Get the protection of an affordable top VPN, without the limitations imposed by most free VPNs.
While there are a few excellent free VPNs, most will run you more than $10 per month. In this roundup, we look at the VPNs that don’t come with the restrictions of a free VPN but won’t break the bank either. Who Needs a VPN? When you switch on a VPN, it creates an encrypted connection between your machine and a server operated by the VPN company. All your data is piped to the server before exiting back out onto the internet. Back in the day, when HTTPS was a rarity and public Wi-Fi was the wild west, this protection was essential for security. But with more sites and services securing themselves appropriately, VPNs have become more of a privacy product. When you use a VPN, it prevents your ISP from being able to monitor the sites you visit (and potentially monetize that data). A VPN can also make it harder for advertisers from monitoring your movements across the web. For some people, VPNs are still an essential tool. For anyone living under threat of oppression or surveillance (which, realistically, could be anyone), a VPN makes it much harder for observers to see what you’re doing online. They can also be used to bypass state-sponsored sensorship, letting people freely access the web. Some people use them for watching Netflix in another country. But for the average person, a VPN is a tool for being a little less exposed on the web. Keep in mind, however, that with enough time and effort a determined adversary is likely to win out. If you choose to use a VPN, therefore you should also make sure you are protecting yourself in other ways.
