BBC iPlayer frequently blocks VPNs due to its strong anti-VPN technology. The UK streaming service might flag the server you're on or your cookies are "outing" a previous location. Given that 85% of UK adults use the BBC weekly and spend over 6 hours watching BBC TV and iPlayer (UK Parliament,

The Eyes Alliances collect data from your internet traffic, phone calls, emails, and other forms of communication. The collected intelligence is shared among member countries, collectively called the 5/9/14 Eyes. This freaked me out too when I first heard about it. Who are the 5 Eyes nations?

Key Takeaways Only about 1 in 10 ransomware victims officially report their attacks or losses to authorities. Phishing was the most-reported cybercrime in 2024, receiving 193,407 complaints, but it accounted for only $70 million in losses, representing just 0.4 percent of the total money

Your IP address exposes more than just your location — it lets websites, advertisers, and cybercriminals track your online activities and build detailed profiles of your behavior. This information can be used to monitor your browsing habits, block sites based on your region, or launch targeted

Hotel booking sites use your location to set prices, meaning you might pay more than someone in another country, which I think is very unfair. They also track your search history, so visiting a site multiple times from the same connection can increase prices. Can a VPN make hotel prices cheaper?

VPNs are legal in most cases, but it’s not always that straightforward. There are some legal grey zones to consider, plus location and use case can make all the difference in the legality of VPN use. Given the implications of breaking the law, it’s important to understand when and where VPNs become

Cookies — those little bits of data saved on your iPhone — are pretty handy. They remember your login details and preferences, making your browsing smoother and more personalized. But there’s a flip side. While cookies themselves don’t munch much battery life, the activities they remember might

First developed as a marketing or usage aid to help website owners track their visitors, spyware has now become incredibly advanced and potentially much more threatening. From invasive but mostly harmless advertising trackers to malicious system monitors, spyware comes in all shapes and sizes.

There are several ways to hide VPN use, avoiding those annoying "proxy detected" errors, and securely stream from anywhere, as well as access the internet without restrictions. I've run into the same roadblocks — most recently, I tested a VPN, and the WiFi at work immediately flagged my

If you've ever struggled to find the right subtitles or audio languages on Netflix, you're not alone. In recent years, the platform has made huge progress in terms of subtitle availability, but some shows, especially the older ones, still don’t support many languages. Navigating this maze of

It’s a struggle to keep track of countless passwords, especially those that are strong enough not to risk your accounts. That’s where a reliable password manager comes in handy — they securely store your passwords, generate strong ones, and sync your credentials across all your devices. This makes

Many new antivirus programs have built-in VPNs, but only a few are good. Most are slow, have small server networks, and don’t offer the best protection against viruses, hackers, and malware for PCs, Android devices, iPhones, and more. We tested 40+ security suites and shortlisted the best

Just because you close an app doesn’t mean it stops running. Most apps keep running quietly in the background — sending and receiving data without you even noticing. This is what’s known as background data usage, and it’s one of the sneakiest ways your phone can burn through your mobile data and

The UK's new age verification requirements take effect July 25th, 2025, fundamentally changing how you access online content. Under the Online Safety Act, platforms must verify users' ages before allowing access to adult content and other potentially harmful material. This affects everything from

Let’s get this out of the way straight away — yes, you can use a VPN on mobile data. However, using a VPN can increase the amount of cellular data you consume, due to the encryption process and other features that boost your privacy. So, it’s important to choose a VPN that minimizes data usage,

Bloatware — those pesky pre-installed apps you never asked for — can slow down your devices, eat up memory, and even put your privacy at risk. On some systems, removing them isn’t as easy as hitting Uninstall, especially if they’re baked into the operating system. And it’s not just a personal

Man-in-the-middle (MITM) attacks are one of the most subtle and dangerous forms of cybercrime, having the potential to steal your personal data before you even realize you’re at risk. All it takes is to join a public WiFi network that’s been compromised by a hacker, or simply clicking the wrong

Is your computer acting a little… off lately? Maybe your cursor jumps unexpectedly, your passwords stop working, or strange pop-ups appear out of nowhere. While it’s easy to brush off these occurrences as bugs or bad luck, they might actually point to something far more sinister — like someone

Swatting is a malicious act involving false reports to emergency services about a crime or emergency at someone else's address. The term "swatting" comes from such false reports, often leading to a SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) team being dispatched to the location. Over the years, swatting

A proxy server works as a gateway between your device and the websites you want to access. Instead of connecting directly to a website (which acts as a server), you route your connection through a 3rd party server that has the purpose of protecting your online footprint. That way, you can keep your

Latency might sound technical, but it’s actually a big part of how smooth your online experience feels. Measured in milliseconds (ms), it’s the time it takes for data to travel between your device and the destination — like a game server, video call platform, or website. The longer it takes, the