ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (WHAT THE TECH?) — Protecting your privacy has never been more important and more difficult than it is now.

Everywhere we go online leaves little breadcrumbs about who we are, where we live and what we do.

One basic thing you can do to mitigate the risks of identity theft is getting a VPN. A VPN, or Virtual Private Network, hides your IP address and location. It not only hides your location, but you can be virtually anywhere.

What is an IP address? Go to your web browser and type in: what is my IP address? That string of numbers is your location. When you’re online, Anyone who knows what they’re doing can see your IP address.

When you get a VPN, you may be in your home office but to anyone else, you’ll be located in San Francisco, Dallas, the UK, or wherever else you want to be.

So do you need a VPN? In this day and age, it’s a good idea. One advantage of having a VPN is the ability to watch movies and sports that are only available in certain regions.

If you’re favorite baseball team games are blacked out in your area, you can be virtually in any city where the game is available.

Which VPN should you get? Stay away from free VPN apps. They’re free for a reason as most share your activity. NordVPN and ExpressVPN are about $100 a year and can be loaded on all of your computers and smartphones.

I wouldn’t say a VPN is critical for everyone, but if you’re frequently on public WiFi or travel a lot, it’s a good idea to have one to protect yourself on your phone and computer.

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