Privacy and freedom of the Internet seems to be more of a delusion than reality. Internet Service Providers collect your data while you are browsing websites and can sell it to marketing agencies. Governments of different countries impose new restrictions and even block the entire businesses like YouTube or Instagram in China. Users have to deal with IP bans and bandwidth throttling.
How can one hinder data acquisition, preserve privacy and lift various introduced restrictions? The answer is quite simple,VPN helps with that.
VPN or Virtual Private Network is a safe way of connecting between a user and a network. As a rule, a computer accesses the Internet straight via ISP, but in this case, the connection is usually perilous and easily traced. VPN establishes a secure “tunnel”, directs traffic through it to a server in another location, so the computer uses the server to access the Internet.
Top VPN benefits:
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It hides browser history, so you won’t get targeted advertisements.
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It masks the IP address.
IP address or Internet Protocol is assigned by your ISP and it can be rather easily tracked. With hidden IP address you protect your privacy and stay anonymous on the web. -
It is safer to use public Wi-Fi hotspots, as your data is encrypted and identity theft becomes harder to be done.
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It helps to get access to blocked websites and content. For example, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter and many other websites are banned in China, but VPN allows to remove such restrictions.
With so many advantages, Virtual Private Networks have become very popular and there are hundreds of service providers. Our team of QA engineers and developers had a challenging task to test the most prominent VPNs and find reliable, safe and fast ones. It has taken weeks and a tremendous amount of VPN apps was tested. Here are surely the best services approved by our highly-qualified developers.
ExpressVPN
Platforms: Windows, Mac OS, Linux, iOS, Android, Routers and more.
Devices: 5
Pricing: $12.95 a month
Free Trial: 7 days for for iOS and Android apps
ExpressVPN is well-known and has more than 3000 servers in 94 countries. It includes Kill Switch feature as well as TrustedServer technology. The former is especially useful, as it disables your Internet connection, if some issues with connection to a server are detected.The latter means servers don’t save data on hard drives, but run on RAM exclusively and data is deleted after every reboot. Moreover, Express VPN encrypts traffic using the top AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) with 256-bit keys ensuring perfect security and secrecy. In addition to that, there is also a 30 day money-back guarantee for those who might not like ExpressVPN.
KeepSolid VPN
Platforms: Windows, Mac OS, Linux, iOS, Android, Windows Phone, Apple TV and more.
Devices: from 5 to 10
Pricing: $9.99 a month
Free Trial: 7 days
KeepSolid VPN offers a great service with more than 400 servers in 80 locations, which implies you will forget about any geo-restrictions. Moreover, KeepSolid Wise technology ensures the highest level of security making it unable to be blocked. In addition, the service has special extras like personal IP address or personal server for demanding customers and Kill Switch feature. Therefore, your security and privacy will surely be protected.
StrongVPN
Platforms: Windows, Mac OS, iOS, Android, Fire TV, some Router OS, and more.
Devices: 12
Pricing: $10 a month
Free Trial: None
StrongVPN holds over 950 servers in 30 countries. Additionally, there is Best Available Location feature to provide better speed of connection and preserve maximum security. It is a great service for customers from China, thus Alipay is included as a payment method. The service doesn’t have a free trial, but offers a 30-day money back guarantee in any case. Besides, StrongVPN ensures fast speed also thanks to WireGuard - advanced VPN protocol.
Surfshark VPN
Platforms: Windows, Mac OS, Linux, iOS, Android, Fire TV and more.
Devices: Unlimited
Pricing: $11.95 a month
Free Trial: 7 days for iOS and Android apps
Surfshark is an award-winning service with more than 1040 servers in 61 countries. It has Kill Switch feature as well as KeepSolid VPN and ExpressVPN, but also offers CleanWeb, so you can forget about annoying pop up ads and be sure you won’t be a victim of phishing as Surfshark blocks any suspicious links. Furthermore, there is MultiHop feature or double VPN which “disguises” your IP address even more accurately and reach an advanced level of security.
CyberGhost VPN
Platforms: Windows, Mac OS, Linux, iOS, Android, Fire TV, Android TV and more.
Devices: 7
Pricing: $12.99 a month
Free Trial: 1 day
CyberGhost VPN offers an extensive range of 5800 servers to connect to located in 89 countries. The service also has Kill Switch feature. The team is very concerned about the privacy of their users and built NoSpy servers to thwart any intrusion and surveillance attempts. VPN is believed to slow down the speed of Internet connection, however CyberGhost uses leading protocols to keep it stable and fast. Additionally, for torrenting and streaming purposes there are special servers. Another good point is 14-day money-back guarantee for a monthly subscription and 45 days money-back guarantee for a longer subscription, for example a year or two.
IPVanish
Platforms: Windows, Mac OS, Linux, iOS, Android, Windows Phone, Routers and more.
Devices: 10
Pricing: $10 a month
Free Trial: None
IPVanish is a decent service providing more than 1300 servers in 75 locations. It has all the necessary features for a solid VPN like support of popular platforms, 256-bit AES encryption, high speed connection, modern and reliable protocols as well as 7-day money-back guarantee.
NordVPN
Platforms: Windows, Mac OS, Linux, iOS, Android, Routers and more.
Devices: 6
Pricing: $11.95 a month
Free Trial: None
NordVPN is an excellent example of a remarkable service as it embraces all the essentials. It has than 5000 servers in 59 countries, Kill Switch feature, and also prevents any possible DNS leaks. Besides, an exceptional Onion Over VPN option adds another level of anonymity. The Onion Router (Tor) is a particular browser used to conceal one's identity by forwarding data through a chain of servers. However, your ISP can still see if Onion is used and the real IP address may be discovered while Onion Over VPN feature gives you absolute security and anonymity. Moreover, the service provides a higher level of protection with Double VPN as the traffic is encrypted not once but twice. And the cherry on top: 30-day money-back guarantee allows testing NordVPN without any regrets.
All listed above VPN services do not keep any logs, so you can be sure that you are safe and absolutely anonymous while using them. In addition, they are the best options to access blocked websites and avoid IP ban issue. We have tested these VPNs with 4K Video Downloader and 4K YouTube to MP3 and they work perfectly well.
In order to use VPN to avoid temporary issues with the IP address or download a geo-restricted video, please do the following:
1. Download and install a VPN app on your desktop. Almost all listed VPNs are available for Windows, Mac OS and Linux. It will set up the VPN on your computer.
2. Open the app and select a location different from your one.
3. Open 4K Video Downloader or 4K YouTube to MP3 and copy/paste the URL of a video you failed to download.
4. You can select the format in which you would like to save video: MP4, MKV, 3GP, MP3, OGG etc.
5. Wait until the download is complete and playback the file. Amazing, easy and reliable!
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