Buying a VPN for business or personal use may seem simple, but in reality, it requires some basic knowledge. We’ll look at the steps you need to take, from choosing a VPN provider to connecting to the right server. We’ll also advise you on what to look out for so that you can take full advantage of your VPN’s capabilities.
Three steps to start using a VPN based on VPNPerf.net.
1. Choose a Provider Carefully
When choosing a VPN provider, don’t go for one that is most aggressively advertised on the internet. Instead of trusting online celebrities and their paid collaborations, try to do your own research.
Here are a few tips on what to watch out for:
The Price Is Too Good to Be True
Are you a professional bargain hunter? Good for you and your wallet! But when it comes to a VPN service, saving money is not an option. Think about it for a moment. It’s not cheap to maintain infrastructure as large as the one VPN providers have. Plus, of course, any company needs to make a profit.
Considering all this, “free VPN” campaigns seem a bit suspicious, don’t they? There’s no such thing as a free VPN. There are, however, VPN providers that sell your data to third parties. As a result, instead of protecting your online privacy, they massively violate it. So don’t be fooled and pay for the service with real money.
No 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee
A clear and simple refund policy can be seen as an indicator of quality and confidence. Why is that? There are many VPN providers on the market, and they all promise things that are hard to verify upfront. So, you can’t say much about their service until you try it out. If the provider is willing to give you your money back if you’re dissatisfied with the service, it means that the company believes in its product.
Logging – Not So Secure, Not So Private
Many companies claim that they don’t collect and store user data. But they know full well that the average consumer has no way to verify these claims. If security and privacy on the Internet are important to you, don’t be fooled by fine words. Instead, read the terms and conditions carefully and ask for additional information if you have any doubts.
Weak Encryption Standards
The VPN provider may tout its product as the most secure on the market, but you don’t have to take its word for it. If you’re looking for a perfect VPN, you should demand a reliable and secure encryption standard, at least AES -256, also known as military-grade encryption. If the provider only offers PPTP and L2TP encryption, it’s not worth your attention. PPTP and L2TP are both outdated, slow, and extremely vulnerable.
Since the topic of data encryption requires some technical knowledge, we strongly recommend that you take a look at the expert reviews before buying a VPN.
You should also pay attention to some other security features, such as a zero-logging policy, kill switch, built-in leak protection system, and the most advanced security protocols, which are currently OpenVPN, WireGuard, and IKEv2.
2. Download the App and Set It up on Your Device
Setting up the VPN on your device is pretty simple and usually only takes a few clicks. However, some issues may occur after the installation. But still, these are completely harmless and easy to solve.
Here are three of the most common problems and their solutions:
- If you lose internet connection after installing a VPN, check your firewall settings and make sure that it allows you to use a VPN.
- If your speed drops, choose a server that’s closer to your physical location.
- If you can’t use your email platform while you’ve your VPN enabled, go into the VPN settings and make sure your email app is excluded from connecting to the VPN.
3. Connect to a Server and Start Browsing
Connecting to the right server is a piece of cake, you may think. What could possibly go wrong? Theoretically, you’re absolutely right. Practically, there’s one thing that can go wrong, and that’s connecting to servers that don’t fit your needs.
Sometimes it’s fine to trust the VPN and connect to the server your app recommends. However, the recommended choice may not necessarily be the best one. For example, if you want better speeds, select a server near you. If you want to avoid geo-blocking, choose the location from which the content is sent. If you want to trick streaming services that block VPNs, look for servers that specialize in video streaming. Got it now? The most important thing is that you know your VPN’s capabilities and can use them according to your current needs.