Virtual Private Networks, or VPNs, are used to help keep your data safe while browsing the internet. When deciding between VPN companies there can be many variables between them to consider, like account security, internet privacy, how the service affects your internet connection speed, and customer service amongst others. Looking for the VPN to best fit your situation can be difficult, so here is a brief look at what to look for when deciding on a VPN service.
Privacy is the name of the game when using a VPN, so knowing what goes into keeping your data safe is important. To this end, many VPNs like NordVPN or Private Internet Access follow a “no logs” policy. A VPN company that follows this policy will not keep a log of their client’s activity while using their service so that it cannot be used against them, even in the event of a subpoena. Also worth noting is that some businesses that provide VPNs are located inside “Five Eyes” countries. This means that intelligence gathered from monitoring of the internet or businesses in those countries can easily circulate between other countries within the Five Eyes alliance. In other words, if you are not careful your data may be at risk and have a direct negative impact on you when it might not otherwise if your VPN company is located within one of these countries.
The pricing of a given VPN service can be a major factor for whether or not people use it as well; a VPN is no good if you can’t afford to use it. Amongst the many VPN services you have a few options when deciding on how much you want to spend. Windscribe VPN, for example, is a relatively cheap VPN service that has drawbacks of its own like being ill-suited for use in China. The most expensive VPN service is not always the best one either, of course, but they tend to have a larger budget to work with. Astrill VPN is one example of a relatively expensive VPN service that performs well, but it logs more data than many people in the market for VPN services would like. Whether or not a VPN service logs data, works well in China, or how much it affects the user’s internet browsing speed may or may not be a concern to a particular client, but if you take a moment to consider the pros and cons of each VPN company you might just find something that does what you need it to do for cheaper than its competition.
The security of any given piece of software should always be questioned, especially in the case of VPNs. In extreme cases, you might put yourself at risk when you otherwise might not have been in danger at all if you use a badly-secured VPN. Security risks to look for when investigating VPNs include a suspicious privacy policy, potential data logging, suspicious and unconventional use of your IP address, and even just the inclusion of malware with the VPN software. A VPN’s country of origin might be an additional concern, and it would be prudent to take into consideration the political climate of that country toward data security as well.
When looking for a product of any kind, you should make sure to understand what it is that you want from that product. Weighing the pros and cons of NordVPN vs Private Internet Access can be difficult if you don’t know what to look for, but the information needed to make this decision is freely available on the internet.
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