What is a VPN? Here’s what they do and why you need one

You’ve probably heard of virtual private networks before but might be a little murky on exactly what a VPN does and why you might need one. In short, a VPN helps you protect your privacy by disguising your location and preventing advertisers from building a profile of your online habits. A convenient side effect of changing your apparent location is being able to view websites in other countries as if you were a resident.

To pull off these feats, the best VPNs maintain thousands of high-performance servers strategically placed around the world. While it’s common for servers to store logs of visits, VPNs minimize risks of tracking by cutting logs to a minimum and deleting them frequently. Any videos, images, text, or other data you upload or download is encrypted prevent spying.

VPNs are a popular tool in the fight for privacy, whether you’re trying to stay hidden from the government or you’re trying to keep your information safe from hackers.

It sounds complex but VPNs are easier to use than ever. Here’s how it works, why you might need a VPN, and how much it costs.

VPN: a guardian in the middle

When you search a website, the request goes through your internet service provider (ISP), then hops across a dozen of more computer networks before arriving at the website you’re accessing. That process reverses to deliver search results back to your computer or phone.

The route may travel halfway around the world and back using IP addresses identify your location and the location of the website you’re interacting with. There are plenty of opportunities for your online activity to be tracked along the way.

A VPN is, at its simplest, a network that requires authentication before a user can access it. As an example, consider a campus or company network that requires a username and password. How exactly does a VPN protect your data? By acting as a sort of launching pad for users before they access sites.

When a user connects to a VPN, a “tunnel” is created. This is a secure line of communication between the computer and the VPN, meaning outside observers cannot see the data passing between them. As an additional layer of security, the data passing through the tunnel is end-to-end encrypted with a strong cipher, altering the information in a particular way.

This means that even if a hacker were to penetrate the tunnel, so to speak, they would struggle to read the data within. This secure tunnel blocks out more than just malicious outsiders, too. Even an ISP will only be able to see the unintelligible strings of data.

Once you connect to a VPN, you can browse the internet as usual, with one major exception: Your computer behaves as if it is located in the network rather than wherever you are. This means that when you access a site while logged into a VPN, the data packets sent will not have your own address on them but instead that of the VPN. This makes your location difficult to track, which is one reason VPNs are popular choices for journalists operating under oppressive governments.

VPNs bypass geoblocking

VPNs are a useful security measure, but they also serve another purpose. While logged into a VPN, your computer looks like it’s located at the VPN server you select. It could be a server near you or thousands of miles away in another country. That’s how VPNs get around geoblocking that limits access to a site based on where a user lives.

Examples of geoblocking range from the mundane (the Netflix library varies depending on where you live) to the oppressive (some countries ban residents from accessing certain sites). If you connect to a VPN server in the U.K. and access YouTube, you’ll see content intended for that country. This is often referred to as spoofing your location, or geospoofing.

However, a VPN might not unlock all streaming services. Sometimes websites learn to detect VPN servers and block them. Switching to another server in the same region could help, but you might have to pay more to the VPN to access a streaming server that works for your favorite websites.

The best VPNs for streaming work with the most popular video services, making ongoing adjustments so you’ll keep enjoying high-quality streaming and reliable unblocking.

How to start using a VPN

How does one get started using a VPN? Despite everything that goes into making a VPN work (tunnels, encryption, etc.), for you, it’s as simple as logging in — meaning you’ll need the right credentials. As mentioned earlier, campus and office networks are examples of VPNs, and they’re fine if you are simply looking for a secure connection to the internet. If you are trying to protect your privacy, however, using your employer’s network might not be the best idea.

Enter private, third-party VPNs, which anyone can use. For most people, the easiest way to get onto a VPN is to sign up with one of these VPN providers. There are hundreds of privately owned services, and as with any service, they offer various incentives like lower prices or faster speeds. We have a list of options we recommend the most.

Limited VPN services may be free, but most VPN memberships will cost a monthly fee. In making an account with a VPN service, you will create a username and password that you can use to access the network. VPNs offer apps that are compatible across a wide range of devices, from computers and phones to routers and built-in extensions for browsers.

How much does a VPN cost?

It comes down to the subscription fee. Actually downloading the app and adjusting the settings is usually a simple, cost-free process (although some VPNs do have IT-level options for tweaking security protocols). And while some VPNs are free, we highly suggest getting a paid version to get the most value out of a VPN and the most important features.

These fees tend to range from around $9 to $15 per month, and some VPNs do offer different tiers with added services at higher rates.

To get the best deal on a VPN, you’ll have to pay for one to three years of service in advance. It’s possible to find lower rates down to $2 to $8 per month for the first year or so. Well-established VPNs typically offer 30-day free trials that will allow you to experiment with services. Reviews and ratings for VPN services can also be helpful when choosing the right subscription.

How do you choose the right VPN provider?

VPN providers can vary in many ways, so it’s important to do some research if you are serious about VPN protection. Think about your specific needs, and take a look at these important factors:

Verified no-log policy: Cheaper or inferior VPNs will still keep logs of your internet activity to use or even sell. Look for VPNs that have a no-log policy. NordVPN, for example, has a no-log system that is independently verified for extra assurance. VPNs also sometimes boast about the nation they are headquartered in, as some nations have mandatory data retention laws that make no-log policies difficult. Others are part of international data sharing efforts, like Five-Eyes, which can allow for sharing data with your government or other governments without your knowledge.

Kill switches: A kill switch ensures that if a VPN drops for any reason, the internet connection is immediately shut down to prevent any data from passing along to outside sources. This peace of mind is particularly welcome for those living under oppressive or dangerous governments.

Split tunneling: Split tunneling is a feature that essentially lets you whitelist certain services or sites to bypass the VPN entirely. This can help solve slowdown issues or latency problems when streaming and is an important tool to look for in modern VPNs.

Number of servers: VPNs like to boast about the number of servers that they have and how many cites they span. While it’s not quite as important as they make it out to be (anything above a couple thousand servers should be enough for server hopping around the world), it’s still a sign of how well-established the service is and potentially how many options you have if you’re trying to get around a geoblock.

Simultaneous connections: VPNs limit simultaneous connections, and you will want a service that can reliably protect all important devices on your home network at the same time. Five maximum devices is at the low end for professional VPNs but still a common limit. The best VPNs for multiple devices let you connect to 10 or more computers, tablets, phones, and TVs.

Why set up a VPN at home?

While VPNs are frequently recommended for public Wi-Fi, remote business work, and other high-risk situations, they are also applicable at home. Here’s why it’s a good idea to consider a VPN for your home:

Broad protection for all your devices: Everything on your home network will be protected by a full-fledged VPN service. That includes your smart devices, computers, smart TVs, consoles, and phones. It’s an easy way to add broad encryption for your Wi-Fi.

Parental controls and kid security: Many VPNs offer features useful for parents and can block untrustworthy sites or malware to help keep the whole family protected.

Privacy features still apply: Privacy concerns, such as ISP logs, pertain just as much to your home network as to public Wi-Fi.

Region restrictions can be bypassed: From games to TV shows, we stream a lot of content in our homes, so the server-switching options that VPNs offer to get around geoblocking can be especially useful.

Downsides to using a VPN

VPNs can be very useful, but there are some drawbacks. The most immediate problem with VPNs is that they can reduce your upload and download speeds. Encrypting and decrypting data takes time, which can cause delays, latency issues when playing games, or stuttering when watching high-definition videos. The speed can also be affected by how far away the VPN servers are from you. While split tunneling can help address some of these issues, it’s not a complete solution.

An additional problem with VPNs is that some popular websites try to detect them and block access. Netflix is probably the greatest example. In order to keep foreign users from accessing its library, Netflix routinely blocks traffic from a VPN.

Despite the limitations, VPNs are a great option for anyone looking to protect their privacy online, read-world news, and see the internet as if you were in another country. The best VPNs are reliable, fast, and affordable. There are even some great free VPNs that guard your privacy with minimal restrictions.