If you have decided that it is time to ramp up your personal online security, you are in the right place. One of the best places to start when getting secure online is to get yourself a VPN subscription. The only problem is, there are so many to choose from, and they are all promising to be the best. So, how do you know? Even the reviews are all contradictory because frankly they are written by people who really don’t understand what is required for a VPN to earn a best-in-class rating.
Fortunately, there are a few simple qualities that you should look out for while hunting down the best VPN. A combination of ease of use, security protocols, server locations, special features, and price should all be considered.
Safety and privacy
When considering the safety and privacy of a VPN service there are two main things to think about. The first is how well it encrypts all of the information that runs through it servers. There are various levels of encryption with some being quite basic and others being so-called “military-grade”. The higher the level of encryption, the more secure the traffic.
Another thing to take into consideration is the logging policy. It is a bit more difficult to determine which locking policies are best among VPN services because many of them promise “no-logs” while at the same time keeping logs. In order to see how much of your information is being saved by the VPN service, it is imperative to read through the Terms and Conditions very carefully.
Another thing to note about the logging policies of VPN services is that there are many countries which legally of large VPN services to give up information about the users when requested. The so-called five eyes, nine eyes, and 14 eyes countries, for example, is a global surveillance network of governments who have all decided to share information about Internet activity.
Clearly, going with the VPN service that is not based in one of these 14 countries will always be better.
Usability
When it comes to usability, the topic is quite simple. No self-respecting VPN service these days should be difficult to understand, implement, or use. Finding out if your VPN of choice is easy to use is a simple matter of reading through the reviews of that VPN. Things to watch out for our which platforms the VPN supports, whether their app simple, and how the customer support system works should there be any issues.
Special Access
Special access to blocked services and from blocked countries should also be a determining factor when choosing “the best VPN”. A VPN situated at the head of the pack should be able to get past the Great Firewall of China without issue, it should be able to unblock Netflix and other streaming services, and it should allow users to select which country they want to connect from without issue.
Cost
Finally, it is important to look at the overall cost of the VPN service as the price does not always indicate the quality. The cost associated with the service should include the number of simultaneous connections one can have on one inscription, the level of encryption, options for security protocol switching needed, good customer support, and any additional special features such as ad and malware blocking.
Verdict
Overall, to determine the best VPN service reviews out there really just comes down to which VPN service is best for you.
You may be a large company or a single person, you may want to connect for high demand tasks like downloading torrents or streaming content or you may just want to make sure that all of your banking details don’t get picked up by a hacker. The best thing to do is to match your needs scenario with the services offered by a select few of the highest-reviewed VPNs on the market.
Do not always go for free services just because they look good. Make sure you weigh up your options and only used free versions if you only need to use a VPN every so often. If you need to use a VPN regularly, then the only pay is to get a paid version.
