There are many downsides to living in the current age of technical enlightenment.

On the one hand, most of us now have access to virtually all the information in the world - history, science, even how to fix your own leaky sink mixer - if there's something to be known, it's out there.

On the other hand, once you set foot "out there" (digitally) your identity then also becomes "something to be known." Not just your name but your IP address, your physical location and if you're not very careful, details like your bank logins, credit card information and maybe even access to your entire photo library could follow right behind.

Of course, there are tools to help protect yourself from exposing your digital footprint in this way. But even then, there are more superficial frustrations to online life.

One of my pet peeves is not being able to access free entertainment.

In New Zealand, streaming services like TVNZ+ and ThreeNow offer ad-supported content at no charge. Simply create an account and away you go. So what if you want to watch similar content from the ABC in Australia? Or the BBC or ITV in the UK?

Sometimes those shows and movies might make their way here, to one of our local streaming services and I have no issue paying for content, as long as the subscription is reasonably priced and there's a good selection on any service I sign up to.

But other times to see a certain show - especially new releases - if you're not in the country of origin, you're out of luck.

What's the point of the internet if we can't be everywhere all at once? And safely?

Norton Ultra VPN might just be the answer. I've been using Norton's cyber security products for years now and I've always found them to be reliable and user-friendly. Most importantly, I've found I can set them to work quietly in the background and they seem to take little toll on my devices' resources or my internet speed.

Norton VPN has been my constant companion, especially on my phone. By now, most of us will be familiar with the concept of a VPN, an app that reconnects you to the net anonymously, disguising where you actually are both online (your IP address) and physically. In fact, a good VPN will offer the option to connect through local servers from any of a wide range of countries - in Norton's case there's a list of about 28.

These days, many of us work for large companies who have very strict cyber security protocols and if you're not in your home country, it can often be very difficult to access essential resources like work email clients and shared business folders. That's one reason I've found Norton VPN to be an essential - because even when you're on holiday, sometimes you still need to check in.

Now Norton has taken its basic VPN service and supercharged it. For only a small increase in your subscription, not only do you get the secure, reliable and fast VPN services I've come to rely on, you now get access to many of Norton's other fantastic security offerings, just by installing Norton Ultra VPN on your phone, tablet or computer.

You can activate real-time protection against viruses, malware, remote attacks and even scams.

There's a password manager to help with the headache of those constant requests to change your logins.

You'll even get access to Norton's dark web monitoring service, so you'll be notified if your details ever turn up where they're not supposed to be.

Not to mention the option of a 10GB cloud backup of your essential files should the absolute worst ever happen.

The Ultra plan covers up to five devices simultaneously and there's also a Plus option to protect double the devices which comes with a host of family protection features to keep younger family members safe.

But most importantly, as a VPN, Norton is still the best I've used and now it's been tweaked to work even better.

One thing that puts a lot of people off installing comprehensive cyber security solutions like this is the complicated setup. Norton Ultra VPN really couldn't be much easier. You just follow a few prompts and before you know it, your browser is being monitored for risky websites and your email is restricted from automatically downloading potentially dangerous attachments.

The best thing about using Norton Ultra VPN is the speed. Firstly, it activates almost instantly. I've used other services in the past that take forever to find a viable connection or sometimes won't even connect at all on the first attempt. With Norton it's as easy as toggling a switch on the app. In fact, it can be even easier - you can activate it to start automatically when you power up your device or when you connect to an unfamiliar network.

Secondly, when you choose the "Fastest Connection" option, you'll see very little, if any, drop in connection speed. Don't believe me? Check out my video demonstration below. Obviously, if you choose to connect to another country, that'll have an effect. It's just physics.

Even then though, there are advantages to using the latest Norton product. If you take a little look at the settings menu, under VPN Protocol Settings, you'll find you can manually select the Mimic option. This is described as, "A fast and secure protocol made by our experts to bypass VPN restrictions." Now, I don't technically know what that means but what I do know is I've never been able to play content from the BBC or ITV before, and the Australian ABC site has always been a bit hit and miss.

These sites seem to be able to detect when users are connecting with a VPN, even when they've connected to the country in question.

Now, with that Mimic setting toggled on, I've had no issue at all. Somehow, Norton's latest VPN disguise is the most convincing yet, meaning there's nothing stopping you setting up accounts and using overseas streaming services we simply don't have access to here in New Zealand.

Best of all, it's free to try for 30 days to see if works for you as well as it works for me. I've always enjoyed using these Norton products. Now they're more integrated and easier to install and operate, I'm enjoying them even more.

Click here for more information and pricing on Norton Ultra VPN.