trouble. A VPN router, however, protects all of the devices I use every day. I don’t even have to worry about setting up the VPN each time I connect a new device. As long as the router is online, I’m protected. Even guests logging into my Wi-Fi are safe under my VPN’s shield, and they never even notice.

Stream location-restricted content with ease

The content on streaming services like Netflix and Hulu just keeps getting better. The downside is that some of the content is restricted by location. The protection and security of a VPN can offer you a workaround to keep binging your favorite shows.

When my VPN was stuck on a limited number of devices, I often found myself hunched over a laptop while I should have been streaming in comfort from the couch. It was either that or go through the hassle of re-registering my preferred streaming device on the VPN. That all changed when I picked up a VPN router.

Use routers and VPNs that you trust

VPN routers are more expensive than traditional routers, so they’re kind of an investment. Like Philips Hue lights, they’re kind of a hard initial buy, but once you’re sold it’s hard to imagine what life was like without one.

There are a few options when it comes to VPN routers, but after watching a Gary Explains about FlashRouters, I decided to go with them.

FlashRouters provides an improved and VPN-optimized version of routers you already know and trust. Top-of-the-line routers from ASUS and Linksys are made even more powerful with upgraded firmware. The company’s ordering system is fully custom, so you can select your VPN service and preferred router brand and the router ships to you perfectly customized to your setup.

The router only counts as a single device on my VPN service, which has freed me up tremendously. Now all the devices in my home count as a single device, letting me dedicate other device slots to those that actually leave the house on a regular basis.

I’m firmly convinced that in the next few years, we’re going to view browsing without a VPN the same way we currently view browsing without virus protection. VPN routers are ahead of the curve now, but they’re soon going to be the norm.

If you want to give this new way of using a VPN a roll, click the button below to find out which of these FlashRouters is right for you.