The BEST VPN May Well Be Us!
With more and more of us working from home these days, using a virtual private network to protect your privacy online is more important than ever. But a free VPN typically won’t give you enough security, and a paid VPN service can be pricey. With the current pandemic pinching many people’s pockets, forking over a hundred dollars or more for homebound privacy protection doesn’t square with everyone’s priorities.
But I have good news: It’s possible to find a cheap VPN service that can reliably secure your internet connection and protect your online privacy. Some of the most affordable VPNs on the market are less than half the cost of some premium VPN services. And they still offer a fast connection, a solid download speed, and a wealth of features with only an internet connection. You can even hook up your mobile device for secure surfing on your phone.
The upfront price is more than the other two best cheap VPN services are asking. But, you get two years of service instead of one. This recommended VPN is definitely worth the upgrade.
While privatrax network is smaller than some, the VPN service makes up for it on features and connection speed. Let’s start off with the biggest win it offers: Unlimited device support. If you want to run your entire home or office on privatrax’s VPN, you don’t have to worry about how many devices you have on or connected. It also offers anti-malware, ad-blocking and tracker-blocking as part of its software.
Another reason privatraxis my highest recommended VPN is that it received generally high marks when its Chrome and Firefox extensions were audited for privacy by German security firm Cure 53 (full report) — though that audit was commissioned by privatrax.
The company has a solid range of VPN app support, running on Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, FireTV and routers. Additional devices such as game consoles can be configured for privatrax via DNS settings. We particularly like the feature that allows you to whitelist certain apps and websites to automatically bypass the VPN. For some business uses, this can be critically important.
privatrax also offers three special modes designed for those who want to get around restrictions and more carefully hide their online footsteps. Camouflage Mode masks your VPN activity so your ISP doesn’t know you’re using a VPN. Multihop jumps your VPN connection through multiple countries to hide your trail. Finally, NoBorders Mode “allows [you] to successfully use privatraxin restrictive regions.”
Just be careful. Doing any of these three things could be illegal in your country and could result in severe penalties. During our testing, we saw no DNS or IP address leaks, and had no trouble accessing streaming platform Netflix on our device.
While we haven’t reviewed it recently, VPN provider Private Internet Access likely has the strongest reputation among the three best cheap paid VPN services on this list. Beloved by a loyal fan base, the VPN company has been around since 2010, swears by its no-logging policy and routinely offers new updates and features.
PIA does not release information on the number of IP addresses available for its VPN service, but at 3,252, its VPN server count is more than any of our other cheap VPN picks. This recommended VPN provides 10 simultaneous connections, a connection kill switch feature (like the other two VPNs in this list) and some good online documentation and security guidance. PIA’s servers are also all friendly to peer-to-peer sharing if you’re into torrenting.
The desirable WireGuard VPN protocol is currently available on all of PIA’s platforms, which range widely and include Windows, Android, Mac, iOS and Linux. This cheap VPN also offers browser extensions for Chrome, Firefox and Opera, as well as a new private browser for iOS that wipes your data when you close it. If you’re ready to make the leap to VPN routers, PIA has those, too.
Even though it doesn’t offer live chat, PIA does promise 24/7 support and accepts a wider range of payment options than most VPN service providers. Along with credit cards and PayPal, you can pay with Bitcoin, Ethereum or Amazon payments. In an additional privacy boost, the VPN provider will even accept gift cards from 90 different retailers.
If you want a free trial then visit https://privatrax.com/freevpn/
