No. Using free VPNs is the same as giving your information away to a stranger online. Free virtual private network providers have to maintain an infrastructure to keep their service running, so they need to make money somehow. Since you’re not paying for their service, they may collect your data and sell it to advertisers, use your device as an exit node for paying users, or even add your computer to a botnet network. It will also most likely won’t work well – the VPN connection is usually unstable and slow, internet data is left unencrypted, and your IP address and location aren’t sufficiently hidden.

The best VPN providers with zero-knowledge architecture will respect your privacy and protect your data. So instead of risking your data, find a reliable VPN service. Most providers offer yearly plans that cost $40.00-$70.00, but a lot of them also have two-year subscriptions that go for $60.00-$80.00. Still not sure? You can try NordVPN risk-free with our 30-day money-back guarantee.

Using a virtual private network is legal in most countries, including Australia, Canada, the UK, Germany, and the US. A few have banned them altogether, and some have strict laws in place to regulate how VPN clients are used. These laws are usually there to ensure the government can track its citizens’ actions online, but the best VPN service providers can bypass these restrictions.

If you plan to travel to a country with government censorship and wish to keep your connection with home, we suggest downloading the NordVPN app and getting your subscription before you set off.

Getting started with NordVPN will take only a few minutes:

• Pick the subscription plan that suits you best and sign up for your account;
• Download a VPN app to your device;
• Open the app, log in, and click “Quick Connect.”

That’s it, you’re all set up. If you need help, check out our tutorials on how to install NordVPN on all your devices.

There’s not much to it for a casual user: you install the app, log in, press “Quick Connect,” and that’s it — your connections are encrypted. But there’s a lot more going on behind the scenes.

1. Your device connects to a VPN service.
2. The VPN service authenticates your client with a VPN server.
3. The VPN server encrypts the data you send and receive.
4. The VPN server creates a secure encrypted tunnel for your data to travel through.
5. Once the data arrives at the server, it decrypts it and sends it to your desired destination.

You should consider a few factors when choosing a VPN — speed and security are the most important ones. Check what protocols the VPN provider offers and how many servers it has. The more servers there are, the faster your connections will be. Pay attention to their locations as well – your device will connect faster to a server that’s closer, so a large selection of countries is essential.

When it comes to security, you should once again pay attention to the VPN protocols the provider offers – some are faster, while others are safer. Next, make sure they use modern encryption algorithms to protect your data. Additional security features are also important since they help you protect your online privacy – look for a kill-switch, double VPN, and obfuscated servers. And lastly, always opt for a provider that has a zero-logs policy.

There are, but not many – the benefits usually outweigh the drawbacks.

The main drawback of using a VPN is a slower internet connection. After all, your device has to connect to a VPN server before traveling to your desired website. This little detour naturally takes at least some time. That’s why you have to look for a VPN service that offers the best speeds. For example, if you choose NordVPN’s NordLynx protocol, you’ll hardly notice any difference at all – it’s been proven to be the fastest one on the market.