10.5.14

Free VPN Services You Should Know About | PCMag.com

Free VPN Services You Should Know About | PCMag.com



Protect your data and your identity no matter where you are
connecting to the Internet with one of these virtual private network
services. While paid services generally give you better performance and
advanced features, if you need VPN protection in a pinch, check out the
following VPN services. They give you the protection you need at the
price your wallet likes.

When people hear VPN (Virtual Private Network), they generally think
about work, and how they have to use a VPN client to log on and check
their email or access other applications. They know that using VPN
prevents snoops from eavesdropping on their work-related online activity
when connecting to the Internet from the airport, hotel, or coffee
shop. A VPN service provides a similar level of security to hide your IP
address, your geographic location, and protecting your data while on
online.

A VPN service would allow a visitor in China to still log in to
Facebook and German users would be able to watch YouTube by getting an
IP address from a US-based server. Setting up a VPN service is as easy
as downloading a client and installing it on to your device. In some
cases, it's just a matter of entering the server name and password into
an existing VPN client (Windows and Macs both have VPN clients built-in
to the operating system).

A VPN service is pretty much just for connecting to Websites and
services. It does not create a true VPN tunnel between two computers.
Remember that only the traffic going from your computer (or mobile
device) to the VPN service provider's servers is encrypted. If your
destination site is not using HTTPS, then that connection is unencrypted
and your activity on that site is not protected. Even if you are using
the VPN service, keep an eye out when you are entering sensitive
information such as credit card numbers. Make sure the site is using
HTTPS!

While most VPN connections generally slow down connections, the drop
is not that bad. While the free services generally have a bigger
performance hit than paid ones, if you are looking for a free VPN, click
the links below to find a few that would do the job just as well. While
some of the services below offer paid versions, the free versions are
enough for most surfing needs.