Discover Good VPNs for Secure Browsing in 2022 🛡️

Introduction

Greetings internet users! Are you tired of your online activities being tracked, monitored, and restricted by your ISP, government, or hackers? Do you want to safeguard your privacy, data, and identity while accessing any website, content, or service from anywhere in the world? If yes, then you need a good VPN (Virtual Private Network) solution that can encrypt your traffic, hide your IP address, and bypass censorship, geo-blocks, and throttling. However, with so many VPN providers claiming to be the best, it’s hard to choose the right one. Therefore, in this journal article, we’ll explore what makes a VPN “good,” and recommend some of the top VPNs in the market based on our rigorous testing and analysis.

What is a VPN?

Before we dive into the criteria for a good VPN, let’s define what a VPN is and how it works. A VPN is a technology that creates a secure and private tunnel between your device and the VPN server. This tunnel encrypts all your internet traffic, making it unreadable to anyone who intercepts it, such as your ISP, government, or hackers. Moreover, a VPN also assigns you a new IP address, which masks your real location and identity, and makes it appear as if you’re browsing from a different country or region. By doing so, a VPN can help you bypass various online restrictions and surveillance, and access any website, content, or service that may be blocked or unavailable in your location.

What Makes a VPN “Good”?

Now that we know what a VPN is, let’s discuss the essential factors that make a VPN “good.” Here are the key criteria that we’ll evaluate each VPN on:

1. Security and Privacy: A good VPN must have strong encryption, a no-logging policy, and robust security features, such as a kill switch and leak protection, to ensure that your data and identity remain safe and anonymous.
2. Speed and Performance: A good VPN must provide fast and stable connections with minimal latency and buffering, even when streaming, gaming, or torrenting.
3. Server Network: A good VPN must have a large and diverse server network, with servers in multiple countries and cities, to offer you many options for connecting and unblocking websites and services from around the world.
4. User Interface and Ease of Use: A good VPN must have a user-friendly and intuitive app that’s easy to install, configure, and navigate, even for beginners.
5. Pricing and Value: A good VPN must offer competitive and transparent pricing plans with no hidden fees or restrictions, and provide good value for money based on its features and performance.
6. Customer Support: A good VPN must have responsive and helpful customer support that’s available 24/7 via multiple channels, such as live chat, email, and phone.
7. Extra Features: A good VPN may also offer some extra features, such as split-tunneling, dedicated IP, ad-blocker, multi-hop, and more, to enhance your online experience and security.

Good VPN Providers: Our Top Picks

Now that we’ve established our criteria for a good VPN, let’s see which VPN providers meet those criteria and deserve to be on our top picks list.

Good VPNs: Advantages and Disadvantages

After presenting our top picks for good VPN providers, let’s delve deeper into the advantages and disadvantages of using a VPN.

Advantages of Using a Good VPN

When you use a good VPN, you can enjoy the following benefits:

1. Privacy and Security: A good VPN encrypts all your internet traffic and hides your IP address, making it impossible for anyone to spy on your online activities, steal your data, or track your identity. Moreover, a good VPN also protects you from cyber threats, such as malware, phishing, and DNS hijacking, by blocking malicious websites and connections.
2. Freedom of Access: A good VPN lets you bypass censorship, geo-restrictions, and bandwidth throttling, by connecting to a server in a different country or region, where the internet is not regulated or limited. With a VPN, you can access any website, content, or service that you want, no matter where you are.
3. Improved Performance: Sometimes, your ISP may intentionally slow down your internet speed, especially when you’re streaming video, downloading files, or playing online games. However, with a good VPN, you can prevent your ISP from throttling your bandwidth, and even improve your connection speed and stability, by connecting to a nearby server with less congestion.
4. Anonymous Torrenting: If you’re a fan of P2P file-sharing and torrenting, you know that these activities carry some risks and legal issues, as they may involve copyrighted or illegal content that can be traced back to you. However, with a good VPN, you can download and upload torrents anonymously, without revealing your IP address or location to anyone, and without risking any legal trouble.
5. Safe Public Wi-Fi: When you’re using public Wi-Fi, such as in coffee shops, airports, or libraries, you’re exposing yourself to various security threats, such as eavesdropping, man-in-the-middle attacks, and hacking. However, with a good VPN, you can encrypt your data and protect yourself from these risks, even in a public Wi-Fi hotspot.

Disadvantages of Using a Good VPN

Despite its many advantages, a good VPN may also have some drawbacks that you should be aware of:

1. Reduced Speed: Although a good VPN can improve your connection speed in some cases, it may also slow it down if you’re connecting to a server that’s far away or heavily loaded. Moreover, some VPNs may use outdated or inefficient encryption protocols, such as PPTP or L2TP, that can further degrade your speed.
2. Incompatibility: Some websites, apps, or services may block or restrict access to VPN users, or detect and ban VPN IP addresses, especially if they suspect that you’re using a VPN to circumvent their policies or cheat their systems.
3. Cost: While many good VPNs offer affordable and flexible pricing plans, some of them may still be too expensive or out of reach for some users, especially if they require advanced features or support.
4. Technical Complexity: Although most good VPNs have simple and user-friendly apps, some of them may still require some technical knowledge, such as configuring ports, protocols, or settings. Moreover, troubleshooting connection issues or bugs may also be challenging for some users.
5. Third-Party Risk: Finally, while a good VPN can protect you from your ISP, government, or hackers, it may also expose you to a new risk, namely the VPN provider itself. If the VPN provider logs your data, sells it to third parties, or suffers a data breach, your privacy and security may be compromised.

Good VPNs: Comparison Table

To help you compare and choose from our top picks for good VPN providers, let’s summarize their features and prices in the following table:

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. What is the best VPN for beginners?

The best VPN for beginners is one that has a user-friendly and intuitive app, clear and simple instructions, and helpful customer support. ExpressVPN, NordVPN, and Surfshark are good examples of VPNs that are easy to use and navigate, even for first-time users.

2. Can I use a free VPN instead of a paid one?

While you can use a free VPN to access some websites or content, free VPNs usually come with several drawbacks, such as slow speeds, limited bandwidth, weak security, and intrusive ads or malware. Moreover, some free VPNs may also log your data or sell it to advertisers, which defeats the purpose of using a VPN for privacy and security.

3. Can a VPN improve my gaming experience?

Yes, a VPN can improve your gaming experience by reducing latency, eliminating lag, and avoiding ISP throttling. By connecting to a nearby VPN server with low ping and no packet loss, you can enhance your online gaming performance and stability.

4. Can I use a VPN with my smart TV or streaming device?

Yes, you can use a VPN with your smart TV or streaming device, as long as your VPN provider offers a dedicated app or a router setup guide. ExpressVPN, NordVPN, and Surfshark all have VPN apps that are compatible with popular smart TVs and streaming devices, such as Apple TV, Amazon Fire Stick, and Roku.

5. How many simultaneous connections does a VPN support?

The number of simultaneous connections that a VPN supports depends on its pricing plan and policy. ExpressVPN and NordVPN allow up to 6 devices to connect to their VPN servers at once, while Surfshark allows unlimited simultaneous connections.

6. Can a VPN be detected or blocked by my ISP or network administrator?

While it’s possible for a VPN to be detected or blocked by your ISP or network administrator, it’s not very common, especially if you use a good VPN that has obfuscation, stealth, or split-tunneling features. ExpressVPN, NordVPN, and Surfshark all have measures to evade VPN detection and censorship.

7. How do I know if my VPN is working and protecting me?

You can know if your VPN is working and protecting you by checking your IP address, DNS, and traffic logs before and after connecting to the VPN server, using online tools or browser extensions, such as https://www.whatismyip.com/ or https://www.dnsleaktest.com/. Moreover, you can also run some security and privacy tests, such as leak tests, speed tests, and malware scans, to verify your VPN’s performance and reliability.

8. Can I use a VPN on my mobile phone or tablet?

Yes, you can use a VPN on your mobile phone or tablet, as long as your VPN provider offers a mobile app or a manual setup guide. ExpressVPN, NordVPN, and Surfshark all have VPN apps that are compatible with various mobile platforms, such as Android, iOS, and Windows Mobile.

9. Can a VPN bypass the Great Firewall of China?

While it’s not easy for a VPN to bypass the Great Firewall of China, some good VPNs, such as ExpressVPN and NordVPN, have been proven to work in China, by using obfuscated servers, stealth modes, and other techniques to evade detection and censorship. However, using a VPN in China may still be risky and illegal, so you should do it at your own discretion.

10. Can a VPN protect me from phishing scams and social engineering attacks?

While a VPN can encrypt your traffic and prevent eavesdropping or snooping, it may not be able to protect you from phishing scams and social engineering attacks, as these often rely on human psychology and deception, rather than technical weaknesses. To stay safe from such attacks, you should also practice good cyber hygiene, such as using strong passwords, enabling two-factor authentication, and avoiding suspicious links or emails.

11. Can I watch Netflix or Hulu with a VPN?

Yes, you can watch Netflix or Hulu with a VPN, as long as your VPN provider has servers that are located in the same country or region as the Netflix or Hulu library that you want to access. ExpressVPN, NordVPN, and Surfshark all have servers that work with Netflix and Hulu, among other streaming services.

12. Can a VPN make me completely anonymous online?

While a VPN can make you more anonymous online by hiding your IP address and encrypting your traffic, it may not make you completely anonymous, as there are still other ways to identify or locate you, such as your browser fingerprint, cookies, or behavior patterns. Moreover, your VPN provider itself may still have some information about you, such as your payment details or email address.

13. How do I choose the right VPN for my needs?

To choose the right VPN for your needs, you should consider your budget, your security and privacy requirements, your streaming and gaming preferences, your device compatibility, and your customer support expectations. You should also read reviews, compare features, and test multiple VPNs before committing to one.

Conclusion

We’ve covered a lot of ground in this journal article, and we hope that you now have a better understanding of what makes a VPN “good,” and which VPN providers are worth your consideration. Remember, when choosing a VPN, prioritize your privacy, security, and functionality needs, and don’t compromise on quality for the sake of price. ExpressVPN, NordVPN, and Surfshark are some of the best VPNs out there, and they all offer unique features and benefits that can suit different users. So, whether you’re a beginner or an advanced user, a gamer or a streamer, a privacy advocate or a security enthusiast, there’s a good VPN out there for you. Stay safe and enjoy your online freedom!

Closing Disclaimer

This article is for informational purposes only, and does not constitute legal, financial, or professional advice. The opinions and recommendations expressed in this article are based on our own research and testing, and may not reflect the views of other experts or organizations. The use of VPNs