What is a VPN?
A virtual private network (VPN) gives you online privacy and anonymity by creating a private network from a public internet connection. Most importantly, VPN services establish secure and encrypted connections to provide greater privacy than even a secured Wi-Fi hotspot.
Where do you need to use?
Most people won't need to log into a VPN service when accessing the internet from
home. Nor when accessing the internet from an Android smartphone or iPhone.
But when you need to use public wifi or any internet that you are not 100% confident in, then it’s helpful to use a VPN. Or if you need to signal that you are located in a different country to be able to access services that limit access by country you need a VPN.
What are the best VPN services?
Understand that there is no strong consensus around a “best VPN service” and the opinions of experts has changed a lot as this is a dynamic area of development.
That said, here’s a list of popular ones as described by one online source.
- ExpressVPN - Best VPN Overall.
- NordVPN - Best Encryption.
- Surfshark - Best VPN for Torrenting.
- IPVanish - Best VPN for Android.
- Tunnelbear - Best Free VPN.
- Also read WireCutter article on Best VPN service
How to Decide on VPN
You’ll have to make a best educated estimate of which one to use, and then feel free to change if you find it problematic or sub-optimal for any reason.
