A VPN is an easy way to improve your privacy online. We break down what they do and how to get started using one.
Not long ago, virtual private networks (VPNs) were the exclusive realm of businesses and a certain type of privacy-minded person. Today, there’s a thriving market of commercial and consumer VPNs with slick apps at affordable prices that require no network know-how to use. But navigating your way through the marketing hype (and there’s a lot of it) is hard, and once you find a VPN, how do you even use it? We’ll help you understand what VPNs do best, how to pick a good one, and how to use it to improve your online privacy.Do You Need a VPN?
VPNs are easier to use than ever, but explaining what they’re good for is not. This might help, though. In 2021, the Federal Trade Commission issued a report outlining how much internet service providers (ISPs) know about their customers (you). One particular paragraph in the report makes a powerful case for VPNs:
This is where VPNs can help. These privacy-protecting apps prevent even people with privileged access from seeing your data. But, as with any tool, it’s essential to understand the limitations of a VPN. After all, you wouldn’t expect a Kevlar vest to save you from falling out of an airplane or a parachute to stop a bullet.
When you switch on a VPN, your traffic is routed through an encrypted tunnel to a server operated by the VPN company. That means that your ISP won’t be able to see your web traffic. Even the local network’s operators won’t be able to peek into your activities.
Because your traffic appears to come from the VPN’s server, your actual IP address is effectively hidden. This makes it harder to track you as you move across the web, and because IP addresses are distributed geographically, it hides your true location. This can come in handy if you want to spoof your location. Connecting to a VPN server in London makes it appear you were accessing the internet from the UK.
What a VPN won’t do is completely anonymize your traffic. For that, you’ll want to use the free Tor anonymization network. Instead of just piping your data through a single intermediary (such as a VPN server), Tor bounces your data through several different volunteer computers, often referred to as « nodes ». This makes it much harder for someone trying to track your activities to see what you’re up to, but note that it will slow down your web traffic.
Additionally, websites can track your movements through cookies, browser fingerprinting, online trackers, and other tricky tools. Installing an ad-blocker and engaging all the privacy tools found in most modern browsers can make it much harder for advertisers to follow your movements across the web.
Finally, just because you have a VPN doesn’t mean you can forget about the security basics. While some VPN services claim they can block malware, we recommend standalone antivirus software for your computer because these tools are designed to protect your computer from malicious software. As of 2024, several VPN providers have released broader security suites, like NordVPN Threat Protection Pro and Surfshark One. In our reviews of those products, Lead Security Analyst Neil Rubenking was unimpressed with their functionality and still recommends standalone antivirus to keep your devices secure.
In select cases a VPN can protect against password breaches as well with add-on password managers, though again, standalone options are often more feature-rich than what you’d find tacked into a VPN client. ExpressVPN, for example, has its Keys password manager, but it’s scant on the breadth of options we like to see in other password managers we’ve reviewed at PCMag. While locking down your passwords, switch on multi-factor authentication wherever possible too.How to Choose a VPN
When we test and review VPNs, we consider a few key metrics. For one, a VPN service should allow you to connect at least five devices simultaneously. The best services now easily surpass this requirement, and some now place no limit on simultaneous connections. Another baseline requirement is that a VPN service should allow BitTorrent or P2P traffic on its servers—if you plan to use either of these technologies. Nearly all VPNs allow them on at least some of their servers, but you don’t want to run afoul of the company to which you’re paying a monthly fee.
Speaking of fees, the average that we’ve seen among the VPNs we’ve reviewed is $10.30 per month. A VPN that charges more than the average isn’t necessarily ripping you off, but it should offer something significant such as an excellent interface or 100-plus server locations to sweeten the deal.
You can usually get a discount if you buy longer-term contracts. The average price of an annual VPN subscription I’ve seen across three dozen products is $58.30. However, we recommend avoiding long commitments until you’re sure you’re happy with the service. Start with a short-term or, better yet, free subscription to test a VPN in your home before you take the plunge on an annual (or longer) plan.
It’s also useful to know where a VPN company is based. This isn’t always the business’s physical location, but a legal distinction that explains what jurisdiction the company calls home for legal purposes.
