What is a Virtual Private Network (VPN): How safe are you online?

Introduction

With a variety of numerous large-scale data breaches and increasingly prevalent reports of

censorship have Internet users seeking out tools to help preserve their privacy online and

circumvent potential censorship.

Virtual Private Network (VPN) services, in particular, play a paramount role in securing Internet freedom; likely boosted by the large number of media articles recommending them and their use. VPN usage has grown catchy in recent years.

According to a recent market research report; commercial VPNs are currently a staggering 15-billion dollar industry with the expectancy of growth by 20% by 2022 (taking into consideration the drastic changes made by COVID-19, and how much of an impact it has had also on the Internet-Of-Things (IOT) ).

What is a VPN?

A Virtual Private Network (VPN) is programming that extends and creates a private network across a public one enabling users to establish a virtual point-to-point using dedicated circuits or with tunnelling protocols to send and receive data over safe, secure and encrypted connections.

What are the basics VPN?

Remote Access VPN allows users to connect to a private network and access its resource and service remotely.

This connection is between the user and the private network which happens through the Internet and the connectivity is secure and private. Recommended useful for business and home users.

Site – to – Site VPN also referred to as Router-to-Router VPN, is mostly used in big corporate companies with offices in different geographical locations.

When multiple offices of the same company are connected using this type of VPN it is called as Intranet-based VPN but is then refer to as Extranet based VPN when companies use this type of VPN connection to connect to the office of another company.

Basically, site-to-site VPN creates a virtual bridge between the networks at geographically distant offices wherein one router acts as a client and another router as a VPN server.

Is it legal to use a VPN?

The legality of the use of a VPN service depends on the country and its geographical relations with another country. A secure and reliable VPN is always legal if it is not intended to be used for any illegal activities like cyber bullying, online frauds, etc...

The Top 4 Best VPNs comparison

1. Express VPN is the British Virgin Islands-registered virtual private network service launched 11 years ago that is marketed as a security and privacy tool used to masks a user’s IP addresses and encrypts their web traffic.

Designed to deliver unlimited access to all socials, and more from anywhere in the world, it defeats content restrictions and censorship.

The service scored a whopping 4 out of 5 with the bottom-line being that although the service wasn’t the fastest, it certainly protects your data from thieves and spies.

As of March 2019, Express VPN runs over 3,000 remote servers in 160 locations and 94

countries.

2. Nord VPN a Panama based virtual private network that does not participate in the Five Eyes or Fourteen Eyes alliance as the country has no mandatory data retention laws. Established by “four childhood friends”, released 8 years ago as stated on its website.

NordVPN was operating more than 5,200 servers in 62 countries. Not only can subscribers connect up to 6 devices simultaneously, but they get access to encrypted proxy extensions for Chrome and Firefox browsers.

This VPN routes all user’s internet traffic through a remote server run by the service thereby hiding IP addresses and encrypting all outgoing and incoming data.

3. Proton VPN operated by Swiss company Proton Technologies AG, the company behind the e-mail service Proton Mail is supported by FONGIT (the Fondation Genevoise pour I’Innovation Technologique, a non-profit foundation financed by Swiss Federal Commission for Technology and Innovation and therefore the European Commission.

All servers are owned and operated by Proton VPN through the company’s network and as of 28th July 2020 a complete of 954 servers within 51 different countries.

All Proton VPN servers have at minimum 1 Gbps bandwidth, and many of their servers also utilize 10Gbps connections giving subscribers the push of connecting up to 10 devices simultaneously.

4. IPVanish VPN provides end-to-end encryption of network allowing its users to appear in one of more than 75 different locations, own and operates more than 1500 remote servers, and is a commercial VPN service based in the US.

Each subscriber is allowed to use the service on an unlimited number of devices at the same time backed by a 30-days money-back guarantee. Like other VPN services, IPVanish also has the ability to bypass internet censorship in most countries.

IPVanish was founded 2012 by Mudhook Media Inc., an independent subsidiary of Highwinds Network Group in Orlando, Florida.

Conclusion

Aside from being a waste of money, time, and resources choosing the right VPN, the wrong service can negatively affect your online speed, freedom and privacy.

To find the best provider, a test was done literally for all four VPNs making my shortlisting, and I discovered that all perform well except that you should make your choice between them according to your personal needs.

1. ExpressVPN remains one of the few VPNs that work faster for streaming, torrenting, and gaming. Yet still unsure about committing to a subscription, you can try this VPN service risk-free with its 30-days money-back guarantees.

2. NordVPN longest plan is about 50% less expensive than ExpressVPN while having the largest number of servers in the market.

This VPN may be better if you need extra security features or want a more affordable service, it uses OpenVPN and don’t give you the option of switching between protocols to maximize speeds, with unique safety features like ads and malware blocker.

NordVPN also has a 30-days money-back guarantee.

3. ProtonVPN is located offshore and they keep no logs, Uses OpenVPN and don’t give you the option of switching between protocols to maximize speed.

Though they do not provide live chat support, you can reach the team by email or filling out a form on their website that may take a couple of hours before reply.

4. IPVanish is a little below par from the rest on this list of VPN service in that it owns and operates its entire network.

Maintain a tight security and speed are also excellent if not the industry-leading.

Offering a responsive service that can keep up with the demands of Netflix and online gaming, IPVanish packs all major features that savvy users want at a reasonable price.

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I hope this was helpful.

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