Free VPN vs Paid VPN: Which Is Best

The VPN is the best tool to browse safely, both in Italy and abroad, without leaving a trace. But pay attention to the choice of service: here’s which one to choose.

In an era in which the internet is constantly used, from simple WhatsApp messages or online searches to purchases, through teleworking or distance learning, security and privacy should be priority issues for anyone. There is now a lot of information that we pour out daily on the internet during our online browsing, so much so that it is difficult not to recommend a VPN to stem the number of traces left around the web.

VPN, for the uninitiated, stands for Virtual Private Network, literally virtual private network. This technology helps make web browsing anonymous, which opens up a series of advantages over traditional unsecured browsing. When the router connects to the internet, it receives from the service provider (the “manager” of the line) an IP address that identifies the device that surfs the web for the duration of the session, a bit like with a license plate. The car makes it identifiable on the roads.

So whatever virtual place you visit, it will keep track of our passage. Put, a VPN gives a fictitious IP address to the device accessing the network. Furthermore, the use of a VPN derives another advantage added to that of not being tracked: the security of the data transmitted, which is encrypted by the service that provides the VPN before being placed on the network. The latter aspect, however, can represent a double-edged sword. The reason? In the following paragraph.

Free VPN: Is It Beneficial?

The fact that the incoming and outgoing data from the device used to browse is encrypted by the service that manages the VPN opens up whether using a free VPN is advantageous or safe. The incoming and outgoing data packets from the device from which you are browsing are sent to the server of the VPN manager and encrypted before being sent to the content servers that interest us, whether they are pages, videos, images—files, etc.

The secret of the VPN is all here: the server containing the elements of our interest receives the request from an IP address that is not ours but that of the VPN provider, so the device from which we browse remains anonymous and not geographically traceable. For this reason, among the reasons that most frequently push people to use a VPN are watching content, typically TV series or movies, that some services decide not to make available in some countries: by masking our IP address and replacing it, for example, with an American one, it becomes possible to play a TV series distributed in the USA but not in Italy.

Here, the point is that choosing a VPN directs all our traffic to the servers of the company that manages it, so it becomes intuitively essential to have faith in the company you are addressing, which could potentially do what we do with our data. Believes: consult them, keep them or even sell them. In short, paradoxically, by choosing a service with little awareness, perhaps free, one could end up obtaining the opposite effect to the one pursued, that is, giving one’s data to a company that could combine them with others and resells them to third parties.

Free And Paid VPNs: A Comparison

Precisely on the possible use of navigation data, it becomes essential to carefully read the service’s privacy policy before using a free VPN. Paid services are more attentive to privacy and protect anonymity to a greater extent. However, it is still a good idea before joining a service, free or not, to check the conditions on the matter with your own eyes.

A paid VPN is also preferable for aspects related to browsing speed and the monthly amount of traffic: it would make little sense to have a high-speed fiber connection if the VPN then limits the browsing speed as often happens with free services, which usually they also have a monthly amount of traffic beyond which can no longer use the service for free.

One last aspect that very often paid VPNs to have the best of is the number of devices that can use the VPN simultaneously: most free services allow you to connect only one device, while the others have to surf without the advantages of one. VPN.

NordVPN: Why Choose The Service

NordVPN is currently one of the best-known and most used paid VPN services globally, with more than 14 million assets.

The success of NordVPN can be summed up with a number: they are more than 5,500 servers of the company in 59 countries worldwide, which provide customers with a great browsing speed, anonymity, and opportunity to choose the best country of origin the IP address depending on the circumstances. No connection problems, as it could happen with a paid VPN, indeed NordVPN was rated by the independent portal AV-Test as the fastest VPN in the world.

NordVPN is also quite proud of its no-data logging policy, which allows you to rest easy to protect your data. In addition, not a secondary aspect, by purchasing a subscription to NordVPN, you can connect up to 6 devices simultaneously. 

Furthermore, it is fully functional on Windows, macOS, Linux operating systems, offers extensions for Chrome and Firefox, and a mobile app for Android, iOS, and Ipad ios. The functions guaranteed to the user are the most disparate; among these, the possibility of watching Italian TV abroad stands out. Can start sports events live or of other nature transmitted in a country other than the one you connect with. 

At the same time, it is possible to surf anonymously from countries that have totalitarian regimes, restrictions, or in any case, reduced individual freedoms and that have actual blocks relating to websites. If you use a public network, relying on NordVPN is even more critical, as it is a network more vulnerable to scams and other risks than the web.

From today and for a limited time, it is now possible to buy NordVPN at a discounted price, with a thirty-day money-back trial to test the service safely.

Also Read: Digital Versus Information: Why We Can’t Use The Internet