Introduction
While technology has improved dramatically over the past decade, cybersecurity remains a troubling sector, as many tech companies seem to emphasize profits or reputation over security. If you don’t understand what I’m talking about, just take a look at the numerous data breaches and leaks that have occurred over the past few years.
This is not to say that security improvements haven’t been made or are being made, just that companies’ unwillingness to adapt and evolve their security slows down the rate at which improvements are introduced.
However, not all companies are the same, and one company that recently put themselves at the center of discussion is HP. Known mostly for their PCs and printers, HP recently advocated for an increase in security, though their avocation was not as direct as I make it sound.
Joining HP as the center of discussion is ExpressVPN, a cybersecurity company dedicated to bringing users a reliable VPN. Both HP and ExpressVPN have joined forces in an attempt to not only bring cybersecurity to more users, but to raise awareness of cybersecurity in general.
What do I mean by this? What did HP and ExpressVPN do to attract the attention of the cybersecurity sector? Allow me to explain.
Press Releases and Pressing Partnerships
On September 30th, HP published a press release for their new laptop, the Spectre x360 13, a reiteration of the previous Spectre 13 model. Throughout the press release, HP brought attention to many features of the laptop, such as the massive increase in performance, 4K OLED display, 22-hour battery life, and numerous security features.
These security features include being able to turn off the webcam, mute the microphone, login to Windows with Windows Hello and with the fingerprint scanner, and a few more improvements. However, none of these features amount to HP’s surprise announcement.
At the very end of the security feature list, HP mentions their partnership with ExpressVPN, a–you guessed it–VPN company. The new Spectre laptops will come with ExpressVPN preinstalled, and as a bonus, users will receive a 30-day free trial to the VPN, allowing users to try it before locking themselves into a subscription.
Why is this so important? Is this really worth writing an article over? Yes. Yes, it is, and let me explain why. But first, let me go over what HP is doing and why ExpressVPN is helping them.
An Effort to Keep Things Secure
The reason I mentioned the poor state of cybersecurity in the tech industry earlier is because I wanted to make a point. Tech companies don’t value security as much as their users might, and this leads to a sense of distrust and paranoia on the user’s side. HP and ExpressVPN understand this, which is why their partnership exists.
Take this excerpt from ExpressVPN’s blog post about the new partnership, for instance:
“Our customers connect to a variety of unsecured public Wi-Fi networks on a daily basis, often without realizing the security and privacy risks,” said Mike Nash, chief technologist and vice president of Customer Experience, Personal Systems, HP Inc. “We are excited to be adding ExpressVPN to the set of security offerings for our consumer customers.”
As seen above, HP looks forward to increasing awareness of security and improving the security of their users, especially for their Spectre users, as the Spectre line is one of their most popular product lines.
HP recognizes the need for better security, and what better way to start the movement for better security than to partner with a trusted VPN company. After all, not many people know what VPNs even are, though the usage of them has increased considerably throughout the years.
HP pre installing a VPN and offering a free trial of it on their new, sure to be popular laptops allows users who may not know what it is to use it and gather an understanding of why they may want to use one. Laptop users especially need a VPN, as many of them spend their time on public networks–networks ripe with threats, such as hackers and cybercriminals.
However, one question remains: why ExpressVPN? Out of the hundreds of VPNs available, why did HP choose ExpressVPN? First, let’s get into why VPNs are important tools, especially for laptop users and other users who find themselves outside their home and on other public networks.
The Importance of a VPN
Laptop users spend a lot of their time outside the house, and, since they need Internet access, will mooch off whatever public network they can find. The coffee shop stereotype exists for a reason.
However, a public network is open all kinds of threats. Since there’s 1.) no security protocols enabled and 2.) no blacklist/whitelist of any kind, anyone can access the network and do as they please, as long as there’s no filter on the network.
But even then, a filter can’t save other users from being hacked, and public network hacks are all too common nowadays. See, when you’re on a public network, the data being sent to and from your device is unencrypted, meaning anyone can intercept and read the data, given they have the required tools–tools that are easy to find and obtain.
A VPN solves this issue though. With a VPN, your true IP address is hidden and your data is encrypted. This means that, unlike your unencrypted data, no one can see or read the data being sent to and from your device.
VPNs also work well if you happen to be in an area where certain content is blocked. For example, if you visit China, you’ll notice that you won’t be able to watch your favorite Netflix show due to the app being blocked. However, a VPN ignores any restrictions that might be placed upon the country’s network, making them perfect for geo-blocked content.
Overall, a VPN is an almost-necessary piece of software in today’s world. Besides the price of admission, there’s no reason to not use one, especially if you find yourself on networks that isn’t secure and populated with many other people.
Now that I’ve explained the purpose of a VPN, it’s not hard to see why HP would partner with a VPN company for their laptops, right? But there’s still the question of why HP picked ExpressVPN specifically.
A Choice Based on Trust
As I mentioned earlier, ExpressVPN ranks among the most trusted VPNs available. However, the one thing that separates ExpressVPN from the rest (and what HP may have been interested in) is their TrustedServer technology.
See, a VPN accomplishes one thing: keeping your data out of the hands of anyone except yourself; a VPN encrypts your data and hides it from anyone who may be looking to hack your device or steal your information.
Despite this, some VPNs have been found guilty of hoarding user data, selling it to other companies for profit. Bigger VPN companies, such as ExpressVPN or NordVPN, promise to erase your information regularly to avoid the selling of it and to retain your trust.
ExpressVPN takes this one step further with their TrustedServer technology, as they call it. Their TrustedServer technology ensures that your data is never stored. Never.
This may sound impossible at first but remember that VPNs use servers to operate. Most servers use hard drive as their means of storing information, but ExpressVPN decided against this method of storage, opting for a more volatile form of storage.
Instead, their VPN servers operate entirely on RAM storage, meaning that every time the server is shut down and restarted, all the data is wiped, as if it never existed. Furthermore, since the data never touches a hard drive, there’s no risk of probing for information if anyone was to ever attempt it. All data that passes through to these servers is erased from existence with every shutdown, keeping all their users as secure as possible, at least when talking about servers.
Their TrustedServer technology ensures that every user is protected to the fullest extent possible, which I believe is why HP decided to partner with them over anyone else. However, that’s not to say other VPN companies can’t be partnered with other tech companies. In fact, that’s what I want to talk about next.
Why This Partnership Matters
I know that I’m throwing a lot of information at you, and I don’t blame you for brushing it all off and moving along with your day. However, if you care about the tech industry, I implore you to focus on this story and think about the importance of HP and ExpressVPN’s partnership.
The only way tech companies will start focusing on security is if other companies attempt it with critical acclaim. Most businesses play it safe, so unless someone else succeeds with a perceived risk, why even bother?
There’s no way HP and ExpressVPN will fail with this partnership though. The only way it could fail is if HP made a bad laptop, and judging from their track record, that’s not going to happen.
Of course, I could always be wrong and this article would age like spoiled milk, but what’s the downside to this partnership? HP will only be pre installing ExpressVPN onto the laptop, and it’s up to the user to activate the 30-day free trial. Best case scenario, the user becomes aware of the need for a VPN and where they can get one. Worst case scenario, the user leaves the program alone or uninstalls it. I’m sure the worst case scenario will be the scenario for a few users who don’t care, but hopefully many give it a chance.
If this partnership deal succeeds, then the doors are open for other partnerships between tech companies and cybersecurity companies. In fact, ExpressVPN has already hinted at more partnerships, stating
“And HP is not the only major technology brand that recognizes the need for VPNs—we’re excited to say that in the coming months we’ll have even more partnership announcements to share.”
With companies getting behind cybersecurity products and supporting them to their fullest extent, not only will more users become aware of these products, but the increased awareness and attention will help speed up the growth of the cybersecurity sector–a sector in dire need of growth.
Of course, like any progress in tech, we won’t see this come to fruition until later down the line, possibly in the next couple years. However, as users become more and more concerned with their privacy on the Internet, companies will be expected to cater to them, lest they be left behind and another, security-conscious company steals their user base away from them.
Conclusion
While I would love to focus on HP’s new laptop and their new laptop only, I’d be doing not just myself, but you all, an injustice by not sharing the information behind HP and ExpressVPN’s partnership.
I’d also be committing an injustice by not explaining why their partnership is so important. As the need for better security grows, companies currently sit and do nothing, acting as if everything is ok, and that’s because, for the majority of users, everything is okay. Not many know the true details of why cybersecurity is so important and the current state of cybersecurity.
However, partnerships like the one we discussed in great detail open the door for all this information to become widely-known, increasing the speed at which better security standards are implemented in the tech industry.
Yes, it’s a slightly boring subject to talk about, but it’s an incredibly important one–same as politics. For years, many have called for and fought for better security and privacy for users, as questionable privacy and security is not a new thing, nor will it ever be a non-existent thing.
But if companies like HP and ExpressVPN continue to push cybersecurity amongst the general population, we may yet just reach a point where we don’t have to be paranoid about how companies treat our data, though that day may be far off.