The new NFL season has gotten underway and we’re in for a real treat this year as the top football teams in the world take each other on for the greatest prize in all of American Football. We’ve already seen some incredible moments from comebacks to upsets and close-fought games, but the season is still long and there’s a ton of action still to come.
You might be struggling to find some good NFL streams, especially because premium streaming services such as ESPN and Amazon Prime can be incredibly pricey. Luckily though there are some free NFL live streams that you could tune into as long as you’re using the right cybersecurity tools to keep your device safe.
Finding these free NFL live streams is much easier than you might expect. But, there are some important guidelines that you need to follow when choosing a streaming site and finding the perfect tool to keep you safe while you enjoy the game. Keep reading to get all the details and tune into the next game for free!
Streaming NFL For Free From Anywhere
If you’ve ever tried to live stream NFL games from outside the US you’ll know just how difficult it can be. In the majority of cases, you’ll encounter an error message that tells you that the content you are trying to watch is not available in your region. Unfortunately, you’ll still get this message even if you’re a paying subscriber to one of the premium streaming services that broadcast NFL games live.
The problem is that media companies need to pay millions of dollars to secure the broadcasting rights which allow them to stream NFL games live for their customers to enjoy. However, along with these broadcasting rights, media companies also need to follow strict rules and regulations such as where they are allowed to broadcast the games.
Streaming sites use your IP address to determine if you are within the correct region or not. An IP address is a unique string of numbers used to identify your device on the internet. One of the primary roles that an IP address needs to fulfill is that it gives websites information about your location. This allows them to send you targeted ads based on your physical location, and it also allows websites to decide whether you need to be blocked from accessing geographically locked content, such as NFL live streams example — this is known as geo-blocking.
The other way to watch live NFL games is to head over to free sports live-streaming sites like 123Sport or USTVGO. However, the disclaimer with these sites is that they do not host the streams. In other words, you don’t know what the true source of the stream is, and it could be from unlicensed or unsecured sources. This could put your device and your data at risk.
Why You Need a VPN
Whichever live streaming avenue you choose to venture into, you’ll have a much better game day experience if you’re using a virtual private network. It’s better known as a VPN, but this cybersecurity tool has become incredibly popular in recent years.
The main purpose of a VPN is to encrypt your internet connection which will keep your device safe and secure while you browse the internet. This means that if you’re venturing into free live-streaming sites, your device and your data will be kept safe while you’re enjoying the game. VPNs are so powerful that not even the government or your internet service provider can keep track of your internet history or your internet traffic — making this the ultimate tool for privacy and security online.
But, VPNs have another feature that is incredibly useful to anyone who wants to tune into the game-day action, especially if you’re outside of the US. VPNs allow you to connect to secure global servers in other countries or cities around the world. In doing so, your real IP address will be hidden from the website, and your device will adopt the IP address of the server that you have connected to instead.
For example, if you’re trying to watch the NFL from Australia, all you need to do is connect to a server in California. Once you’re connected, your IP address will be masked and your device’s location will be spoofed. The website will be tricked into thinking that you are accessing it from California, even if you’re physically located in Australia. This will allow you to bypass geo-blocking and tune into a geo-blocked NFL live stream.
Here’s How to Find the Perfect VPN
It’s not just about installing the first VPN you find on Google though. There’s an important rule that you always need to follow when it comes to VPNs and live streaming. There are no cutting corners here, you need to make sure to use a premium VPN at all times. Free VPNs might be tempting, but they do come with a ton of drawbacks such as slower connection speeds, fewer global servers to choose from, more ads, less security, and daily data limits that you need to adhere to.