
The longer subscription plan you take, the cheaper your VPN will cost. Short-term subscriptions can be pricey, often topping £10 per month, but if you’re willing to make a year-long commitment you can pay less than half of that. Thankfully, subscribing to a good VPN service doesn’t cost a fortune anymore. The sad truth is that some of them are funded by monetising your online activity, which runs rather counter to the purpose of a VPN.

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While there are a few free VPNs out there, but we suggest you steer clear of these because you need to ask yourself how these services sustain themselves. How much should I pay, and how many devices can I protect? This is the only failsafe way to protect your online safety regardless of where your VPN service is based. Regardless of which country your VPN service is based in, you should always choose one with a strict no-logs policy, meaning that it doesn’t store any information in the first place. Other countries don’t have as stringent rules, meaning the local authorities won’t be able to monitor what you’re doing, or legally compel the VPN service to hand over your data. These five countries are commonly known as the ‘Five Eyes’ because they have an intelligence-sharing agreement between them, which extends to online surveillance. Without this, a network glitch could theoretically cause your computer to suddenly switch back to your unencrypted ISP connection, thereby exposing your online activity.įor extra peace of mind, choose a VPN service based outside Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK and US. This automatically suspends all internet activity if the VPN connection is lost for any reason. Here's an in-depth explanation from one of our top-recommended VPN providers, ExpressVPN.Īnother useful feature to look out for is a “killswitch” option in the software. Most VPNs use 256-bit encryption which is effectively unbreakable, along with a host of other security technologies. On the other hand, if your primary aim is to access US-streaming services like US Netflix, HBO and Hulu, then you’re better off choosing a service with a high proportion of US-based servers, even if that particular VPN service doesn’t have as many servers in other countries.Īs long as you choose a reputable one, yes. But don’t go by numbers alone.įor example, if you’re a regular traveller you might want a VPN service whose servers are spread out across a large number of countries. In general, VPN services with a good number of servers indicate plenty of load capacity, so you can expect a smooth, lag-free connection even if thousands of other people are using the service at the same time as you.
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However, if you try connecting to servers located in Australia and India, then you will inevitably notice the difference in speed.Īre services with more Mac VPN servers always better? For example, if you’re based in the UK, then surfing via the Netherlands won’t reduce your regular browsing speed by much. The best way to minimise your browsing speed reduction while using a VPN is to choose a server that’s not too far away from your current geographical location. This is a good thing because it means that one subscription can cover multiple devices at the same time. Almost all providers support both macOS and Windows, and most offer apps for your smartphone and tablet as well.

The first thing to know is that VPN services themselves aren’t tied to any particular platform. In short, there are several good reasons to pay the modest subscription fee for a good VPN service. The same rule applies if you’re travelling abroad and want to access BBC iPlayer, which is only available when you connect using a UK server through a good VPN service. For example, if your favourite streaming websites aren’t available in the UK, you can access them via a VPN server in the US. This works with geo-blocked content, too.

Apart from being a great way to browse safely on public Wi-Fi networks, you can also use a VPN to access websites that your ISP or government has blocked. Whoever tries to monitor your internet connection will only see an encrypted connection to your VPN service provider. When you’re connected, all your browsing traffic is securely encrypted, so no one can track your online activity – not even your ISP.Ī VPN - short for ‘virtual private network’ - will ensure that all your online activity stays anonymous.

Using a VPN service is like having your own private internet.
