How to Set Up and Use a VPN

Everyone should be using a virtual private network or VPN, whether you're connecting to the Internet on your computer or your smartphone. That may sound paranoid, but there are real threats out there, and they're only getting worse. On Wi-Fi networks, unscrupulous individuals can attempt to intercept your information. And whenever you connect to the internet, your Internet Service Provider (ISP) has access to everything you send and has been given the green light from Congress to sell your anonymized information to advertisers, too. Out on the wide open internet, advertisers and spies can track your movements between websites and discern your location by peeking at your IP address. It's scary out there.

The fact is the internet was not designed to protect your privacy. It was created for easy information exchange, not user privacy, anonymization, or encrypted communication. While HTTPS goes a long way toward protecting your information, it doesn't guard against ISP snooping or local network attacks—a major problem if you ever use a connection that isn't yours, such as one at a hotel or a coffee shop.

So until a new, more private internet comes together (probably never), using a VPN is the easiest way to make sure that you're sharing as little information as possible. Make no mistake: You need a VPN.

What a VPN Does and Does Not Do
As with any security tool, it's important to understand the limitations of a VPN. After all, you wouldn't expect a kevlar vest to save you from falling out of an airplane or a parachute to stop a bullet.

When you switch on a VPN, your traffic is routed through an encrypted tunnel to a server operated by the VPN company. That means that your ISP and anything (or anyone) connected to your router won't be able to see your web traffic. From the VPN server, your traffic exits onto the public internet. Unless you're headed to a site that uses HTTPS, your traffic is no longer encrypted.

Because your traffic appears to come from the VPN's server, your actual IP address is effectively hidden. That's important, because IP addresses are distributed geographically and can be used to infer someone's location. If someone checks your IP address, they'll see the IP address of the VPN server. This can come in handy if you want to spoof your location. By connecting to a VPN server in London, you can make it appear as if you are accessing the internet from the UK.

What a VPN won't do is completely anonymize your traffic. To do that, you'll want to use a service such as Tor. This excellent anonymization service is easily accessed through a special version of the Firefox browser. Instead of just piping your data through a single intermediary (that is, a VPN server) Tor bounces your data through several different volunteer computers. This makes it much harder for someone trying to track your activities to see what you're up to.

Additionally, websites can track your movements through cookies, browser fingerprinting, online trackers, and other tricky tools. Using an ad-blocker such as Privacy Badger helps suppress these ever watchful nasties and can make it much harder for advertisers to follow your movements across the web.

Finally, just because you have a VPN doesn't mean you can forget about the security basics. While some VPN services claim they can block malware, we recommend standalone antivirus software for your computer, because these tools are designed specifically to protect your computer from malicious software. You should also use a password manager, because recycled passwords are a major point of failure. Another precaution is to use common sense when clicking on links or opening email attachments. Phishing attacks—when an attacker uses a bogus website that mimics a familiar one to trick you into entering your login credentials—are so common as to almost be mundane, so stay alert.

How to Choose a VPN
When we review VPNs, there are a few key metrics we look for. One is that the VPN service should allow you to connect at least five devices at a time. Another is whether or not the VPN service allows BitTorrent traffic on their servers. Some do, some do not, and you don't want to run afoul of the company you're paying a monthly fee to.

Speaking of fees, the average cost of a VPN service is $10.53 per month. A VPN service that is charging more per month isn't necessarily ripping you off, but it should offer something significant, such as a great interface or lots of server locations to sweeten the deal. You can usually get a discount if you buy longer-term contracts, but we recommend avoiding those until you're certain that you're happy with the service.

Before you sign up with a VPN, be sure to read its terms of service. This document will outline what information the VPN collects and what it does with that information. Most companies say that they don't log traffic, which is great. Others go further, saying that they do not monitor user activity at all. This is important, because a VPN has access to all the information you're trying to protect from others. The best terms of service make all these issues clear, while the worst are opaque on the details and written in legalese. If reading one of these documents feels like you're trying to translate the Dead Sea Scrolls, consider trying another service. TunnelBear, for example, clearly outlines its operation in easy-to-understand language.

It's also useful to see where the VPN company is based. Keep in mind that this isn't always the physical location of the business, but a legal distinction that outlines what jurisdiction the company operates under. NordVPN, for example, is in Panama, while ProtonVPN is in Switzerland. That means that these companies are not beholden to data retention laws, which would require them to hold on to certain information that could be obtained by law enforcement. Hide My Ass VPN, on the other hand, is based in the UK, which has more intrusive laws.

The most important thing about a VPN is trust. If the location, pricing, or terms of service don't fill you with confidence, try another service.