If your online activities are not limited to checking e-mail once a day, then a good VPN is a must-have for you. Actually, there are plenty of reasons to use a virtual private network, but irrespective of the reason, it is important to choose the right provider. PrivacyRadarPro is here to help you make a choice. We’ve tested a lot of VPN services and can say for sure, which of them work best for addressing particular issues. Moreover, we’ll help you to find the best solution for various types of platforms – Windows, Android, Mac, iOS, and others. We know what the best VPN for torrenting is and which providers are the most powerful when it comes to unlocking geo-restricted sites.
How to Choose the Best VPN: Things to Consider
The best VPN service must meet several basic requirements. When ranking VPN products, we estimate the following aspects of each of them:
- Price (free, low-budget, premium).
- Connection speed (the peak speed and its consistency).
- Logging policy.
- Streaming and torrenting capabilities.
- Features and compatibility with various platforms.
- Support.
Our top 5 VPN services comply with most requirements. All of them have hundreds of servers in various corners of the world, support advanced encryption protocols, and provide a decent level of upload and download speed. That said, they are not equally great for torrenting and streaming. To pick out the service for your particular needs, read our full VPN reviews.
Why People Use VPN Software?
People all over the world can use VPNs for different reasons. Though some Internet users tend to associate VPN with something illegal or dangerous, in fact, the reasons for using it are usually quite prosaic, and you may find some of the applications rather useful for you personally.
Using Internal Corporate Networks
Modern business networks often cover more than one country. More and more people work in a major foreign corporation remotely. This is convenient, but sometimes remote employers face the problem of accessing the corporate network, which can be closed to the residents of their countries. The same is about foreign business trips. For example, in China (where millions of businesses are concentrated), you won’t be able to access most western sites, including popular social networks and messengers. The only solution is a strong anonymous VPN.
Content Streaming
One can find all types of video content in the world web. The world’s largest repositories store hundreds of thousands of first-class movies, clips, etc. The problem is that these best platforms (such as Netflix US) are not available to the residents of other countries. A good VPN helps to unlock access to the desired site, effectively bypassing regional restrictions. Most top VPNs are capable of unblocking Netflix as well as other popular sites, including BBC iPlayer, Kodi, etc.
Torrenting
File sharing with the use of the Bit Torrent protocol is a popular way of downloading files from the Internet. But it can turn out that the top torrenting site is blocked by your Internet Services Provider. Moreover, most people don’t like the idea of revealing their true IP address when sharing files with other users. The best way out is using a VPN you can trust. A good torrenting-friendly VPN must support P2P protocol and have several dedicated P2P servers. Also, it must provide a high download speed. Most of our recommended paid VPNs meet these requirements.
Gaming
All types of online games form an important part of the modern Internet culture. If you want to feel protected when playing and access all the games, including those that are normally unavailable to people living in your region, then a VPN can make a difference for you. It will help you to protect your sensitive data from hackers and get access to the world’s most complete collection of gaming content.
Protection of Your Identity and Personal Data
Nobody wants to become a victim of hackers. Your personal data (including financial data, passwords, credit cards numbers, etc.) are more reliably protected when you use a VPN client. If the information is encrypted, it is much more difficult to steal it. People look for a reliable VPN because they want to feel protected when sharing any types of sensitive data over the Internet.
An Issue of ISP Throttling
Whether you like it or not, but your ISP is aware of every your step on the Internet. If your activities seem suspicious for some reason, it can block you. It is your ISP who decides what websites you are allowed to visit. No surprise, many people are not happy about being tracked in the 24/7 mode. A VPN client installed on your PC resolves this problem. Nobody will track you anymore.
A Possibility to Buy Cheaper
It’s not a secret that many online retailers have a flexible pricing policy. As a result, the cost of one and the same item can vary significantly depending on your location. VPN will let you save money on shopping. Moreover, you’ll be able to buy in the online stores that are otherwise unavailable. Buy cheaper with best virtual private network services.
The Drawbacks of Using a VPN
Using a VPN brings a lot of benefits. However, there are some pitfalls that you must be aware of. Here are some of the downsides of using a VPN.
- Lower speed. Even the best VPN service will cause a speed drop of approximately 30%. To a large extent, it depends on the location of the intermediate server, the load on this server, and the bandwidth available. But all the existing VPNs slow down the connection speed in any case.
- It is not 100% impossible to track you. Depending on the VPN service provider, your logs can be collected or not. Of course, the risks are higher when you use free VPN software. Most of the premium providers claim a zero-logging policy. If any user data is collected and stored, there is a risk that it will be traded or provided at the request to the law enforcement bodies.
- The fastest VPN solutions are a bit pricey. Of course, you can find a cheap VPN, but chances are it will feature limited possibilities or provide a limited bandwidth amount or will be too slow. This problem is partially resolved by purchasing a 1- or 2-year plan from one of the premium providers. All our top 5 VPN providers offer discounts up to 50-70% to those who buy the maximum plan.
There are some drawbacks in using VPNs. However, for most people, benefits outweigh the downsides. It is clearly evidenced by the growing popularity of VPNs.
Is it Legal to Use VPN?
Many people hesitate about using VPN because they are not sure about the legal aspect. Well, is VPN legal at all? In the majority of situations, the answer is positive. In most countries, you don’t break the law by using virtual private networks. Some countries do forbid some VPNs. For example, in China, it is allowed to use only a few approved VPNs. Theoretically, for using an unapproved service, you can be fined or even sentenced to prison. But in practice, it is almost impossible to catch you, and in 99% of cases, nobody will ever try to do it (if you are not an international criminal). In America and most European countries, you may use a VPN without the fear of any sanctions until you don’t do something apparently illegal.
How Much will it Cost Me?
The cost varies significantly from one VPN provider to another. There are even some free providers, but we don’t recommend them for a variety of reasons. Firstly, their capabilities are very limited. Secondly, they are slow. Thirdly, they can’t be used for streaming and torrenting. Finally, most of them can’t provide the due level of privacy.
When it comes to choosing a premium VPN, it’s important to understand that the basic price per month is relatively high – from $4 to $12. But you can buy the same product at a much lower price (with huge discounts of 70% and more) if you opt for an annual or a bi-annual plan. Most providers realize that no one wants to buy a pig in a poke. That’s why they provide some time for testing. Usually, this is a trial period (up to 7 days) and a refunding period (up to a month). Thus, if you decide that the product purchased doesn’t meet your needs at full, you can get refunded without questions asked.
Save by Using a VPN on a Router
Usually, when you buy a VPN package, you can connect more than one device under one license (from 2 to 10). However, there is a smarter and more effective solution for those who use multiple devices connected to a single home network. You can resolve the problem at the root by installing a VPN for a router. Nowadays, VPN router solutions are offered by many providers: all you need is to choose the right VPN-compatible device that is easy to configure. After the VPN for a router is installed and activated, you can connect any number of devices to your home network without the need of buying several licenses or downloading clients for every smartphone, laptop, and tablet. That said, you need to keep in mind that every new device connected to the network reduces the speed. The more devices you use simultaneously, the slower your VPN connection will work.
Choose the Right VPN for Your Operating System
Though VPN for a router has its own benefits, using software for a particular operating system in many cases is more advantageous. There are at least two reasons to opt for a dedicated client for your device (PC or telephone). Firstly, it is easier to install and set up a VPN on a computer than on a router. In the majority of cases, it is installed automatically, no manual setting is required. Secondly, the speed will be higher if VPN is activated on one device only.
Nothing is easier than to find a good Windows VPN. All the top providers recommended by PriacyRadarPro offer software for Windows. No matter what is your reason to get a VPN − torrenting, online streaming, gaming, or bypassing regional restrictions − you’ll find the service that will meet all your requirements. Windows is the world’s most popular platform, and there are oodles of ready-made software solutions optimized for it.
Mac OS can be less flexible than Windows in terms of its compatibility with third-party software, but it is not impossible to find a good torrenting or gaming VPN for it. By purchasing a premium VPN pack, owners of Mac laptops will protect themselves from possible tracking. This is of special importance for those who use public W-Fi networks or have to transfer any sensitive data over the Internet.
The share of mobile Internet users grows at an exponential rate. Without any doubt, Android is the most popular operating system. Like everyone else, Android users want to feel protected when browsing and using numerous online services. Fortunately, it is not a problem to choose VPN software compatible with Android. Many major VPN providers create dedicated apps that are automatically installed and easily integrated with the operating system. Using VPN on Android today is as easy as using it on a PC or a laptop.
Owners of Apple smartphones also can take advantage of using top-rated VPN solutions. Read our detailed reviews and choose the software that will work best on iOS devices. Access geo-restricted content, share information securely and prevent your ISP tracking without hassle.
We are here to help you make the right choice
There are dozens of reasons to start using a VPN. We help to choose the best software at the most favorable price. Check our current ratings and reviews to make the right choice and get a VPN that will meet your needs best.