Virtual private networks (VPNs) are getting attention due to massive marketing budgets as well as influencer partnerships. It’s difficult to navigate the rapidly growing VPN market, and many of the claims made about its capabilities and benefits might not be accurate. Consumer Reports’ online security expert Yael Grauer suggests looking for open-source software, reproducible builds and up-to-date support for industry-standard protocols.

CyberGhost’s zero-logs policy is a great selling feature. It claims that it will not record your online http://vpnde.me/ activity or IP address. The apps are compatible with the majority of operating systems, and include 256-bit encryption along with a kill button, leak protection, and the option of connecting using a random port. It also scored higher on our speed tests for internet connections than many of the other VPNs we tested, however it could be a fluke or a result of the shaping of traffic by your ISP. It also provides a variety of extra tools like Threat Protection, Onion over VPN and Double VPN.

Nord is another alternative that was a top performer in our tests. It also had a great performance in our geoblocking testing and streaming tests. Its apps are robust and a bit user-friendly however a map-based interface could be a bit cumbersome on smaller screens. It’s compatible with a range of routers and Kodi TV set-top boxes and is one of the largest geographical reach among our top picks. It’s also a good choice for streaming international Netflix and has dedicated ‘Windflix’ servers to serve this for that purpose. Recently, it added a feature called Perfect Forward Secrecy that protects your information with a new key each session, making it harder for hackers to decrypt your previous activity.