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Why encrypt your online traffic with VPN ?Hackers, the MPAA / RIAA, Government, and your ISP snooping on your online activities ?2013-07-15 (updated: 2022-02-18) by Philip Tags: VPN, secure, remote access, SSL, PPTP, IPSec, L2TP, OpenVPN, TLS, P2P, ISP VPN, or a virtual private network, is an Internet privacy technology that allows you to surf anonymously by encrypting all your online traffic at the IP level. In essence, VPN is a group of computers networked together over a public network (namely, the Internet). Businesses use VPNs to connect and use network resources remotely, when they're not physically on the same LAN, as a method for securing and encrypting their communications over untrusted public networks. Anti-virus software and firewalls may protect the information on your computer, but a VPN is invaluable for protecting your data while online. Your IP address leaves a trace on every website you visit and reveals information about past websites you've visited, your ISP, and even your location. Even if you have not considered using a VPN, at some point in the future you probably should, and it may become as important as choosing an Internet provider if you value your privacy and the security of your online traffic. More than 2 billion people are regular Internet users currently. Typically, this includes transferring some very confidential information such as banking info, business communications, passwords and general account data. What many people don't realize is that the majority of the time, this information is passed over a public and unsecured Internet. It's very easy, even for a novice, to set up programs to catch all this information as it passes over the open Internet (think "Free Wi-Fi" scams where travelers in an airport or cafe patrons fall victim to a fraudster's "free Wi-Fi hotspot" connection). One simple and cheap solution to this is using a VPN, or virtual private network. This is a secured network that you sign into with your Internet-enabled device, which in turn encrypts and tunnels all your online traffic as it's carried over the public Internet. In short, it allows your computer or mobile device to send data over the public Internet as it were on a private, secure network, making it practically impossible for even the most sophisticated criminals to uncover your Internet traffic. The most important aspect of VPNsIn short, a VPN secures your computer's Internet communications to guarantee that all of the data you are sending and receiving is encrypted and secured. It is a group of computers networked together over a public network. It allows you to get secure remote access to network resources over a public network, such as the Internet. Sample VPN uses
Even if you do not specifically fit in any of the above categories, any combination of the above is a good reason to protect sensitive data online. Additional Benefits of using a VPNIn addition to providing an encryption layer to pass all your Internet traffic through, VPNs offer a number of other benefits: IP Switching Bypass Region Restrictions - access blocked sites VPN ProtocolsAs an end user, you should probably not worry much about the different encryption protocols (PPTP, L2TP/IPsec,SSTP, SSL/OpenVPN), as most of them have their benefits and drawbacks. It is probably enough to say that there have been some vulnerabilities found in the PPTP protocol, however, the most widely used ones are IPSec, SSL and OpenVPN. There is some variation in speed between the protocols, as newer ones may require more processing power, or have more header overhead. To read more about the different options, check out our VPN Protocols article here: VPN Protocols Explained and Compared How to Choose a VPN ProviderThere are many VPN service providers out there, and they all were not created equal. Many will try to throttle your speed and will limit you to the number of times you can switch IP addresses. The best VPN providers should offer most of the following list of key features:
It is probably worth mentioning that there are even some free VPN providers. A word of caution, however, is that free VPN providers have very weak commitment to your privacy, they offer fewer exit points, log your activities, serve contextual ads while you're connected, and track your usage to tailor future ads to you. All this defeats many of the key features in using a VPN service in the first place. With all those considerations in mind, and short of rolling your own VPN, below is a list of some top VPN providers. Top VPN ProvidersBelow is our take on the current top VPN providers that offer solid servers in multiple locations, OpenVPN/SSL, all major OSes support (Windows, Linux, as well as Android/iOS mobile devices), and all the key features mentioned above.
Namecheap VPN - Namecheap's new VPN service seems to share the same network as IPVanish VPN at a very competitive price for longer term periods. Both providers seem to use the wlvpn.com servers. Prices vary between $5.88/month and less than $2/mo for a 3-year plan. Namecheap is one of the biggest registrars on the Internet managing over 10 Million domains, so they stand behind their services. VyprVPN - a Goldenfrog partnership with Giganews, a well-known Usenet provider. The service costs as little as $10/month for the basic PPTP service, a bit more for OpenVPN/SSL and L2TP/IPSec support. StrongVPN - a solid company, the PPTP service is cheaper, however, you can get OpenVPN for about $10/month. Solid service, servers in 20 countries, supports all major OSes and Android/iOS mobile devices. Hide My Ass! - UK-based VPN provider with servers in 53 countries, OpenVPN, L2TP and PPTP support. Cost is between $7 and $11 per month. PureVPN - operated by Hong Kong-based GZ Systems, Ltc. Good VPN services since 2006 and often ranked as a top VPN provider. Costs about $10/month for their "personal" plans. See AlsoVPN Protocols Explained and Compared
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Val - 2013-03-10 05:26
I had to access Facebook while in China. I found this blog post and gave it a try. I used Terasurf. Check it out for yourself. (hidemyass was not working in China while I was there).
Yup, VPN is the only way to go. But you sho9uls be using SSL based openvpn if y9u want to be sure you get security and reliability, I've found ExpressVPN (https://expressvpn.biz) to be the best provider if you're overseas.
What about SunVPN ? I've been using them for 2 months and it's a steady ride so far.
I have had the same experience with ExpressVPN. I found them through vpnexpress.net and decided to try them since the content was sincere and not just promoting a product. I have used them for years and never found a better service. Some servers can be slow, but that will happen when you connect from across the globe.
With SunVPN I got Full Internet Access from any location. Bypass those restrictive Internet filters in China, Oman, UAE, Qatar or even those from your company or university network!
I also unblocked VoIP applications like Skype or Google Talk, instant messengers like MSN or many other programs that were blocked in my network environment. Highly trained network engineers will help you setup and use your very own VPN service.
Since I travel to China often, and you can't access Facebook in China, it's always a challenge trying to find a proxy that works. I find that the free ones are usually blocked quite quickly, and a VPN is not an option for me since I don't want to have to download the software onto my computer. On my most recent trip I actually used proxy-center.com . A friend of mine happened to be in China and was already connected to them and recommended it to me. I feel that everyone should know about their great service. It was really helpful to not have to download anything, since it is web based. They also provide a free trial for whoever wants to try it out.
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