Since May, the VPN issue has become especially relevant for Ukrainians, who are legally banned from using a number of Russian services, including VKontakte and Mail. Ru. In this article, we take a look at the best free VPNs, their benefits and features.
What is a VPN?
VPN is a private virtual network, a network connection that is overlaid on top of other networks. By connecting VPN, the computer changes IP. The use of prohibited services in Ukraine is based on this - Russian networks are blocked for all Ukrainian IPs. In addition, the technology is used to protect data.
A common drawback for all VPN programs is a drop in Internet connection speed.
Opera
First on the list is the browser itself and the Android app Opera Free VPN. In the first case, to connect, you need to go to "Settings" - "Security" and check the box next to "Enable VPN". The advantage is that you do not need to install third-party services.
For Android smartphones, Opera releases the Opera Free VPN app. It is on Google Play. The downside is that, due to its popularity, it is regularly unavailable for download.
Benefits: intuitive interface, one-click VPN setup.
Both in the browser and in the application, it is possible to choose the optimal location of the virtual network or a suitable one from the list. Options - Canada, USA, Germany, Netherlands, Singapore.
Internet connection speed allows you to watch videos online, but there is a problem in the browser that the connection is regularly reset when watching long videos. Also, the speed drops significantly when downloading (life hack: start downloading from a blocked site in virtual network mode, turn it off, restart the browser and start the stopped download again).
TunnelBear
This VPN connection software is suitable not only for Android and Windows, but also for the "apple" Mac operating system (both on computers and on smartphones and tablets). It has a cartoonish interface, but it is a serious service. TunnelBear has more countries to choose from than Opera (20 countries in total, including Ireland, Italy, Sweden, UK and France).
Developers release free and paid versions of the program. Free software on all operating systems has a limit of 500 MB of traffic / month. At the same time, TunnelBear has excellent performance: the speed of both downloading and uploading is up to 20 Mb / s. With an Internet connection of 10 Mb / s, the difference between VPN on and off is not felt. No interruptions when downloading streaming videoobserved.
More benefits: TunnelBear connects automatically, does not fix the selected virtual network and does not collect data (including history) of users.
Lifehack: to work with TunnelBear, an account is created that is linked to social networks. Tweet about the program and get 1 GB more free data.
Hola VPN
For "Android" Hola VPN is available as an application, for computers - as plug-ins for browsers. Keep in mind that Hola only works for the browser for which it is launched. This means that all other programs (such as Skype on PC) will use a normal connection. At the same time, Hola is installed on Android along with the browser through which it works.
Benefits: Hola was originally focused on streaming audio and video services, so there will be no problems with playing music and movies on VKontakte. In addition, there are no restrictions on traffic and banner advertising, but there is a wide range of available regions (including not only the usual America and the Netherlands, but also Angola, Indonesia, etc.)
Disadvantages: reduced speed. Hola works on the principle of a peer-to-peer network, which means that the smartphone of the connected user is used at the time of downtime to transfer traffic to other users. This flaw is only present in the free version.
ZenMate Security & Privacy VPN
This VPN is provided as extensions for everyonepopular browsers on PC (Chrome, Firefox, Opera and Safari) and applications on Android. You must create an account to use it.
In the free version, four countries are available to select a virtual network (Romania, America, China and Germany) and a speed limit of up to 15 Mb / s (in practice, it comes to just over 14 Mb / s both transmitting and receiving traffic), and from Security (security) & Privacy VPN (private virtual network), only the VPN itself remains.
In the paid version, both the choice of countries and the speed are higher, and it also becomes possible to enable additional protection against malware.
Conclusions
Choose free VPNs based on your purpose of use. Opera is the easiest option to change IP and go to VK. TunnelBear is the best and most convenient service, provided that you "sit" on the Internet a little. Hola is suitable for those who most of all miss music and films that could be watched on VKontakte. ZenMate Security & Privacy VPN is an easy replacement for Opera if you prefer a different browser and appreciate simplicity.
