Best (free?) VPN?

andysdad

andysdad

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As above, thinking of using a VPN but I only know what they do, not how the different ones compare - which is best, is free a good thing or does paying make it better (no advertising etc.)?

Looking around, Hotspot Shield looks popular, 400 million downloads. There is a free version and an elite ($2.49/month but probably more in UK!); which is better?

Thanks all in anticipation.

A
 
If it's any help , there are (apparently ) some good free ones .
personally I use them a lot when overseas and like "catcus" which is approx $15 a quarter .
 
I use a service called PIA (private internet access) its pay for but the speeds are fast and they have servers all over the world.
Pay or free depends on what your after. Free is never fast and usually limited so if your trying to stream video it's unlikely to be satisfactory. Also remember that every bit of data is going through them so make sure you can trust them. Goes for every company but a lot of the free ones have an interest in mining this and selling it on, no such thing as free after all. If it is just for when you are out and about using public access points then it will probably work out OK for you.
Another thing to look out for if your trying to stick it to the man is logging. A lot of these companies log traffic so if asked they have to release what they have.
 
What do you want or need it for?

Take a look at Opera web browser as it comes with free VPN built in, not that you would use it for such but it would allow for instance viewing sites blocked by your isp
 
Thanks both - hadn't considered the data mining element of free, plus what info they might hand to the NSA (not that I'm a spy or anything!).

Opera not a starter as I'm looking to use this on multi platforms (IOS, Windows and Android) and can't be *rsed to migrate!

Probably will go for a paid-for one then, but which one?

A
 
How do they data mine encrypted traffic? I know they can see connections. Is that it?
 
You get exactly what you pay for, IME free services result in slow, throttled or otherwise limited connections, lots of adverts and while they can't mine the encrypted traffic as they're making the requests on your behalf i'd bet money they know what you're "trying" to connect to and they'd be mining that, activity times, traffic loads etc. You also want to ensure you're happy with the logging of the service you use, ie will they keep logs and give it over to authorities at the drop of a hat. Logs will show what you we're connecting to, how long for and how much data was transferred. If these items are of no concern then the world is your oyster.

There are plenty of good paid for ones and everyone has an opinion. It depends on what you want to pay. Personally I can recommend IPVanish. Not free but works well, very fast and reliable. Multi platform, I've used on macOS, iOS and Win10, it also doesn't keep logs if that's a concern of yours.
 
cookie said:
How do they data mine encrypted traffic? I know they can see connections. Is that it?
Click to expand...

What about all the unencrypted traffic? Your VPN is only encrypted between your device and the start point of their service. After that after that they have decrypted it and sent it on to wherever so unless it is say an encrypted website (HTTPS) they can see exactly what your sending and receiving. So https://google.com no they can't see it although they know where you have went but http://pornhub.com they can see everyhting you type, send and recive the same as your ISP can if you didnt use a VPN.
 
andysdad said:
Thanks both - hadn't considered the data mining element of free, plus what info they might hand to the NSA (not that I'm a spy or anything!).

Opera not a starter as I'm looking to use this on multi platforms (IOS, Windows and Android) and can't be *rsed to migrate!

Probably will go for a paid-for one then, but which one?

A
Click to expand...

Fine by me but Opera is available on all three system with the free VPN.
 
Marki_GSA said:
What about all the unencrypted traffic? Your VPN is only encrypted between your device and the start point of their service. After that after that they have decrypted it and sent it on to wherever so unless it is say an encrypted website (HTTPS) they can see exactly what your sending and receiving. So https://google.com no they can't see it although they know where you have went but http://pornhub.com they can see everyhting you type, send and recive the same as your ISP can if you didnt use a VPN.
Click to expand...


that makes sense.
 
My understanding is that your device and the vpn hub share a unique key unknown to eavesdroppers hence the better security. Or I may be wrong.
 
andysdad said:
My understanding is that your device and the vpn hub share a unique key unknown to eavesdroppers hence the better security. Or I may be wrong.
Click to expand...

Your right but it is that hub that decrypts all the data but it should give better security. Unlike your ISP though who are governed by laws that free VPN based god knows where isn't and you have just given them everything.

Don't get me wrong I am not saying every free VPN is selling your data, the vast majority of them will be ok. Like I said earlier though there is no such thing as free, you pay some way. You wouldn't let just anybody open all your mail and then re deliver it to your door so why do it with your internet traffic. Research who you are using and if it doesn't look right then walk away.
 
Pretty much decided paid-for is best; suggestoins so far are

IPVanish
ExpressVPN
Hotspot Shield Elite

or simply migrate to Opera which may be best as it's a known business (free like Firefox) - more investigating required.

Any other suggestions gratefully received.
 
google "best VPN". there's loads of reviews.

or, you could give opera whirl. i used to use it a lot before it had the VPN option. it's a very good browser and will cause no disruption to your computer. make sure it, and any other option, does what you need it to do, then check that it actually does....

https://www.iplocation.net

https://www.dnsleaktest.com
 
Cookie - thanks for the Opera suggestion but I'm worried that that won't secure email (app not web-based) traffic.

I presume a standalone VPN protects all traffic (web, email, Dropbox file sync) etc. or am I wrong?

Still trying to understand the tech.

A
 
VPN can work in various ways. I don't know the opera version but I assume it is only doing whatever is in the browser. If you use say MS outlook that wouldn't be in the VPN, if you went to outlook.com in the browser that would be in the VPN.

The other types act as a network interface and can operate in a couple of ways. Split tunnel and full where split tunnel will put some of the traffic out the vpn and some of it not. Full is everything goes along the VPN.

All the different configurations start to get complicated in a hurry and to be honest most of the time you don't need to worry about them. If you pick one of the better known providers you can pretty much trust they are steering you in the right direction.

This is the company I use https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/ they say they dont log anything and this has been proven in court several times. I have also never had a problem streaming video through them (US netflix when they aren't blocking VPN) so it is plenty fast enough. As has been said though it is just one of many good safe providers you will find.
 
Marki - thanks for the comprehensive explanation!

I'll look at all the suggestions - Hotspot Shield Elite does a lifetime subscription for £63 which is competitive, allowing 5 devices. PCMag reviewed Hotspot but still rated Privateinternetaccess, NordVPN and KeepSolid as their best buys though.
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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