VPN's are a legitimate and legal way of accessing the Internet in most countries. A few countries such as such as Iran, North Korea and China have banned the use of VPN, and you would know about it if you lived there. They are widely used by businesses to connect employees around the world to their networks.
Because a VPN hides your real location and IP address then they have been associated with illegal use. But the same laws and rules apply to using a VPN as to using the Internet via any other method. Illegal activity, such as hacking, fraud, uploading or downloading banned content, applies when using a VPN in the same way as using a broadband connection or dial-up.
