Since the arrival of the internet, many businesses have faced grievous incidences as a result of hackers gaining unauthorized access to their networks and stealing information or planting malicious software. This has resulted in the loss of copious amounts of data and money.
But the arrival of VPN has made such businesses heave a collective sigh of relief as it is the answer to their connectivity concerns. VPNs – virtual private networks – have taken the internet to the next level by making communication much more efficient than it was via the use of private networks.
VPN servers allow users to find a way around censorship while staying anonymously online. A VPN server also allows you to bypass other geographic restrictions and prevents third parties to see or notice that data is being transferred.
This means that the data will remain secure, especially if you are making use of a public Wi-Fi. The VPN server can make it appear as if your computer is operating from a location that is different from your actual position. This occurs as a result of the creation of a virtual network that routes the computer network traffic through encrypted tunnels and out the other side.
This makes it look as if the computer and the VPN server are in the same location.
Top VPN servers
The following are the prominent VPN servers in existence today:
• TunnelBear
• ExpressVPN
• NordVPN
Choosing the best VPN server
Your needs as well as what you are trying to accomplish is significant when it comes to choosing the best VPN server.
Different VPNs come with distinct features; for instance, TunnelBear has 1,000 servers across 20 server locations and an unknown number of IP addresses. ExpressVPN has more than 2,000 servers spread across 148 server locations with more than 300,000 IP addresses. NordVPN has 5,054 servers spread across 52 server locations and an unspecified amount of IP addresses.
Why is ‘location’ an essential factor to consider with VPN servers?
The user’s intent will determine the location of the VPN server. For instance, if you want to watch a movie that is not authorized or permitted in your location, you can use a VPN server to bypass this restriction. This means that you may have to choose a location – where permission to watch the movie or TV show is granted – that is different from your current location.
VPN and logs
One of the significant advantages of using a virtual private network (VPN) is the privacy they guarantee. However, these private networks keep logs from time to time. For instance, ExpressVPN does not keep traffic logs, but they keep connection logs, complete with the server that was used and the date it was used.
NordVPN has a “no logs” policy, though their stand on session logging is somewhat unclear. TunnelBear doesn’t collect IP address or any form of data about services or applications connected to their server while in use.
Conclusion
Each of the virtual private networks mentioned in this article has several disadvantages; all you need to do is to take a look at their policies and services to determine the right one for you.