What Separates Top-rated VPNs From the Rest?
There are ‘vpns’, and then there are VPNs. Just as not all computers have the same specifications, not all VPN software is the same. In fact, think about smartphones. They can differ wildly in price and features, which is why some cost several times more than others. The same logic applies to critical network security software such as VPNs.
Except, VPNs are not expensive software compared to what they offer the user. This is thanks to the commercialization and high demand of these products that has brought VPNs down to the general public from military research labs, meanwhile driving their price down. This is also why hundreds of millions of people have made the switch to VPNs in the past few years, and the number of VPN downloads across App Stores is vertically trending.
The top VPN services on offer today can be subscribed to for a very affordable price, and offer serious benefits for all of a user’s connected gear. More importantly, VPNs protect user privacy and data like almost nothing else out there. To boot, premium VPNs are designed so that the user experience is smooth, uncluttered, reliable and something even a 90-year old grandpa could use. For these reasons, why not learn about some of the best VPNs out there?
What is a VPN?
A Virtual Private Network, popularly abbreviated as a VPN, is a type of cybersecurity software that protects a user’s incoming and outgoing internet data packets. These data packets include all of the user’s browsing, downloading, and any other information that is communicated with the internet, applications, services, and platforms. Any username or password a user enters for everything from social media to a bank account is also included in that data.
A VPN can also virtually relocate a user’s IP (internet protocol address that pinpoints a connection’s physical location) to a user-selected server from a list of global servers offered by the VPN vendor’s software. This is thanks to the fact that VPNs are backed by decades-old PPTP technology from Microsoft.
It is easy to visually imagine a VPN as a very dark tunnel through which an internet connection goes into and any traces of the user’s internet activity is encrypted, or simply put, garbled and randomized so much so that intercepting or reading this data becomes almost impossible to sniff, snoop or modify, even for high-level hackers. A user’s ISP and even the government will find it very difficult to look at what a user is doing online (not that anyone should do anything illegal). One can also use the Batcave analogy here, in that a VPN is like a Batcave for a user’s online activity.
What Are the Benefits of a VPN?
Where does one start? A VPN is not just something like an internet proxy tool, that was popular back in the day. Even though proxies still exist, a VPN functions on another level and has extremely complex AES encryption algorithms that can reach 256-bits of complexity. Adding to that, killswitch features, special gateways like P2P and Onion connectivity as well as dark web monitoring (plus even more features) are all available on certain top-tier VPN solutions.
A VPN is more of an all-in-one solution for a lot of data security and data privacy issues. The internet today is unfortunately riddled with cybercrime, dark web monstrosities, professional scammers, malware, and everything in between including annoying pop-ups and behavioral tracking.
Not only can a VPN encrypt a user’s internet connection to a military-grade level that will fend off even the most seasoned hacker, the fact that it can re-locate a user’s internet connection to other countries or even other continents bring several benefits as well.
The benefits of a VPN include things like saving money on digital subscriptions and doing unprecedented market research due to the versatility of the software.
What Separates Top-rated VPNs From the Rest?
With the information above in mind, it is time to appreciate what makes top-tier VPNs, top-tier VPNs. There are several reasons, like;
- Encryption levels and proprietary encryption protocols
- Always available and professional customer support
- Additional features in the app itself
- No-logging proven by external audits
- Powerful unblocking and anti-censorship abilities
- A large number of global servers to choose from
- Uninterrupted connection
- High-speed
- Program stability
- Regular updates
These are the most key points that set top-tier VPNs apart from the rest. It is also important to state that a top-tier VPN will always require a subscription fee, at least for now. Alas, it is difficult for a company to provide so many features with customer support without a business model. For example, a free VPN may satisfy only one or two criteria from the list, while a user is also risking putting their connection into unsafe hands i.e., the hands of a fraudulent company. That is not to say that there are no safe free VPNs out there, because there are e.g., Proton.
As far as top-tier VPNs are concerned, the general consensus is that ExpressVPN, NordVPN, Cyberghost, and Surfshark are among the top players out there. Of course, this is a liquid industry that is not set in stone, and new players are sure to be added in the future. For now, VPNs that satisfy all of these criteria can be narrowed down to these companies. An even narrower list is just NordVPN and ExpressVPN (in no particular order.)
At the level of quality, the best VPNs have to offer, a user may have complete peace of mind and know that their data and privacy are held in high regard. Perhaps the most key point for truly unhindered and surveillance-free browsing and downloading is that top-tier VPNs are not known for getting hacked, selling user data, or breaking their Privacy Policies and Terms of Service.
Combining a top-tier VPN with a premium antivirus and antimalware program, as well as keeping good password hygiene and all software updated is a great way to keep your systems and your internet traffic squeaky clean and anonymous.
