“Which VPN should I use?”
UPDATE: March 28, 2018: Everything has gone to hell. You definitely still need a VPN.
“Hey Seth, which VPN should I use?”
I’ve been getting this question a lot lately. Likely because I guess I’m the resident nerd and Congress is currently voting to allow ISPs to sell your browser history to advertisers.
It’s easy to go down the rabbit hole when trying to find a VPN service so here are a few simple suggestions.
What VPN should I use?
I’m writing this with the assumption that you’re not up to anything nefarious and that readers are believers of the 4th amendment, and primarily wish to keep private interests out of your web history and make you not as easy of a target for hackers.
P.S. If you ever work in a cafe (like I am now), I highly suggest using a VPN.
Look, I’m not Mr. Robot and I can’t be bothered with a subscription, just tell me the least expensive VPN to use.
You can use TigerVPN and pay $29 for a lifetime subscription (limited time sale through @stacksocial)
EDIT: Read my recent article about free and lifetime subscription VPNs at https://medium.com/@sethcallaway/free-vpns-why-you-should-think-twice-and-why-paying-for-one-is-a-good-idea-like-now-e778d8adcf55
3 Respected Services to Make a Quick Choice
Below is a quick list of 3 commonly used VPNs that will provide adequate levels of support, privacy features to get you setup quickly.
PIA (Private Internet Access): $59.95 for 2 years (sale) Edit: Use code “PIA20” with this link and save another $8. :)
Pros: iPhone and Android apps available. 5 connections/devices supported at once. Easy installer. Ad blocking. Accepts Bitcoin.
TorGuard: $59.99/year
Pros: iPhone and Android apps available. 1600+ servers in 50+ countries. 5 connections/devices supported at once. Ad blocking. Accepts Bitcoin.
Nord VPN: $69.00/year
Pros: iPhone and Android apps available. 1600+ servers in 50+ countries. 6 connections/devices supported at once. Ad blocking. Accepts Bitcoin.
But I’m a nerd who understands all of the details of VPNs, how should I decide?
There is a handy Google Doc that is updated daily that keeps track of every detail of VPNs you could imagine. Go check it out at https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1L72gHJ5bTq0Djljz0P-NCAaURrXwsR1MsLpVmAt3bwg/
Props to @thatprivacyguy for creating a great resource.
The caveat: Which VPN is best for you largely depends on what you’re using it for, where you’re using it, and the level of security you need.
What else can I do to prevent tracking?
Download @brave browser. I know it’s hard to let go of Chrome, but Brave takes privacy very seriously and was created by the inventor of Javascript, and the co-founder of Mozilla, Brendan Eich (BrendanEich).
In only a few days of use, it has blocked over 1,600 trackers on my machine, over 1,000 ads and created over 300 secured connection which otherwise wouldn’t have been encrypted. Not to mention, it’s saved me 3 minutes of load-time that would normally be reserved for loading ads and tracking services.
