The US Senate had a vote on March 23, a vote in favor of a bill that will allow Internet Service Providers (ISP) to sell their user’s online behavior data that includes web browsing history, email and online chat content, and pretty much everything else you do online.
So far, ISP’s needed your permission in order to sell this sort of information, but with this bill on the way, that is going to change. All of the data that they collect will be theirs to do whatever they want with it. This is being seen as one of the biggest invasions of customers’ online privacy.
Before this Bill becomes an Act, it has to be passed by the US Congress. While waiting for that to happen, people have already started to investigate for different ways to hide their web history and other information.
Some of the means of achieving this include the use of proxies and Virtual Private Networks (VPN’s). This means that people can establish a secure network connection over public Internet to private networks at a remote location.
Why are VPNs used?
VPNs are used as a way of achieving a bigger amount privacy while browsing the internet. Basically, by installing a VPN, you can browse the internet and have very little or none of your online activities recorded by ISP. That doesn’t mean that your activities will not be recorded at all, for some of the VPNs themselves log user data and behavior in order to make sure that nothing illegal is going on. As this might not be acceptable for people with privacy concerns, it is not recommended for everyone.
Still, many corporations and companies often use VPNs to deal with employers that are working from home, mostly to ensure that their sensitive data do not fall into the hands of their company’s rivals or cyber criminals.
There are many VPNs you can use to achieve the same effect and hide your online behavior from ISPs. Some that are recommended by more experienced users include TorGuard, IPVanish, Private Internet Access and CyberGhost, so, let’s check them out.
1. TorGuard
TorGuard has been described as an “above average” VPN service that has servers in 42 countries. It provides priced VPN services, and there are several different packages, all with their own prices and service options. Its basic VPN package costs $9.99 per month. Other packages include Private Email service for $6.95 per month, Anonymous Proxy for $5.95 per month, and Privacy Bundle for $11.54 per month.
It keeps no connection or user logs so that its users can have total internet privacy, and even though billing information is kept, this can be circumvented through the use of Bitcoins.
All in all, for a small fee, you can have total privacy during your web explorations.
2. IPVanish
Like TorGuard, IPVanish is also one of the more favorable VPN providers. It greatly values speed which makes it great for file sharing, online streaming, and other similar actions. When it comes to privacy, it has many positives, including great quality encryption and the zero-logs policy that is so appreciated by those in need of VPNs.
It has 60 server locations with over 700 servers total and provides more than 40,000 IP addresses. Their servers are located in many countries across the majority of continents. It has three different subscriptions, for 1, 3 or 12 months.
3. Private Internet Access (PIA)
Reviews have been kind to PIA as well, and it provides its users with many great features. It keeps no traffic logs, just like the previous ones, offers an encrypted connection, blocks ads and more. Its cons include very little feedback about errors, minimal interface and no real way to select specific servers.
Prices aren’t bad, it has 3 different packages, one that covers its use for one month ($6.95/month), the other that lasts 6 months ($35.95 total) and the one that lasts 12 months ($39.95 total). The thing about this one is that if you’re not bothered by its barebones interface, it’s just as good as the previous ones at what it does.
That’s it for this list. These are, of course, not the only VPN providers out there, but, as we said, these are the ones that the more experienced users prefer. There are several others that might fit your preferences if these ones don’t, but all of them can help you browse safely.
