Article content continued

Along with hiding your location, VPN services also help users access content only available in certain regions of the world like Netflix and Hulu. This can be done through location-cloaking Domain Name System (DNS) services as well. In terms of other benefits, VPN platforms also make it more difficult for people to hijack and steal data from your computer.

It’s still unclear if VPN services located in Canada or operating within the country will be subject to the section of Canada’s Copyright Modernization act that forces ISPs to send out notice-and-notice letters to their customers, given how ambiguous the language in the act currently is. Some VPN services like Toronto-based Tunnelbear have already banned the use of Torrents on their network in order to avoid future legal complications.

Other services based in Canada like Unblock-Us, a DNS location switching platform that also offers a VPN service, have left Canada and now operate out of Barbados. It’s also unclear if foreign VPN services will be forced to comply with the notice-and-notice system and this is a chance many VPN providers operating in Canada are taking.

According to Michael Geist, Canada research chair in Internet and e-commerce, the issue of whether or not VPN services are considered telecommunications providers will likely be decided in court over the next few years.

But until Canadian law becomes more clear, using a VPN service is the best way to mask your identity online.