What to look for in a VPN?

If you take just one thing away from this guide, it should be this. Not all VPN’s are created equal.

Given what we’ve discussed above, by now you understand that there are a few major considerations to make when choosing the best VPN. Such as privacy, data security, connection speed, interface, customer service, and price.

Price

Let’s start off with one of the most asked questions when it comes to VPN’s and that is the cost.

The best services do all differ slightly in price, anywhere from $2-$10 per month, depending on the level you need. Typically you can get a better rate by purchasing for a full year and sometimes even lifetime plans are on offer for crazy savings.

Personally, I feel that is well worth the investment in your personal privacy.

Of course, there are free VPN’s on offer, which, unfortunately, aren’t always what they say they are.

In a study conducted of 300 Android VPN’s, they found that 84% of them leaked users web traffic, and alarming 38% of them contained malware and 18% didn’t encrypt data at all.

Along with poor customer service, fewer server connection options and the potential to leak your data to your ISP, I feel free VPN’s are simply not worth the risk.

Country of Incorporation

Where a business was registered and incorporated can have a big effect on how they are governed. Certain countries have laws that will require VPN companies to disclose their customer information when requested.

If you’re considering a company based in the United States, for example, you must ensure they have a strict no-logging policy (more on that below).

In short – avoid countries with data retention laws.

Logging Policy

The logs kept by a VPN provider will differ form service-to-service. Each piece of information they log will reduce your anonymity, security and privacy whilst using their service.

You should look for a company that has a “No Logs” policy or as little data logged as possible.

Some of the info that can be logged includes:

Internet Activity

Your IP Address

Payment Logs

Connection/Disconnection timestamps

Devices Used

MAC address of the device

Data Encryption

This is where the technical bit comes in, so we’ll do what we do best here at BitsFromBytes and make it super simple with a brief explanation and a cool image.

When looking for a VPN provider, you will see two different types of encryption levels: 128-bit or 256-bit AES. The higher the better, but both are equally suitable for most people needs.

There are 3-parts to data encryption:

Channel Encryption Key Exchange Authentication

This is what we call an encryption suite and it’s what controls the security of your data as it passes through the network.

The encryption part simply means if someone somehow manages to intercept your data they are presented with a garbled mess of letters and numbers that they cannot and will not be able to make sense of.

Servers

A server is what you will connect too when using your VPN. It passes your data out and is what controls your perceived location and IP address.

What’s most important when searching for the best VPN for you is to consider the number of servers on offer and the number of locations. You need to ensure the company has servers in locations that you wish to use.

All VPN’s listed in this article have multiple servers in the most popular locations (US, Canada & Europe).

Leak Protection

DNS Leak Protection is offered by many of the VPN providers and is something you should expect from your chosen service.

What ‘leak protection’ does is ensure that any DNS request is sent through the VPN tunnel and NOT outside of it…which is when the DNS leak can occur.

If a leak occurs, it could reveal the websites you are visiting and other data to your internet service provider, which is why leak protection is a must-have.

Kill Switch

It sounds dramatic I know, but kill switches provide a very useful feature when it comes to protecting your browsing privacy.

Should at any point whilst you’re connected to your VPN network, there be a connection drop, a kill switch will automatically shut down your connection, thus preventing any ‘standard’ internet connection and therefore, saving your data from being leaked.

All of the top VPN’s we review in this article have a kill switch.

Connection Speed

To limit the downside of a VPN (a slower connection speed) you should look for a provider that offers and uncapped data and unlimited bandwidth option.

Free VPN’s typically don’t offer this kind of flexibility, which is why a paid VPN is the preferred option.

When it comes to finding the fastest VPN on the market, it can be somewhat difficult due to all of the other potential issues we mentioned earlier, such as the time of day you’re online, the distance you are from the server you’re connected too, your ISP and the level of encryption being used.

Customer Service

As with any online service, customer service is key. The more ways you have to contact a business the better. What’s even more important in today’s fast-paced world is live chat support.

Troubleshooting is so much easier when you have multiple resources at your disposal. So be sure to look for live chat as mentioned above, but also a robust knowledge base that answers all of the common questions include how to get set up.

Next up look for a ticketing system and their typical response time. If you can’t speak to someone right now, how long will it take for them to come back with an answer to your question or problem?

Interface

The GUI (graphical user interface) is another term for the app that many of the VPN providers offer as a user-friendly was to access their service.

I’ve seen the good, the bad and the ugly when it comes to VPN interfaces. Some of the best include both a map and a simple drop down box where you can easily locate the country/server you require and hit the “connect’ button.

You will find details and images of the apps on the provider’s website along with details of the operating systems they cover (see below).

Operating Systems

These days it seems your either a die-hard iOS fan or Android all the way. VPN providers understand this and therefore the best ones cater for every eventuality.

When choosing your provider, first of all, ensure that they offer a user interface for your operating system. Then check out the images to make sure it looks user-friendly and intuitive and see what others say about it on the AppStore or Google PlayStore.