A Virtual Private Network (VPN) is a tool that offers top-notch security to safeguard your device and data from different online threats. It creates an encrypted tunnel between its secure server and your device.
Other than this, a VPN also alters your device’s IP address. By doing so, it makes it unrecognizable to bad actors or anyone else on the internet. All in all, it’s safe to say that after connecting to a VPN, you can get a secure online experience.
However, most people don’t even know what features to look for in a reliable VPN. Plus, with so many VPNs available today, it can easily become overwhelming to choose the best one.
Having said that, I’ve compiled a few factors below that you should watch out for when choosing a VPN service. From advanced security protocols to additional features, it can help you decide the best VPN out there.
So, let’s start:
VPN and Internet Speed
Most VPNs, even the premium ones, slow down your internet connection.
As I mentioned above, a VPN establishes a secure connection between your device and its server. Now, the incoming and outgoing data first move through this encrypted server, and then head to their original destination.
So, the extra mile that our data has to cover, i.e., going through the encrypted server, consumes bandwidth. And as a result, we might feel a slowdown in our connection’s speeds.
Here, I’d suggest you choose a quality VPN with multiple servers with less traffic. This way, you might not experience slow speeds. Other than this, you should also subscribe to a high-speed connection, preferably fiber internet, to use a VPN smoothly.
Speaking from experience, I recently switched to AT&T, a fiber internet provider. Besides providing symmetrical internet, i.e., similar upload and download speeds, which are perfect for using a VPN, I can also rely on the ever-responsive AT&T customer service.
So, while choosing a VPN, ensure that it doesn’t slow down your internet speeds. And, just to be on the safe side, subscribe to a high-speed connection for a seamless VPN experience.
Number of Servers
Another factor you should watch out for is the number of servers a VPN provides.
Free VPNs often give access to limited servers, and in most cases, they’re overburdened with a lot of users. Not only does this significantly decrease the server’s speeds, but VPN might automatically disconnect to free space for new users.
On the other hand, paid VPNs offer several exclusive servers from all over the world. They are often high-speed servers with minimal traffic, and unlike the free ones, paid VPNs might not forcefully disconnect users.
Additionally, even if one server slows down, you can quickly connect to another server without compromising your online experience.
Encryptions and Protocols
One of the major responsibilities of a VPN is to secure our internet traffic and data privacy. And, VPNs achieve this objective with the help of encryption and protocols.
VPN encryption plays a crucial role in encoding our data. It typically involves robust security measures that protect our data from various threats lurking on the internet. On the other hand, a protocol dictates how a VPN establishes and maintains a connection with our device.
Now, there are different types of VPN encryptions and protocols available that take extreme security measures to ensure your data privacy.
AES-256 encryption, paired with the OpenVPN protocol, is a perfect combination. VPNs using such protocols and encryptions can offer reliable speeds and protection against harmful content on the internet.
Additionally, some VPNs use the WireGuard protocol with ChaCha20 encryption. It is also a robust combination of encryption and protocols that is used by popular VPNs like NordVPN and ExpressVPN.
Additional Features
Most VPNs offer several helpful features for free. Such features include ad-blocking abilities, anti-virus software, a kill switch, protection against malware and DDoS attacks, and more.
You must review all the additional features before choosing a VPN. Also, keep in mind that you might not find all these features in one VPN. So, you might need to consider additional features you want in a VPN, and decide accordingly.
Personally, I prefer VPNs with a kill switch. It’s basically a feature that instantly switches off the internet on your device when the VPN is disconnected accidentally. This way, a kill switch ensures that no internet traffic comes in or goes out of your device when it’s not connected to a VPN.
So, these factors can help you choose the best VPN service. But before winding up, I’ve got a suggestion to share:
Always choose a VPN that offers reliable customer support. You might encounter different issues with a VPN. And that’s when an active customer will come in handy and help you troubleshoot those problems.
