All about Technology: The best VPN services and VPN deals of 2017

A VPN is not just for Christmas; with less than a week remaining, add it to your 2017 list of resolution both on desktop and mobile.

Below are the VPN deals that we have been busy collecting; all of them are still live at the time of writing but may be expired by the time you look at them.

Note that they are valid worldwide and not all providers offer pound sterling as a transaction currency.

We'll be sure to regularly update this page as we get new VPN offers coming through from our global network of 200+ VPN providers.

Exclusive VyprVPN Deal: For TechRadar readers only, get 40% off VyprVPN annual plans ($60 USD for 1 year). VyprVPN is a fast, highly secure VPN without third parties. Get VyprVPN.
Exclusive Pure VPN deal: Only for Techradar readers is PureVPN's jaw dropping VPN offer. Buy one year of PureVPN service with a 40% discount (effective price is $49) and get another additional year for free. Get it now at: PureVPN.
Exclusive Zenmate deal: Just for Techradar readers is ZenMate's mega VPN deal offer. Buy one year of PureVPN service with a 40% discount (effective price is £29.99). Get it now at: Zenmate.
Exclusive Invisible Browsing VPN deal: Crafted for the Techradar audience, IBVPN will give 70% off to those who buy its Ultimate VPN package (VPN + SmartDNS+ Proxy) for one year for a mere $29.95. Get it now at: Invisible Browsing Ultimate VPN.
Exclusive Private Internet Access deal: Techradar readers get some steep discounts when they opt for a monthly, 6-monthly or a 2-year plan for $5.45, $29.95 and $59.95 respectively. Get it now at: PIA.
Hide.me is running a promotion today for 48 hours, offering a whopping 45% off ALL its VPN plans. Get it now at Hide.me.
VPN.SH has an exclusive offer for Techradar readers. A whole year of VPN goodness for £15. Get it now at: VPN.SH.
Windscribe is giving free Pro accounts to people who have existing VPN subscriptions and match the remaining time they have with that provider, from one month to one year. The firm also has a two-year VPN deal for $24. Get it now at: Windscribe.
Keepsolid is slashing the price on its exclusive lifetime subscription to VPN Unlimited to only $79.99. That’s a saving of $420 (the regular price is $499.99). Get it now at: Keepsolid VPN Unlimited.
ExpressVPN is offering three-months for free when you purchase its annual VPN package. The offer will be valid from 00:01 UTC+ 8 on November 25 to 18:00 UTC+ 8 on November 29 (next Tuesday). Outside of this time period, the offer page will redirect to the homepage and will not include the 12+3 offer.
SlickVPN is offering a scorching deal. There's 50% off all existing plans AND each new customer will get a free 100GB block Usenet account at NewsDemon.com. They also offer a lifetime CORE account for $25 which offers full speeds but reduced locations. Get these deals now at: SlickVPN.
AceVPN now has 50% off VPN plans plus free Smart DNS. That means that its premium VPN service will cost only $90 for three years, and $270 for its ultimate VPN package. Get it now at: AceVPN.
CactusVPN has up to 54% discount depending on the billing plan (54% applies to annual plans). No need for promo codes, they will be applied automatically to all new orders. Grab yourself a bargain now at: CactusVPN.
SecureVPN is doubling your subscription when you buy one year of VPN service, a freebie worth $69.99. The offer is only valid for its desktop service. So you pay $47.70 for the first year and get the second one for free. Get it now at: SecureVPN.
IPVanish is offering 50% off any VPN plan, and is pointing out that its cheapest current deal is $3.25 per month if you sign up for a year’s subscription.

Choose the best VPN service

VPNs (Virtual Private Networks) work by creating a secure, encrypted connection between your devices and a VPN server from a service provider (there are dozens of them to choose, from all over the world).

Anything you do online - sites you're visiting, emails you send or receive, files you download, web forms you complete - passes through that secure tunnel and can't be intercepted by anyone else (unless one of these servers - or your own computer - is compromised, but that's another story).

Below are the top five VPN services that we've picked out for you. This list is regularly updated so is subject to change.

If you want to try these VPN services before or don't want to pay (but still need to use that service), then check our guide to best free VPN services.

VPN

While many VPN providers try to stand out with their free plans and cheap commercial products, IPVanish talks more about service quality. It's "the world's fastest VPN" says the website, boasting 40,000+ shared IPs, 500+ VPN servers in 60+ countries, unlimited P2P traffic, five simultaneous connections and more.

The price is still going to be an issue for some – it is more expensive than the average VPN, but IPVanish's high speeds, choice of locations and excellent client are hard to beat. If you're after quality, take the plunge with this VPN, and if somehow you end up unhappy with the service there's a 7-day money-back guarantee.

IPVanish has three service options available and it is, unsurprisingly, its 1-year subscription that wins the day. Note that you will be billed in USD and the price displayed on the right is the approximate Pound Sterling conversion at the time of publishing. Other packages are available below:

VPN

If you want the absolute best VPN service, check out AnchorFree's Hotspot Shield Elite. It is, in our view, the one that manages to provide all the necessary features at an attractive price with the option of getting a lifetime license. It supports private browsing, virtual locations, allows "access all content", and supports up to five devices.

Performance results in our tests were excellent, with latency showing only a marginal increase, and both upload and download speeds were a little faster once connected.

We'd like more configurability and a wider range of locations, but Hotspot Shield Elite's high speeds and low prices have a lot of appeal, and the 7-day trial makes it easy to test the service for yourself.

Anchordesk has only one service option available and it is a 1-year subscription. Note that you will be billed in USD and the price displayed on the right is the approximate Pound Sterling conversion at the time of publishing. Other available packages are listed below:

VPN

Some companies take a one-size-fits-all approach to VPNs, offering the bare minimum of products, but KeepSolid's VPN Unlimited is different. Very, very different. Forget the usual two or three plans: VPN Unlimited offers six, plus there's a 7-day free trial to get you started (and also a 7-day money-back guarantee for a little extra security).

VPN Unlimited's PC client opens with a clear overview of the service state. Your real and virtual IPs are displayed as addresses and plotted on a map, and the number of days left on your current plan is visible at a glance. Its choice of servers is less than some but for a more general purpose VPN, the service does very well.

Keepsolid's VPN Unlimited has a whopping six service options available, ranging all the way from 7-day to Infinity (i.e. VPN for life).

Note that you will be billed in USD and the price displayed on the right is the approximate Pound Sterling conversion at the time of publishing for its best value-for-money package, the 1-year subscription offer. Other packages are available below:

VPN

Despite being based in a country located in Central America - hardly a tech hub - NordVPN's current products match or beat the competition in just about every area.

685 servers in 52 countries, 2048-bit encryption, 6-device support as standard, strong DNS leak protection, automatic Kill Switch, handy security extras, optional dedicated IP addresses, and payment options including Bitcoin, PayPal and credit cards.

Performance was good, too, with download speeds around 95% of our typical rate. Latency and upload speeds weren't as impressive at 197% and 40% of the regular rates, but overall our system still felt relatively snappy and responsive.

NordVPN has three service options available and its most popular and by far best value offer is the 1-year subscription.

Note that you will be billed in USD and the price displayed on the right - for the 1-year subscription - is the approximate Pound Sterling conversion at the time of publishing. Other packages are available below:

VPN

PureVPN's PC client stands out immediately for the sheer volume of connection options and tools it makes available. Its policy on logging is unusually clear: the company records the time you connect to a server and the total bandwidth used, but otherwise there are no logs of the websites you visit, the files you download or anything else.

PureVPN did well on our performance tests, where amazingly it managed to improve most of our download speeds. Latency was a mere 5% higher than normal, upload speeds actually increased by 4%, while downloads were a very surprising 80% up on our normal speeds.

The provides offers three service options but it is its two-year package which is the best value for money across board. It doesn't sell one-year subscription bundles.

Note that the company offers a 5% discount if you pay by credit card and you will be billed in USD and the price displayed on the right is the approximate Pound Sterling conversion at the time of publishing. Other packages are available below:

The next 5 VPN services to be considered are:

What is a VPN?

VPN is one of those tech terms and has gained a lot of traction in recent years as the internet has diversified and grown to even bigger levels. However, the premise is actually quite simple, and there are some great use cases.

It stands for ‘virtual private networking’, which is a popular internet security method. The latter involves technologies that aim to add a layer of security to both private and public networks. These include broadband and internet hotspots.

If there’s one worry when it comes to using technology and the internet, it’s privacy. By using a VPN, you can, in theory, prevent your internet service provider (ISP) and government from seeing your internet history.

VPNs have also emerged as a popular tool in the freedom of speech movement. You’re able to avoid censorship within organisations and from third-parties. For example, if you have a view that goes against the priorities of your employer, you don’t have to worry about them finding out.

People also use VPN technology to “geo-spoof” their location. This results in users customising their location settings to be able to use overseas services. A great example of this is watching a TV programme or online product that’s only available in a specific country, perhaps due to legal or licensing issues.

You can resort to a VPN to protect yourself from hackers too. If you’re outside and sign up to use a public internet hotspot - perhaps in a cafe or library - there is the chance someone could try to break into your device. This can lead to you losing valuable data, such as passwords.

This technology is also emerging as a popular force in the world of business. When you’re traveling around for meetings all the time, it’s normal to connect to third-party networks. With a VPN, you can access your firm’s intranet without the worry of being targeted by cyber criminals.

Proxy vs. VPN

Proxies are also popular, and there’s always the question about how they differ from VPNs. The aim of both methods is to protect users’ identities or to spoof a location. While they are different technologies, many VPN providers also offer proxies.

A proxy is type of computing system that functions as a go-between for your connected device and your web connection. These servers also have their own IP addresses, so transfers can’t be traced directly to your computer.

They may share common aims with VPNs, but typically, they only secure a torrent client or browser. Using a VPN, you can encrypt 100% of your internet connection, so there’s more protection.

Free vs. Paid VPN: Which is better?

VPNs used to be a premium product, but you don't have to spend big money on them anymore. Some companies now offer a basic service that won't cost you anything at all.

As you'd expect, there are catches, and they typically start with a data cap. Avira Phantom VPN's free plan limits you to 500MB a month, PrivateTunnel offers 2GB, whereas ZPN has a generous 10GB allowance - not bad at all.

Free products also typically have usage restrictions. Most companies don't want you to soak up all their bandwidth on torrents, so ZPN is typical in blocking P2P.

Hide.me's 2GB free plan also has some common limits. There's "best effort" bandwidth, which means paying customers have speed priority and you get what's left. And the choice of locations is limited to three: Canada, Netherlands and Singapore.

Hola's free-for-personal-use plan doesn't have the same kind of restrictions, but even here there's a catch. The service routes traffic through its free users rather than dedicated servers, so signing up allows others to (securely) share a small part of your bandwidth and resources.

Then there's the adverts and the session limits (CyberGhost) and the general lack of service level agreement: free means that it doesn't come with any implicit warranties.

Free plans are fine for simple needs, then - maybe protecting your laptop's wireless hotspot traffic on the occasional trip - but if you're looking for anything more advanced, a commercial product is best.

The immediate benefit is that you know your personal data remains safe, even if you're on a public Wi-Fi hotspot. Local snoopers might be able to see the connection, but there's no way to find out what it is or where it's going.

VPNs also give you a new digital identity in the shape of an IP address from another country. This makes it harder for websites or anyone else to track you, allows some people to bypass government censorship, and helps the rest of us avoid those "not available in your country" messages on YouTube or other streaming sites.

Best of all, despite the low-level network technology involved, you don't need to be any kind of expert to make VPNs work. For the most part, all you have to do is choose the country where you'd like an IP address, click Connect to start, Disconnect when you're done - and that's it.

VPN

How to choose a VPN: Here are 6 tips

There are several factors to consider when you're choosing a paid VPN.

1. Does the plan have servers in every country and region you need? Having more than one server in a country can help spread the load, but doesn't guarantee improved performance, so don't assume a plan with 500 servers will automatically beat another with 100.

2. Check the number of simultaneous connections supported. Typically, this is 3-5, which allows you to have a PC, mobile and tablet connected at the same time. But beware, many companies say this is for a single user only, and they all have fair usage policies to prevent people hogging resources. If you let the entire family download and stream videos separately then you'll run into trouble.

3. Some providers list the connection protocols they use. OpenVPN and IKeV2 are good choices, fast and secure. You might see SSTP and the older PPTP, as well as protocol options (TCP or UDP for OpenVPN). You don't need to understand the low-level details, but having the extra choice can help the service make faster and/or more reliable connections.

4. All VPN companies say they don't log whatever you're doing online, but inevitably they collect a little data. Some services record the day your account logged on, the amount of data you used, and delete anything else when the session closes. Others add items like your incoming IP address and the server you used, and keep the data for months, even years. If you're concerned, check the Privacy Policy and Terms of Service to find out more.

5. It's important to consider the client, the software which handles your connections. These all have a list of servers and a Connect/ Disconnect button, but could you use more? Some clients display server load and ping time in the interface, helping you choose the right server. Regular users might appreciate a "Favourites" system to save and recall specific servers. If you know what you're doing, having access to low-level network settings will help you tune the whole system.

6. Finally, there's the price. Beware of apparently cheap deals: these may have restricted features, exclude taxes, be discounted for the first billing period only, and renew automatically, so that apparent one-off £3.99 might become almost £10 next month. Look for a 'Pricing' link, read the small print, and if possible use something like PayPal where it's easy to check and cancel a subscription yourself.

Once you've found what looks like a good VPN candidate, be sure to take it for a trial before you spend any big money. But a short trial can only tell you so much, so once that's expired, pay for a month, run as many tests as you can, then upgrade to a better value plan (usually yearly) if you're still happy.

VPN

How to test a VPN

Our comparisons started by looking at each provider's range of plans. We were looking for features, value, and clear and honest pricing. Free ways to learn more about a service - free plans, trial periods, refund periods - were important, and we also looked for companies which maintained your privacy when you signed up (no email address required, trials available without credit cards, Bitcoin available as a payment option).

The official product pages never tell you everything you need to know, so head off to the Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions pages to find the real details. Does the company log more data than you'd expect, or keep it for a long time? When might it share information with others? Are there any restrictions on who can sign up? (Some providers say you must be 18 or over, or that the service is for personal, non-commercial use only.) Any other catches?

VPN performance is difficult to measure as there are so many variables, but we used multiple techniques to try and get a feel for each service's abilities. We first used speedtest.net to measure the latency, upload and download speeds for a distant connection (typically UK to California), repeated the test immediately with the VPN turned off, and looked at any changes.

We followed this up with a much shorter connection (typically UK to Netherlands) to see a more typical peak performance, ran a second benchmark to confirm our results, and ran some general browsing tests - including streaming HD video - to look for other problems.

VPNs will always give you a new IP address, but some services may have DNS or other leaks which give clues about your identity. We visited IPLeak.net and other privacy sites to look for problems.

In terms of the client and interface, we were looking for good server selection tools (by country, region, server, speed, with filters, a Favourites system, perhaps with server load or ping time displayed), with plenty of configuration options, but also a client which stays out of the way until it's needed.

Finally, we weighed up these individual factors, came up with an overall score, and narrowed these down to the 10 best VPNs around. All the software in the top five scored at least 70 points out of 100.

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All about Technology

Friday, 23 December 2016

The best VPN services and VPN deals of 2017