The best VPN service in 2024

The best VPN service in 2024.. Regardless of where you reside, the top VPN of 2024 is a necessary tool for remaining secure online. I’ve personally tested dozens of VPNs with the assistance of my team of specialists to determine which ones really value your online privacy and which ones make grand promises but fall short of keeping their word.

Software known as virtual private networks may help you hide your online activities from hackers, the government, and your internet service provider. To put it simply, they conceal your true location and activities by encrypting all of your traffic and sending it via their own servers spread over the globe. They work well for getting over government restrictions and unblocking streaming information.

Best VPN Service 2024

Simply choose NordVPN, ExpressVPN, or Surfshark from the list below if you only want to get instant access to the top three VPN services of 2024; according to my in-depth evaluations, these are the greatest options available. But if you’re looking for more in-depth information, just scroll down to see my list of the best 10 VPNs that are currently available, along with information on how I assess VPNs at the bottom of the page.

What is the best VPN in 2024?

The winner of the CNET Editors’ Choice Award for best VPN overall is ExpressVPN. Our top three options are closely contested, but ExpressVPN’s service stands out as the best of the best with an 8.8/10 rating because it provides excellent privacy and convenience. It provides unparalleled transparency with an easy-to-understand, user-focused privacy policy. Additionally, its Trusted Server technology surpasses conventional RAM-only principles, giving you the utmost peace of mind about your surfing data. Its Lightway protocol neatly combines security and performance by providing post-quantum protection with reliably fast speeds. Additionally, ExpressVPN’s service is easy to use, consistently unblocking streaming media and providing helpful security measures with its Advanced Protection package.

The feature-rich VPN service NordVPN is outstanding. In our tests, NordVPN’s connection speeds were the quickest we found; CNET Labs recorded the best-in-class average internet download speed loss of 11.1%. In addition to more conventional capabilities like split tunneling, which allows you to choose which online activities need VPN security and which do not, it supports double VPN, Onion Over VPN for further encryption, and Meshnet for safe file sharing. Although the majority of users won’t need all of those functions, power users will appreciate having them. All things considered, NordVPN provides a strong service with outstanding features for heavy users.

For those on a tight budget searching for quality features, Surfshark is an excellent option. At a much lower monthly cost ($60 after the introductory time compared to $100 for ExpressVPN and NordVPN), it provides features and connection speeds that are equivalent to those of ExpressVPN and NordVPN. In addition, Surfshark provides support for an infinite number of devices, making it an excellent choice for those with big families or just a lot of linked gadgets. Nevertheless, it falls short of ExpressVPN’s level of secrecy, which makes it less appropriate for those with urgent privacy requirements.

Every VPN service we suggest offers great value for a particular use case, and we identify the perfect customer for each. Regardless matter how serious or how casual your privacy demands are, there is a VPN service out there to meet them thanks to the variety of alternatives accessible. Additionally, take into account taking advantage of the VPN offers that several of our top choices are making.

What is a VPN?

Virtual private networks, or VPNs, are internet services that provide software, desktop applications, browser extensions, and mobile apps that encrypt your internet traffic to help you stay more private online. With a VPN, you can circumvent content restrictions in some countries and access important news and educational materials while also expanding your streaming entertainment options. It also stops your internet service provider from tracking the websites and apps you use and prevents the majority of those websites and apps from seeing your actual geographic location. The top VPN offers robust privacy protection without sacrificing functionality. We heartily advise utilizing a reliable VPN for both personal and professional usage, especially if your job entails managing sensitive data.

At CNET, we thoroughly evaluate every virtual private network on all major platforms to identify the ones that provide the best value, privacy, speed, and dependability. As we continuously test VPNs and examine the most recent research, this list is updated, so anticipate this guide to alter as we evaluate each VPN throughout the year. Recently, we retested Private Internet Access, ExpressVPN, NordVPN, Surfshark, and IPVanish from the ground up. Proton and IPVanish will be the next two services we examine.

Factors to consider in a VPN

Internet velocity

Because VPNs route your traffic via an encrypted server before connecting you to applications, websites, and other internet services, they may slightly reduce your internet speed. The fastest VPNs have a 20% or less average decrease in download speed. Even those with poorer connections—such as satellite internet—usually won’t notice a 20% decrease. You’ll want a virtual private network with the least amount of performance loss for bandwidth-intensive tasks like gaming, streaming 4K video, or uploading big files. We search for VPNs that maintain performance loss below 50%, however casual users with higher internet connections should be okay with more than 20%.

Confidentiality

By hiding your IP address—which, like your physical address, reveals specific details about your location—VPNs help you protect your privacy. We advise using a VPN that has 256-bit encryption, a rigorous no-logging policy, and DNS leak prevention at the very least. Look for frequent third-party audits since logging is difficult to establish. You may and should be cautious of your VPN provider’s zero-log promises. Transparency reports also provide piece of mind. Additionally, we advise remaining with a VPN that has a kill switch. Advanced features like obfuscation (which makes it more difficult for ISPs to discover that you’re using a VPN), Tor over VPN (for additional encryption using the Tor network), and a double VPN (which depends on a second VPN server connection to enhance encryption) will be appreciated by more privacy-conscious users like investigative journalists or political activists. For even greater peace of mind, individuals with more sensitive privacy concerns want to think about selecting a VPN service provider whose jurisdiction is outside the Five, Nine, or 14 Eyes intelligence-sharing groupings.

network of servers

Examine both the total number of servers and the locations of each server in each nation when thinking about VPN server networks. For example, a competitor’s virtual private network provider may have twice as many servers overall, but only half as many locations across various countries, which means you have less options when it comes to international options. The most complete VPNs for travel provide more than 90 countries at the top end, however many people find that anything more than 60 countries will do.

Certain VPNs enable file sharing across all servers when used outside of a nation, while other VPNs include P2P (peer-to-peer) features specifically designed for it. Check if the ISP you want to use allows file sharing on all servers or just a few for activities such as torrenting.

Support for devices

Consider the devices you want to use to access a VPN. The majority of VPN providers include web browsers, applications for Android/Android TV, iOS/iPadOS, Windows, MacOS, and Linux. Apple TV apps are becoming more and more popular; TVOS apps from ExpressVPN, NordVPN, and IPVanish are among them. Linux users can find it simpler to utilize a graphical user interface (GUI) application than a command line interface (CLI) option. Linux GUI programs include Surfshark, Proton, and PIA. For whole-home coverage, you can usually install a VPN on your network and use it on Xbox consoles and other devices that don’t support native VPN applications. However, doing so would usually violate the router’s warranty.

Although the majority of VPN providers allow you to install their apps on as many devices as you want, there are situations where this isn’t possible. ExpressVPN comes in as number eight, NordVPN at number six, and Proton at number ten. IPVanish, PIA, and Surfshark are all limitless. You may install a virtual private network (VPN) on as many devices as you desire, even if you use a service like Nord, Express, or Proton. However, you can only have a few active sessions at once. Even with six connections running at once, most people should be alright, but families or ardent power users could feel limited.

Streaming qualities

VPNs are useful for unblocking region-restricted entertainment material in addition to being wonderful for privacy. When traveling overseas, you may use a VPN to see streaming services like Hulu or Max from your home country. Conversely, VPNs provide users access to overseas Amazon Prime Video, Disney Plus, and Netflix libraries.

Price

A monthly, biannual, yearly, or multiyear VPN subscription may be opted for. For the greatest savings with the least amount of risk, we normally advise staying with an annual plan, even though multi-year plans frequently yield you the most discounts. Over the course of a year, the virtual private network you sign up for may grow slower, have a data breach, or cease to provide access to international Netflix libraries. At first, it could be fast, private, and excellent for geo-unblocking.

Value-packed companies like Surfshark and PIA offer year-long pricing from $40 to $60, while high-end VPNs like Express cost $100. Some businesses do, however, impose pricing increases. For example, NordVPN typically costs $60 for the first year, after which your subscription renews at $100 every 12 months. In a similar vein, Surfshark has an initial yearly fee of $48 and a subsequent $60 renewal. Establish a budget and, keeping an eye out for price increases, choose a VPN service provider that meets your needs. Notably, by taking advantage of seasonal discounts like Black Friday/Cyber Monday specials, you may often renew without having to pay higher renewal prices.

How we test VPNs

Our rigorous evaluation and testing procedure is intended to sift through the hype. In addition to testing each VPN provider for technical flaws, we also closely consider each one’s unique performance advantages. Find out what each service excels at doing. We assess every VPN using more than 20 different criteria, and as we gain more knowledge, we keep refining our process.

We assess VPNs for reliability of connection, tiniest possible privacy breaches, and browsing and streaming speed across many nations. We are able to determine which VPNs are better for gaming as opposed to those that are better for streaming, torrenting, or exchanging private data by testing on a variety of platforms and devices. Above all, we concentrate on doing the in-depth analysis required to verify each VPN’s ownership and track record in an industry that is infamously opaque.

We suggest the VPNs on our list for reasons other than simply enhancing their strengths in digital privacy; they make it simple to stream media across geo-blocked content, have servers that are suitable for torrenting, and are fast enough to play games all over the world. Each item on our list has a few bullet points that emphasize each VPN’s advantages and the applications we suggest it be used for most, based on those ongoing reviews. Additionally, you’ll note that as we learn more and retest, the rankings of each VPN service fluctuate since we work hard to stay ahead of a rapidly evolving industry.

CNET speed test data

The speeds we encountered throughout testing are shown in this table. Your internet service provider and connection type are only two examples of the variables that may affect your speeds. Lower numbers indicate a quicker overall connection. The percentage of speed lost is meant to serve as a general measure of how much the VPN slows down your connection.

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Provider	Avg. VPN speed (Mbps)	Avg. non-VPN speed (Mbps)	Speed loss
ExpressVPN	173	231	25%
Surfshark	153	193	17%
NordVPN	206	230	11%
Proton VPN	175.54	273.57	36%
IPVanish	250	342.25	26%

How to choose the right VPN for you

Use a paid VPN instead of a free one: We can only suggest paid VPN alternatives on the list above, with Proton being the exception.

Seek for a VPN that claims to have no records, but be aware of the limitations: the best VPNs have little log retention and maximum anonymity, meaning that there won’t be much information to divulge if authorities want to see it. Even VPNs with “no-logs” aren’t completely anonymous.

Currently, VPNs for iOS users only provide certain levels of anonymity. It seems that iPhones and iPads running iOS 14 or later—regardless of the VPN provider—may be susceptible to device-only leaks. This is based on recent independent research. To guarantee their whole Wi-Fi network is encrypted, Apple customers who are worried about possible breaches may install a VPN on a home router as an added measure of safety. Enabling the kill switch on their VPN and using OpenVPN protocols can help some iOS users lessen the chance of leaks while they’re not connected to their home network. Before using your cellphone as usual, you might also attempt to shut down all applications, turn on your VPN, and then enable and disable Airplane Mode. To further enhance security, Apple recommends customers to use the Always On VPN profile on their device.

While warrant canaries are a first step toward greater VPN openness, A lot of services use “warrant canaries” to inform the public in a non-intrusive manner whether or not they have received a subpoena from the government. This is because the law prohibits the active disclosure of many national security agency investigations. Similar to the problem with no-logging, warrant canaries aren’t always as simple as they look. If your potential VPN provider has ever assisted with law enforcement, you should look into how and when that information was revealed.

Give utilizing a US-based VPN some second thought: As long as the US government has subpoenas or national security letters in hand seeking access to servers, VPN user accounts, or other data, US-based VPNs have limited options. This is because the Patriot Act remains the applicable legislation in the US. Yeah, if the business has a strict no-logs policy, they may not have much data to access, but why not simply choose a provider that’s headquartered outside of Uncle Sam’s jurisdiction? If you are concerned about this, you should also stay away from nations with whom the US has agreements for information cooperation.

Additional VPN factors to consider

Steer clear of free VPN services: Proton is the only VPN option we can recommend; the other options on our list are all commercial.

Look for a VPN with no logs, but be mindful of its limitations: The best VPNs keep as few records as possible and anonymize them as much as they can, giving you very little to the authorities if they should request it. “No-logs” VPNs don’t provide total anonymity.

Currently, VPNs for iOS users provide a limited amount of privacy. Recent independent study indicates that iPhones and iPads running iOS 14 or later may be vulnerable to device-only VPN intrusions, regardless of the VPN used. To ensure that their whole Wi-Fi network is safe, owners of Apple goods who are concerned about potential breaches may install a virtual private network (VPN) on their home router. If an iOS user uses OpenVPN protocols and activates their VPN’s kill switch, they may be able to reduce the likelihood of leaks when they are not connected to their home network. You may also try turning off all apps, activating your VPN, and then switching between Airplane Mode and On/Off on your smartphone to get it back to working order. Apple advises users to activate the Always On VPN profile on their device for additional protection.

Beyond warrant canaries, VPN transparency is necessary: several providers utilize “warrant canaries” to obliquely notify the public as to whether or not they have been served with a subpoena by a government body. This is because certain national security agency investigations cannot be actively disclosed due to legal restrictions. Similar to the issue with non-logging, warrant canaries aren’t always what they seem to be. To find out whether your prospective VPN has ever worked with law enforcement in the past, as well as how and when such collaboration was disclosed, more investigation should be done.

If and when federal investigators show up demanding access to servers, VPN user accounts, or other data with subpoenas or national security letters in hand, US-based VPNs are at a loss for what to do. Therefore, you should think twice before utilizing a VPN with a US location. Sure, they may not have much data to access if the company has a tight no-logs policy, but why not just choose a firm with a headquarters that’s not within Uncle Sam’s jurisdiction? (If this concerns you, you should also avoid countries with whom the United States has information-sharing agreements.)

Other VPNs we’ve tested

Not all VPNs are meant to be favorites. These are the ones we looked at, but for a variety of reasons—such as their restricted features and worries about sufficiently concealing your identity—they aren’t our top picks.

Hotspot Shield

Although Hotspot Shield VPN’s TLS-based Hydra Catapult protocol, US jurisdiction, support for 128-bit AES encryption, and high proportion of virtual servers may make us doubt that it can offer better privacy protections than its rivals, these factors are essential to achieving the lightning-fast speeds it demonstrated in its most recent speed tests.

It’s the second-fastest VPN I’ve tried; no matter how many disruptions you throw at it, it can seamlessly offer smooth video streaming and dance between server connections without missing a beat. It drops to second position with a 26% speed loss, behind Surfshark, which lost just 16.9% of its speed in my prior test, and pushing ExpressVPN to third place with a 51.8% speed loss in the most recent measurement. Less than 8% of speed was lost on UK connections. Hotspot Shield customers won’t experience any lag in speed while using speed-sensitive services like gaming, torrenting, surfing, or streaming.

However, we’re not too thrilled with Hotspot’s security and privacy. We would want to see Hotspot make more third-party audits available to the public, since the services employ a closed-source proprietary Catapult Hydra protocol rather than the more transparent open-source OpenVPN protocol. This is a critical step to bring Hotspot up to speed with VPNs that undergo regular audits, like TunnelBear. Review website VPNMentor found a DNS leak in Hotspot Shield’s Google Chrome plug-in as recently as April 2021. At the time, Hotspot was aware of the problem and worked to make the product better.

We’re also not too fond of Hotspot’s privacy practices or the volume of user data it gathers. Compared to most other VPNs, it collects and keeps a lot more user data with its premium package. If you use the product’s free version, it gives advertising businesses access to such data as well as other limited data, such as your MAC address and unique phone number.

Hotspot has exciting speeds and an easy-to-use UI, but using it for extended periods of time may leave your wallet a bit empty. At the moment, it costs more than its closest rivals, has somewhat slower speeds, and has more dubious privacy practices. In case speed is your primary consideration while choosing a VPN, we advise against using Hotspot until it gets better.

TunnelBear

In recent years, there has been a lot of excitement around TunnelBear. Our enthusiasm subsided as we examined its internals and compared it with its VPN rivals.

The speeds offered by TunnelBear are fair. When we utilized it, our total internet speed decreased by around 63%, which is about normal for a VPN. Comparing TunnelBear’s speeds to those of other review and testing sites over time, we found that the US scores showed a speed decrease of just 54%.

Positively, TunnelBear is maintaining its competitiveness in the transparency market among VPNs by making available the findings of its yearly transparency reports and independent security assessments. Although TunnelBear was previously found to have been leaking WebRTC information, our testing did not find any IP address, DNS, or other potentially user-identifying data breaches. Perfect Forward Secrecy is supported by TunnelBear’s standard AES-256 VPN encryption.

Furthermore, it’s a Canadian company owned by McAfee, a US company, so you’re playing with fire if you’re hoping for international internet anonymity that can withstand subpoena. You are not able to manually choose a city or VPN server from its meager 23 server locations. Not only does it not support Tor over VPN, but it is limited to Android split tunneling and is unable to unblock Netflix.

When broken down monthly, the cheapest TunnelBear plan is the $120, three-year package. You may also choose to pay $10 per month or $60 up front for a whole year. In any case, Bitcoin and credit cards are accepted forms of payment at TunnelBear. It does not support Android TV or the Amazon Fire Stick, unlike other VPNs, and it does not accept PayPal.

CyberGhost VPN

In our earlier review of virtual private networks on CNET, we gave CyberGhost high marks for having a competitive feature set. 2019 saw us conduct speed tests, security checks, and a thorough examination of CyberGhost’s whole toolkit for privacy. Since then, the VPN provider has expanded the number of its servers and is ready to provide additional privacy features, all while maintaining its ranking as one of the most affordable VPNs we’ve looked at, at $2.03 a month for a two-year subscription.

We’ve strengthened our methodology for VPN evaluations, and CyberGhost has highlighted some concerns. Its parent company’s track record calls for doubt; our earlier testing revealed that it exposes your VPN usage to your ISP; its website and app trackers are more numerous than necessary; and its ad blocker employs a dubious technique of manipulating traffic that no VPN should even consider. Prior to now, its cheap cost made it worthwhile to take into consideration if you needed to alter the online image of your location, but not if you wanted the finest protection available.

We don’t presently advise using CyberGhost if you’re in a nation where VPNs are prohibited, even though the VPN service provider’s connection speed and security features seem to be getting better. We also advise anybody in the US considering a membership to CyberGhost to look into the parent firm.

Positively, CyberGhost proved less demanding on our devices’ processing power and was still quicker than Norton Secure VPN. Its Windows client provides split tunneling as well. The servers are categorized into four groups: NoSpy servers, torrenting servers, streaming servers, and servers that work best when used with a static IP address. CyberGhost has a 45-day money-back guarantee on subscription levels of a year or longer, does not impose data limitations, and allows unrestricted server switching.

Norton Secure VPN

The VPN offering from Norton LifeLock, a company well-known for its superior security solutions, is quite small. Linux, routers, set-top boxes, P2P/BitTorrent, and Norton Secure VPN are not supported. It has limited compatibility with Netflix and streaming services. Even worse, during testing, there were data breaches that compromised people’s privacy.

Norton Secure VPN speeds during CNET’s tests were not especially fast, but they were on pace with other mid-tier VPNs. Norton receives points for its 60-day money-back guarantee and 24/7 live customer care phone help, despite the fact that its VPN is only compatible with Mac, iOS, Windows, and Android.

The price structure of Norton Secure VPN deviates somewhat from what is often seen in the market. Depending on the number of concurrent connections you want to have with your account, pricing is tier-based. The cost for a single device is $30 for the first year, $50 for each additional year, or $4.99 per month for the monthly plan. The price increases to $40 in the first year and to $80 in the following years for five simultaneous connections, or $8 per month for the monthly plan. The cost for up to ten simultaneous connections is $60 for the first year, $100 for each additional year, or $10 per month for the monthly plan.

Mullvad

Mullvad is an independent, open-source VPN service provider that prioritizes user security and privacy while fostering a culture of openness and transparency. Mullvad’s solution is generally equally as well-made and user-friendly as many of the larger companies in the market, despite the fact that there are other VPNs that are much more well-known in the sector.

Mullvad is primarily concerned about safety. Mullvad uses the industry-standard AES 256-bit encryption to safeguard user connections, much like the majority of other leading VPN service providers. The DNS leak prevention and kill switch functionality of Mullvad are active by default and cannot be turned off. The kill switch functioned as planned throughout our testing, and we found no leaks of any type. The firm claims that it does not maintain any activity records on its users and that it is generally open about its business practices and measures taken to safeguard user privacy. The distinctive feature of Mullvad is that no personal information is needed to register. Mullvad produces a unique 16-digit account number for every new user, while other VPN companies need customers to submit their login and email address. Mullvad takes cash sent in the mail, so you don’t even need to enter your payment details.

Although Mullvad’s open source nature is shown by the fact that all of its source code is available to the public, we would still want to see Mullvad publish an annual transparency report that would show the public the number of legal demands the firm receives and the sources of those requests. Mullvad informs us of the impending completion of a new security assessment; nevertheless, the German cybersecurity firm Cure53 finalized the company’s 2020 security audit, which found that the VPN “does a great job protecting the end user from common PII leaks and privacy-related risks.”

Mullvad has a rather modest VPN server network, with 68 sites across 38 countries. Nevertheless, the network is rather widely dispersed over the world and reaches the most sought-after areas. Furthermore, its network makes up for any lack of size with speed. It was clearly one of the quickest VPNs we’ve tested, with average speeds dropping by just 23% in our most recent round of testing (most VPNs will slow you down 50% or more). Mullvad isn’t the ideal for stuff that is geoblocked, despite its amazing speeds. While connecting to Mullvad’s US servers, we had no trouble streaming Netflix, however we were unable to view Disney-Plus.

Mullvad’s pricing strategy is refreshingly simple, particularly in light of the several other VPN companies that are creating ever-more complex pricing schemes. Whether you wish to use Mullvad for a month, a year, or ten years, the fee is only $5 per month, and there are never any long-term commitments. Within 30 days of purchasing, you may request a refund if you’re not happy with the service.

Other VPNs our experts are reviewing

A few more VPNs are listed below. In the next months, we will be reevaluating them.

PureVPN

According to PureVPN, connection information is not logged. In 2018, the firm became part of the “no log” movement and was audited by Althius IT, a third-party organization (but one that PureVPN paid for).

We like that PureVPN accepts bitcoin payments and has a thirty-day return policy. We also like that PureVPN offers Chromebook and Kodi applications. Furthermore, the first VPN provider that we found to properly integrate GDPR compliance was PureVPN.

StrongVPN

StrongVPN soars to the top of our ranking because to its good infrastructure and affordable pricing. StrongVPN receives praise for its broad IP address base and for having a strict no-logging policy. It has locations all around the globe and a good selection of servers. If you want a dedicated IP address, the organization offers these; however, assistance with configuring them requires reaching out to customer service.

StrongVPN’s network is one of its advantages. It has no external restrictions on bandwidth or the kinds of internet traffic that are permitted on the network since it owns and runs its own network infrastructure.

While StrongVPN’s standard annual pricing of $80 is among the lowest of our competitors, its monthly price of $10.99 is in the center of the pack.

Do I need a VPN?

Using a VPN may be advantageous for anybody accessing the internet via a computer, tablet, or smartphone. Not everyone needs a VPN, including journalists, activists, and government dissidents. The emergence of cross-site advertising trackers, third-party data brokers, IP address collection, and mobile geo-targeting has created an online browsing environment that seriously compromises the privacy of regular users. Your browsing data is safe from your network administrator and your internet service provider (as well as any government agencies that may request your ISP data) since a VPN encrypts your connection. A VPN may also prevent someone from prying into your network and accessing your sensitive data, such as usernames, passwords, and bank or credit card information.

What is the best free VPN?

The only free VPN that we have found so far that is worthwhile to use is Proton VPN’s free tier. Running a VPN is expensive, and most free VPN providers recoup their expenses by selling user data in place of membership fees. It is typically advised to stay away from free VPNs since they are not only less secure and have limited functionality, but many of them also serve as fronts for the spread of malware. The limitless free plan offered by Proton VPN is quick, safe, and suitable for the majority of internet tasks, including Netflix viewing. You may also have a look at our selection of the most inexpensive VPNs if you’re on a tight budget but still want to use a premium VPN service.

What is a mobile VPN?

To put it simply, a mobile VPN is one that you can use on your iPhone or Android phone. The desktop clients of every service we suggest are available on mobile devices. To guarantee better data privacy for your whole device, you may use a VPN software that is optimized for mobile devices. Additionally, compared to desktop VPNs, mobile VPNs often have a lower memory footprint and use less processing power, which results in quicker connection speeds and longer battery life. Remember that in order to obtain such smartphone speeds, the majority of mobile VPN clients will employ a less secure encryption than a desktop client. If your privacy requirements are high, make sure you’re utilizing the highest encryption available by checking the settings of your VPN programs. For their services, our top three VPN choices each feature fantastic, user-friendly mobile VPN app alternatives. Certain VPNs are compatible with all mobile platforms, while others are limited to certain ones, such as iOS or Android. Use the mobile-specific VPN guidelines below to choose the best mobile VPN for you. Remember to check back often as we regularly update them with our retesting information.

Are VPNs legal?

In the majority of nations, using a VPN is completely legal. Taking precautions to safeguard your online privacy is perfectly acceptable, and you shouldn’t have to worry about using a VPN as part of that process landing you in legal hot water.

There are several nations where using a VPN is either prohibited or illegal. You can run into legal issues if you use a VPN in any of the following nations: Belarus, China, Iran, Oman, Russia, Turkmenistan, UAE, or Turkmenistan. Ironically, these are the nations with the highest rates of internet monitoring and censorship. You must pick a VPN that offers high obfuscation in certain countries so that your VPN traffic seems to be regular HTTPS traffic. This way, government agencies won’t even be aware that you are using a VPN at all.

For the most part of the globe, utilizing a VPN won’t get you in legal hot water. However, it’s vital to remember that even while VPNs are generally lawful, it’s still prohibited to engage in criminal behavior online.

How do I use a VPN for Netflix?

Geo-restricted material might be annoying if you reside in or are visiting a nation that regulates media. When using an online streaming service like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, or Disney Plus, you may use a VPN to get around restrictions and get the media material that is typically available in your own region. Select a VPN that offers obfuscation and allows you to choose the country through which you wish to connect. (Our three favorites provide this.) Netflix can be unblocked without the obfuscation function, but because streaming providers actively work to prevent VPN connections, it might be useful since it masks your VPN flow as normal internet traffic.

If you want to test out several VPNs, choose one that has a lot of IP addresses—ideally, at least 10,000. This is due to the fact that blocking known VPN IPs is one method used by Netflix and other services to prevent VPN use; if your VPN has tens of thousands of IPs, there’s a greater likelihood that you’ll be able to connect to an IP address that Netflix hasn’t recognized.

After installing your VPN, open your browser, connect to the nation whose material you want to watch, and go to the streaming website. The website should regard you as a resident of the nation you have chosen and show you material meant for that audience if your VPN is functioning properly. Try using your browser in incognito mode or cleaning your cookies and cache if you’re still experiencing issues.

How do I know if my VPN is working?

Your IP address will change and your location will be recorded as that of the VPN server you’re connected via, which is the first and most obvious sign that your VPN is operating properly. A website like whatismyipaddress.com allows you to verify this.

Additionally, you should confirm that your VPN is safeguarding your privacy and not disclosing any information to other parties, such as your ISP, who could be keeping an eye on your online activities, or to anybody else outside of the VPN tunnel. Visit a website such as dnsleaktest.com or ipleak.net to search for leaks. You can be sure your VPN is protecting your privacy if your location matches the location of the VPN server and your leak tests come up negative.

What is a remote-access VPN?

With a remote-access VPN, users may securely access their network from a distance using public infrastructure like the internet. This has special significance for businesses and their corporate networks. When staff members utilize public hotspots to send emails relating to their jobs, it’s important. A VPN gateway on the business network is connected to a VPN client on the user’s PC or mobile device. Usually, the device will need to authenticate itself to this gateway. After that, it will establish a network connection to the device so that it may communicate with internal network resources like file servers, printers, and intranets just as it would if it were connected to the same local network.

What is a site-to-site VPN?

This is the process by which a network in one place is connected to another network using VPN technology and a gateway device. IPsec is used by most site-to-site VPNs that connect over the internet. VPN experts often believe that IPsec-based encryption technologies provide less protection against contemporary monitoring. It is also common practice to employ multiprotocol label-switching clouds as the primary transport for site-to-site VPNs instead of the public internet.

VPNs are often defined between certain computers, which are typically servers located in different data centers. The VPN gateway in the cloud has now changed due to new hybrid-access scenarios; they usually include a secure connection from the cloud service provider into the internal network.

WHAT’S THE FASTEST VPN?