My Tunnel Bear VPN 1 year subscription ends next week so I’m shopping around to see if there is a better option before committing to another year. Currently, I only use the VPN on mobile but will install on PC as well.

I don’t keep up to date, nor would I understand most of the nuanced differences, on other offerings so any input/opinions would be appreciated. Thanks.

I used TB for a long time but they really got buggy, I switched to Nord last year, much happier, better laptop and mobile interface.

Nord VPN here.  100% satisfied.

What do you guys use your VPNs for?

I use mine to tunnel into our network and manage things remotely.

Mullvad, can't speak highly enough about it, no customer information needed to use it either.

Um, everything?  My desktop machine is on a VPN 24/7.  Ditto my phone.  Nobody's fucking business what I do online.

Reminds me of the old joke...

Why did the Libertarian cross the road?

None of your fucking business. Am I being detained?

You could have just said privacy...

I didn't know if you used a vpn for some kinda work and to tunnel in your companies network.

Myself thats all I've ever used one for.

Also if you are not tunneling into a specific network then your data comes out of the tunnel at the vpn providers network, then transits their connection to the internet to wherever it needs to go to reach the original destination.

It does not stay in tunnel from your end to the other end for everything/every site you go to.

A lot of these vpns providers are out of country...

But, i'm sure its not very likley or probable that foreign hackers  would be able to sniff or capture your data...

FIFY

Your VPN provider knows what sites you go to. And there are fewer VPN providers than there are ISPs. It is easier for the government to monitor your activity now because the number of entities that have to be infiltrated is smaller.


I don't know. Perhaps he will tell me. If not, then it's his own business.


I see. Not only is it your business, you're also a dick.

VPN for public wifi

ProtonVPN

That depends - if the company itself is hacked, then yes, your data/usage could be compromised.

Funny story - Nord VPN was in fact compromised back in 2018 - the datacenter they used had a security flaw (expired security certificate, I believe) that allowed outsiders access to everything in the datacenter, including Nord's servers located there.  Nord stated that no account info, passwords, etc., were stored on the server and the ability to actually read customer traffic was extremely limited.  They did take a fairly heavy hit, however, since they didn't tell anyone about it (their customers, for instance) until an article was published stating that Nord had been compromised.

Mike

Grain of salt with data.  In my research, it seems most reviews are out of date or heavily bias.

Though self admitted that many of the ratings are subjective and based on the providers published data, this one does a pretty good job. https://www.safetydetectives.com/best-vpns/ The one I've looked at the most is still rather out of date by at least a few months and don't think it would be possible to put together a 100% accurate list this extensive.  I picked the points that were most important to me, then researched what I could about the providers.  Again, seemingly a lot of bias, mainly geared to favor the "Nike's" of VPN.  Sure they my be good, but are they 3x the price better than a lesser advertised competitor?  Knowing advertisement plays a bigger part in sales than the actual product, skewed reviews are to be expected.

Example, compare a big name of ExpressVPN to the lesser known Surfshark.  You will find over and over that Express is fast and Surfshark is a turd in that regard.  Now find a review of the two that actually mentions the protocols used a year or two ago and their most recent protocols used now, Surfshark kicks ExpressVPN's ass in speed at a third the price.

So the amount of research we should do is the same or more than what it appears you did? Thanks for the info.


Thanks for the input fellas. I ended up going with Nord. Already noticing performance improvements over what I had with TB.

Thats enough for me to know they dont need my money or information.