How to Choose the Right VPN Service for Your Needs

My best buddy has been having his best days — he is banking in $10k every month from his eBay store.

Pretty cool, right? But here’s the full story…

Early 2019, Mike left the corporate world to scale his online business.

He’s not the regular newbie who’s still figuring things out — he knows his stuff, and he’s keen on building a profitable business.

I remember discussing the details with him where he outlined his 2-year plan.

Looking back, I admire his courage, focus, and unwillingness to allow setbacks to get to him.

His worst times were in March 2019, when he woke up to the dreaded eBay email — a suspension email.

Thankfully, he didn’t fret over it.

His positive attitude, coupled with a bit of research led to his discovery of virtual private networks (VPNs).

Yes, he’s got great work ethic and some marketing skills. But his success in the online business world is primarily due to the use of VPN services.

Without a reliable VPN service, he wouldn’t have created multiple stealth accounts and replicated his best converting product listing on these accounts.

VPN has been around since the 1990s. It was first created by a Microsoft employee who was keen on developing a safe way of working securely from home.

Over the years, the point-to-point tunneling protocol (or peer-to-peer tunneling protocol) has evolved to provide various solutions to varying issues online.

Most folks today use the VPN to maintain privacy online.

But what is a VPN? And how can you use it to maintain privacy online?

Simply put, VPN is designed to encrypt your data and hide your location. This way, you’d be able to browse privately and more securely across the web.

The thing is; not all VPN are structured the same — and you need to do your homework before opting for a VPN service.

As a rule of thumb, you’ve got to be wary of free VPN services. Free VPNs may look pretty solid on the surface, but a closer look would reveal lots of loopholes.

On a nutshell, free VPNs should be a turn-off.

Why?

Because if a company is offering you something for free, then you’re pretty much paying for it in other ways. It’s most likely that your online activity is tracked. And if a good company with the right amount of money comes along, then the VPN agency would sell your data for some cash.

Pretty bad, huh?

Well, to avoid such an occurrence, you should be wary of juicy offers with the f-word.

Before diving into the various kinds of VPN services and how to get the most out of it, you’ve got to pinpoint the exact reason why you need a VPN.

Why should you use a VPN service?

There are a couple of reasons why folks use VPN services. Most times, it all boils down to online anonymity and the ability to protect oneself from prying eyes, fraudsters, and online scammers.

Aside from online anonymity, VPN helps to boost productivity in the corporate world.

For instance, folks who work in IBM could use a reliable VPN service to work from home.

All they have to do is use a secured VPN to connect with the company’s intranet. That is, they get to work from Chicago even while their company is located in New York.

Okay… you’re probably wondering how you’d benefit from such a feature. After all, you don’t work for a huge corporation — you’re merely an online seller who’s trying to generate enough income.

Here’s the thing; you don’t need to be an employee in a large corporation to benefit from such technology. 

As a remote worker, the VPN technology could help you connect your laptops and phones to your home network. While on the road, you get to access files from your home securely.

Aside from a secured connection to your office and home, VPN technology is designed to encrypt your data. This way, you’d prevent third party agents from seeing your data in public places.

It’s particularly beneficial to folks who use Wi-Fi networks in airports and coffee shops. With VPN technology, you’re pretty much covered from credit card data theft and fraudsters who’d go after your password.

That’s not all…

VPN helps in geographic maneuvering restrictions.

Here’s how it works…

Since VPN helps to mask your IP address and location, you can switch your ideal location and make it appear as if it’s coming from a different place.

For instance, if you’re in Toronto, Canada, you can make your traffic to appear from Washington, D.C. This feature is particularly relevant for folks who access content from sites like Netflix.

Also, folks who live in Australia would be able to avoid insane import taxes on software.

If you’ve been around for sometime, you will notice that overt censorship and monitoring are becoming the norm in most countries. To get around such limitations by the government, you’ve got to mask your traffic and make it appear to be coming from a different location.

Therefore, VPN is an ideal fit for folks who are living in places like China and the United States.

Aside from hiding your traffic from government agencies, VPN is a great tool which protects your online activity from snooping Internet Service Providers (ISPs).

All in all, a VPN service is the ideal tool for folks who would love to hide their traffic from local network (like free Wi-Fi), Internet Service Providers (ISPs), and government agencies.

What’s more, you get to use VPN to trick services which restrict their contents from users in some geographic regions.

Yes, having a secure connection sounds pretty cool, but the thing is; getting the right VPN for your personal/business needs is not easy.

To get the right VPN service, you’ve got to understand what your needs are. And to understand your needs, you’ve got to consider factors like location, speed, and technical features.

Things to consider before choosing a VPN

You can’t just walk into a Samsung shop and buy the first laptop you see. 

That would be ridiculous, right? 

To make the right choice, you’ve got to consider some features. The same strategy should be used while choosing the best VPN service for your needs.

You don’t just pick a VPN service based on some fancy ads or cool sales copy — you’ve gotta dig down and determine if the VPN provides all you need.

To get going, you’ve got to consider things like…

1. Logging and privacy

It all boils down to your privacy and online security.

Most folks opt for VPN service due to the desire to maintain some level of privacy online. If you prioritize online privacy, then you should take a closer look at how the VPN provider handles the logs.

Providers who keep your logs are a red flag!

Here’s the thing; if online privacy is your primary concern, then the provider should know as little as possible.

Ideally, the VPN provider should have a logless or zero log service. That is, your logs (or online activity) is not monitored, which is a pretty good idea for those who would love to maintain some level of privacy online.

That’s not all…

Some providers have the knack of calling themselves logless. But in reality, they’d keep some information like visited IP addresses, bandwidth usage, and connection times.

You may think that bandwidth usage, connection times, and other minor information is not enough to monitor your online presence, but when your activity log is thrown into the mix, you’d be shocked at the trick it can do.

What’s more, you should keep an eye on the kind of information your provider keeps.

Do they need only your email address? Or do they love to get all the physical information about you?

Having your email address may be quite alright, but providers who go all out to grab every piece of information about you may not be the right fit.

Aside from the logging policy and the kind of information they keep, you should look out for the country where the VPN company operates from.

Why?

Because the data retention policy of the country shows what the VPN company would likely disclose to security agencies when asked. If you desire ultimate safety from such laws, you should opt for VPN companies located in countries without screwed data retention policies — Romania and Panama are great places to start.

One more thing…

You should not dread VPN companies in the United States. Some VPN companies in the United States are pretty good at providing top-notch data encryption without screwing with your data.

As a general rule of thumb, you should always read the company’s Terms of Service and Privacy Policy pages before making a decision.

Yes, it may sound awkward, but the privacy policy pages are not some complex legal terms — it’s pretty easy to read!

2. Location

Let’s go back to the basics — most folks opt for a VPN because they want to mask their IP address and appear to be coming from a specific location.

Well, before using a VPN service, you should ascertain that the provider supports your ideal locations.

Sounds pretty simple, right?

But a significant number of folks who desire an excellent VPN service tend to miss this crucial step.

3. Supported devices

Here’s the thing; not all VPN services are supported by all devices.

Before choosing a VPN service, you’ve to check out if your preferred device supports the features.

For instance, if you’d be navigating through the web with your Android device, you’ve got to be sure that your preferred device supports the features you’re looking for.

The Android version of a VPN service may be the watered down version of the Windows version.

Therefore, double check before opting to use VPN on any device.

4. Technical functionality

If you’re techie, you may want to explore the technical side of the VPN service.

Most tech-oriented folks prefer VPN protocol like the OpenVPN. Other VPN protocol include L2TP and PPTP.

Whatever VPN protocol you may choose to go with, you must ascertain that your provider supports it.

However, if you’re not into the tech side of things, you should at least make sure that the provider supports OpenVPN.

OpenVPN is widely considered the best option out there. Unless you’ve got a better option, you should stay with it.

Moving on, you should also lookout for the encryption model.

Good VPN providers like the IPBurger supports 256-bit AES encryption. Other alternatives like the SHA-512 hash authentication and the RSA-4094 handshake are also worth considering.

Aside from protocol and encryption models, there are other technical features to consider. If you prioritize online privacy, then the double VPN functionality (or multihop VPN) should be looked into.

One more thing…

Sometimes, VPN fail!

You’ve got to stay prepared for the ultimate setback.

Are you comfortable navigating through the internet if your VPN fails, or would you love to have some backup plans to help you stay afloat during the bad days?

If developing a reliable backup plan is something you’d want, then you should opt for VPN providers that offer an internet kill switch.

5. Speed

The VPN speed can make or break your browsing experience. A slow connection may make you throw up and dump your computer.

If you’d love to avoid slow network connection, then you should look out for the VPN speeds.

Newbies should consider speed metrics like ping time, upload, and download speed. 

Upload and download speed determines how fast you can send and receive files from the web.

If you love streaming shows from the web, then you should consider opting for VPN service with high download speed. Folks who would be sending a large file to cloud storage would likely opt for a VPN service with high upload speed.

Ping time (which is specified in milliseconds) is how long it takes for a packet to travel from your browsing device, through the VPN network to the destination, and back to your device.

Pro tip: a packet is a single unit of data.

The lower the ping time, the better — no one love waiting in the twenty-first century.

Ping time is particularly suitable for real-time applications like voice over IP phones and Skype. Also, folks who would love to play a couple of online games should take the ping time very seriously.

Here’s the thing; people use VPN services for various reasons — and the metrics you should look out for are primarily dependent on why you’re opting for a VPN service.

If you’re like Mike, who sales online, you may prioritize the upload time since you’d be uploading high-quality product images every now and then. 

After identifying your metric needs, you should check out for VPN services with the ideal numbers for the country you’re connecting to. 

Pro tip: You should check out the IPBurger VPN — they’ve got some pretty cool features for folks who are looking for fast VPN services.

That’s not all…

VPN services with superb connection speed in the United States does not guarantee its speed for other countries.

6. Price

Pricing can affect the VPN service you opt for. And various VPN services have different pricing plans for their customers.

Here’s the thing; you don’t need to break the bank to get a reliable VPN service. With a couple of dollars, you get to have excellent services from high-quality providers.

But before subscribing for a VPN service, you’ve got to think it through and decide if you’d go for a monthly payment plan or opt for the quarterly or annual payment plan.

Quarterly (and annual) plans are an ideal fit for folks who would love to save some extra cash. These payment plans are designed with lower prices, and it’s the best fit for folks who trust their VPN providers.

However, if you’re relatively new in the VPN space or you’d love to change your VPN provider, it’s ideal for test run the new VPN provider by opting for the monthly pricing plan. This way, you get to have a feel for their service model without much commitment.

Folks who are still on the fence can check out the free trial plans or refund policy before taking the leap.

Here’s how it works…

VPN providers like the IPBurger offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee.

That is, if you’re not satisfied with the level of service, you could ask for a service replacement or merely request for credit of any service purchased.

Pro tip: Several VPN providers offer a fantastic discount during holidays and special days. You get to save more cash when you subscribe during these periods.

There are VPN companies that offer free trials. Take advantage of the free trials to get a feel for their services.

7. Payment Options

If you’ve got a strong preference for a payment option, then double-check to confirm if the VPN provider supports your payment option.

Folks who prioritize their online privacy should look out for VPN companies that use Bitcoin as a payment option. And PayPal may be an excellent alternative for people who don’t want to disclose their credit card details. 

As a general rule of thumb, ascertain that the VPN company supports your preferred payment model. 

8. Restrictions

VPN providers impose limitations on their services. Most times, providers only allow a specific number of simultaneous connections.

Here’s the thing; before choosing a VPN provider, you should have a mental note of the number of connections you’d need.

Most services allow five connections, but if you’re lucky enough, you may come across a service that has no limits to the number of connections it will enable.

What’s more, if you’d be using services like BitTorrent, you should go for a VPN that allows it.

Generally, you should double-check to ascertain if the VPN service supports the features you’re looking for. There are cases where VPN services put limits on the download or upload amounts. And also have limits to the connection speeds.

All in all, double-check to avoid regrets.

9. Customer Support

Customer support is widely overlooked by folks who are searching for a reliable VPN provider. You may not put some value to it, but you’d come around when you encounter a couple of challenges.

Things like billing may cause lots of problems if not adequately handled. And if you’re not a techie, you may encounter lots of challenges during the set-up process. 

The idea behind 24/7 customer support is to provide a helping hand to folks who are facing technical issues.

Some folks prefer to live chat. Others, however, love the details that go into contacting a support team via emails.

There are VPN providers like IPBurger which offers both live chat and email support. It’s an ideal fit for most folks regardless of their preferred support channel.

10. User Interface

VPN services are not as easy as it seems. Some user interface is as hard as rock science; others are quite easy to understand.

Therefore, the user interface is quite crucial in your quest to make the right choice.

VPN providers with user-friendly interface are an excellent fit for non techie guys. And if you don’t want to be part of the setup process, you should opt for VPN providers that offer virtual setup.

Conclusion — Choose the right VPN for your needs

Not all VPN offer the same service!

It’s your job to figure out the right fit for you. To do this, you’ve got to crawl through the web and find out the best VPN providers for your needs.

But before you head off on the search, you’ve got to understand what to look for.

To start off, you should consider vital factors like location, technical functionality, speed, price, restrictions, payment options, customer support, user interface, and supported devices.

What’s more, logging and privacy are also essential features to look out for — you’ve got to be pretty sure of the privacy policy and lots of other undermined logging concerns.

Yes, the search process is hard work. But you can cut down the process by opting for IPBurger VPN.

Why IPBurger VPN?

Because it’s one of the best out there, and if you’re like Mike, who’s into eBay selling, you’d need the best VPN service for your business.

Aside from the top-notch online protection you’d get from IPBurger, the team at IPBurger provide 24/7 customer support. 

The support team can be reached via email or live chat.

The best part…

There’s a 100% satisfaction guarantee!

Now you know the importance of VPN and how to choose the right one, what’s holding you back from having an anonymous online presence?