How to choose the VPN that best suits your needs

What is a VPN anyway?

A virtual private network (VPN) is an encrypted connection from your device to a remote server. You may have encountered one in the workplace, allowing those working remotely to access an on-premises or cloud-based office network.

But we’re looking at consumer VPN providers. These subscription based services provide an encrypted tunnel for all your internet traffic and typically provide endpoint servers in scores of different locations, allowing you to virtually locate yourself in any of those places.

Privacy is a major selling point for VPN services. Data going to and from your device through an encrypted link to a remote server can’t be inspected by your ISP or, typically, monitoring tools on a local network.

Region shifting

However, the most popular reason for using a VPN is to access region locked entertainment content, such as the extended movie catalogue of US Netflix, national TV from a different country, or US newspapers that have blocked UK