A VPN or a Virtual Private Network is software that connects your smartphones, tablets, PC, and other devices to the internet through a different server. Instead of connecting you to the internet directly, a VPN reroutes your traffic through another server location.
So, for example, if you connect to a UK server, your traffic will pass through the device to the UK server, then to its final destination.
A VPN encrypts your traffic and masks your IP address during the process. This way, no one can trace your online activities. There are plenty of VPNs in the market offering additional security and privacy features.
While many people prefer using free VPNs, it is not recommended as these VPNs fail to hide your online identity and also provide low connection speed, providing a poor streaming experience.
You can learn more about them on VPNRanks as they have ranked the best VPNs according to their price, server network, security features, and more.
5 Important things to consider before buying a VPN
If you are thinking about buying a VPN, here are a few important things to consider to make sure you choose the best option available:
- Encryption
The first thing you need to ask yourself when choosing a VPN is: What kind of encryption does it offer? When you connect to a VPN, it secures your data as it passes all your internet traffic through a secure encrypted tunnel.
However, each VPN offers different protocols and levels of encryption. Here are some common tunneling protocols offered by VPN services:
Internet Protocol Security (IPSec)
IPSec protocol uses two modes to secure data, Transport, and Tunneling. This way, your data is safe when transferred between different nodes. IPSec can also be combined with other protocols for additional security.
Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol (L2TP)
L2TP is another common tunneling protocol that creates a secure tunnel between two points used by IPSec. IPSec encrypts the data that passes between them, and L2TP creates a tunnel. This protocol is mostly used with IPSec and other protocols.
Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol (PPTP)
PPTP is a combination of both IPSec and L2TP as it creates an encrypted tunnel and encrypts your data. This protocol is very common and is supported on multiple devices, including Mac and Linux.
- Logging Policy
This is something that needs to be not taken lightly. If the VPN provider doesn’t keep any logs of your VPN session or personal information, it can not hand it over to any third-party entity or government institution.
Many VPN providers offer a complete logging policy on their websites so that their users can see which information is being recorded and which isn’t.
Ensure that you go through the VPN provider’s logging policy thoroughly and confirm that the provider isn’t keeping tabs on your VPN connection information and personal information.
There’s another side of the coin as well. It is related to the location in which the VPN provider’s headquarters is located.
If the headquarter of the VPN provider is located in a safe jurisdiction that’s neither a part of the 5-eyes, 9-eyes, or 14-eyes alliance nor obeys any mandatory data retention laws, then it is a clear signal that the VPN service holds no threat to our online security or privacy.
- Supported Devices
You have now confirmed that the VPN provider possesses the necessary encryption and security mechanisms to protect your online identity, privacy, security, and data. You have also found the guarantee that your VPN connection traffic and other personal data will never be stored or compromised by the hands of the VPN provider.
So what is the next question to ask?
You have to see if your selected VPN provider could support your devices or not? The majority of the VPN providers usually support the most basic platforms or operating systems such as Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, and routers.
Let’s talk about less user-friendly devices for VPN configurations such as Roku, Gaming consoles, Smart TVs, and similar devices. Of course, you’ll probably have to configure the VPN on your router first.
Now, here’s the tricky thing. Not every VPN provider supports router configurations. So before making any decision, make sure that you conduct your detailed investigation about which router or firmware that VPN provider specifically supports.
If your router isn’t supported, then don’t panic. You can always flash your router firmware and then set up a VPN configuration on it. As for the other devices, you can easily download the official VPN application directly from the VPN provider website or App Store.
- VPN connection speed
While it’s true that the major reason behind using a virtual private network remains strong online security and privacy, at the same time, the VPN connection speed also plays a vital role in decision making.
Many users use virtual private networks to unblock various streaming services, reduce lag in online games, or just general browsing. Having a good VPN connection speed remains at the core of those purposes.
Therefore, it is essential to know the type of speed degradation that you’ll be experiencing after connecting to the VPN network.
Usually, the top-notch VPN providers of the industry guarantee no more than 20% to 30% speed degradation. Therefore, it is safe to bet your money on these providers as they are veterans, and due to the fear of losing customers, they invest heavily in their infrastructure to offer the most optimized speeds.
- Number of servers and simultaneous connections
VPN users that focus more on unblocking various streaming services or platforms, decreasing lag in online games, or accessing several different geo-restricted websites would pay more attention to the number of servers offered by the VPN provider.
With a comprehensive VPN server network with multiple servers in all the major cities and countries of the world, the VPN provider can guarantee unlimited, unrestricted, and uninterrupted access to streaming services and other geo-blocked websites.
Also, there are multiple devices in every house nowadays. With an average number of 5-6 devices per house, acquiring a different VPN account for each of them will put a huge dent in your pocket.
To ensure that doesn’t happen, you have to ensure that your selected VPN provider offers at least five or more simultaneous connections. This way, you can protect almost all of your devices with a single VPN subscription account.
Final Thoughts
So there you have it. The five essential questions you should ask before deciding on a VPN provider.
Now, these questions can vary depending upon your circumstances and purposes. But whatever may be the case, just make sure that all the basic pointers are covered before making any decision.