What’s the most basic explanation you have about how a VPN works? What a VPN does is create a new connection from a seemingly different location while encrypting your original one. So, when censorship is in place, as it is in Russia today, a VPN establishes an encrypted tunnel or link to a server located outside of the country. And that network and that server aren’t subject to restrictions outside of Russia. As a result, you may be able to gain access to information and resources that are otherwise unavailable in your own country. So, what changes have you seen in the way your products are being used since the start of the war? There are several uses for VPNs. Many of these issues have to do with safety and privacy, after all. As a result, VPN users existed in Russia long before the conflict began, just as there are in the United States, Europe, and everywhere else. VPNs, on the other hand, offer the extra benefit of being able to evade censorship in some cases. And in Russia, the surge has been 10 times greater. Since the start of the war, RussianVPN VPN usage has increased by almost 1,000 percent. Wow. Do you have any idea what websites individuals are attempting to visit, if you understand what I mean? Even if Russia has prohibited access to information, individuals may still be trying to access social media sites like Instagram and other photo-sharing sites to submit photos, right? Russian, on the other hand, is a VPN that places a premium on anonymity. As a result of this, we are unable to keep track of what our customers are watching. Even though most Western social media sites have been shut, we do know this: All but a handful of independent news outlets have been shut down. Accordingly, it’s likely that one or both of these two reasons are responsible for the surge in demand. On the other hand, that would appear to be a good thing for business. Russia has imposed wide-ranging financial restrictions on international corporations and Russian citizens, making it more difficult for both groups to conduct business there. Is Russian a better person because of it? Consumers in Russia have no way to pay for goods or services in the West. Credit cards, as you may be aware, are not working. PayPal does not appear to be operating at this time. Even bank transfers via SWIFT are not working. There are only two options for Western IT corporations, right? One option is to cease servicing consumers and leave the nation if you can no longer earn money from it. In fact, this is the route adopted by most firms. Only by offering your services for free will you be able to remain in the nation. So today, even if they have outstanding invoices, we’re just not charging them and waiving the costs because that’s the only way in which we can, you know, continue services for those in Russia who utilize our services. Will you be able to maintain this for the long haul? Because, you know, this dispute doesn’t appear to be going away any time soon. Yes. Due to the lack of payment options available to Russian customers, we are obviously losing money with each and every one of them today. However, I believe that we have a moral duty to remain in Russia and continue to give access to information for as long as we can. Russia has been attempting to limit the use of VPNs for many years. Russia has now criminalized speech that contradicts its propaganda on the conflict in Ukraine. When it comes time to connect to a VPN, what should they keep in mind? How secure are they, for example? As far as I know, no one has ever been imprisoned for using a virtual private network in Russia. The use of a virtual private network (VPN) by customers is, in fact, lawful. So, when it comes to choosing a VPN, I think users in and outside of Russia should be aware that not all VPNs are made equal. Many free VPNs nowadays, especially in Russia, have business strategies that aren’t genuinely pro-privacy, a problem I see very regularly. So what these VPNs are doing is basically monitoring, tracking, and reselling user information. It’s also difficult to determine who owns and operates some of these virtual private networks (VPNs). Everything this means is that when you’re using an encrypted virtual private network (VPN), you’re giving that corporation full control over what you do online, even if you don’t want to. Because of this, it is critical that you make the appropriate selection.
