A VPN, or Virtual Private Network, is a service that protects your Internet connection and online privacy. It allows users to send and receive data over the Internet as if their computers or smartphones were on a private network. This is very useful for protecting personal information and avoiding any restrictions on the Internet.

How does a VPN work?

Let’s imagine that the Internet is a big city with many highways. When you use it without a VPN, your data, such as the sites you visit and the information you send (such as emails), travels over these “highways” in the open. This means that anyone with access can observe or even steal your information.

Now let’s imagine that using a VPN is like traveling with your information in a safe, heavy armored car. A VPN encrypts your data, which means that it turns all information into a “secret code”. Even if someone is able to intercept this data, it will appear in the form of an incomprehensible set of characters and numbers, and without a special “key” this code cannot be deciphered.

In addition, a VPN can “change” your location on the Internet. This means that if you are directly located in Ukraine, you can simultaneously appear to Internet sites and services as if you were in the United States, the United Kingdom, or anywhere else. This is actually very useful if you want to access content that is usually blocked in your country.

Why do people use VPNs?

• Personal data protection: it can protect your online activity from hackers, especially when you use public Wi-Fi (for example, in a cafe or at a train station).
• Bypassing censorship and accessing blocked content: access to websites and services that may be blocked in certain countries (e.g., Facebook in China).
• Torrents and file sharing: securely share files without putting your IP address at risk of being tracked.
• Anti-tracking protection: preventing your online activities from being monitored by advertising agencies or Internet service providers.

History

The history of VPNs dates back to 1996, when Microsoft employee Gurdeep Singh Pall created the PPTP (Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol) protocol. This was done to ensure secure corporate communications via the Internet, which at that time was rapidly gaining popularity as a global network. The PPTP protocol is based on the idea of creating a virtual encrypted tunnel between two points. This method allowed for the secure transmission of confidential data over public networks.

VPN technology was designed to meet three main needs: confidentiality, integration, and authentication when exchanging information between remote users and corporate networks. This opened the door to the globalization of business processes, as companies could now securely connect their separate divisions in different parts of the world.

With the development of the Internet and the rise of cyber threats, VPN services have been used not only by corporations but also by ordinary users. People began using the service to access blocked resources, protect personal data when working via public Wi-Fi networks, and guarantee the confidentiality of their online activities from third-party surveillance.

In the early 2000s, with the advent of new encryption protocols and more modern technologies such as SSL and TLS, VPNs began to offer even greater levels of security. This, in turn, contributed to their widespread distribution and popularity.

How to use a VPN?

Using a VPN service is very simple:

1. Choose a reliable VPN provider. Some popular options are NordVPN, ExpressVPN, or CyberGhost. It is important to choose a provider that does not store logs of your activity.
2. Download and install their program for your computer or smartphone.
3. Select a country from the list of servers in the program. The country you choose depends on the content you want to access.
4. Click “Connect”, and in a few seconds your Internet connection will be secured.

The 5 best VPNs for speed, price, and quality

As of 2024, the VPN services market offers a large number of solutions that differ in speed, price, reliability, and availability of additional features. Below, we list five VPN providers that have proven to be high quality, with a good balance of price, speed, and security.

1. NordVPN

Speed: high speeds thanks to the ‘NordLynx’ protocol.

Price: from $3.29 to $11.99 per month, depending on the duration of the subscription.

Features: more than 5,400 servers in 59 countries, a strict policy of not saving logs, two-level encryption, blocking ads and malicious sites.

Pros:
Strong security, wide server coverage, high speed.

Cons:
some servers may experience a slowdown.

2. ExpressVPN

Speed: very high speeds on most servers.

Price: from $6.67 to $12.95 per month.

Features: 3000+ servers in 94 countries located in 160 locations, split tunneling support, TrustedServer technology, quantitatively unlimited devices.

Pros:
high speed, wide geographical coverage of servers, strong encryption standards.

Cons:
Higher price compared to competitors.

3. Surfshark

Speed: fast Internet access with minimal delays.

Price: from $2.49 to $12.95 per month.

Features: unlimited number of connected devices, CleanWeb (blocking ads and malicious requests), Whitelister (split tunneling).

Pros:
affordable price, high speed, strong privacy policy.

Cons:
Sometimes there are difficulties with connecting to some servers.

4. CyberGhost

Speed: Extremely fast connection speeds for streaming and torrenting.

Price: from $2.25 to $12.99 per month.

Features: over 7000 servers in 90+ countries, automatic switching for streaming, ad blocking.

Pros:
A huge number of servers optimized for streaming and torrents, very good privacy.

Cons:
slightly higher price for short plans, the interface may seem overwhelming for beginners.

5. Private Internet Access (PIA)

Speed: Competitive speeds for web surfing and streaming.

Price: from $2.19 to $9.95 per month.

Features: 3335+ servers in 48 countries, WireGuard support, ad blocking, minimalist design.

Pros:
Strong encryption, favorable price for long-term plans.

Cons:
Based in the US, which may raise privacy issues due to surveillance laws.

In general, you can choose any of the above services for yourself, all of them are good in their own way. Today, a VPN is a necessary tool for anyone who values their privacy on the Internet and wants to protect personal data from potential cyber threats. This technology is constantly evolving and offers more and more new opportunities for security and anonymity online.