Gathering data from your online activities is a highly profitable venture for many businesses. Some corporations and tech companies will exploit your information as much as possible should you leave your devices unprotected from probing attempts. Luckily, you can use a virtual private network to keep your online footprint to a minimum.
In addition to hiding your online activities, a VPN will also allow you to securely message your contacts without fear of prying eyes. The best VPNs provide multiple layers of protection. You can hide your IP address, search anonymously, and encrypt sensitive messages before sending them. Once you encrypt a chat message, it’s nearly impossible for third parties to intercept it. The following virtual private networks will give you everything you need to shield yourself from data thieves.
Nord VPN
Nord VPN may be the most effective application for securing your online presence. You’ll enjoy multiple levels of protection without sacrificing your internet speed. Nord can maintain fast speeds thanks to the vast array of servers it owns around the globe. Being a massive brand gives Nord VPN a serious advantage in the online security sector.
While browsing, you can anonymize all your activity by activating the VPN. If Nord’s connection ever falters, you can quickly close your internet session with a kill switch. This prevents your open tabs from taking your data during a temporary lapse in service. Fortunately, Nord’s connection status remains steadfast a vast majority of the time. The kill switch is just a nice insurance policy on top of the excellent performance. You can also specify the location of the fake IP address you generate to access Geo locked content on video streaming services such as Netflix. And of course, Nord’s message encryption ensures your confidential chats stay that way.
Express VPN
Express VPN has taken the world by storm with its extensive marketing campaigns and simple-to-use service. If you’re a beginner in this space, Express VPN is a suitable place to start. The app itself walks you through setup, and there are extensive tutorials on sites like YouTube to help you set up the advanced options that interest you.
Messaging with Express VPN is made especially secure with the help of Trusted Server technology. It’s effective because all of the company’s servers operate on RAM memory. Unlike traditional hard drives, RAM memory is deleted each time a device is rebooted. This means that any trace of your sensitive chats is automatically deleted every few hours. Combine that with the standard IP spoofing and anonymity features found in most VPNs, and Express offers a complete package.
Surfshark
If you’re looking for a value option, Surfshark is the VPN for you. The low monthly rate is among the best on the market, and you can even get your money back within 30 days. But don’t be fooled by the low price — Surfshark still brings a lot to the table. You can take advantage of multi-hop, which bounces your IP across multiple locations instead of just one. Anyone spying on you would have a lot of trouble tracking a multi-hop connection.
Surfshark facilitates unlimited connections from a single account. This allows you to secure your privacy on each of your devices. Your chat messages will be fully encrypted yet easy to open on any device with Surfshark installed.
Proton VPN
The Proton suite of online applications is widely regarded as an optimal way to secure your data online. Proton VPN continues this trend by offering one of the most intuitive interfaces out there. It’s worth addressing the quality of Proton considering it is completely free. Although that may sound suspicious at first, Proton VPN does an excellent job of keeping your data and messages secure.
Proton VPN is great for encrypting messages and reducing the number of trackers you collect while browsing. However, there are few advanced features to speak of. If you wish to have all the bells and whistles, you may prefer a premium VPN instead.
VyprVPN
When your internet connection speed is just as important as your data security, try out VyprVPN. It works just like any of the other apps on this list, yet the primary focus of development is improving browser speeds and maintaining reliable connections. Your activity will be filtered through multiple servers around the world, though each one is equipped to hastily process your traffic.
Encrypting your chats is just as easy and you have access to 24/7 customer support throughout your subscription period. The end result is a reliable service that runs in the background without much fuss.
Going the extra mile to hide your tracks
While a VPN is an excellent way to start taking back your online privacy, there is so much more you can do to secure your data. For instance, you can download the Tor Browser to achieve 100% anonymous internet activity. This specialized browser was designed from the bottom up with data security in mind. In addition to hiding your basic internet activity and chat logs, you can also use Tor to access the dark web. Dark web sites are so hidden that you can only access them with this specialized browsing software.
