What is a VPN?

VPN stands for virtual private network and is commonly used by organizations to provide remote access to a secure organizational network. For instance, you are working from home and you need to access files in your computer at the office or connect to applications that are available only via your office network. If your office has VPN installed and your laptop or home computer is configured to connect to it, you can get what you need from the office without having to worry about the security of the data transported over the Internet.

VPN is also used to mask the IP address of individual computers within the Internet. This allows people to surf the Internet anonymously or access location-restricted services such as Internet television.

Ordinary users would most likely be using VPN in the second scenario. There are a number of VPN services being offered over the Internet. For simple anonymous surfing, you can find a service as cheap as $5/month or even for free!

But to get the total anonymizing experience, a premium VPN account is advisable. Most providers make this as easy as possible for prospective subscribers - no IP numbers to configure into web applications, no software to install, easy to follow instructions on how to set up the VPN, etc. Depending on the provider, additional subscription features include strong encryption (data you send to web sites are encrypted for added security), dedicated IP address (you have your own IP address, instead of having a different IP address every time you connect to the VPN) and choice of server locations (to be able to access sites that block IP addresses from certain countries).

That said, before subscribing to a VPN service, decide how you are going to use it: Is it simply for browsing web site content? Download torrents? Watch Internet television? Each provider has its own terms and conditions for service and some will include restrictions against "illegal" activities such as P2P file sharing of intellectual property. It is best to look for and read the fine print before committing to anything.

Another tip is to look for providers who offer a trial period for prospective subscribers. This indicates that the provider has confidence in their product, and you will be able to judge if the service works for you.

Check the Internet speed: Is the speed reliable or are there certain times of the day when browsing or downloading is inconvenient? Assess the timeliness and quality their technical support: How long before they respond to questions or help requests? How well do they understand your concerns and were they able to help? Bottom line: Is the service worth the cost?

Online forums are good sources of feedback on particular VPN service providers. Customer testimonials are well and good, but then you hardly read anything negative in those. With online forums, if you read a lot of negative feedback on a provider from different people, that may be a sign that you shouldn't do business with that provider. In any case, you should try to get as much information as possible before subscribing.

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