We'll update our recommendations and reviews if and when warranted. A commercial virtual private network is technology that allows you to create a private connection over a less private network by creating an encrypted tunnel between your computer and the internet. You can install a VPN just like you would any other app or program on your smartphone or computer. A VPN can let you get around censorship in your country or access geo-restricted media content from another country -- and prevents your internet service provider from being able to intrude on your privacy by snooping on your web browsing.
VPNs do this by allowing you to appear as though you're connecting from a different location or country. A VPN is great for anyone using public, unprotected Wi-Fi, such as what's offered in airports, bars or coffee shops. Your VPN protects your sensitive information -- from your work projects to bank account login information -- from being seen by malicious actors who trawl public Wi-Fi networks.
When you browse the internet while on a VPN, your computer will contact the website through your VPN's encrypted connection. The VPN will then forward the request for you and forward the response from the website back through its secure connection. For more beginner-focused VPN help, we've demystified some of the jargon in our guide to all the VPN terms you need to know.
People who access the internet from a computer, tablet or smartphone will benefit from VPN usage. A VPN service will almost always boost your privacy by encrypting your online activity. Communications that happen between the VPN server and your device are encrypted, so an internet service provider or someone on your Wi-Fi network spying on you wouldn't know which webpages you access. They also won't be able to see private information like passwords, usernames and bank or shopping details and so on.
Anyone who wants to protect their privacy and security online should use a VPN. Let's look at each of our VPN vendors below in more depth. Keep in mind that this is an evolving list: It's constantly being updated. We're actively working on more VPN testing and research, so expect this guide to change throughout the year as our VPN use continues and we put each option through its paces.
The list below presents our favorites overall in You'll mostly find the same names you see here, but we'll call out when and where specific traits make for a better choice in a more narrow evaluation. The VPN provider tells us its network is powered by TrustedServer technology, which ExpressVPN built to ensure that there are never any logs of users' online activities.
In the privacy world, ExpressVPN has a strong track record, having experienced a server seizure by authorities which proved its zero-log policy true at the time. Unlike the others, though, ExpressVPN gained points from us for its support of Bitcoin as a payment method -- something not all of our favorites offer, but which adds an additional layer of privacy during checkout.
Read our ExpressVPN review. While Surfshark's network is smaller than some, the VPN service makes it up on features and speed. Let's start off with the biggest win it offers: unlimited device support. If you want to run your entire home or office on Surfshark's VPN, you don't have to worry about how many devices you have on or connected. It also offers antimalware, ad-blocking and tracker-blocking as part of its software.
And it's fast. Surfshark received generally high marks when its Chrome and Firefox extensions were audited for privacy by German security firm Cure 53 PDF link of full report -- though that audit was commissioned by Surfshark. Additional devices such as game consoles can be configured for Surfshark via DNS settings. We particularly like the feature that allows you to whitelist certain apps and websites to automatically bypass the VPN.
For some business uses, this can be critically important. Surfshark also offers three special modes designed for those who want to get around restrictions and more carefully hide their online footsteps. Multihop jumps your connection through multiple countries to hide your trail. Finally, NoBorders Mode "allows [you] to successfully use Surfshark in restrictive regions. Doing any of these three things could be illegal in your country and could result in severe penalties.
Unlike many of the other VPN providers, Surfshark doesn't offer a one-year plan. Definitely take advantage of its generous day trial to decide if you like this service and if you choose the two-year plan, maybe set a reminder in 23 months to see if you can talk it into a continued discount rate. Read our Surfshark VPN review. It offers a generous simultaneous connection count, with six simultaneous connections through its network, where nearly all other providers offer five or fewer.
We detected no privacy leaks during our tests. We found NordVPN's speeds were reliably fast. There were never any sudden dips or service interruptions, and where we expected the VPN to underperform, it proved itself up to the task. But it does have a full day refund policy. While NordVPN has lived on this list for a long time, we moved it to the penalty box in October to re-evaluate our recommendation after a report emerged that one of its rented servers was accessed without authorization in Nord's actions following the discovery included -- eventually -- multiple security audits, a bug bounty program and heavier investments in server security.
While we'd have preferred it if Nord had self-disclosed the issue much earlier, the fact that the breach was limited in nature and involved no user-identifying information served to further verify that NordVPN keeps no logs of user activity.
As a result, Nord remains on this list as a recommended vendor. Read our NordVPN review. When we speed-tested ProtonVPN, we saw an impressively small 9. Even more impressive is Proton's ability to reach those speeds despite a relatively small fleet of 1, servers in 55 countries.
It is one of the best free open source VPN client software that anyone can use to anonymously browse the internet. This software offers system-wide VPN support. Besides this, it also helps users track connection stats, secure server IP addresses, certificates, and more.
It is another good open source VPN client software through which you can create a virtual private network for your whole system. By using this VPN client, you can anonymously browse the internet, protect your data from advertisement bots, and get protection from hackers. Now, take a look at the primary features of this software. As its name implies, it is mainly a web browser that has its own VPN client that allows users to browse the web anonymously.
As a result, you can bypass local censorship. Or get around geo-restrictions to watch foreign TV channels such as BBC iPlayer or to gain better value for money on your Netflix account. Best of all, a VPN encrypts all your traffic, which means everything you do online remains completely private — to stream videos or download torrents in without prying eyes. Try the best VPN for Windows. There are hundreds of VPN options for Windows, and we understand that this makes choosing a real headache.
That is why we analyze the options to give you the best possible information. All our VPN recommendations meet the criteria above — so that you can pick a provider without fear of getting an inferior service.
The summaries below take a deep-dive into each VPN for Windows. All of our suggestions have a custom VPN App for Windows — designed with privacy and internet freedom in mind. Our recommendations provide lightning-fast speeds, to let you enjoy HD streams and gaming while protected with the VPN's encryption.
To find out more about any of the featured services, check out our detailed reviews! ExpressVPN Demo. When we first started using ExpressVPN we found that the software is incredibly easy to install and use, and provides tons of high-end premium features — including a kill-switch, DNS leak protection, port selection, auto-connect, and obfuscated servers.
And since the first time using it, most of us at ProPrivacy haven't stopped. The service is based in the British Virgin Islands, which is good news for customer privacy, taking Express out of the reach of more invasive jurisdictions, and a zero-logs policy goes the extra mile to keep your data secure.
VPN newbies will find the interface intuitive and not overly complicated, and we particularly like how easy the settings are to customize, too. Even the more advanced settings can be toggled with a few clicks.
When testing the live chat support with a couple of test questions, we got great advice and didn't have to wait long for it. ExpressVPN has been around a long time and is top of the list on a lot of sites for a good reason. It provides unblocking capabilities across 94 countries and can access many popular streaming services from around the world, like Netflix and iPlayer with ease.
Customer support is second to none and you can give it a test run using its day money-back guarantee. Tested by Hannah Hart. It is a no-logs service that is perfect for Windows users who are in need of advanced VPN features.
This makes the VPN perfect for completely concealing your online habits from your ISP, the government, local network administrators, and WiFi hotspot providers. NordVPN is a service that provides lightning-fast connections that are great for streaming or doing video calls.
There really is nothing that this VPN does badly, and for this reason, it is worth taking for a test run using its money-back guarantee. Finally, this VPN has servers in over 60 countries, which means you will always be able to unblock huge amounts of geo-restricted international content. Tested by Aaron Drapkin. This ensures that even if it is approached with a warrant by the authorities, it never has any data to hand over.
And PIA has proven its no-logs claims in a court on more than one occasion. We thoroughly tested the PIA windows client and found it to be a highly featured app that easily competes with other leading services. We used it to torrent with ease and had no issues with connection speeds or reliability. Plus, it has advanced features like port forwarding and split tunneling, which made it extremely versatile and user friendly,. We also like that it comes with OpenVPN encryption by default and that it has a kill-switch, DNS leak protection, and obfuscation which means you can use it anywhere.
We tested the Windows app for unblocking Netflix and was happy with the speeds it provides. The US catalog worked perfectly for me, and we were able to stream extra shows that aren't available in the UK. We also like its customizable settings, which allowed me to weaken the encryption to get better speeds — or strengthen it to be extra secure when using public Wi-Fi.
The VPN currently has 74 server locations around the world, which means you can always get good speeds or unblock a variety of international services. And, you can use this VPN on 10 devices simultaneously, which means you can install it on your mobile and tablet to use it on public Wi-Fi, or on smart TVs, Firesticks, or anything else you own.
A bargain VPN that is worth comparing to other services by making use of its day money-back guarantee. Tested by Ray Walsh. PrivateVPN makes its home in Sweden, which isn't the best news when it comes to privacy thanks to the country's data retention laws , but fortunately, the service makes up for the fact with the robust zero-logs claim.
The Windows client comes packed with a kill-switch that you can toggle to cut your internet connection entirely or just kill certain apps , port forwarding, obfuscation cloaking , a choice of encryption settings for OpenVPN, and DNS leak protection. We've put this client through its paces and found it to be superb for both beginners and tech-heads alike. We also found it to provide superb speeds for torrenting, so if you need a desktop VPN for Windows that is suited to downloading a lot of content, this is well worth a trial using its money-back guarantee.
In my opinion, the feature set makes it ideal for bypassing government restrictions — or for accessing any geo-restricted content without being monitored. It is also worth mentioning that this is one of the few services that provide access to hulu, Prime Video, and many other international streaming services, which makes it a great all-rounder. In addition, we were incredibly impressed with its live chat support and found it to have well-trained staff that can deal with all kinds of issues.
Surfshark is one of the younger VPNs on our list, but don't be fooled — it's taken the VPN market by storm in the short time it's been around. This is largely thanks to blistering speeds and a huge network of servers in 63 countries. Where the provider blows us away is with its unlimited simultaneous connections! This means you can connect as many devices as you want to the service, and all at the same time. VPN solution that allows businesses to remain anonymous when browsing the web by hiding their IP address.
Learn more about IPVanish. Provides access to a free and open Internet, connecting you to any content and sites, securely and anonymously.
On-premise and mobile VPN tool that helps users browse in private network and prevent Internet Provider from monitoring communications. Learn more about VyprVPN. Virtual private network application for keeping sensitive business and banking information secure through anonymous browsing. Surfshark View Profile. A secure VPN that encrypts your online data to stay safe and private.
Learn more about Surfshark. Pritunl View Profile. Learn more about Pritunl. Learn more about OneVPN. Freelan View Profile.
Open source multi-platform peer to peer VPN software that can be configured in multiple ways to provide private browsing. Learn more about Freelan. VPN client equipped with a variety of features that aid in protecting your identity and any sensitive files your company may have. Learn more about HIDEme. Software solution that provides businesses with full security and anonymity online.
Ivacy View Profile. Unlimited, fast, secure VPN for private internet access, online security and privacy with unlimited bandwidth and speed.
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