This site will have the best tips and information for choosing a good VPN. Beware of other VPN sites full of logos of the different companies and eagerly displaying pricing and promotions. Most VPN review sites do this to make money and they often rate/rank and list VPN companies according to how much money the company pays them. Yes, we're serious, most other sites give the highest ranking according to which company pays them for the spot, not whether a company deserves to be there or is ripping customers off. With our site, you will never see this, just the best tips and information and recommendations.
What are VPN Accounts for?
VPN stands for Virtual Private Network.
A VPN Account gives you access to a Virtual Private Network which is meant to secure and encrypt your connection.
It can be used to add security while travelling or even to bypass government/ISP snooping and spying. They are also used to hide your IP address so you can surf anonymously without being traced and tracked.
They also unlock and unblock websites such as Facebook, Skype, Netflix etc...
What types of VPN Networks/Accounts are there?
There are 4 main types used (we won't mention proprietary ones such as Cisco that aren't really applicable for the enduser)
1.) PPTP (Poptop) this type of VPN doesn't require any installation or software download on most/computers devices. PPTP is ready to work on virtually any version of Windows, Linux, Android, iOS/iPhone and is usually configured with encryption for your privacy (be sure it is, some providers do not provide encryption which is dangerous and adds no security to your connection). The only downside is that sometimes in Windows, Secure SSL/TLS websites do not work properly. Sometimes PPTP can be blocked either by your local router (ensure PPTP/VPN passthrough is enabled on your router) or ISP.
2.) OpenVPN, this is the second most popular type of VPN but it requires a download of an OpenVPN client (always free though) and requires a little extra work to setup (easy for advanced users but may take extra steps for beginners). Most companies should provide step-by-step instructions for this. OpenVPN is considered the most secure and often works when PPTP port 1723 and GRE protocol are blocked.
3.) L2TP, uses UDP and is usually not blocked,but be careful many providers do not encrypt L2TP, although it is also supported as easily if not more than PPTP on most devices, it is more likely to have bizarre connection issues due to the wide array of both client and server configuration options compared to PPTP and OpenVPN which are more standardized.
4.) SSTP is a newer protocol which is virtually unblockable and travels as normal SSL/TLS traffic which is used by Microsoft. We dislike it because Windows servers are insecure, they are the most likely to be hacked and this makes it more likely that your activity is being monitored and passwords/banking info being stolen. We don't recommend SSTP because the servers must run Windows.
How long have they been in business?
VPN companies popup everyday and just as many close down the next because they are often run by students or people who have know idea how to run, maintain and secure a VPN network let alone a business. This is not to say all companies are like this, but there
Multiple Servers in Multiple Countries (not just a few servers by dozens)
A good provider should be an established company or owned by another larger company. They should have a list of dozens of servers in the USA and around the world that you can connect to or purchase to. If they make no mention of a server list, you can usually be sure it is a fly-by-night company loading up hundreds or thousands of accounts on 1 USA server, 1 UK server etc... More established, larger and reliable companies will have at a minimum dozens of servers in the USA and around the world. If they don't have this, they're a small company and can't afford many servers, this usually means they won't be able to provide a stable and consistent or safe VPN service.
Pricing
Price is a factor, if it is dirt cheap expect to get what you pay for. Quality service cannot be offered for long at extremely low pricing and it becomes like a pyramid scheme where they rely on a steady flow of new customers to keep things running. The problem is that in this situation you are sharing a lot more resources than companies with somewhat higher but reasonable pricing. For example, would you think a 1 star hotel in a bad area of town for $20 USD per night will provide a good, safe and clean environment or would it be the 4 star hotel for $49-$79/night? The answer is simple and it's important with your VPN provider, you don't want to share a network with hackers, criminals and you don't want to fight thousands of other users just have a slow VPN connection that's unreliable.