Privacy & Security 6 min. read

How to get a Finnish IP address

How to get a Finnish IP address

The easiest way to improve your digital privacy is to switch your IP address using a VPN. We’ll walk you through the process, explaining how to get a Finnish IP address and letting you know all of the other ways a VPN can help you out. 

How to get a Finnish IP address in minutes

  1. Before we begin, you’ll need a Hotspot Shield Family or Premium Family plan. If you’re not already registered, you can do so on our sign up page
  2. Download and install Hotspot Shield. Each subscription lets you connect five simultaneous connections, so feel free to add the app to any devices you use often
  3. Log in and choose one of our high-speed Finnish servers
  4. Wait for a few seconds until you’re successfully connected
  5. Congratulations, you’re now browsing with a Finnish IP address. Better still, your traffic is encrypted, meaning it can’t be read by your ISP, government, or employer. 

Why should you use a VPN in Finland?

People tend to assume that their browsing habits are private but that’s not actually true. Your ISP can see every site you visit, how long you spend there, and how often you return to it. Public wifi isn’t any more anonymous, since these simply allow the hotspot owner (and their ISP) to monitor your activities instead. Additionally, hotspot owners can block whatever websites they like, meaning you may not even be able to access the content you were looking for. 

VPNs sidestep both of these problems by encrypting your data. Since nobody else has access to the (effectively impossible to guess) decryption key, they can’t see what you get up to online, and can’t tell if you’re trying to visit a site that’s been blacklisted. In other words, once you connect to a VPN, you’re free to access whatever you like safe in the knowledge that nobody is looking over your shoulder. 

Finland actually has one of the lowest malware infection rates in the world. However, attackers are constantly evaluating their methods and finding new approaches, so it only takes one mistake to find yourself at risk. 

Hotspot Shield takes some of this workload off your hands by scanning websites for malware and identifying phishing attempts automatically. It’ll even let you know if you’re on a legitimate website that has been compromised somehow. And as for those innovative attackers? We’re already blocking over three million shady websites and the list gets longer every day. 

Here’s why Hotspot Shield is the best VPN for Finland

There’s nothing worse than signing up for a VPN only to find out at the last second that it won’t let you browse the internet the way you want. Perhaps it has a strict data cap or forbids users from torrenting. Maybe it’s too slow to be useful or doesn’t work with your favorite streaming services. 

We’re all about keeping things simple. Subscribers can browse and torrent as much as they like, on any server. We even have specially-configured servers for streaming and gaming so you can spend less time in the menus and more time doing the things you like. Best of all, Hotspot Shield works in places where most other VPNs don’t, like China and the United Arab Emirates. 

Speedy, secure servers that won’t let you down

People have come to expect slow speeds from their VPN, but we’ve proven again and again that this doesn’t have to be the case. Our custom protocol, Hydra, was built from the ground up with speed in mind, and delivers significantly higher speeds than OpenVPN, even over long distances. In fact, Ookla, the world’s most popular speed testing service, found that its speeds actually increased 26 percent while using Hotspot Shield. 

Of course, although Hotspot Shield was shown to be more than twice as fast as its nearest rival, we didn’t stop there. Our team has made a huge number of behind-the-scenes tweaks to keep our network running as smoothly and efficiently as possible. The result is quick, reliable Finnish servers that are suitable for any task you have in mind. 

How to stream Finnish TV with a VPN

If you’re traveling abroad, you might have noticed that some of your usual streaming services don’t work anymore. Alternatively, they might have an entirely different selection of content. Web blocking can happen on a smaller scale too, with some workplaces restricting access to sites like Facebook. 

It’s actually pretty easy to regain access to your usual services, though: just connect to a VPN. Not only can you bypass web-blocking tools, but you’ll appear to be wherever your chosen server is. In other words, using a server in Finland will allow you to stream Viaplay, YLE Areena, Ruutu, C More, Netflix, HBO, and Disney+ from anywhere in the world. 

How to change your IP address in Finland (or anywhere else)

Here’s how to get a new IP address while traveling in Finland:

  1. Log into the Hotspot Shield app
  2. Click on the arrow in the Virtual location box to open the server list
  3. Type “Finland” (without quotes) into the search bar, or just scroll down until you see it in the list
  4. Click the Finland button, then hover over “Finland” on the next page. Click the Connect button on the right-hand side of the screen
  5. The app will now try to connect you to the best available Finnish server. When it’s done, you’ll see another screen with information such as your new IP address, current session length, and peak speed
  6. That’s all there is to it. You now appear to be browsing the web from Finland, and since your traffic is encrypted, your browsing history is hidden from hackers, your ISP, and the owner of any public networks you might use. 

Frequently Asked Questions

What can I watch with a Finnish VPN?

Most streaming services are geo-restricted these days. Some simply won’t work unless you have a Finnish IP address, while others offer entirely new content in Finland. Here are a few of the channels that you’ll be able to stream while connected to a Finnish VPN server:

Do I need a VPN if I live in Finland? 

There’s no such thing as too much privacy, especially given that the Finnish government has been slowly expanding its online surveillance capabilities for the past few years. Even if you’re not concerned about people seeing your browsing habits, you might want to consider what could happen if a hacker intercepted sensitive information, such as login credentials. A VPN’s encryption prevents this, allowing you to browse safely even on poorly-secured public wifi. 

What else can a VPN do for you?

Although most people use VPNs to enhance their online privacy, these services can help in several other ways. They enable users to torrent anonymously, for instance, and to access their usual content in places where it might not normally be available. The Hydra protocol even allows you to browse the web and communicate freely in countries with strict online censorship. 

There’s more! VPNs protect against a wide range of online threats, including Man-in-the-Middle or denial of service attacks. Further, with our new anti-malware and anti-phishing tools, Hotspot Shield is an invaluable tool for keeping your devices and personal data safe. 

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