Virtual private networks (VPNs) are enjoying a revival thanks to huge marketing budgets and influencer partnerships. However, navigating the growing market is difficult and the claims of features and benefits aren’t always accurate. Consumer Reports online security expert Yael Grüner suggests searching for open source software, reliable builds, and current support for industry standard protocols.
CyberGhost’s zero-logs policy is a great selling point. It claims that it will not keep track of your online activities or IP address. Applications are available for most major operating systems, and come with 256-bit encryption, a kill button leak protection, as well as the option of connecting using a random port. It also scored higher than the majority of VPNs in our speed test, but this could be due to shaping traffic by your ISP. It also comes with additional tools like Threat Protection, Onion Over VPN and Double VPN.
Nord is another option that has a high score in our tests, including a strong showing in our testing of geoblocking and streaming. The apps are powerful and quite easy to use but the map-based interface can be a little cumbersome on smaller screens. It’s compatible with a range of routers and Kodi TV set-top boxes, and has one of the broadest geographic reach among our picks. It’s also a good choice for streaming international Netflix and has dedicated servers called ‘Windflix’ to serve this reason. Recently, it added a feature known as Perfect Forward Secrecy, which secures data with a different key for each session. This makes it more difficult for hackers decrypt past activity.