NordVPN Says Service Uptake Exploded in November for No Apparent Reason
- NordVPN reports a sudden uptick in the adoption of VPN services in November.
- The situation is driven by several converging factors that increase the need for security.
- Users should remain vigilant while away from home and use only trustworthy internet connections.
The adoption of VPN services is going through a steep climb right now, and there’s no single explanation behind it. It’s more due to a set of happening simultaneously right now, such as the recognition of the need for privacy online, the ongoing lockdown wave that keeps people working from home, and the ramping up of national-level internet censorship. NordVPN has shared some of their stats with us, and the numbers are impressive.
The following countries had the most massive spikes of demand in VPN services during November 2020, according to NordVPN:
- Japan – 150.81%
- Italy – 102%
- South Korea – 80.94%
- Mexico 64%
- Canada – 64%
As NordVPN comments, the situation isn’t fueled by a single user privacy incident and isn’t manifesting in a hasty manner. Instead, it’s pushed by the general situation, and the adoption of VPN tools is being made very consciously. The firm also points out that the magnitude of the phenomenon is unique in size and totally unexpected.
One thing that has played a pivotal role is that the announcement of lock-downs has forced a large number of people to leave urban centers and seek to continue their lives in the countryside. Many of them will need to work from these remote places using WiFi, so suddenly, they need a VPN.
November was characterized by the great American Thanksgiving escape that had 6.3 million people arriving at the airports with the intention of flying somewhere and another 48 million traveling by car. Many of them will not return to their home cities any time soon.
While you’re away, remember, you should use WPA3 encrypted and password-protected connections, you should set up 2FA and use strong passwords everywhere, and set your VPN to quit if the server connection drops for any reason. Also, keeping up to date with the latest threats is a solid way to stay safe against hackers and scammers.