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<title><![CDATA[Surfshark partners with Watford]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[<figure>
<img src="https://surfshark.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/VPN_Surfshark-partners-with-Watford.png" alt="Surfshark partners with Watford" referrerpolicy="no-referrer">
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<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Michael Owen says, “I have never thought of a scenario where international football was not a massive part of our [England] game.” We say — there’s no scenario where a VPN is not a massive part of a safe digital life.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">So, to ensure the safest cheering from the crowd in the virtual stands, Surfshark is partnering with an English football club, Watford!</span></p>
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<h2><span style="font-weight: 400;">Introducing Watford</span></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Watford Football Club has a diverse history. Their beginning was paved with friendly matches, league participation, war interruption, financial and Division 3 South challenges, and rebranding as “the Hornets”. Despite that, Watford made significant strides with promotions and Division 3 title wins.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Elton John’s arrival on the Watford board marked a turning point for the team. It started thriving, rising through divisions and enjoying unforgettable cup runs. Although they faced a lot of ownership changes and challenges, Watford has always been able to recover and bring memorable victories.</span></p>
<h2><span style="font-weight: 400;">The base of our partnership</span></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Surfshark VPN — or any other privacy product under our umbrella — is not only for the tech geeks. We believe </span><b>everyone should strengthen their online privacy</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">. On top of that, we’re giving people safe </span><b>access to globally available sources of information</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">: videos, websites, articles, music platforms, and others.</span></p>
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<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Surfshark VPN is the right choice for Watford team fans for many reasons. For a </span><b>secure</b> <b>purchase of new merchandise</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">. For a </span><b>private</b> <b>hotel booking</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> while traveling to Watford away games. For a </span><b>safe</b> <b>public Wi-Fi connection </b><span style="font-weight: 400;">to check the match predictions. You can do these and the other things with a VPN.</span></p>
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<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Surfshark will guard everyone from online threats, no matter where they are on the field.</span></p>
<h2><span style="font-weight: 400;">Protecting the goal</span></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">We’re honored to be taking the Watford field to make the online world more secure for all football players, fans, and sports enthusiasts. Let’s tackle the online threats and outscore the hackers together!</span></p>
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<section id="pbc-5" class="cta-image">
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Choose Surfshark for your online defense<br><span class="dark"></span>
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Use the code WATFORD & get 3 free months of Surfshark VPN </div>
<div class="cta-image-button-disclaimer">
<a class="cta-image-button" href="https://surfshark.com/pricing?coupon=watford" rel="nofollow">Buy now</a>
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<pubDate>Wed, 20 Sep 2023 08:36:48 GMT</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://surfshark.com/blog/surfshark-x-watford</guid>
<link>https://surfshark.com/blog/surfshark-x-watford</link>
<author><![CDATA[Surfshark]]></author>
<category>News</category>
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<title><![CDATA[VPN test: how to see if your VPN is working]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[<figure>
<img src="https://surfshark.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/VPN_Test_hero.png" alt="VPN test: how to see if your VPN is working" referrerpolicy="no-referrer">
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<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">When a </span><a href="https://surfshark.com/learn/what-is-vpn"><span style="font-weight: 400;">VPN (Virtual Private Network) </span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">works properly, it hides your online tracks. It creates a virtual tunnel between your device and the online destination you want to reach. Your data stream is then encrypted, which means your Internet Service Provider (ISP) — or anyone else — can’t read what you’re doing. But how do you know your VPN is actually doing all that? With a VPN test, of course!</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A reliable VPN service will hide your IP address as well as prevent Domain Name System (DNS) leaks and WebRTC leaks. If your IP isn’t hidden or you see any leaks, your VPN may not be working properly.</span></p>
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<h3>Table of contents</h3>
<ol class="contents"></ol>
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<h2><span style="font-weight: 400;">4 ways to check if your VPN is working properly </span></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Checking whether your Surfshark VPN works is a piece of cake — there are several methods you can use. The easiest one is to check the icons on your </span><b>dock, toolbar, menu bar</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">, etc.: </span></p>
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">If the icon is </span><b>gray</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">, your VPN is off;</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">If it’s </span><b>green </b><span style="font-weight: 400;">or </span><b>blue</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">, it’s on. </span></li>
</ul>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">You can also check your VPN’s status by going to </span><b>Settings > VPN</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> on any device. However, if you need more proof that your VPN is working, follow any of the methods below: </span></p>
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Check for DNS leaks;</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Check for IP address leaks; </span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Check for WebRTC leaks;</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Check if you can bypass censorship.</span></li>
</ul>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">All tests provide equally accurate information about your VPN. You can perform just one test or all of them (for the “just in case” people).</span></p>
<h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">Check for DNS leaks</span></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Domain Name System (DNS) is like a translator. It’s in charge of translating a request for a website, www.yourwebsite.com, into a specific IP (Internet Protocol) number, 207.142.131.234. Humans aren’t great at remembering the latter, and computers can’t read the former. But with these DNS requests, we can navigate the internet easily — all we need to remember is a website’s name. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">If you don’t use a VPN, these requests </span><b>don’t go through a secure VPN tunnel</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">. An unsecured connection may potentially leak DNS data and, consequently, </span><b>your IP address</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> to the websites you access. Your ISP could get their hands on this information as well. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Here’s how to check for DNS leaks:</span></p>
<ol>
<li><b></b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Turn off the VPN and perform a </span><a href="https://surfshark.com/dns-leak-test"><span style="font-weight: 400;">DNS leak test</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. </span></li>
</ol>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Here’s how unprotected DNS requests look like</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">:</span></p>
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<div class="wide-block">
<div class="post-img-background background-off" style="">
<img class="lozad" data-src="https://surfshark.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/vpn-test1.png" alt="DNS leak test window showing DNS requests as not protected." width="968" height="473" src="https://surfshark.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/vpn-test1.png" referrerpolicy="no-referrer">
</div>
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<div class="small-block">
<ol start="2">
<li><b></b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Turn on the VPN and perform the test again. </span></li>
</ol>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Here’s how protected DNS requests look like:</span></p>
</div>
<div class="wide-block">
<div class="post-img-background background-off" style="">
<img class="lozad" data-src="https://surfshark.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/vpn-test2.png" alt="DNS leak test window showing DNS requests as protected." width="968" height="473" src="https://surfshark.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/vpn-test2.png" referrerpolicy="no-referrer">
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<div class="small-block">
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">You can repeat this test by connecting to different VPN servers. If </span><b>one server </b><span style="font-weight: 400;">on the VPN’s network is secure, this </span><b>doesn’t automatically guarantee that others are also safe</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">. Double-checking is the way to go. Even on a server you don’t use, a </span><b>single leak may indicate trouble</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> down the road.</span></p>
<h4><span style="font-weight: 400;">How to fix a DNS leak</span></h4>
<ol>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>Replace your VPN:</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> free VPNs are less secure than premium ones, so that may be the cause of the problem. </span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>Check your network configuration: </b><span style="font-weight: 400;">if you have your own VPN and servers, there may be an issue with how they’re configured.</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>Disable Teredo</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">: Teredo is Microsoft’s attempt to help with the transition from IPv4 to IPv6. It’s a tunneled connection, so sometimes, it may slip in before the VPN tunnel. </span></li>
</ol>
<h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">Check for IP address leaks</span></h3>
<p><span data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Your IP address is like your home address but online. It’s a lot more personally identifiable than a DNS address, and there's a lot that someone can do with your IP. A VPN masks your outgoing information source and the data that’s transferred along from website to website. That’s why it’s recommended to hide your IP with a VPN. "}" data-sheets-userformat="{"2":13185,"3":{"1":0},"10":2,"11":4,"12":0,"15":"Arial","16":9}" data-sheets-textstyleruns="{"1":0}{"1":137,"2":{"2":{"1":2,"2":3963096}}}{"1":164}">Your IP address is like your home address but online. It’s a lot more personally identifiable than a DNS address, and there’s a lot that <a href="https://surfshark.com/blog/what-can-someone-do-with-your-ip">someone can do with your IP</a>. A VPN masks your outgoing information source and the data that’s transferred along from website to website. That’s why it’s recommended to hide your IP with a VPN. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Your real IP versus the IP given by your VPN provider should always be different. If not, your IP is leaking. You can run this test on any device that has a VPN installed. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Here’s how:</span></p>
<ol>
<li><b></b> <a href="https://surfshark.com/what-is-my-ip"><b>Check your real IP address</b></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">(with the VPN off)</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></li>
</ol>
</div>
<div class="wide-block">
<div class="post-img-background background-off" style="">
<img class="lozad" data-src="https://surfshark.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/vpn-test3.png" alt="IP test showing an unprotected IP, browser type, OS, ISP and approximate location." width="978" height="473" src="https://surfshark.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/vpn-test3.png" referrerpolicy="no-referrer">
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<li><b></b> <b>Turn on your VPN</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> and choose any country server.</span></li>
<li><b>Check your</b> <b>IP address again</b> by refreshing the page (with the VPN on).</li>
</ol>
</div>
<div class="wide-block">
<div class="post-img-background background-off" style="">
<img class="lozad" data-src="https://surfshark.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/vpn-test4.png" alt="IP test showing the VPN server's IP, browser type, OS, the VPN as the IP and approximate location of the VPN server." width="968" height="473" src="https://surfshark.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/vpn-test4.png" referrerpolicy="no-referrer">
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<ol start="4">
<li><b></b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> That’s it. You’re protected. As you can see,</span><b> the IP address is different</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">, indicating that the VPN is working correctly. </span></li>
</ol>
<p><b>Note</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">: remember to check if the country server you connect to matches the country displayed in the IP address checker. If not, your IP may be leaking. </span></p>
<h4><span style="font-weight: 400;">How to fix an IP leak </span></h4>
<ol>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>Replace your VPN:</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> IP leaks are one of those things that specifically shouldn’t happen when you’re using a VPN. If a VPN is leaking your actual IP address, it’s a bad VPN. </span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>Disable IPv6 on your device:</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> not all VPNs can handle IPv6 yet. Here’s how you can do it on </span><a href="https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/troubleshoot/windows-server/networking/configure-ipv6-in-windows" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Windows</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. </span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>Disable split tunneling</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">: split tunneling explicitly allows some traffic to come and go without VPN protection. So if that’s the case, disable split tunneling on your VPN app (on Surfshark, it’s called Bypasser). </span></li>
</ol>
<h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">Check for WebRTC leaks</span></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Web Real-Time Communication (WebRTC) is a technology that lets</span><b> web browsers directly communicate with one another</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">. By using JavaScript, the WebRTC enables mobile and web browsers to run smoothly </span><b>without external plugins</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">These capabilities decrease the lag for specific applications when transferring files, using communication services like Skype, etc.</span></p>
<p><a href="https://trueconf.com/blog/reviews-comparisons/which-browsers-support-webrtc.html" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Many browsers use this technology by default</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. That’s why the devices using WebRTC need to </span><b>see each other’s IP addresses to communicate</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">. This might permit</span><b> third-party websites</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> to use WebRTC to</span><b> find a device’s IP address</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Once someone detects an IP, they can identify the device user. This may all sound confusing, but </span><b>checking for these leaks isn’t</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">! </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Just follow these steps: </span></p>
<ol>
<li><b></b> <a href="https://surfshark.com/webrtc-leak-test"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Perform a WebRTC leak test</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> with the VPN off. </span></li>
</ol>
</div>
<div class="wide-block">
<div class="post-img-background background-off" style="">
<img class="lozad" data-src="https://surfshark.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/vpn-test5.png" alt="WebRTC leak test window indicating a possible leak." width="968" height="473" src="https://surfshark.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/vpn-test5.png" referrerpolicy="no-referrer">
</div>
</div>
<div class="small-block">
<ol start="2">
<li><b>Perform the test again</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> with the VPN on.</span></li>
</ol>
</div>
<div class="wide-block">
<div class="post-img-background background-off" style="">
<img class="lozad" data-src="https://surfshark.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/vpn-test6.png" alt="WebRTC leak test window showing no leaks." width="968" height="473" src="https://surfshark.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/vpn-test6.png" referrerpolicy="no-referrer">
</div>
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<div class="small-block">
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As you can see, this test indicates potential WebRTC leaks in red. It also shows that </span><b>the IP address is different with and without a VPN</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">, meaning it’s working well. </span></p>
<h4><span style="font-weight: 400;">How to fix a WebRTC leak </span></h4>
<ol>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>Replace your VPN: </b><span style="font-weight: 400;">a good VPN should handle WebRTC leaks.</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>Disable split tunneling</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">: if some of your traffic isn’t protected by the VPN, this may be where the leak has sprung. </span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>Disable WebRTC:</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> it can be done on your browser, and each has its own instructions. </span></li>
</ol>
<h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">Check if you can bypass censorship</span></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">If your reason for buying a VPN was to get around government censorship or the </span><a href="https://surfshark.com/blog/how-does-firewall-work"><span style="font-weight: 400;">network firewalls</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> put up by your workplace or school, you can check if the VPN is working </span><b>by trying to access that specific content</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">So if you connect to a VPN server and are able to enter a previously unreachable website or service, the VPN is working!</span></p>
<p><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Disclaimer: we prohibit using Surfshark services for any unlawful purposes as it is against our Terms of Service. Please be sure to act in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations.</span></i></p>
<h2><span style="font-weight: 400;">How to do a VPN speed test</span></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">If your VPN is working, you may want to conduct </span><b>a VPN speed test</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">. This way, you can see the speed allowed by each VPN server. Here’s how: </span></p>
<ol>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Connect to the desired server on your VPN app; </span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Open a speed test website:</span>
<ol>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="2"><a href="https://www.speedtest.net/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"><span style="font-weight: 400;">speedtest.net</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> is the speed testing website used by basically everyone;</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="2"><a href="https://fast.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"><span style="font-weight: 400;">fast.com</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> is an internet speed test site run by Netflix.</span></li>
</ol>
</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Launch the test and wait for the results. </span></li>
</ol>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Surfshark VPN users can also use Surfshark’s inbuilt speed test. For more information, refer to our article on </span><a href="https://surfshark.com/blog/vpn-speed-test"><span style="font-weight: 400;">VPN speed tests</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. </span></p>
<h2><span style="font-weight: 400;">How to do a VPN malware test</span></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">You should do a VPN malware test</span><b> before you install it</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">. This is especially important if you’re going for a free VPN (which we don’t recommend) — they are likely to contain malware. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Fortunately, the check is very simple. </span></p>
<ol>
<li><b></b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Go to </span><a href="https://www.virustotal.com/gui/home/upload" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"><span style="font-weight: 400;">VirusTotal</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></li>
<li><b></b> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Click </span><b>Choose file</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> and choose the install file for the VPN.</span></li>
</ol>
</div>
<div class="wide-block">
<div class="post-img-background background-off" style="">
<img class="lozad" data-src="https://surfshark.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/vpn-test7.png" alt="Virus Total window" width="968" height="473" src="https://surfshark.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/vpn-test7.png" referrerpolicy="no-referrer">
</div>
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<div class="small-block">
<ol start="3">
<li><b></b> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Check the test results once it’s done. </span></li>
</ol>
</div>
<div class="wide-block">
<div class="post-img-background background-off" style="">
<img class="lozad" data-src="https://surfshark.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/vpn-test8.png" alt="Virus Total showing that SurfsharkSetup.exe has passed all the tests" width="968" height="473" src="https://surfshark.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/vpn-test8.png" referrerpolicy="no-referrer">
</div>
</div>
<div class="small-block">
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">See? That was simplicity itself. Just make sure not to use a VPN that rings any of the alarm bells on the site. </span></p>
<h2><span style="font-weight: 400;">What to do if your VPN isn’t working</span></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Sometimes you may run into situations where your VPN is not working. Often, it isn’t anything serious, but it’s best to check the source of the problem as soon as possible. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Here are some VPN troubleshooting tips you can try:</span></p>
<ol>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>Change servers:</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> there may be an issue on the server end — changing to a different server will check if that’s the case; </span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>Change protocols:</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> some VPNs still offer less-than-secure protocols, so see if any of their other protocols work better; </span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>Check if Kill Switch is on: </b><span style="font-weight: 400;">Kill Switch prevents you from connecting to the internet if the VPN isn’t connected; </span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>Check your internet connection: </b><span style="font-weight: 400;">if your internet connection isn’t working, your VPN won’t be working either;</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>Disable WebRTC:</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> you can do that via the browser settings — they’re different for every browser, but you can find some tips </span><a href="https://www.addictivetips.com/vpn/disable-webrtc/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"><span style="font-weight: 400;">here</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">;</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>Update your VPN app: </b><span style="font-weight: 400;">keep your apps updated. For Surfshark, you can do so by going to Settings > App Settings > App Version; </span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>Contact the support team: </b><span style="font-weight: 400;">the customer support team of any VPN developer should be able to help you with any questions.</span></li>
</ol>
<h2><span style="font-weight: 400;">Other reasons your VPN is still not working</span></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">So, you’ve tried everything I recommended above, but you still keep getting the “VPN not connecting” problem. A few other things might trigger this.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">These handy articles will help you research the problem further. They give a more in-depth take on other potential issues:</span></p>
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Some </span><a href="https://support.surfshark.com/hc/en-us/articles/360012450240-How-to-troubleshoot-streaming-issues-"><span style="font-weight: 400;">streaming websites may block VPN connections</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">;</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://surfshark.com/blog/are-vpns-legal"><span style="font-weight: 400;">VPNs are not allowed in your country</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">; </span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://surfshark.com/blog/how-to-know-if-youve-been-hacked"><span style="font-weight: 400;">You’ve been hacked</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. </span></li>
</ul>
<h2><span style="font-weight: 400;">In conclusion: don’t let a faulty VPN put your data at risk </span></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Checking if your VPN works is simple. Choose from any VPN tests mentioned to identify DNS, IP, or WebRTC leaks, or see if you can reach previously unreachable services. If these tests don’t work with your VPN on, something may be wrong. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Using a VPN provider like Surfshark guarantees a stable connection. It also helps you avoid data breaches and keeps you far from sneaky ISPs and hackers. I recommend anyone using an electronic device stay protected and safe in the cyber world with a VPN.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Not convinced yet? Then read an independent </span><a href="https://cybernews.com/best-vpn/surfshark-vpn-review/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Surfshark VPN review</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p>
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</section>
<div class="small-block">
<h2><span style="font-weight: 400;">FAQ</span></h2>
<h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">What’s my VPN test plan?</span></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A regular plan to test if a VPN works is to run checks for IP, DNS, and WebRTC leaks.</span></p>
<h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">What are advanced VPN tests?</span></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Advanced VPN tests check data packages to see how the VPNs handle them. These tests are time-intensive and require some technical skill on the user’s behalf. </span></p>
<h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">How do I check if my VPN is working on Android?</span></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Checking a VPN app on Android isn’t much harder than on a PC. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">First, run these tests </span><b>without a VPN</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> and write down the results:</span></p>
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://surfshark.com/dns-leak-test"><span style="font-weight: 400;">DNS leak</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> test;</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://surfshark.com/what-is-my-ip"><span style="font-weight: 400;">IP leak</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> test;</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://surfshark.com/webrtc-leak-test"><span style="font-weight: 400;">WebRTC leak</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> test. </span></li>
</ul>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Now run these tests </span><b>with a VPN</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">. If the results are the same, your VPN isn’t working. </span></p>
<h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">How do I check if my VPN is working on my iPhone?</span></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">iPhone VPN tests are easy. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">First, run these tests </span><b>without a VPN</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">:</span></p>
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://surfshark.com/dns-leak-test"><span style="font-weight: 400;">DNS leak</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> test;</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://surfshark.com/what-is-my-ip"><span style="font-weight: 400;">IP leak</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> test;</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://surfshark.com/webrtc-leak-test"><span style="font-weight: 400;">WebRTC leak</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> test. </span></li>
</ul>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Note the results, then run these tests </span><b>with a VPN</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">. If the results are the same, your VPN isn’t working. </span></p>
</div>
<div class="small-block implement-wide"></div> ]]></description>
<pubDate>Thu, 14 Sep 2023 00:00:58 GMT</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://surfshark.com/blog/vpn-test</guid>
<link>https://surfshark.com/blog/vpn-test</link>
<author><![CDATA[Martynas Klimas]]></author>
<category>All things VPN</category>
<category>Technology</category>
</item>
<item>
<title><![CDATA[The ongoing internet divide: Lower-income countries work 3 times more for 3 times slower internet]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[<figure>
<img src="https://surfshark.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Change_location_Google_hero.png" alt="Global internet divide" referrerpolicy="no-referrer">
</figure>
<div class="small-block">
<div class="lead-text">
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Today, </span><a href="https://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener"><b>5.11 billion people</b></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> (or </span><b>65.6%</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> of the global population) use the internet. However, lower-income countries still work the most for bad-quality internet. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">There is an ever-growing disproportion in internet accessibility. This imbalance goes beyond just the internet to include digital exports, computing power, cybersecurity, and similar. But how big is the divide, and how will it expand in time?</span></p>
</div>
</div>
<div class="small-block">
<div id="blog-post-toc">
<h3>Table of contents</h3>
<ol class="contents"></ol>
</div>
</div>
<div class="small-block">
<h2><b>Introducing the Digital Quality of Life Index (DQL)</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Surfshark’s </span><a href="https://surfshark.com/dql2022"><b>2022 DQL Index</b></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> reveals key insights into digital wellbeing across </span><b>117 countries</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> (or </span><b>92% </b><span style="font-weight: 400;">of the global population). Each country ranks according to five pillars: internet quality, internet affordability, e-infrastructure, e-government, and e-security.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Having analyzed the Digital Quality of Life index over the last four years, Surfshark found that </span><b>digital opportunities have proven to be more critical than ever</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">. The COVID-19 pandemic stresses how important it is for countries to ensure remote operational capacity to drive their economies forward.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Moreover, the study shows that internet accessibility varies greatly in quality and affordability depending on where we live, creating deep inequalities between lower and higher-income countries.</span></p>
<h2><b>The ongoing internet divide: growing and declining regions</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">When it comes to internet freedom, some regions develop quicker than others. </span><b>Africa</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> still faces the most significant internet divide of all the continents in this study, as it was the only continent where the internet has failed to become more affordable since last year.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Of all the pillars, </span><b>internet affordability </b><span style="font-weight: 400;">shows the highest inequality. As of 2022, the internet in </span><b>Africa</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> is </span><b>83% </b><span style="font-weight: 400;">less affordable than in </span><b>Oceania</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">, the region with the most affordable internet. In fact, the study’s data shows that </span><b>the gap between these regions has widened</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> by more than 20 percentage points.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The heatmap below shows that the world’s poorest countries are still paying the most for bad-quality internet; a trend that is primed to continue for the foreseeable future.</span></p>
</div>
<div class="wide-block">
<div class="embed-desktop"><div class="infogram-embed" data-id="5fec66cb-eb56-4926-bced-5db1db115d37" data-type="interactive" data-title="The poorest countries pay the most for the worst quality internet"></div>
<p></p>
</div></div>
<div class="small-block">
<h2><b>Lower-income countries work 3x more for 3x slower internet </b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">People from lower-income countries are at an instant disadvantage when it comes to internet accessibility. Both mobile and broadband internet are 3 times slower than in higher-income countries but are 3 times less affordable:</span></p>
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>Mobile internet: </b><span style="font-weight: 400;">People from lower-income countries work approximately 11 minutes more than higher-income countries to afford a single 1GB mobile internet plan that is also 49 Mbps slower. The average mobile internet speed in lower-income countries is 26 Mbps. You likely wouldn’t have any trouble streaming a movie, but you would struggle to have a</span><b> video conferencing call (which requires at least 50 Mbps speed)</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>Broadband internet:</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> lower-income countries work 8 hours more than higher-income countries to afford a fixed broadband plan that is 83 Mbps slower on average. Unfortunately, fixed broadband internet in lower-income countries is just slightly faster than mobile (34 Mbps), which is still not enough for a smooth video call.</span></li>
<li><b>The lowest-income countries experience the sharpest internet divide</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">: in Mali and Ethiopia, people work 14 times more than the highest-income countries for mobile internet that is 68 mbps slower. Broadband internet in these lowest-income countries is just 19mbps on average (129 mbps slower than the highest-income countries), but it’s 8 times less affordable.</span></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="wide-block">
<div class="embed-desktop"><div class="infogram-embed" data-id="b6f419ae-dfad-453d-ba02-ab83fbdaca5f" data-type="interactive" data-title="Compared to high-income countries, low-income countries work up to 14 times more to afford the internet"></div>
<p></p>
</div></div>
<div class="small-block">
<p><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">In the analysis above, we consider lower-income countries to be combined “low income” and “lower middle income”, according to </span></i><a href="https://datatopics.worldbank.org/world-development-indicators/the-world-by-income-and-region.html" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Worldbank</span></i></a><i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> (2021) data. Higher-income countries are considered to be those labeled “upper middle income” and “high income”, thus creating these two subcategories.</span></i></p>
<h2><b>Addressing the inequality in e-infrastructure </b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">High-speed internet is a massive investment for any county, and the regions with the best e-infrastructure will continue to climb in global market value. </span></p>
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Of the ten highest-ranking countries in e-infrastructure, </span><b>96%</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> of the population uses the internet. In the ten lowest-ranking countries, only </span><b>29%</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> do. </span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>8.2%</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> of the global population lives in a country with </span><b>50%</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> internet penetration or less</span><b>,</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> whereas in </span><b>Europe</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">, almost </span><b>90% </b><span style="font-weight: 400;">of the population has access to the internet. The lowest internet penetration is found in Africa. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-weight: 400;">A country’s </span><b>GDP is not critical</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> in developing e-infrastructure. More than</span><b> 20%</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> of the examined countries in the DQL Index have a lower-than-average GDP but higher-than-average e-infrastructure.</span></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="wide-block">
<div class="embed-desktop"><div class="infogram-embed" data-id="4beb4203-a9d2-420a-b37a-7a643c09c78a" data-type="interactive" data-title="Global inequality in e-infrastructure lays the ground for the global internet divide"></div>
<p></p>
</div></div>
<div class="small-block">
<h2><b>Why is affordable internet vital to economic growth? </b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In the regions where internet quality and affordability are the highest, GDP per capita also seems to show the highest growth. Improved internet quality and affordability can help countries benefit by exporting </span><b>Information and Communications Technology (ICT)</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Examples include software applications, operating systems, web-based information/learning, cloud services, voice over IP (VoIP), or email service exports.</span></p>
</div>
<div class="wide-block">
<div class="embed-desktop"><div class="infogram-embed" data-id="58a2d90a-2713-49a5-bdca-e56bcb4c07ea" data-type="interactive" data-title="Affordable and good-quality internet is vital to economic growth"></div>
<p></p>
</div></div>
<div class="small-block">
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>European countries</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> make up more than </span><b>50% of global ICT exports</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">, ranking second to </span><b>Oceania</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> in terms of internet quality and affordability. </span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>Asia</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> makes up a third of all global exports, which primarily come from </span><b>China </b><span style="font-weight: 400;">and </span><b>India.</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> However, Asia’s ICT exports per capita are ten times lower than Europe’s. </span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>Africa</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> exports ICT services the least, with </span><b>27 countries</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> exporting more ICT services than Africa combined. However, both the </span><b>Philippines</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> and </span><b>India</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> have high ICT export rates, despite having a lower digital quality of life rating.</span></li>
</ul>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">For the full infographic, storing all the graphs in this blog post, visit the link </span><a href="https://infogram.com/the-internet-divide-around-the-world-in-2022-1h7k230jzkkev2x" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"><span style="font-weight: 400;">here</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. </span></p>
<p><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">DQL is a study conducted by Surfshark, a cybersecurity company. If you have questions, visit the interactive </span></i><a href="https://surfshark.com/dql2022"><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">DQL 2022 page</span></i></a><i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> or contact us at </span></i><a href="https://surfshark.com/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#87eae2e3eee6c7f4f2f5e1f4efe6f5eca9e4e8ea"><i><span style="font-weight: 400;"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="f69b93929f97b685838490859e97849dd895999b">[email protected]</span></span></i></a><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></i></p>
<h2><span style="font-weight: 400;">Methodology</span></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This internet divide study uses the Digital Quality of Life index 2022 and 2021 editions’ data. For the purposes of this article, internet inequality was analyzed across four categories: e-infrastructure, internet quality, affordability, and countries’ economic wellbeing. Scope: 110 countries are in both years’ analyses; thus, we can compare improvements across various pillars. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Note: The internet is considered to be of low/high quality if a country’s digital quality of life index (DQL) is lower/higher than the global average. The same can be said for internet affordability.</span></p>
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>Internet affordability</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> determines how much time people have to work to afford a stable internet connection. The affordability of the internet connection directly impacts its accessibility. A less affordable internet affects digital well-being and vice versa.</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>Internet quality</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> measures how fast and stable the internet connectivity in a country is and how well it’s improving. The quality of internet connectivity greatly depends on its speed and stability. Slow and unstable connections inhibit daily use and diminish work efficiency, while fast and stable connections allow for better communication, high-quality content, and more.</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>Electronic infrastructure</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> determines how well-developed and inclusive a country’s existing electronic infrastructure is. High-functioning e-infrastructure enables people to use the internet daily for many purposes, such as studying, e-commerce, entertainment, banking, and similar, meaning a better digital experience.</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>Economic wellbeing </b><span style="font-weight: 400;">is measured by GDP per capita (monetary value of final goods and services produced in a country per person in a given year and is used to indicate wealth and prosperity) and exported ICT services (ICT services are an aggregation of computer and telecommunications services) that are directly linked to the internet availability.</span></li>
</ul>
<h3><b>Sources</b></h3>
<p><a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/16-MY_3tQLuMRA1MuroLSs6baghhKyX33Ub25vFtwfyk/edit#gid=0" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Internet divide research material</span></a></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Digital quality of life. (2022). </span><a href="https://surfshark.com/dql2022"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Electronic infrastructure, internet quality and affordability</span></a></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Digital quality of life. (2021). </span><a href="https://surfshark.com/dql2021"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Electronic infrastructure, internet quality and affordability</span></a></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Statistics Times. (2022). </span><a href="https://statisticstimes.com/economy/gdp-indicators-2021.php" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"><span style="font-weight: 400;">GDP Indicators 2020-2021</span></a></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Internet World Stats. (2022). </span><a href="https://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Internet Usage Statistics Dec 31, 2021</span></a></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Worldmeter. (2022). </span><a href="https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/population-by-country/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"><span style="font-weight: 400;">World Population</span></a></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">UNCTAD. (2021). </span><a href="https://unctadstat.unctad.org/EN/Index.html" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"><span style="font-weight: 400;">ICT services exports 2020</span></a></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Worldbank. (2021). </span><a href="https://datatopics.worldbank.org/world-development-indicators/the-world-by-income-and-region.html" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Income levels by country</span></a></p>
</div>
<div class="small-block implement-wide"></div> ]]></description>
<pubDate>Thu, 07 Sep 2023 06:37:41 GMT</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://surfshark.com/blog/internetdivide</guid>
<link>https://surfshark.com/blog/internetdivide</link>
<author><![CDATA[Surfshark]]></author>
<category>News</category>
</item>
<item>
<title><![CDATA[The ongoing internet divide: Lower-income countries work 3 times more for 3 times slower internet]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[<figure>
<img src="https://surfshark.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Change_location_Google_hero.png" alt="Global internet divide" referrerpolicy="no-referrer">
</figure>
<div class="small-block">
<div class="lead-text">
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Today, </span><a href="https://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener"><b>5.11 billion people</b></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> (or </span><b>65.6%</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> of the global population) use the internet. However, lower-income countries still work the most for bad-quality internet. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">There is an ever-growing disproportion in internet accessibility. This imbalance goes beyond just the internet to include digital exports, computing power, cybersecurity, and similar. But how big is the divide, and how will it expand in time?</span></p>
</div>
</div>
<div class="small-block">
<div id="blog-post-toc">
<h3>Table of contents</h3>
<ol class="contents"></ol>
</div>
</div>
<div class="small-block">
<h2><b>Introducing the Digital Quality of Life Index (DQL)</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Surfshark’s </span><a href="https://surfshark.com/dql2022"><b>2022 DQL Index</b></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> reveals key insights into digital wellbeing across </span><b>117 countries</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> (or </span><b>92% </b><span style="font-weight: 400;">of the global population). Each country ranks according to five pillars: internet quality, internet affordability, e-infrastructure, e-government, and e-security.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Having analyzed the Digital Quality of Life index over the last four years, Surfshark found that </span><b>digital opportunities have proven to be more critical than ever</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">. The COVID-19 pandemic stresses how important it is for countries to ensure remote operational capacity to drive their economies forward.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Moreover, the study shows that internet accessibility varies greatly in quality and affordability depending on where we live, creating deep inequalities between lower and higher-income countries.</span></p>
<h2><b>The ongoing internet divide: growing and declining regions</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">When it comes to internet freedom, some regions develop quicker than others. </span><b>Africa</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> still faces the most significant internet divide of all the continents in this study, as it was the only continent where the internet has failed to become more affordable since last year.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Of all the pillars, </span><b>internet affordability </b><span style="font-weight: 400;">shows the highest inequality. As of 2022, the internet in </span><b>Africa</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> is </span><b>83% </b><span style="font-weight: 400;">less affordable than in </span><b>Oceania</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">, the region with the most affordable internet. In fact, the study’s data shows that </span><b>the gap between these regions has widened</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> by more than 20 percentage points.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The heatmap below shows that the world’s poorest countries are still paying the most for bad-quality internet; a trend that is primed to continue for the foreseeable future.</span></p>
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<div class="embed-desktop"><div class="infogram-embed" data-id="5fec66cb-eb56-4926-bced-5db1db115d37" data-type="interactive" data-title="The poorest countries pay the most for the worst quality internet"></div>
<p></p>
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<div class="small-block">
<h2><b>Lower-income countries work 3x more for 3x slower internet </b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">People from lower-income countries are at an instant disadvantage when it comes to internet accessibility. Both mobile and broadband internet are 3 times slower than in higher-income countries but are 3 times less affordable:</span></p>
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>Mobile internet: </b><span style="font-weight: 400;">People from lower-income countries work approximately 11 minutes more than higher-income countries to afford a single 1GB mobile internet plan that is also 49 Mbps slower. The average mobile internet speed in lower-income countries is 26 Mbps. You likely wouldn’t have any trouble streaming a movie, but you would struggle to have a</span><b> video conferencing call (which requires at least 50 Mbps speed)</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>Broadband internet:</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> lower-income countries work 8 hours more than higher-income countries to afford a fixed broadband plan that is 83 Mbps slower on average. Unfortunately, fixed broadband internet in lower-income countries is just slightly faster than mobile (34 Mbps), which is still not enough for a smooth video call.</span></li>
<li><b>The lowest-income countries experience the sharpest internet divide</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">: in Mali and Ethiopia, people work 14 times more than the highest-income countries for mobile internet that is 68 mbps slower. Broadband internet in these lowest-income countries is just 19mbps on average (129 mbps slower than the highest-income countries), but it’s 8 times less affordable.</span></li>
</ul>
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<div class="wide-block">
<div class="embed-desktop"><div class="infogram-embed" data-id="b6f419ae-dfad-453d-ba02-ab83fbdaca5f" data-type="interactive" data-title="Compared to high-income countries, low-income countries work up to 14 times more to afford the internet"></div>
<p></p>
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<p><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">In the analysis above, we consider lower-income countries to be combined “low income” and “lower middle income”, according to </span></i><a href="https://datatopics.worldbank.org/world-development-indicators/the-world-by-income-and-region.html" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Worldbank</span></i></a><i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> (2021) data. Higher-income countries are considered to be those labeled “upper middle income” and “high income”, thus creating these two subcategories.</span></i></p>
<h2><b>Addressing the inequality in e-infrastructure </b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">High-speed internet is a massive investment for any county, and the regions with the best e-infrastructure will continue to climb in global market value. </span></p>
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Of the ten highest-ranking countries in e-infrastructure, </span><b>96%</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> of the population uses the internet. In the ten lowest-ranking countries, only </span><b>29%</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> do. </span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>8.2%</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> of the global population lives in a country with </span><b>50%</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> internet penetration or less</span><b>,</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> whereas in </span><b>Europe</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">, almost </span><b>90% </b><span style="font-weight: 400;">of the population has access to the internet. The lowest internet penetration is found in Africa. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-weight: 400;">A country’s </span><b>GDP is not critical</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> in developing e-infrastructure. More than</span><b> 20%</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> of the examined countries in the DQL Index have a lower-than-average GDP but higher-than-average e-infrastructure.</span></li>
</ul>
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<div class="embed-desktop"><div class="infogram-embed" data-id="4beb4203-a9d2-420a-b37a-7a643c09c78a" data-type="interactive" data-title="Global inequality in e-infrastructure lays the ground for the global internet divide"></div>
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<h2><b>Why is affordable internet vital to economic growth? </b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In the regions where internet quality and affordability are the highest, GDP per capita also seems to show the highest growth. Improved internet quality and affordability can help countries benefit by exporting </span><b>Information and Communications Technology (ICT)</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Examples include software applications, operating systems, web-based information/learning, cloud services, voice over IP (VoIP), or email service exports.</span></p>
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<div class="wide-block">
<div class="embed-desktop"><div class="infogram-embed" data-id="58a2d90a-2713-49a5-bdca-e56bcb4c07ea" data-type="interactive" data-title="Affordable and good-quality internet is vital to economic growth"></div>
<p></p>
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<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>European countries</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> make up more than </span><b>50% of global ICT exports</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">, ranking second to </span><b>Oceania</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> in terms of internet quality and affordability. </span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>Asia</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> makes up a third of all global exports, which primarily come from </span><b>China </b><span style="font-weight: 400;">and </span><b>India.</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> However, Asia’s ICT exports per capita are ten times lower than Europe’s. </span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>Africa</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> exports ICT services the least, with </span><b>27 countries</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> exporting more ICT services than Africa combined. However, both the </span><b>Philippines</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> and </span><b>India</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> have high ICT export rates, despite having a lower digital quality of life rating.</span></li>
</ul>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">For the full infographic, storing all the graphs in this blog post, visit the link </span><a href="https://infogram.com/the-internet-divide-around-the-world-in-2022-1h7k230jzkkev2x" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"><span style="font-weight: 400;">here</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. </span></p>
<p><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">DQL is a study conducted by Surfshark, a cybersecurity company. If you have questions, visit the interactive </span></i><a href="https://surfshark.com/dql2022"><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">DQL 2022 page</span></i></a><i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> or contact us at </span></i><a href="https://surfshark.com/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#e08d85848981a093959286938881928bce838f8d"><i><span style="font-weight: 400;"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="99f4fcfdf0f8d9eaecebffeaf1f8ebf2b7faf6f4">[email protected]</span></span></i></a><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></i></p>
<h2><span style="font-weight: 400;">Methodology</span></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This internet divide study uses the Digital Quality of Life index 2022 and 2021 editions’ data. For the purposes of this article, internet inequality was analyzed across four categories: e-infrastructure, internet quality, affordability, and countries’ economic wellbeing. Scope: 110 countries are in both years’ analyses; thus, we can compare improvements across various pillars. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Note: The internet is considered to be of low/high quality if a country’s digital quality of life index (DQL) is lower/higher than the global average. The same can be said for internet affordability.</span></p>
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>Internet affordability</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> determines how much time people have to work to afford a stable internet connection. The affordability of the internet connection directly impacts its accessibility. A less affordable internet affects digital well-being and vice versa.</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>Internet quality</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> measures how fast and stable the internet connectivity in a country is and how well it’s improving. The quality of internet connectivity greatly depends on its speed and stability. Slow and unstable connections inhibit daily use and diminish work efficiency, while fast and stable connections allow for better communication, high-quality content, and more.</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>Electronic infrastructure</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> determines how well-developed and inclusive a country’s existing electronic infrastructure is. High-functioning e-infrastructure enables people to use the internet daily for many purposes, such as studying, e-commerce, entertainment, banking, and similar, meaning a better digital experience.</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><b>Economic wellbeing </b><span style="font-weight: 400;">is measured by GDP per capita (monetary value of fi |
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