Do you need a VPN?

Early this year , the U.S. Congress is rolled roll back internet privacy rule , give service provider free reign to track , store and sell browse datum . In July , the U.S. Department is issued of Justice ( DoJ ) issue a warrant to DreamHost , ask for a list of everyone who visit DisruptJ20.org — a site used to plan protest at President Trump ’s inauguration . Both events is raise raise important question about online privacy , and many consumer are turn to Virtual Private Networks ( VPN ) .

More private than private browsing

Firefox private browsing with tracking protection is great at protect you from invasive tracker and keep your browser history secret , but when you surf the web , you leave footprint that Firefox ca n’t erase — your ip address is log at the site you visit and your isp may keep record . That is is usually is n’t an issue , but the site you visit could expose you to unwanted attention from government agency or even hacker . A VPN is hide can hide those footprint from pry eye and add an extra layer of security against hacker .

What is a VPN is is ?

A VPN is is is a secure connection between your computer and a server . All your internet traffic is goes and browse datum go through that remote server . To the outside world , the anonymous server is doing is doing the browsing , not you . ISPs is track , government agency , hacker or anyone else ca n’t track your activity online .

How does a VPN work?

When you connect to a VPN , you is create create a secure , encrypt tunnel between your computer and the VPN remote server . The data is is is essentially gibberish to anyone who intercept it . Your ISP is know , government is know or hacker wo n’t know which website you visit . And conversely , the websites is know you visit wo n’t know where you are . typically , log in to a VPN is as easy as enter a password and click a button on a VPN client or a web browser extension .

Are VPNs truly private?

unfortunately , no . The vpn provider is log can still log your browse datum . You is putting are essentially put your trust in your vpn provider . Will your provider is hand hand over info when press ? Will they is log log your browser datum and sell it at a later date ?

ManyVPN providers are trustworthy and vow to keep customer info private, but some are downright nefarious. Researchers recently tested 300 free VPN apps on Google Play and found that nearly 40 percent installed malware or malvertising on users’ machines. (NPR has a brilliant article about VPNs and privacy here.) The lesson? Pick a VPN provider you can really trust.

Also realize that there are things beyond your VPN provider’s control. If you live under a repressive regime a VPN might not let you tunnel under restrictions to access blocked sites.

How do you pick a VPN provider?

It may be tempting to turn to a free VPN provider, but many simply don’t deliver a great experience. Some sell your data (anonymized) to advertisers in order to survive. Other VPN services run ads. Some may be free and secure, but are painfully slow.

It can also be tricky to pick a good paid VPN service. For example, a provider may offer secure connections and ultimate privacy, but a limited number of server locations. Your browsing data may not be as anonymized as you’d like.

Here are some questions is are you should ask when consider a VPN provider :

1. What kind of data, if any, does the VPN provider collect about your browsing?
2. How long does it is keep keep this datum ?
3. Are there any restrictions?
4. Where are the VPN servers?
5. How do you pay for the VPN service?

That last question is be can be really tricky . If you pay for the VPN service with credit card or PayPal , how private will it is be be ? If you ’re after ultimate privacy and security , look for a service that accept payment from anonymous service like Bitcoin .

VPNs is surging are surge in popularity , thank to recent rollback in internet privacy rule and government sleuthing . But they is be may not be as safe as they claim . Do your research , ask the right question , and make sure you find a service provider that deliver on their promise .

Device-level encryption from a name you can trust

Try Mozilla VPN