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How to choose the best VPN in 2024?
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Why use a VPN at all?
We always leave traces of ourselves behind every time we use the internet. Internet service providers, advertisers, and every website you connect to, collect your data. Your privacy cannot be taken for granted on the internet. A VPN connection protects you on the internet from tracking attempts and keeps your usage of the internet private.
Whether you are using a computer or a phone, Windows or Mac, Android or iOS, your internet usage is tracked by many different parties. The internet is full of risks, regardless of the device or operating system. A VPN is an absolutely essential tool for protecting your privacy.
But how to choose the best VPN in 2024? What are the factors by which you can recognize a good VPN? This article will tell you all you need to know about VPN services.
The best VPN isn’t the same for everyone
The best VPN in 2024 is not necessarily the same product for everyone. There are differences between VPN services and there are numerous service providers. When choosing a service provider, the most important thing is to know for what use the VPN is being acquired. A good VPN, first and foremost, safeguards your privacy on the internet and protects your internet connection. However, this does not always happen, as we’ll explain later.
A VPN can also be used, for example, for accessing the streaming services of other countries or other country-restricted content. However, many streaming and other internet services seek, by invoking copyright reasons, to restrict access to their contents through VPN services.
Consider what you use VPN for
If it is important to you to watch the TV programs of other countries, it’s worth figuring out which service is the most suitable for that. If, on the other hand, streaming services are not the most important factor for you and you want to focus on the protection of your privacy and security, the best VPN service for you is one that focuses on these aspects. The best VPN of 2024 can be found when you take the issues below into account.
The best VPN does at least these things
It’s your job to decide which is the best VPN service for you. Only you know what you need. Nevertheless, when you are choosing a VPN service for yourself, make sure that the VPN service meets at least the following criteria:
The service protects your privacy on the internet
It provides a comprehensive and secure server network
It provides servers in your local areas in particular
It does not store your browsing data or resell it
It is from a country whose legislation does not jeopardize the privacy of users
It tells you openly and clearly what data is stored and why
It is available for both computers and mobile devices
When you take the points mentioned above into account, safeguarding your privacy on the internet is in good shape. Continue reading and you can find out why these aspects are important.
How many VPN servers should a provider have?
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Having many servers can be problematic
Many VPN providers advertise their service on their network which is even thousands of servers in size. A large number of servers can indeed make high connection speeds possible. The same server is probably burdened with a smaller number of users than when there are only a few servers. However, from the point of view of security and privacy, the matter is not quite so black and white.
Who owns VPN servers?
Few providers themselves own all their servers, but instead they hire them around the world. Particularly if there is a large number of servers, it is impossible in practice to monitor all of them by themselves, even just because of cost reasons. The problem lies in the fact that hired servers are physically in the possession of others. Even if a VPN provider has wholly honest intentions, the owner of the server center or the authorities of the country in question may care little for your privacy. It is impossible to monitor the security of all servers in an airtight manner on site if they are in the possession of others.
Do you need many VPN servers?
So, a large number of servers may at first seem tempting. But it’s worth considering whether you really need hundreds of server alternatives for your own use. If you want to watch the program selection of a particular country, it’s understandable if you choose a VPN service that has a server in the country in question. However, in other cases a huge server network may be at the least be unnecessary, and sometimes even a security risk.
VPN server location affects speed
The location of the servers also affects the speed of the VPN connection. The farther away the server, the slower the connection. The best VPN in 2024 for a user living in Finland is one that offers server alternatives in Finland and nearby countries. In this way, the VPN connection remains faster than if you choose a server from Japan, for example.
From where should a VPN provider be?
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Laws dictate how your data is handled
The home country of a VPN provider is a significant security factor. VPN service providers are companies and companies must comply with the laws of their home country. These laws may require service providers to collect and hand over information to the authorities, for example to the police or intelligence agencies of their own country.
The problem with this is that you cannot know what is done with your information or sometimes not even when it is collected. Furthermore, laws can be changed and things which were previously permitted may become illegal. An example of this is the sharing of data through a peer-to-peer network. It’s also good to remember that everything that is permitted in Finland is not necessarily legal in the home country of your VPN service provider.
…but lack of laws leaves you questioning
A lack of laws that protect privacy is also problematic from the point of view of users. If such laws do not exist in the home country of the VPN service, nothing can prevent the VPN service provider from handling your data in an inadequate or harmful manner. Also, nothing guarantees that they tell the truth when they say that they take care of your data. If, on the other hand, the issue is regulated through laws, you can be assured that the service provider must take care of data protection.
The best VPN service does not come from these countries
Many western countries belong to an intelligence community called 14 Eyes. Countries which belong to this community can share intelligence information without telling their users about it. The VPN service providers located in these countries can be obligated to collect data about their users. These 14 countries are: Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the USA.
If your VPN provider is from these countries, it is worth bearing in mind that data collected about you can end up with the authorities of the countries in question at any time, without your consent. Your privacy becomes weaker as a result of this. The best VPN connection for internet usage in accordance with the privacy laws that people have become accustomed to in Finland is one which is not located in the 14 Eyes countries. Finland is not a member of the 14 Eyes intelligence community.
Also countries which are questionable in terms of their privacy situations, such as China or Russia, are challenging from the point of view of the security of VPN services. Many free VPN applications, particularly those meant for phones, originate from China and their main task is to collect information about their users. What is done with the data after that is completely in the dark.
Why does data logging matter?
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All VPN providers log something
The concept of logging is often talked about in the case of VPN services. What is meant by this is the collection and retention of user data. Many services say in their marketing that they do not log, i.e. record the data of their users, at all. However, this is not true, because every service has to monitor its users in some way.
Some data is essential from the point of view of providing the service. The service provider can inevitably single out who you are and whether you have the right to use the service (in other words, if you’ve paid for it). They also know other information related to you, such as how many user licenses you have, when your license will expire etc. In principle, not all logging is a problem and a part of it is essential in practice.
What is bad logging?
Data relating to what you do on the internet, on the other hand, is a cause for concern when it is stored. Your VPN service should not record your browsing history, data regarding what you download to your device or what you buy, or your private messages. Most often when services claim that they do not record your data, they are talking specifically about this data. The best VPN connection keeps your browsing information only as your personal information, but recording some data is essential and harmless.
No logging claims are easy to make but hard to prove
Many services that have claimed that they do not record the data of their users have been caught doing the opposite. Therefore, for that reason as well, it’s worth taking it with a pinch of salt when a service uses the term no logs in their marketing.
Is free VPN a good choice?
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Running a VPN service costs
Running a VPN service is not free. Even just the upkeep of servers is an expensive business. It goes without saying that companies have to cover the costs of their operations in some way. You may have heard the saying if you don’t pay for the product, you are the product. Even though this is not always true, it’s worth considering with every free service how the costs are covered.
Free VPN can sell your data
A free VPN service most often finances its operations by selling the data of its users to advertisers. As established before, when you use a VPN service all the data that relates to your internet usage is in the possession of your service provider. This information is valuable to advertisers and criminals. If you are using a free VPN, the probability that your data is being sold to finance the operations is fairly large. If your data is sold to third parties, all the privacy that you have achieved is nullified.
A free VPN may also be a security risk
Many free services have been found to spread malware. A free VPN service may also finance its operations by directing you to different sites than where you intended to connect to. They may also sell your internet bandwidth to other net users.
One irritatingly common way to make money is to show advertisements to users. Some free VPN services also limit connection speeds or restrict data usage, thus leading their users to pay for the full version. On the other hand, some free VPN services are server-based. With these, it should be noted that they only protect traffic that passes through the server in question. A separate VPN application protects all the network traffic that leaves from your device.
Paying for VPN is the safest option
Not every free VPN service is harmful or suspect. However, it’s good to be aware of the risk factors associated with them. When you pay for a VPN service, you don’t have to guess how the operations are financed. Also, your connection is not restricted or sold to others, and you get comprehensive customer support and many other substantial benefits. As the old saying goes, you get what you pay for. That’s why the best VPN is not free.
How can you verify VPN providers’ claims?
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Go through the service provider’s privacy policy
In their privacy policies, service providers tell you what data they collect about you, and also what is done with your data and how long the data is stored. Through the privacy policy, you can verify the marketing claims, for example with regard to logging, and also the trustworthiness of the service provider. Remember that when you use a VPN, you are entrusting your service provider with all the data related to your net usage.
If the privacy policy has been made difficult to understand, there is cause to consider why it is like that. Many service providers rely on users not understanding what they read and therefore accepting the terms of use carelessly. In this way, they come to give permission for the use of their data for dubious purposes. Do not fall into this trap. If you want to protect your privacy with the aid of a VPN connection, you have to be informed about the provider’s privacy policies. The best VPN service will tell you about the handling of your data openly and in plain language.
Approach reviews and comparisons with caution
When you look for a service, you will probably search for information on the internet. Indeed, you can find a lot of different kinds of comparisons. Unfortunately, comparisons and reviews are rarely neutral. This is because comparison sites get a share of the sales profits for themselves.
It pays for websites to direct readers with their positive reviews to choose a service provider with which the website is in collaboration. The service provider in question pays the websites a share of the sales that are realized. It’s in the interests of the websites to leave other services relatively disregarded, or even to criticize them. This phenomenon is called affiliate marketing.
However, not all comparison sites and reviews have been meddled with. Still, be particularly wary of websites that praise some service to high heaven and then give you some kinds of offers for the service in question. The advertisements and pop-up windows of service providers on the review site also give away the existence of collaboration with the service providers in question.
What is a VPN connection?
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What does VPN do?
VPN stands for virtual private network. If a VPN is not used, your internet connection goes directly from your device to the internet and can be detected by various observers. When a VPN connection is enabled, all your internet traffic first goes in an encrypted form to the server of your VPN service provider. From there, it is directed to the services that you want.
VPN protects your IP address
When your web traffic comes from the server of your VPN service provider, your actual IP address remains hidden. The internet pages that you use see that your traffic is coming from the location of the VPN server and not from your actual location. The source of your web traffic cannot be identified.
Because the VPN encrypts your IP address and web traffic, your privacy on the internet remains protected. At the same time, you get access to country-restricted content, when you change the location of your IP address to another country. Read more about what a VPN connection is.
VPN providers can collect your data
Internet usage always leaves data behind. As soon as you connect your device to the Internet, your service provider begins collecting data about you. Your location, the details of your device, your IP address, the browser that you use, your connection speed etc. All this information about you and your device is recorded automatically when you use the Internet. This information is more valuable than you might think.
When you use a VPN, all the information related to your internet usage is held by your VPN service provider. It is extremely important to know what is done with this information and what your service provider can use it for. The best VPN protects your privacy, but the wrong choice can in fact compromise it. For example, if your VPN service provider resells your data, all the privacy that you have gained through the VPN is nullified.
By familiarizing yourself with the privacy policy of the service provider, you can find out what data they collect about you, why they do it, and also what they do with your data. Service providers must tell you all of these things. In the privacy policy, it must also be stated if your data will be sold or transferred to third parties.
Using VPN is easy
Setting up a VPN connection does not require technical skills or experience with computers. Setting up a VPN connection is done with a separate application. In these, connection is usually set up with one on-off button.
In addition, you can usually choose the location of the VPN server from several alternatives. However, it is not necessary to do this, but instead a VPN connection can be set up, when required, by pressing just one button.
After setting up the connection, all your internet traffic is protected at once. The protection lasts until you switch off the VPN.
A VPN for mobile devices
The threats associated with the internet and privacy apply to mobile devices such as phones and tablets as well. They are used for the same things as computers. So, get a VPN for the protection of your privacy for mobile devices too. However, not all service providers’ VPN applications are available for both computers and mobile devices. The best VPN application is one that you can get for all your devices with one subscription.
