When I asked you on LinkedIn "Which VPN would you recommend to a friend?" I thought it would be straight forward, but it was anything but that. In the first round you listed 15 different vendors without a clear top 5 winner. So I asked you again and now there are 22 vendors :), however we do have a TOP 5. But the last post triggered a whole new conversation about whether or not we even need a VPN and is it safe?
Here is the link to the original post And here are a few things that were mentioned that are food for thought:
...There is concern that most VPNs (99.99% of them) are actually riskier than plain web browsing, you are giving all your data (encrypted hopefully) to “VPN owners” and they can sniff your DNS/URL activity with 100% accuracy and they can also “interject things” you don’t want .. - Gopal Padinjaruveetil
...Know there is a developing story on a conglomerate of suspicious VPN services which boost VPN reviews etc… - Joris Lambrecht
"The attacker gained access to the server — which had been active for about a month — by exploiting an insecure remote management system left by the data center provider; NordVPN said it was unaware that such a system existed." If true, it's pretty damaging when a VPN company doesn't know about their own systems. - Prabhav S
“My thoughts on service provided VPN’s , If they are financially backed , you potentially risk selling your data (whether this be in the form of metadata, other valued analytics such as web site browsing habits) at the other end of the data pipe . While vendor VPN’s afford a better level of security and some level of anonymity, it’s always a risk vs. benefit conversation” - Jeff White
“for me the first question is where you see a use for VPN? would you suggest ppl at home use one? or only use one when you are outside the house. I agree with the second option more, but then you can vpn back to your house using a capex solution rather than paying a subscription.” - Dr Zibby Kwecka
“I mean most people on this thread could possibly go and build one out wherever, but then there is the maintenance and other associated costs. VPN services do offer convenience, ability to hop countries, etc.” - Mario Bilotti
Ok, so now that we got that out of the way, here’s the list of the TOP VPN’s you recommended.
And regardless of the VPN you select, don’t let the advertisements fool you. There is no 100% Privacy or Security, so please remember that. And educate yourself about how to keep safe online. You can sign up for free to Wizer Security awareness training to train yourself and your team.