Overview
Their are too many different companies that offer a VPN service to cover them all here. If you have any VPN that you prefer please leave the name in the comments below and I'll will attempt a follow-up to this subject later. I have personally been using nord VPN up until recently but I have been using proton VPN for a while now and I personally prefer it over nord now. So the bulk of this will be based on these two VPN's and if I get enough comments on other's ill cover them in the future.
Proton VPN
Proton is a company that i trusted before I was using their VPN because I was using the proton mail encrypted email previously. So I had a good idea on whether they cooperate with u.s courts. If you have read my previous entry on duckduckgo and brave you know that I prefer privacy.
Price
Free: offers a free version servers in three countries medium speed and no record of customer use(logs) or adds.
Basic $4 a month: 2 vpn connection, servers in 50 countries, high speed, no logs/ ads, and p2p/BitTorrent support file sharing.
Plus $8 a month: 5 vpn connection, servers in 50 countries, highest speed (10gbps), no logs/ ads, p2p / Bit torrent system, secure core VPN will increase your privacy by passing your internet traffic through multiple servers, tor over vpn, and access to geo blocked content. This is the one I use.
Visionary $24 a month: this includes all of plus plan and 10 vpn connections and proton mail Visionary services that i will cover in a future article.
Security and privacy
The stand out features are the secure core architecture that allows them to defend against network based attacks. By utilizing multiple servers on their network meaning someone monitoring you upon exiting their server won't be able to find your ip address. They won't be able to connect the browsing history to your ip either. They also have a benefit of being located in Switzerland, Iceland, and Sweden. These countries have strong privacy laws.
Devices
The proton vpn service is offered on a wide variety of platforms including a router vpn. This can be a double edge sword and it can make your connection slower. If i can ill try to make an article on this subject and how to guard your connection from the start.
Windows
Mac
Android
Ios
Linux
Routers
Eas of use
There services are simplistic in their setup and use. In addition to that they allow custom connection profiles that can automatically protect your device when you connect to the internet. Please note that this is not every step in providing security and privacy to your device and will attempt to make articles addressing most common issues and concerns. I'll leave links to articles on security as well as Ted talk link about proton mail and internet privacy below.
Ted talk
https://www.ted.com/talks/andy_yen_think_your_email_s_private_think_again
Disclaimer
Use your own judgment on your internet security and privacy this is just my personal experience. I also outlined a p2p Bit Torrent system above and I don't use this service. I'm not judging anyone who does laws on torrents vary and it's just illegal here however I wanted to include it because it's a feature.
Nord VPN
I personally found this service easy to use and fast as well as being log less i liked their services for a year or two. However they have had researchers disclose on Twitter that they had a cyber attack. This granted access to communications of nord vpn systems via a man in the middle attack. This isn't great for cyber security especially when cryptocurrency and transactions are involved so i stopped using them when I found out. They claimed that they have resolved the issue and out of respect for their service and interest in fairness ill give you a brief description and prices. I think that they where hacked last fall but I have not used them since I found out about this breach in security I felt I had to inform anyone who may be interested in using them.
Devices
Windows
Mac
Linux
Android
Ios
Wireless router
(NAS) Network attached storage a server in other words
Prices
A little different from the proton vpn prices in that they have the services offered included and prices vary depending on length of plan.
1 month plan: $11.95 this is what I used
1 year plan: $59.00 sale price and $143.40 w/o
2 years plan: $89.00 sale price and $286.80 w/o
Features
It's one of the faster VPN's that I have used
No logs policy
Great for video and live streaming
On any device
Severs number close to 6000 in 59 countries
Can use up to 6 devices on any plan
A kill switch to stop tracking
Easily used
Utilize tor over vpn allowed
Ad and malware blocking
Browser extensions are available including brave browser that supports Chrome extensions
No data leaks and offers a DNS leak test for free
24/7 support
Based in panama
Safe to use currently as far as I can tell
Conclusion
I personally found that the services offered by Nord VPN great i have just been using a new service. The company has established themselves as a security minded company in combination with their privacy first setup they are incredible. I have always liked them and I think they will always be one of my favorite VPN's. The one time incident I mentioned was resolved by the company if anything their more secure than when I used them last. I just use the other service because it is cheaper. Also being in the cryptocurrency industry i have a nervous approach to device security. This means that my personal judgment can be misguided and not rational enough to make a impartial call. I trust nord but I use proton its a personal choice not that one is better than the other.
Summary
I am certain that every person is different and that means that they have different experiences and opinions. The products that are outlined above are what I prefer and not the only answer. If I have overlooked something please leave me a comment im only human.
Hopefully I will soon be able to work on my next entry in the series probably will be sms encryption for Android and email encryption but im open to all suggestions.
If you're a fan of content like this one please share like and subscribe if you're interested i still don't have a sponsor yet. I will leave links to the other 2 security focused series below.
Brave browser privacy series entry 1:
https://read.cash/@Chubbie149/brave-overview-ads-not-showing-up-this-might-be-why-4ce29105
Duckduckgo search engine privacy series entry 2:
https://read.cash/@Chubbie149/duckduckgo-vs-google-the-myth-of-nothing-to-hide-e7196fa6
P.S
I am still dealing with family issues and I had to write this on a tablets I promised you I would cover privacy so I felt obligated to if I found the time I apologize for the wait and I hope to get back to normal soon as possible thanks for your patience and support.
