VPN: what it is, how it works and what it is for

VPN

VPN services have gained some popularity over the past three years. You have probably heard of it or seen the various sponsorships around the net, especially on YouTube. On the other hand, Virtual Private Network services have spread considerably, not only thanks to a greater use of streaming platforms, but also and above all by the huge amount of people who found themselves working from home or in smart working at cause of the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, the concept of VPN is increasingly present in everyday life. And if you are our faithful readers, you will have already noticed that we have several guides and reviews on this topic.

More experienced users, on the other hand, will almost certainly know the topic discussed here. For all the others, and for those wishing to review or deepen the topic, we wanted to summarize the most important aspects that define a VPN service, together with some tricks to choose the one that best suits you.

Continue reading to find out everything you should know about VPN services.

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Surfshark VPN Review 2022: Features, Pricing And More

Surfshark VPN uses high-grade OpenVPN, IKEv2, and WireGuard encryption protocols to provide you with completely secure online cybersecurity. Whether you’re browsing the internet at home or using public WiFi on your PC or mobile device, Surfshark VPN hides your IP address and the incoming and outgoing data to prevent companies, hackers, or bots from tracking your online activities. It also protects your online transactions while connecting on public Wi-Fi. You can also unblock websites or apps that are geo-restricted in your country by connecting to one of its over 3,200 VPN servers located in more than 95 countries.

Features

MultiHop: The MultiHop feature of Surfshark routes your traffic through two servers instead of one, thereby providing better security. However, you may face some lagging speed due to traffic traveling longer distances. Surfshark says that for fast speed, connecting to a regular server that’s close to your region is the best.

VPN split tunneling (Bypasser): Surfshark’s Bypasser helps you choose which websites you want to run on a VPN server and the rest to use the IPS’s server as usual. However, the speed has to be tested as it is always different for every customer.

Privacy

Surfshark VPN operates under a strict “no logs” policy. This online privacy tool uses high-grade encryption protocols that run on its proprietary RAM-only servers, which do not store your online personal data. Its advanced encryption standard (AES) with 256-bit keys (aka AES-256) will ensure that your IP address is completely hidden and you are fully in a “camouflage mode”, making tracking and snooping your online activities a lot harder. In addition, you will also be provided with the CleanWeb feature that blocks malicious Ads, malware, and phishing attempts.

Speed

With over 3,200 servers, Surfshark VPN boasts of providing a consistently fast connection. According to Surfshark, each server has a maximum throughput of 1 gbps, and an average speed drop across different servers can be expected between 15% and 30%. That said, to speed up your VPN connection, you may have to try connecting to servers from nearby countries with the least server load. Also, changing your VPN protocol can relatively improve the speed.

Related: Best VPN services of 2022