Download the fastest VPN app for your device

Some VPN providers offer VPN protection for free. However, free virtual private networks have to maintain an infrastructure to keep their service running, so they need to make money somehow. Since you’re not paying for their service, they may collect your data and sell it to advertisers, use your device as an exit node for paying users, or even add your computer to a botnet network. It also most likely won’t work well – the VPN connection is usually unstable and slow, your data is left unencrypted, and your IP address and location aren’t sufficiently hidden.

The best VPN providers with zero-knowledge architecture will respect your right to confidentiality and keep your data secure. So instead of risking your data, find a reliable VPN company.

Using a virtual private network is legal in most countries, including Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, and the United States. A few have banned them altogether, and some have strict laws in place to regulate how VPN clients are used. These laws are usually there to ensure the government can track its citizens’ actions online, but the best VPN service providers can bypass these restrictions.

If you plan to travel to a country with government censorship and wish to keep your connection with home, we suggest downloading the NordVPN app and getting your subscription before you set off.

Getting started with NordVPN will take only a few minutes:

• Pick the subscription plan that suits you best and sign up for your account;

• Download a VPN app to your device;

• Open the app, log in, and click “Quick Connect.”

That’s it, you’re all set up. If you need help, check out our tutorials on how to install NordVPN on all your devices.

There’s not much to it for a casual user: you install the app, log in, press “Quick Connect,” and that’s it — your connections are encrypted. But there’s a lot more going on behind the scenes.

1. 1.

   Your device connects to a VPN service.

2. 2.

   The VPN service authenticates your client with a VPN server.

3. 3.

   The VPN client encrypts the data you send.

4. 4.

   The VPN server creates a secure encrypted tunnel for your data to travel through.

5. 5.

   Once the data arrives at the server, it decrypts it and sends it to your desired destination.

Speed and security are the most important factors when choosing a VPN. Check what protocols the VPN provider offers and how many servers it has. The more servers there are, the faster your connections will be. Pay attention to their locations as well – your device will connect faster to a server that’s closer and provide better connection speeds, so a large selection of countries is essential.

When it comes to security, you should once again pay attention to the VPN protocols the provider offers – some are faster, while others are safer. Next, make sure the VPN encrypts your data with advanced algorithms. Additional security features are also important since they help you protect your online privacy – look for a kill switch, double VPN, and obfuscated servers. And lastly, always opt for a provider that has a zero-logs policy.

There are, but not many – the benefits usually outweigh the drawbacks.

The main drawback of using a VPN is a slower internet connection. After all, your device has to connect to a VPN server before traveling to your desired website. This little detour naturally takes at least some time. That’s why you have to look for a VPN service that offers the best speeds. For example, if you choose NordVPN’s NordLynx protocol, you’ll hardly notice any difference at all – it’s been proven to be the fastest one on the market.