The use of a virtual private network –also known as vpn– allows you to protect your personal data on the Internet, to prevent some abusive pages from using it for other purposes that are only convenient for them. Currently, there are several options on the market, but not all of them are the most convenient. For us, the ones below are the best you can find and use.
We tried several different VPN services, but definitely our favorite is NordVPN. This network combines decent speeds and reasonable prices with a user-friendly interface that includes an auto-connect option. Even though there are times when it can be busy, especially on the US servers, it never fails to connect. Plus, it has speeds that are reliable and fast enough for full HD video streaming.
NordVPN works not only with Android, but also with Windows, MacOS and iOS, and the service can be used simultaneously on up to six different devices. Currently, it has more than 2,800 servers spread across 59 countries. The service costs $12 per month, but there are frequent discounted offers if you subscribe for a longer period. Right now, for example, you can get one year for $70 (about $5.75 a month), two years for $80 (about $3.30 a month), or three years for $100 ($2.75 a month).
- Cost: $3.30/month with a 2-year agreement; $12/month when billed monthly; $7/month when billed every six months; $5.75/month when billed annually
- Number of servers: 3,714
- Number of server locations: 61
- Supported clients: Windows, MacOS, iOS, Android
- Number of simultaneous connections: up to six
surf shark
Surfshark is a great VPN if you are looking for something fast and effective. It has a one-click VPN feature, and you can choose from 3,200 servers in 65 countries – or if you’re looking to bounce through a specific country. You can whitelist specific apps or websites, if you’re not too worried about being tracked by them, which allows them a small speed boost, and there’s even an emergency failsafe mechanism built in, so it automatically logs you out. if required. There’s a seven-day free trial, but after that, you can pay for two years up front for $60, six months for $39, or monthly for $13; the best value is the two-year plan. However, there is also a 30 day money back guarantee if you don’t like it.
With ExpressVPN, you have a great advantage and that is that you can choose from almost 100 different locations around the world. Plus, it offers mostly reliable service and great support every day of the week, along with support for 256-bit encryption. Also, the company does not record traffic data or browsing activity, and the application is easy to use. It provides a list of viable locations to connect to and generally works quite well, allowing you to connect in seconds. It also has a home screen widget for quick connections, and you can have up to three connections, simultaneously.
To top it off, ExpressVPN also allows for split tunneling, so you can route some of your device’s traffic through the VPN, but if you want, ExpressVPN lets the rest access the internet directly. However, it lacks a kill switch feature. This service that is based in the Virgin Islands allows you to try it for free for 7 days. After that time, it’s $13 a month, $60 for six months, or $100 for a year. The feature set is the same across all packages, and each option comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
With a name like TorGuard, this software undoubtedly offers better protection. The distinctive features of the software lie in its ability to connect to a mix of services for different activities, with four different packages available based on various needs.
The VPN service costs $10 a month, but there is a cheaper proxy service if all you need to do is hide your IP address.
As with most VPN services, the program will prevent websites from seeing your personal IP address, preventing others from identifying you or learning your geographic location.
The truth is that TorGuard offers quite impressive scale and both expert geeks and professionals should give the service a look.
Also, it offers discount packages that come with hardware. The TorGuard client for Windows was easy to install and made quick work of connecting to a VPN server, including the ability to choose a server location before connecting.
Internet speed on our test system dipped from our usual 125 Mb/s download to 53 Mb/s, and our upload went to 17 Mb/s compared to our usual 20 Mb/s. That’s not the best performance in our tests, but every internet service we tested worked without a hitch, including Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.
- Cost: $6/mo for anonymous proxy; $10/month for anonymous VPN; $7/month for anonymous email; $11.50/month for privacy package
- Number of servers: 3,000+
- Number of server locations: more than 55 countries
- Supported clients: Windows, MacOS, Linux, iOS, Android
- Number of simultaneous connections: up to five
ProtonVPN is one of the newer VPN services, but it does have some star members.
The company was founded at CERN, the birthplace of the Internet, and grew out of the ProtonMAIL service that has been protecting the email of activists and journalists for years.
The service acts as a Swiss company and is therefore free from US and European Union laws and user traffic is not logged and goes through privacy-friendly countries. So you don’t need to worry about your real IP address being revealed.
ProtonVPN is a little expensive service. On the other hand, the ProtonVPN service has only managed to create a Windows and Android client up to this point. So if you are using a MacOS or Linux machine, or want to access the ProtonVPN service on your iOS device, you will need to configure it manually.
One benefit is that there’s a free plan you can use to try out the service, which is limited to three countries, one device, and low speeds, and prices go up from there.
Installing and configuring ProtonVPN’s Windows client was simple enough and provided some of the best usage stats. Throughput was on the low end of 39 Mb/s down and 18 Mb/s up, compared to our usual dip of 125 Mb/s and 18 Mb/s.
Netflix was blocked, but Amazon Prime Video and our other test services connected without issue.
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