Most people are familiar with a VPN and use it quite often in their daily life. The essence of a VPN is to encrypt your internet connection. Therefore, you can use it to buy goods from foreign online stores, access sites blocked in your region, or access your personal bank account if connected to public Wi-Fi. You should choose a reliable VPN for a safe connection.
Not all VPN providers are created equal. Many of them greatly slow down the Internet, thereby harming more than helping. When choosing a VPN, you should always check your Internet speed. With the right speed test tools, you will know your download speed and latency. Besides this, other aspects should be considered when choosing a reliable VPN. Let’s have a detailed look at them below.
Tips for Choosing a Reliable VPN
Here are the things you should consider when choosing a reliable VPN.
Take a close look at the VPN provider’s business model
Many virtual networks are built from tens or hundreds of servers. Therefore, many of them are expensive to operate, especially those that meet safety standards. But, at the same time, there are servers that you can use without a paid subscription. They tend to run on advertising and attract users with a free subscription.
At the same time, many of them do not guarantee security, and there is a possibility of personal data leakage. Free VPNs can be used from time to time. The main thing is not to use them on an ongoing basis so that personal data does not fall into the wrong hands.
Find out where the provider’s headquarters are located
This is necessary to secure your data. After all, if a company does not store log files and does not keep a log of connections, it will not transfer confidential information. Many people put a tick in the user agreement without reading it, but it is essential to read it. After all, it can be indicated here whether the provider stores information about users.
Testing in the morning, money in the evening
If you decide to buy a VPN, we recommend testing it first and paying for the subscription. This is due to the quality of the service provided to you and whether a VPN is suitable for your browser and specific purposes. After all, even the most popular applications are not 100% compatible with all servers and gadgets.
Internet speed should not slow down
As mentioned earlier, be sure to check your internet speed when connecting via a VPN. Slight loss of speed is normal, but a deviation of more than 30% indicates poor VPN connection quality.
Pay attention to the number of network users
This does not refer to the number of users of a particular VPN but your Internet users. If more than three users are connected to Wi-Fi, at least 2 of them must have a secure connection via VPN. Otherwise, your data may leak through other (unsecured) users on the same network. But keep in mind that some services limit this number of users.
These are certainly not all guidelines to help you when choosing a VPN. It is important to be clear about the purpose for which encryption will be used. For some users, connection speed is a priority. For others, data security and anonymity. You won’t be able to get everything at once. You will need to choose what is more important to you. Important – use reliable VPN servers with a “history” that they have been in operation for more than one day. And this applies not only to free but paid providers.
VPN Choice Checklist
- Â Â Test period. If you can test the service for 24 hours or more, be sure to take this opportunity. You can figure out some of the nuances and make a decision.
- Â Â Service cost. Buying an annual (or longer) plan is a real way to save money on a subscription. For trial, choose cheaper tariffs.
- Â Â Additional services. Study the providers’ offerings and determine which ones you will use.
- Â Â Reviews. There are unscrupulous companies that are in demand for bypassing blocking by users.
- Â Â Technical support. Be sure to ask questions in the VPN support. Thoughtful and quick responses from employees indicate the professionalism of the team.
