Since you are on this forum like me and read this, I believe that you value privacy. One first, a basic but very good step that you can take to protect your privacy is to use good and affordable VPN services.
VPN, a short term of Virtual Private Network, works by redirecting your network through a specially configured remote server (VPN Host). This means that your connection is secured and it's not possible to track your movement on the internet.
To make things as easy as ABC, I would say: When you are connected with a VPN, everything that you do, looks like it's been done by the VPN service provider. You exist in shadows.
| VPN Advantages: |
| | 1. Safety and Security | | |
| | 2. Anonymity | | |
| | 3. Access any content from any place | | |
| | 4. Save money on digital services (yeah, really) | | |
| | 5. Avoid Data/Bandwidth throttling | | |
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| | | Types of VPN | | | Types of VPN protocols | | |
| | | Remote Access VPN | | | Internet Protocol Security or IPSec | | |
| | | SitetoSite VPN | | | Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol (L2TP) | | |
| | | | | | PointtoPoint Tunneling Protocol (PPTP) | | |
| | | | | | Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) and Transport Layer Security (TLS) | | |
| | | | | | Open Source VPN | | |
| | | | | | Secure Shell (SSH) | | |
| | | | | | P2P VPN | | |
Thanks Mitchell - I took his code and matched to my thread, hope it's accepted on this forum, I mentioned the source. If there are any problems regarding this, I'll rebuild the table myself from scratch
List of VPN service providers
Privacy focused VPNs
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| | | VPN Provider | | | Pricing Model | | | Lowest monthly price | | | Lowest price (subscription) | | | Locations (countries) | | | Dedicated/Statistic IPs | | |
| | | Mullvad | | | Pay any $, get exact duration | | | 5 | | | $5 | | | 38 | | | NO | | |
| | | iVPN | | | Weekly/Monthly/Yearly | | | $6 | | | $140 3 Years | | | 32 | | | NO | | |
| | | Obscura | | | Monthly | | | $8 | | | $8 | | | 28 | | | NO | | |
| | | NYM VPN | | | Monthly/Yearly | | | $8 | | | $48 Year | | | 70+ | | | NO | | |
Privacy Focused Mainstream VPNs
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| | | VPN Provider | | | Pricing Model | | | Lowest monthly price | | | Lowest price (subscription) | | | Locations (countries) | | | Dedicated/Statistic IPs | | |
| | | ProtonVPN | | | Yearly | | | Free | | | $72 2 years | | | 40-61 | | | NO | | |
Non-Privacy Focused Mainstream VPNs
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| | | VPN Provider | | | Pricing Model | | | Lowest monthly price | | | Lowest price (subscription) | | | Locations (countries) | | | Dedicated/Statistic IPs | | |
| | | Windscribe | | | Monthly/Yearly | | | Free/$3 | | | $69 Year | | | 63 | | | YES | | |
| | | CyberGhost | | | Monthly/Yearly | | | $12.99 | | | $67 2 Years +2 months | | | 91 | | | YES | | |
| | | NordVPN | | | Monthly/Yearly | | | $12.99 | | | $96 2 Years | | | 60 | | | YES | | |
| | | Surfshark | | | Monthly/Yearly | | | 12.95 | | | $63 2 Years + 3 months | | | 63 | | | YES | | |
How to be sure that your VPN is really protecting you?
While I try to bring you the list of best VPN service providers, you still need to ensure that everything works as planned and promised. Actually, there are three major tests that you can do yourself to be sure that your VPN doesn't leak:
1. IP Leak TestThe purpose of using a VPN is to hide your real IP address. There are moments when connection lost and then gets restored, this is the moment when some VPN providers fail. To avoid this issue, definitely, you should enable the
kill switch feature on any VPN.
Simply google:
Show my real IP address and run test on any website. If the test shows your VPN address & location instead of the real one, then your IP isn't leaking.
2. DNS Leak TestDNS is responsible for translating the domain name into an IP address. Your ISP assigns you with a DNS server which they control, so they can log and record your internet usage. When the time comes, they know what you did and what you do.
Usually, users only check IP Leak Test and don't pay attention to the DNS leak test, sometimes this gives them a false sense of security.
You should run DNS Leak Test to eliminate DNS leakage.
Visit the website for test and further information:
DNS leak test3. WebRTC Leak TestWebRTC stands for Web Real-Time Communication. This technology gives you the possibility to have fast & smooth voice/video calls in your browser. If you come positive in this step, keep calm, there is nothing to worry about with your VPN service provider because the problem lies in your browser. No, you don't need to uninstall your browser because every top browser uses WebRTC technology but you should disable it.
(click for the guide)Click for
WebRTC Leak Test
I'll update this thread with more VPNs for privacy and non-privacy usage but would love to hear an opinion from you guys. From my experience, the current list is a very good one but my personal favourites for privacy are
Mullvad and
ProtonVPN.