How to Choose the Best VPN for Your Needs?
A virtual private network or VPN enables the user to stay safe whilst online. The user can send and receive data safely, and quickly, across shared or public network as if they were directly connected to the private network. However, not all VPNs are created equal. Some VPN services may exceed the requirements of your home system, and as a result will be unnecessary and unhelpful. As some VPN services that offer the unnecessary services can be expensive, why not make sure that the VPN you choose only offers what you need as there’s no sense paying for features you don’t need. Also all web users have different VPN needs it is important to consider what an ideal VPN service would provide for you, before you go shopping for a VPN service.
Read on to find out how to choose the best VPN for you.
- Do You Need Secure Access to Your Home Network?
A VPN service provider enables you to have secure access to a remote network, not access to your own network. As a result, if you are looking to securely access your home network to gain access to local content while away from home then you do not need to get a VPN service provider. Instead what you would need is a VPN server that is attached to your device, or for better security and reduced power consumption a VPN server that runs on your home router.
- Do You Need Secure Casual Browsing?
VPNs are great for securing your device when using public Wi-Fi for example in coffee shops or whilst travelling. Public Wi-Fi hotspots are by no means guaranteed to be secure, for example the router could be running compromised firmware, and as a result by using them unprotected you could put yourself at risk of attack. The hotspot router could even be malicious and in fact stealing your data. As a result of the risk of attack in such scenarios it is a seriously good idea to protect yourself with a VPN. To secure your email and other web browsing activities then opting for a home VPN server is ideal.
- Do You Need to Geo-Shift Your Location?
If you want to access online content from another country e.g. Netflix whilst in Spain, then you may want to consider getting a VPN service that has servers located in the geographic area you want to access content from. I.e. if you want to access US content then you must ensure that your VPN provider has US serves. By choosing a VPN provider that has a lot of nodes in the country that you wish to access content from will ensure that you will be able to access an IP address in the area that you need.
- Do You Need Anonymity and Plausible Deniability?
If you have serious online needs, far beyond Netflix, then you need to ensure that your VPN provider can keep you secure. Look out for VPN providers that have loads of users which will ensure that it is harder to isolate you from the crowd, and also ensure that the VPN provider you choose does not keep logs of their users history in order to keep you and your information safe. Another consideration that you should have when finding your ideal VPN provider is what type of protocol and encryption they use.
