Which VPN software should I buy?

[flyingfin]

Need to work from boat using public Wi-Fi and need secure internet connection. Which VPN is priced reasonably and will give me some level of security?

[thomm225]

You can get TunnelBear for $3.33/month with a 3 year plan.


https://www.tunnelbear.com/b/vpn-yea...T5_D_BwE#plans

Also most will let you try them free for a while. I have used TunnelBear in the past for free.

https://www.tunnelbear.com/pricing

[Be Free]

TLDR: Based on your design requirements, "Priced reasonably and give me some level of security", any legitimate VPN provider that meets your price point will suffice.


"Legitimate" presumes that they have properly applied the underlying encryption algorithms and that they will maintain their servers and clients as needed. Look for someone who has been in business for a while and who has a track record of keeping their software up-to-date as needed.


Your VPN provider will be able to see all of your traffic when it leaves their server. A lot of that traffic will have its own encryption as well (ex: HTTPS) so they will not see what you are doing, only the site you are connecting to. Only you know if that is a problem for you. (If this is a concern to you then you also need to look at your DNS provider).



That brings us to their business model. Providing the bandwidth, servers, and support for a VPN costs money. If they are giving their service away for "free", then you are not the customer you are the product. Just like other "free" online services they are selling or using information about you to pay for the service. Whether or not this is a problem to you is your choice. I'm not talking about a free trial but an ongoing free service.


While I have the ability to evaluate how the VPN provider has implemented their protocols I don't have the time or desire to do so any more. I'm trying very hard to retire.



If you stick to larger, well known providers who charge a reasonable fee for their service you should be fine. That's not to say that smaller companies may not be just as good but it may take more work to find out.

[George_SD]

I like NordVPN. Seems to work well, good number of servers, no logs, additional security features, etc.

[patrickbarbary]

Originally Posted by flyingfin

Need to work from boat using public Wi-Fi and need secure internet connection. Which VPN is priced reasonably and will give me some level of security?

Very happy with NorVPN. Less expensive than Express, and now as good or better.

[mvmojo]

I use Surfshark because it allows you to exclude specific programs and sites from the VPN. I've found a number of web sites that will not connect via a VPN. Rather than disconnecting completely from the VPN tunnel, you can simply include the site address in the bypass list in Surfshark and it will pass through your traffic outside it's VPN.

[Wallaby]

I use Firefox as my browser, and the Firefox VPN. One license covers 4 computers, I believe. Global nodes to connect to. There is some speed impact. Happy camper here

[Smokeys Kitchen]

AVG has worked well for us for a couple of years now

[onestepcsy37]

Been using lpvanish for a year now no problems they have a lot of servers around the USA Canada and Europe

[CarinaPDX]

Look for services that use the newer WireGuard technology instead of VPN (as in OpenVPN et al). "VPN" can mean the generic Virtual Private Network, or the specific technology used by OpenVPN and others. VPN technology suffers from complexity. WireGuard is simpler and based on open software. Support for WireGuard for Linux was moved into the kernel in the last year, so it is now an established technology; of course versions for Mac and Windows are available.

Greg

[phillw]

If you pay for a an internet security service like Bitdefender etc I notice that a basic VPN comes free with the application. Someone above also stated AVG which is similar to Bitdefender. The free version only allows them to assign a country whereas the paid version you can select any country you wish. If you are commecting to a specific country netflix account etc you would need to upgrade to the paid version. The best part of a Bitdefender etc is that the VPN is part of the antivirus/firewall software.

having said this and noting that someone above has stated to get the fireGuard capable VPN then I just received an email with a discount code for IPVanish who have just added the WireGuard for US $3.20/month for the first 12 months. Link below;

https://www.ipvanish.com/troypoint/?...t&chan=htopeml

[tupawk]

I've been using ExpressVPN for several years now. Works great in every country I've been to including China.

[Mahayana]

We use SurfShark. Had a very deep discount offered back in the first few months of 2021. They were also sponsoring the Gone With the Wynns YouTube channel. Very easy and inexpensive.

[IslaMujeres]

sounds like Surfshark is the best option

[Lepke]

I had 3 VPNs searching for one that was fast. Nord was the best and doesn't seem to cause any slowness. Surfshark was slower, never as fast as Nord. But that could vary depending on where you are.
No VPN speeds and Nord speeds seem to be the same.