The first topic that always comes up with regards to virtual private networks is, "Can't it be used for crime?". Unfortunately, this is true, but it's a small piece to the puzzle, and in the same manner than you can't blame Home Depo for selling hammers that may be used as a weapon, or even a fruit stand for selling bananas (those banana peels sure are slippery), virtual private network services have many more functions that giving nefarious characters an alternate identity.

One such use is for getting a UK IP address.

I'm also someone that travels a lot, and I know first hand that the internet is not the same from country to country. While the majority of websites are unaffected, there are many that are. and it can be seriously frustrating when you try to access your favorite website or even a new one recommended to you through a social networking channel, only to find it blocked.

Blocked websites can be a result of foreign governments enforcing internet censorship as a way to control the flow of political, religious, and philosophical ideologies into and out of their country (mostly into). It can be a result of your local network unknowingly (and ignorantly) grouping your target website as a 'threat' or 'spam'. And it can be due to the website themselves seeing your foreign IP as a red flag (some countries have bad reputations for hackers and spammers online).

Whatever the reason, the blocks are there. And regardless of the reason or method of blocking, virtual private networks can provide you with the freedom of having an IP address from any country in the world.

The UK is a popular virtual destination because of the freedoms that UK citizens enjoy online. Though the UK has recently come under fire for privacy invasion and other types of 'Big Brother' activities, the fact that most websites are still accessible is not a freedom that everyone has. Many could care less what the government does or doesn't see online (though that's up for debate).

By getting a UK IP address, you essentially become a virtual citizen of the UK, and browse the internet just as someone from the UK would. You could be a UK citizen living or traveling abroad, simply trying to access your favorite sites from your home country. Or you could be a non-UK citizen, trying to expand your horizons, and access English language websites. Many students of English would be happy to have access to the BBC iPlayer and stream TV or Radio from the world famous BBC organization.

This is possible by using a VPN. Virtual private network services own and maintain VPN servers in a variety of countries, so to get a UK IP, you simply need to find a VPN service with servers in a UK city. Once signed into the VPN server in Great Britain, your original IP is masked by a UK one, and you can use the internet as if you were physically in the UK.