The free VPN lie – more risks than benefits
Free VPNs – a smart way to save money or unpredictable risk?
The growing popularity of VPNs has also led to an increase in the number of VPN providers. Some VPN providers lure users with free trials. What sounds like “too good to be true” at first, turns out to be an unpredictable risk upon closer inspection.
Your PC becomes a server for anyone to use
As a rule, free VPN providers do not operate their own servers. Users do not connect to a VPN server as they would normally do, but to other users of the service instead (peer-2-peer approach). For example, if a user wishes to access a video from an American provider, the free VPN tool will connect them to another user located in the United States. And so, your PC is being shared with unknown users when you use free VPNs, and it will act as a VPN server. The absence of powerful VPN servers also leads to slow connections that make video streaming impossible.
Free VPNs provide third parties with free access to your internet connection.
Streaming is not possible with free VPNs.
Additional risks instead of protection
Sharing your internet connection with other users leads to an increased exposure to offense against the law. Third parties can commit crimes through your internet connection. Evidence that a crime was committed by a user of a VPN tool is virtually impossible in practice. When using free VPNs, there is a considerable risk of being held responsible for crimes committed by third parties. Furthermore, the provider of the free VPN Hola admitted that it leases the internet connection of its users to companies.
Free VPN users are subject to the risk of being held responsible for crimes committed by third parties.
Protect yourself!
If you really want to navigate the Internet carefree, you should use professional VPN providers. These providers allow you to connect directly to a VPN server. Third parties do not use your internet connection. In addition, professional providers encrypt the internet connection according to military security standards.
Find the best VPN provider
The VPN market is growing fast and so is the number of options. This makes it difficult to find the right VPN provider. Established all-round providers, such as Private Internet Access, are recommended for both beginners and advanced users. The software can be used on up to 10 devices simultaneously, whether it’s a PC/Mac, a tablet, a smartphone, or a game console. Our test winner also runs on Linux computers and is compatible with almost all streaming providers. The data transfer is encrypted to the highest security standards.