A virtual private network (VPN) allows users to send out and receive data while remaining anonymous and protected online.
ExpressVPN
- Number of IP addresses: 30,000
- Number of servers: 3,000+
- Number of server locations: 160
- Number of simultaneous connections: 5
- Country/Jurisdiction: British Virgin Islands
- 94+ countries
- 3 months Free with 1-year plan
ExpressVPN consistently proves itself one of the fastest VPNs on the market, and actively promotes their commitment to privacy. The company tells us their network is powered by TrustedServer technology, which ExpressVPN built to ensure that there are never any logs of users’ online activities.
We like the quality of their setup guides, and the detailed information in their FAQ. The ExpressVPN gained points from us for their support of Bitcoin as a payment method. The company offers a useful kill switch feature which prevents network data from leaking outside of their secure VPN tunnel in the event the VPN connection fails.
The company has been in business since 2009, and has a substantial network of fast VPN servers spread across 94 countries. Their best plan is priced at just $6.67 per month for an annual package which includes 3 months free.
Visit ExpressVPNIPVanish VPN
- Number of IP addresses: 40,000+
- Number of servers: 900
- Number of server locations: 60
- Number of simultaneous connections: 10
- Country/Jurisdiction: United States
- $4.87/month (60% discount) for a 1-year plan
A huge win for IPVanish is the fact that the business keeps absolutely no logs. Zero. We furthermore like the company’s position towards privacy. They also provide support to EFF, the Electronic Frontier Base, a nonprofit at the particular front lines of safeguarding online privacy. A distinctive feature of IPVanish, plus one we’re very fascinated by, is the VPN’s support of Kodi, the particular open-source media streaming iphone app which was once known since XBMC. Any serious media fan has used or even built Kodi or XBMC into a media participant, and the integrated IPVanish Kodi plugin provides entry to media worldwide. At $4. 87/month and $58 for a year, they’re obviously trying to shift you towards their yearly program. We’re a small disappointed that they just allow a 7-day test, instead of a full 30-days, however they do offer a complete money-back guarantee. That mentioned, the company gets thanks for their recent enhance from five to now ten simultaneous connections. We all also liked their link kill switch feature, essential for anyone serious regarding remaining anonymous while browsing.
Norton Secure VPN
- Number of countries: 29
- Number of servers: 1500
- Number of server locations: 200
- Country/Jurisdiction: US
- $39.99 for the first 12 months
Symantec, long known for quality in security products, offers a relatively limited offering in its VPN item. It does not assistance P2P or BitTorrent, this does not have a kill switch feature, and it does not support Linux, routers or set top containers.
On the other hands, it’s a VPN item from Symantec, a publicly-traded company with a clearly documented management team. Within most software categories, this particular might not be the notable advantage, but in the VPN world, exactly where typically have shadowy administration and impossible-to-track-down ownership structures, it’s refreshing to know specifically who we’re dealing with and know through impartial sources (the company’s twelve-monthly filing, the SEC, plus analyst reports) that the particular company is trusted and accountable.
NordVPN
- Number of IP addresses: 5,000
- Number of servers: 5,200+ servers
- Number of server locations: 62
- Country/Jurisdiction: Panama
- 62 countries
- $3.49/month (75% discount) for a 3-year plan
- NordVPN in-depth review and hands-on testing
NordVPN is one of the many recognized brands within the VPN field. It offers the generous simultaneous connection count, with six simultaneous contacts through their network, exactly where almost all other suppliers offer five or less. NordVPN also offers a dedicated IP option, with regard to those buying a different amount of VPN connection. That said, NordVPN’s network isn’t since large as some associated with its competitors, when most likely trying to obfuscate your own tracks, you might need a company with additional machines. The company’s 1-year subscription program costs is for $6. 99/month ($83. 88 charged at once). While that will yearly price is reduced than most other contenders, the month-to-month price of $11. 95 is at the high end of the spectrum. As of September 16, 2019, you can actually other pricing tiers have got crept up a little bit: It’s now $3. 49/month regarding a 3-year plan (or $125. 64 total), up through $2. 99/$107. 55. Plus the 2-year plan is now $4. 99/month ($119. 76), up from $3. 99/$95. 75. And indeed, it also has a full 30-day refund policy. While NordVPN has resided on this list regarding a long time, we moved it to the particular penalty box in October 2019 to re-evaluate the recommendation after a report emerged that one associated with its rented servers was accessed without authorization in 2018. Nord’s actions following the particular discovery included — eventually — multiple security audits, a bug bounty program and weightier investments in server safety. While we’d have recommended that Nord self-disclosed the issue much earlier, the truth that the breach was very restricted in nature and included no user-identifying information served to further verify that NordVPN keeps no logs associated with user activity. As a result, Nord remains with this list as a suggested vendor.
Surfshark
- Number of servers: 800+
- Number of server locations: 50
- Country/Jurisdiction: British Virgin Islands
Let’s begin off with the greatest win they offer: limitless device support. If a person want to run your entire home or office upon Surfshark’s VPN, you avoid have to worry about how precisely many devices you have on or connected. They will also offer anti-malware, advertisement blocking and tracker preventing as part of their own software. Surfshark received generally high marks when its Chrome and Firefox plug-ins were audited for privacy simply by German security firm Pure53 — though that review was commissioned by Surfshark. The company includes a solid range of app support, running on Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, FireTV plus routers. Additional devices like game consoles can be configured for Surfshark via DNS settings. We particularly like the feature that allows a person to whitelist certain software and websites to immediately bypass the VPN. Regarding some business use, this is often critically important. Surfshark also provides three special modes designed for those who want to get around restrictions plus more carefully hide their online footsteps. Camouflage Mode masks your VPN exercise so your ISP does not know you’re by using a VPN. MultiHop jumps your link through multiple countries to hide your trail. Lastly, NoBorders Mode “allows [you] to effectively use Surfshark in limited regions. ” Just become careful. Doing any of these 3 things could be against the law in your country and could cause very extreme penalties. For any year program, Surfshark comes in very close to many of the additional full-featured VPN providers, at $71. 88 for the very first year. Be careful, due to the fact it looks like that will jump to $143. forty after your first year increased. Month-by-month plans are $11. 95. Their greatest offer is $1. 99 a month, for their twenty-four month plan (you pay out $47. 76 up front). Definitely take good thing about their generous 30-day trial to determine if you like this particular service (and maybe established a reminder in twenty three months to find out if a person can talk them in to a continued discount rate).
PureVPN
- Number of IP addresses: 300,000
- Number of servers: 2000
- Number of server locations: 180
- Country/Jurisdiction: Hong Kong
- $3.33/month for a 1-year plan, $1.65/month for a 5-year plan
PureVPN does not log connection information. The company joined the “no log” movement in 2018, which was recently verified via a third-party audit by Althius IT (albeit one commissioned and paid for by PureVPN).
We like that PureVPN offer a 31-day refund policy and supports Bitcoin payments, to further extend anonymous browsing. We also like that PureVPN has both Kodi and a Chromebook solutions available. In addition, PureVPN was the first VPN service we noted to fully implement the GDPR.
StrongVPN
- Number of IP addresses: 59,500
- Number of servers: 650+
- Number of server locations: 26 countries and 46 cities
- $5.83/month (42% discount) for a 1-year plan
- StrongVPN in-depth review and hands-on testing
StrongVPN blasts onto our favorites list with excellent infrastructure and decent price performance. As with our other favorites, StrongVPN has a strong no-logging policy. Since VPN is all about protecting your privacy, that’s a place the savvy VPN providers can pick up points. Strong also picks up kudos for its large base of IP addresses, which also helps protect your anonymity. They have a solid collection of servers and worldwide locations. For those of you who need a dedicated IP, you can get one from the company, but you’ll need to contact support to get help setting it up. One of StrongVPN’s strongest strengths is the company’s network. They own and operate their entire network infrastructure, which means they have no externally-dictated limits on bandwidth or the type of traffic allowed on the network. This gives you the confidence that you’ll be able to power through your work. StrongVPN’s regular monthly price of $10 is in the middle of the pack, but their yearly price of $69.99 is among the lowest of our contenders.
CyberGhost VPN
- Number of servers: over 5,900 worldwide
- Number of server locations: 112
- 45-day money back guarantee
- 24/7 support response
- $2.75/month for a 3-year plan, or $2.75/month for 18-month plan
- CyberGhost in-depth review and hands-on testing
CyberGhost has been around since 2011 and has come out strongly as a supporter of “civil rights, a free society, and an uncensored Internet culture.” We really liked how the company specifically showcases, on their Web site, how folks normally prevented from accessing such important services as Facebook and YouTube can bring those services into their lives via a VPN. The company has solid Linux support, supports VPN via routers, and has a solution for the popular Kodi media player. They check off all the boxes on protocol support and get kudos for offering a connection kill switch feature, along with supporting P2P and BitTorrent in most countries. Still, the few extra dollars are worth it. We liked how the company offers custom app protection, IPV5 support and DNS, IP, and WebRTC leak prevention. CyberGhost also picked up points for preserving anonymity by not logging connection data.
Private Internet Access
- Number of IP addresses: N/A
- Number of servers: 3,252
- Number of server locations: 37
- Country/Jurisdiction: United States
Talking about price, if you need a strong VPN provider, Private Internet Access is the place to move.
The main element to getting the particular most savings with this supplier is buying their 2 year plan for $83. 87. That works away to $3. 49 per 30 days. They also offer a one-year plan for $71. 88, yet as you can see, you can get an entire additional year regarding less than ten dollars if you sign upward for their two-year plan.
The company does not really release information on the number of IP address available, but at a few, 252, their server count is more than any kind of of our other recommendations.
These folks identified since 2010, and don’t log anything. They provide the generous five connections, the connection kill switch function, and some good on-line documentation and security assistance. Our one disappointment is usually that their refund policy is 7-days rather than 30, but you can definitely get a feel with regard to their excellent performance within the space of a 7 days.
Hotspot Shield
- Number of IP addresses: 50,000
- Number of servers: 3,200
- Number of server countries: 80+
- $2.99/month for a 3-year plan
- Hotspot Shield in-depth review and hands-on testing
HotSpot Shield is a product that has had some ups and downs in terms of our editorial coverage. Back in 2016, they picked up some very positive coverage based on founder David Gorodyansky comments about protecting user privacy. Then, in 2017, a privacy group accused the company of spying on user traffic, an accusation the company flatly denies. Finally, just this year, ZDNet uncovered a flaw in the company’s software that exposed users. Fortunately, that was fixed immediately.
So what are we to make of HotSpot Shield? Frankly, the controversy caused us to drop them from our directory for a while. But they approached us, made a strong case for their ongoing dedication to privacy, and we decided to give them another chance.
Here’s the good news. They offer one of the best money-back guarantee we’ve seen for VPN services, a full 45-days. They support Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android, along with plugins for Chrome and Firefox. They also support routers and media players (but not Linux). And, as a bonus, they have a connection kill switch feature.
The company does not support P2P or BitTorrent – and they also don’t support the OpenVPN. Every other vendor does, but HotSpot Shield limits its protocol support to L2TP/IPSec and something they call Hydra, an enhancement of the transport protocol.
Overall, the company did impress us with their attention to privacy. They have a published privacy canary. They also told us, “We have built in malware, phishing and spam protection. Our commitment to our users is that Hotspot Shield will never store, log, or share your true IP address.”
Goose VPN
I had to know why Goose VPN was so named. My first order of business had been to achieve out to the company’s co-founder and enquire. Geese, I was told, create excellent guard animals. There are records of guard geese offering the alarm in ancient Rome when the Gauls bombarded. Geese have been used in order to guard a US Air Defense Command base in Australia and a brewery in Scotland. It’s clear that the goose is a perfect mascot to get a service that is meant to guard your digital communications. Therefore, all of us have Goose VPN. Goose VPN has a couple associated with standout features. First, you can have an limitless number of simultaneous connections (or devices) using the VPN at once. Second, if your bandwidth needs are usually 50 GB or less per month, you can sign up for $2. 99/month, the cheapest month-to-month rate we’ve seen. When you want unlimited bandwidth, the company definitely is pushing you towards purchasing a year at a time. Their monthly charge for unlimited bandwidth is really a middle-of-the-road $12. 99/month, in case you spend $59. 88 to get a year’s service, likely to find it is the second cheapest by-the-year associated with the providers we’ve reviewed. Goose offers all the usual clients, including iOS, Android, Mac, and Windows, and provides support for routers, Google android TV, and Linux. These are working on a eliminate switch feature, which might even be up plus running by the time you read this review. The company also provides day to day ticket-based support. Ducks pip, geese honk, and swans whoop (we know, because we looked it up). General, especially given the limitless connections and low annual price, we think Goose VPN is something in order to honk about.
VyprVPN
- Number of IP addresses: 200,000+
- Number of servers: 700+
- Number of server locations: 70+
- Country/Jurisdiction: Switzerland
- 30-Day Money Back Guarantee
VyprVPN has the largest bank of IP addresses of any of the services we’ve examined. The company offers a wide range of protocols, including its own high-performance Chameleon connection protocol.
We like that the company offers a connection kill switch feature and, for those who need it, there’s an option to get a dedicated IP address. VyprVPN is a standout in their effort to provide privacy, and thwart censorship. When China began its program of deep packet VPN inspection, Golden Frog’s VyperVPN service added scrambled OpenVPN packets to keep the traffic flowing.
You can get a limited plan supporting only three devices for $45 for the first year and $60 after that. A premium plan supporting five devices is $60 for the first year and $80 after that.
Visit VyprVPNBuffered VPN
- Number of IP addresses: 11,000
- Number of servers: 800
- Number of server locations: 46
- Country/Jurisdiction: Gibraltar
Buffered VPN doesn’t disclose much about the size of its network, but the 30-day money back guarantee means that you can take their service for a test drive and really get a feel for how well it performs for you. The company saddened us because they do keep some connection information. They cheered us up, though, due to their client support, unlimited bandwidth, and generous number of simultaneous sessions allowed.
The company is relatively new, founded in 2013. It’s based in Europe, so those who prefer an EU-based company might prefer Buffered. We like how Buffered has made a strong commitment to Internet freedom, and an equally strong commitment to providing quality customer support.
At $12.99 per month and $79.00 for a year of service, they don’t offer the least expensive plan, but we do recommend giving them a try.
Hide My Ass
- Number of IP addresses: 3,106
- Number of servers: 830
- Number of server locations: 280
- Country/Jurisdiction: United Kingdom
- $2.99/month for 3-year plan
We have to give these folks an extra shout-out just for the name of their service. The firm has a strong network with a good selection of protocols supported. While they have an extensive (and very clearly written set of policy documents), the company explicitly allows P2P and torrents.
We like how HMA offers support on a wide range of devices including game consoles. We gave them kudos for bitcoin support, and their excellent money-back guarantee. They did make us frown a bit because they do log connection data. They also offer five simultaneous connections.
While their monthly pricing of $11.52 is at the high end of the spectrum, their yearly pricing is competitive at $83.88 for a full year.
VPN FAQ
Since we’re living in a connected world, security and privacy are critical to ensure our personal safety from nefarious hacks. From online banking to communicating with coworkers on a daily basis, we’re now frequently transferring data on our computers and smartphones. It’s extremely important to find ways of securing our digital life and for this reason, VPNs have become increasingly common.
What Is a VPN?
A virtual private network (VPN) is a technology that allows you to create a secure connection over a less-secure network between your computer and the internet. It protects your privacy by allowing you to anonymously appear to be anywhere you choose.
A VPN is beneficial because it guarantees an appropriate level of security and privacy to the connected systems. This is extremely useful when the existing network infrastructure alone cannot support it.
For example, when your computer is connected to a VPN, the computer acts as if it’s also on the same network as the VPN. All of your online traffic is transferred over a secure connection to the VPN. The computer will then behave as if it’s on that network, allowing you to securely gain access to local network resources. Regardless of your location, you’ll be given permission to use the internet as if you were present at the VPN’s location. This can be extremely beneficial for individuals using a public Wi-Fi.
Therefore, when you browse the internet while on a VPN, your computer will contact the website through an encrypted VPN service connection. The VPN will then forward the request for you and forward the response from the website back through a secure connection.
VPNs are really easy to use, and they’re considered to be highly effective tools. They can be used to do a wide range of things. The most popular types of VPNs are remote-access VPNs and site-to-site VPNs.
What is a remote-access VPN?
A remote-access VPN uses public infrastructure like the internet to provide remote users secure access to their network. This is particularly important for organizations and their corporate networks. It’s crucial when employees connect to a public hotspot and use the internet for sending work-related emails. A VPN client, on the user’s computer or mobile device connects to a VPN gateway on the company’s network. This gateway will typically require the device to authenticate its identity. It will then create a network link back to the device that allows it to reach internal network resources such as file servers, printers and intranets, as if it were on the same local network.
It usually relies on either Internet Protocol Security (IPsec) or Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) to secure the connection. However, SSL VPNs can also be used to supply secure access to a single application, rather than an entire internal network. Some VPNs also provide Layer 2 access to the target network; these will require a tunneling protocol like PPTP (Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol) or L2TP (Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol) running across the base IPsec connection.
What is a site-to-site VPN?
This is when the VPN uses a gateway device to connect to the entire network in one location to a network in another location. The majority of site-to-site VPNs that connect over the internet use IPsec. Rather than using the public internet, it is also normal to use career multiprotocol label switching (MPLS) clouds as the main transport for site-to-site VPNs.
VPNs are often defined between specific computers, and in most cases, they are servers in separate data centers. However, new hybrid-access situations have now transformed the VPN gateway in the cloud, typically with a secure link from the cloud service provider into the internal network.
What is a mobile VPN?
A traditional VPN can affect the user experience when applied to wireless devices. It’s best to use a mobile VPN to avoid slower speeds and data loss. A mobile VPN offers you a high level of security for the challenges of wireless communication. It can provide mobile devices with secure access to network resources and software applications on their wireless networks. It’s good to use when you’re facing coverage gaps, inter-network roaming, bandwidth issues, or limited battery life, memory or processing power.
Mobile VPNs are designed and optimized to ensure a seamless user experience when devices are switching networks or moving out of coverage. It generally has a smaller memory footprint, and because of that, it also requires less processing power than a traditional VPN. Therefore, it enables your applications to run faster while the battery pack is able to last longer.
A Mobile VPN is a worthwhile tool to have since it increases privacy, user satisfaction and productivity, while also reducing unforeseen support issues caused by wireless connectivity problems. The increasing usage of mobile devices and wireless connectivity make it more important to ensure that your data is being transferred through a secure network. It will allow you to access the internet, while staying safe behind a firewall that protects your privileged information.
Who needs a VPN?
Individuals that access the internet from a computer, tablet or smartphone will benefit from using a VPN. A VPN service will always boost your security by encrypting and anonymizing all of your online activity. Therefore, both private and business users can benefit from using a VPN. Communications that happen between the VPN server and your device are encrypted, so a hacker or website spying on you wouldn’t know which web pages you access. They also won’t be able to see private information like passwords, usernames and bank or shopping details and so on. Anyone that wants to protect their privacy and security online should use a VPN.
How to choose a VPN Service?
There’s a vast range of VPN servers on the internet. Some are free, but the best ones require a monthly subscription. Before you decide to download a VPN, make sure you consider these factors for understanding a VPN:
Cost – VPNs aren’t too pricey, but they vary from vendor to vendor. If your main concern is price, then go with something inexpensive, or free – like Spotflux Premium VPN or AnchorFree HotSpot Shield Elite. By all means, try a free server but they do have a few drawbacks since they attract a lot of users. Free servers are often slower, and since most are ad-supported, they place adverts on the online pages you access. Others can even limit the speed of your connection, as well as your online time or amount of data transferred.
It’s also important to note that leading VPN providers offer stronger security features to ensure you’re digitally safe. When selecting a paid VPN service, always be sure to check which countries it operates servers in.
Reliability – Select a VPN that is reliable and read the reviews to make sure that it’s capable of protecting you by providing you with sufficient online privacy.
High security – An effective VPN will have the following security features: 128-bit encryption, anonymous DNS servers and an absence of connection logs.
Are there any bandwidth limits? This can often be linked to price; paying more will generally provide more bandwidth with faster internet access.
Are apps for Android, iOS phones and tablets available? Apps for Android and iOS devices are also vulnerable, so make sure your VPN server can support them.
To ensure privacy, you want to make sure you have a VPN that doesn’t store online logs. Some servers provide virus and spyware protection, and features like that can significantly increase your online safety.
Using a no-logs VPN service will provide you with a higher degree of security. It can protect you from blanket government surveillance and prevent your internet service provider from knowing your online activity.
Using a VPN for Netflix and other forbidden treasures
Online streaming services like Netflix and Hulu have been making it difficult for foreign users to access their content in other countries. Many people can get around region restrictions by using a VPN service to route your traffic through another country.
It can be quite simple to watch Netflix and other restricted goodies. You’ll have to use a VPN service that allows you to get a unique IP address. This can often be available for an additional fee. Look for VPN services that offer a “dedicated IP address”, “dedicated IP”, or “static IP.” Additional features like these will always allow you to access content from Netflix through a VPN service.
This is by far the easiest way to access your forbidden apps since there’s no specific way to block VPN traffic.
A lot of people started using a VPN to evade geo-restrictions. But despite its forbidden benefits to users outside the US, a VPN is a great tool that can protect you and enhance your online experience over the internet by providing you with sufficient security and privacy. When it comes to selecting the best VPN, you have plenty of choices. There are many cost-effective VPN options, and all of them will vary in monthly offerings. Choosing the best VPN is easier once you narrow down the competition. The best indication of a good VPN service provider is that they have the right security and the right support in place for you.
