The Privacy Series: Privacy and security behind a VPN
A Virtual Private Network or VPN is a (usually secure and encrypted) connection between your device (it doesn’t matter if you use a desktop, laptop, tablet or smartphone) and the services that you are using online.
This connection is created from your device, and it connects to a VPN service provider, meaning that all traffic between your device and the VPN provider is routered (and, again, usually encrypted), so it prevents services to track your browsing habits, given they cannot locate your geolocation.
The service prevents any tracking because the established connection between the device and the VPN where you have connected might (or might not) be in the same city, in the same country or even in the same continent.
This is happening because, usually, VPN service providers offer a worldwide range of countries where you can establish your VPN connection. In this way, they can give you the fastest and most stable service while protecting your browser habits and data safe.
In other words: if I am living in the United Kingdom, I can connect to a VPN service provider that has a VPN server in France, and then browse a website hosted in Germany. So, any tracking that the german website performs will identify the connection was established from France instead of the UK.
There are many VPN service providers, some of them offering a service for free, and some of them offering a paid solution. As it usually happens, the main difference between free and paid services can be answered with a single question:
If there is a free VPN service provider, how can this VPN provider maintain the service for free, knowing that the infrastructure to provide the service has a cost and requires maintenance?
The answer to this question might seem obvious, but some people might not be aware of them, so let’s make a list:
- The encryption protocols are usually not easy to understand, and network experts are the ones that must set them up and upgrade them to ensure secure connections are in place.
- Privacy is usually not honoured when using free VPN providers, as they must get the income to maintain the infrastructure from someone. And it usually means they must sell the data they’re collecting.
- When you use a paid service, the service provider must ensure you’re not getting connectivity issues or bottlenecks. However, when using a free VPN service, the provider cannot prevent other users from connecting, as they are part of the system too, meaning your experience will be worse.
- And, finally, when you pay for a service, it’s expected to get technical support or additional advantages. But any free service usually gets minimal support, or you’re forwarded to talk with a community of users.
Now, we can talk about reliable VPN service providers that you can use from any device. I am sure that there are many of them, but there are a few providers that I can share with you, and then you can decide which one you want to use.
There are two VPN titans at the moment. These are NordVPN and ExpressVPN. You can run a quick search on Google, and you will see millions of results talking about these two providers. And any of them should be useful and valid options for your day-to-day.
Both service providers have some pros and cons, like any other service. So I am encouraging you to run a few searches for them and also read the feedback that other users can provide through trusted and reliable sources.
Aiming to make it short, there are a few points to consider:
- NordVPN is more focused on privacy than ExpressVPN, as the 2nd one keeps some records of your connections. NordVPN also allows a double VPN connection, meaning that your connection is tunnelled twice.
- NordVPN might have some servers that are a bit slower than the ExpressVPN servers. However, you can disconnect and quick-connect again to the best server according to the current level of concurrent users with just a couple of clicks.
- ExpressVPN is a bit more expensive than NordVPN unless they run a promotion.
ProtonVPN is a service provided by Proton Technologies AG, a well-established tech company that also provides ProtonMail, meaning that data security and neutrality are key for them as a service provider.
Proton Technologies is incorporated in, and all their servers are located in Switzerland. This means strict Swiss privacy laws protect all user data.
The free version of ProtonVPN offers just 3 servers that you can select from, and connect only one device at a time, but you don’t have to log in with any data, making it very private and secure to use.
However, it implies that many other users are using it too, so the network speed is the main problem you might find. So, you can expect speed drops at peak times as the bandwidth is allocated to the paid users.
What about me
I am a NordVPN customer at the moment, with access to the worldwide network of VPN servers and I’m also paying for an additional dedicated IP address that I can use when I need to SSH into my own servers, so just my login from a specific machine is allowed to manage restricted hardware.
I also tested ProtonVPN for free, and I can ensure the service works nicely unless you choose to browse during peak times.
Resources
Images
- https://whytheluckystiff.net/proxy-vs-vpn-whats-the-difference/
- https://www.comparitech.com/blog/vpn-privacy/socks5-proxy-vs-vpn-which-should-you-use/
- https://www.ibvpn.com/2010/02/vpn-vs-proxy/
- https://maccablo.com/best-vpn/
- https://theflashblog.com/nordvpn-vs-expressvpn/
- https://silicophilic.com/best-fee-vpn-for-windows/
VPN Service providers
