09 August 2022

09 August 2022 – Daily Mains Answer Writing & Model Answer

Q1. Why do individuals utilize VPN Services? (250 words)

Paper & Topic: GS III à Science and Technology

Model Answer:

• Virtual private network, or VPN. A VPN, in its simplest form, offers an encrypted server and conceals your IP address from businesses, authorities, and would-be hackers. When using shared or public Wi-Fi, a VPN secures your identity and keeps your data hidden from snooping online eyes.
• Instead of routing your internet connection to a hosted server, a VPN gets around your own ISP. Users can “relocate” themselves and access the internet from almost any place thanks to the widespread distribution of servers. Encryption provides an additional degree of security, especially for companies that routinely use remote access. Additionally, it can be a useful tool for streaming, gaming, and travel.

Why do individuals utilize VPN Services:

Wi-Fi security in public areas:

• Public Wi-Fi is useful, but security suffers as a result. Someone might be watching your online behavior while you’re checking emails at a nearby coffee shop or mindlessly scrolling through social media at the airport.
• By disguising your browser history, financial information, account passwords, and more from malicious online strangers when you are using other networks, a VPN secures your data.

Your Internet Service Provider’s Data Privacy:

• You are less likely to be attacked by strangers at home than you are in a public place when using Wi-Fi. Your data is nevertheless still in danger.
• All of your internet data is accessible to your ISP, or internet service provider—Comcast, Spectrum, Verizon, or any other business you pay each month for Wi-Fi. When, where, and how you browse are all visible to your ISP.
• Even if you are utilizing the “private” browsing mode, this data can still be gathered and sold to marketers and could be harmful if it falls into the wrong hands in the event of a data breach. Your IP address can be hidden from your own ISP with the aid of a VPN.

Data Security from the Services and Apps You Use:

• You’ve taken more than just your ISP inside your home, which could be a risk. Unfortunately, a lot of our favourite applications and websites, most notably Facebook, have come under fire for how they’ve handled user data.
• A VPN will stop websites and apps from linking your online activity to your computer’s IP address. Additionally, it can restrict who can access your location and browsing history.

Protecting Your Government’s Data:

• Even while many ISPs, applications, and internet data hubs claim they don’t sell your surfing information to governments, the information nevertheless ends up in their hands.
• Americans are more aware of the various ways the government monitors and collects their data since 2013, when Edward Snowden first revealed Verizon had been selling users’ internet and phone data to the NSA. Several laws were passed to limit governmental surveillance in the wake of the Snowden leaks and the ensuing controversy.
• However, according to the New York Times, the Defense Intelligence Agency recently circumvented a regulation requiring government agencies to obtain warrants before requesting phone companies’ user data by paying third-party data brokers for the same data.
• A VPN is a wise investment in data security if you worry about state overreach.

Anywhere, Anytime Access to Any Content:

• Although Hulu might disapprove of your use of a VPN to watch the most recent Criminal Minds episode in a nation where the content isn’t available, doing so is legal (in the U.S. and most other countries) and it lets you find a beneficial solution to content limitations.
• VPNs mask your location, giving the impression that you are browsing from a different area. This means that even if Criminal Minds is not shown locally, you may still watch it online.

Q2. What are the issues involving cryptocurrency? (250 words)

Paper & Topic: GS III à Indian Economy

Model Answer:

Cryptocurrency: What is it?

• Any kind of money that exists digitally or virtually and uses cryptography to safeguard transactions is known as cryptocurrency, also referred to as crypto-currency or crypto.
• Cryptocurrencies employ a decentralized mechanism to track transactions and create new units rather than a central body to issue or regulate them.
• The blockchain, a decentralized peer-to-peer network, underpins it.

What are the issues involving cryptocurrencies:

• Extremely Volatile: Cryptocurrencies are highly volatile assets that have gained appeal due to their lack of regulation. The risk of volatility has raised questions about the possible influence on a nation’s macroeconomic stability, particularly those with weak socio-economic fundamentals.
• Recently, numerous nations—especially those with poorly designed monetary systems and protracted inflation—have pondered passing laws that would control the usage of cryptocurrencies.
• Unregulated Nature: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) had also advised El Salvador to restrict the use of unregulated assets since there are significant risks connected with the usage of Bitcoin for fiscal contingent liabilities, financial stability, and consumer protection.
• Paying Taxes in Cryptocurrencies: For nations like CRA, the hazards of paying taxes in cryptocurrencies would be exposed if tax payments were made using crypto assets but that local currency was still used for expenditures.
• For instance, if the government uses cryptocurrency to collect $100 in taxes, a decline in the value of the asset releases $40 for spending.
• Not Subject to a Defined Mechanism: Because cryptocurrencies are speculative assets and not subject to a defined mechanism like equities or fiat money, central banks would have no basis for setting interest rates that would meet domestic demand.
• Blockchains may be used counterproductively to track transactions but not the persons involved. As a result, it might be applied to money laundering, financing of terrorism, or other illicit acts.