A VPN or virtual private network creates a private network from a public internet connection to provide you with online privacy and anonymity for safe internet browsing. The basic function of a VPN is to mask your IP (Internet Protocol) address so all your actions online are virtually untraceable. The most important part is that VPN services establish secure and encrypted connections to provide greater privacy than even a secured Wi-Fi hotspot.
Now especially with many of us working from home and attending an online school, we would like to keep our online life completely safe from hackers and maintain our privacy. In such cases, it is even more important to use VPNs to be safe.
There are countless options to pick from, so you have to make sure to choose a VPN which can access your favourite streaming sites, works on all your devices, and which won’t slow down your Internet connection.
Here are some of the top VPNs
1.Nord VPN
One of the top virtual private network (VPN) providers is Nord VPN. It is available as desktop applications for Windows, macOS, and Linux, a mobile app for Android and iOS, as well as an application for Android TV. For wireless routers, NAS devices and other platforms manual setup is available.
Since Panama has no mandatory data retention laws and it also does not participate in the Five Eyes or Fourteen Eyes alliances, therefore Nord VPN is based there. Established in 2012, by a group of “four childhood friends”, today NordVPN is operating more than 5,200 servers in 62 countries.
For hiding their users IP addresses and encrypting all incoming and outgoing data, NordVPN routes all users’ internet traffic through a remote server run by the service. The OpenVPN and Internet Key Exchange v2/IPsec technologies are used for encryption. Besides the general-use VPN servers, they also provide servers for specific purposes, such as P2P sharing, double encryption, and connection to the Tor anonymity network.
NordVPN’s has a feature called as CyberSec suite which provides adblocking and extra malware protection. The VPN’s obscure servers allow you to access all parts of the internet, even in heavily-censored countries. You also don’t need to worry about VPN leaks as NordVPN offers two different kill switches and custom DNS settings to prevent them.
2. Express VPN
Express VPN is a speedy, safe and reliable VPN service offered by the British Virgin Islands-registered company Express VPN International Ltd. The company markets its software as a privacy and security tool that encrypts users’ web traffic and also masks their IP addresses. TechRadar and CNET named the service as their Editors’ Choice, in 2020.
ExpressVPN is one of the fastest VPNs with 3,000+ high-speed servers at 160 global locations in 94 countries. It has desktop applications for Windows, macOS, iOS and Linux, as well as apps for Android and routers. The apps use a 4096-bit CA, AES-256-CBC encryption, and TLSv1.2 to secure user traffic. It uses VPN protocols such as Lightway, OpenVPN (with TCP/UDP), SSTP, L2TP/IPSec, and PPTP. Lightway is one of the company’s newest protocols released in May 2020, called to make its connections faster, stable, and more reliable. It was also developed by ExpressVPN.
3. Surfshark VPN
Surfshark is a VPN which is good for torrenting, unlimited simultaneous connections and has some amazing features. It is based in a country that’s a non-member to Five Eyes, Nine Eyes, and 14 Eyes, with a growing network, of over 1041 servers in 61 countries.
Surfshark makes it easier for us to torrent and download movies and TV shows without the fear of any retribution. You can use unlimited devices per subscription making it a great deal for multi-device households. It also gives different IP address every time we connect to it, which makes online tracing much harder but suppose if you want to stick with the same IP address, then there is an option available for it as well.
Surfshark also has features such as split tunnelling, double encryption, kill switch protection, and a security suite called CleanWeb that blocks ads and prevents malware.
4. CyberGhost
CyberGhost is a reliable, secure, ease-of-use, and inexpensive VPN with massive coverage and strong security. The VPN provides essentials such as solid encryption, zero logging along with leak-proof apps and an extra kill switch for good measures. It is both stable and secure.
It was founded by Robert Knapp in 2011. CyberGhost has a network of 6,100 servers in 90 different countries. The company is based in Romania which has almost no data retention laws of its own, making CyberGhost a great pick for privacy. It is not a member of Five Eyes, Nine Eyes or 14 Eyes and it offers great customer support at affordable costs across its thousands of servers around the world. It also offers great speeds for buffer-free streaming.
5. IPVanish
IPVanish VPN is a commercial VPN service with strong encryption methods, great download speeds, and split tunnelling. It works really well on Android devices, which would be wonderful in the entire work from home scenario.
The VPN company is based in the United States and it owns and operates more than 1500 remote servers in over 75+ different locations across the world. The largest number of VPN servers is located in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Encryption is done using the OpenVPN and IKEv2/IPsec technologies in its applications, with the option to configure the L2TP and PPTP connection protocols. IPVanish supports the AES (128-bit or 256-bit) specifications, with SHA-256 for authentication and an RSA-2048 handshake.
IPVanish provides end-to-end network encryption and when connected to the service, the user’s true IP address is masked by a decoy supplied by IPVanish and then shared among their users. IPVanish has desktop applications for Windows and macOS as well as apps for Android, iOS, and Fire TV. Also, Chromebook, Windows Phone, Linux, and DD-WRT routers can be configured to use IPVanish. Subscribers are allowed to use the service on an unlimited number of devices at the same time. The company also provides a 30-day money-back guarantee.
IPVanish also offers fantastic customer support, available 24/7 over email, phone, or live chat.
6. Private Internet Access
Private Internet Access is one of the best VPN for Windows connected over a secure global network. It is an open-source VPN supporting WireGuard and OpenVPN.
Private Internet Access offers high speeds on windows but it also has great apps for iOS and Android devices. they have a strict privacy policy. The company is based in Denver, the United States which is a Five Eyes, Nine Eyes, and 14 Eyes member.
Some of PIA’s features include DNS leak protection, IPv6 leak protection, unlimited bandwidth and Port forwarding. It also includes a connection kill switch to prevent traffic from going elsewhere when the VPN gets disconnected. It is possible to access services via UDP and TCP. They operate VPN gateways in 97 locations across 76 countries.
Private Internet Access supports the AES (128-bit or 256-bit) specifications, SHA1 and SHA256 authentication, and RSA (2048, 3072, 4096) or elliptic curve cryptography (ECC) (256R1, 256K1, 521) handshakes.
