What Is a VPN?

A virtual private network (VPN) service is indispensible for those who are serious about their online security and privacy. The device used doesn't matter: maintaining an encrypted tunnel between yourself and your online destination protects not only protects your data in transit but also protects your identity and even your location. Once the province of IT professionals looking to securely connect different network sites, VPN technology has evolved into a personal service that lets individual users connect to the internet by using encrypted traffic to block third-party snooping.

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This VPN evolution occurred because it has become increasingly easy for hackers to exploit constantly changing operating systems (OSes), applications, and networks. This means sophisticated tactics, such as man-in-the-middle attacks, aren't just being aimed at businesses anymore. It's happening to everyday folks who are frequenting their favorite coffee shop. This means these folks need to upgrade their security arsenal.

(Editors' Note: IPVanish is owned by Ziff Davis, PCMag's parent company.)

A VPN encrypts and tunnels all of your web traffic through a secure proxy out in the cloud. Imagine all of your web traffic flowing to and from your computer as a stream of water flowing through a hose. Now simply pretend that hose is made up of encrypted traffic; that's a basic VPN, wrapping your data in a layer of encryption so everything stays safe and private. Additionally, because you're initiating your VPN from a server originating with your VPN service provider, all your surfing will appear to come from the VPN server, and nobody, in theory, can see what you are doing by simply observing the network traffic since there are thousands of other users all sending data through that same Internet Protocol (IP) address.

Why Do I Need a VPN?

If you use your computer or device on a network connection that you don't personally own, then you definitely need a VPN. Public WiFi is a favorite attack vector for cybercriminals who are trying to lift your passwords. By reducing the chance of a man-in-the-middle attack, VPNs keep you and your most valuable personal information safer. In fact, in a recent PCMag survey, these we've seen these apps go from being a tool for the paranoid to personal data safety tool that's as ubiquitous as using antivirus software or a hosted endpoint protection suite.

Another reason is to maintain privacy from increasingly invasive Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and government agencies. This is especially true if you use a peer-to-peer (P2P) sharing service such as BitTorrent, which, while it's most commonly used for perfectly legal file-sharing activities, continues to be associated with a certain amount of illegal activity. Even if you don't fall into the nefarious user category, it's not uncommon to have your connection throttled simply based on the kind of surfing you're doing. If you don't want your ISP or anyone else differentiating between Netflix and standard browsing traffic, then you need to consider a VPN.

What to Consider When Buying a VPN

While most personal VPNs need to focus on ease of use, Linux users tend to be willing to tinker a bit when it comes to software. This fact hasn't been lost on most VPN providers that, based on our experiences during this review, have put decidedly less effort into setup and configuration ease under Linux than you'll see in Apple Mac VPNs or even VPNs for iPhone or VPNs for Android. While they make the directions generally clear in most circumstances, you should expect to get your hands dirty to get a VPN working especially under Linux.

OpenVPN is the major protocol path when trying to connect under Linux, though other protocols will work, too. For Ubuntu users, it's a simple apt-get command away from working right from the Unity user interface (UI). It's a good idea to brush up on your terminal skills if you are feeling a bit rusty, though, because some command line typing is going to occur. Some VPN services offer a graphical user interface (GUI) but they're relatively rare. For example, only two out of our three Editors' Choice winners in this VPN (for Linux) review roundup offer a GUI. For those that do, it's important to evaluate whether or not it offers additional benefits, such as custom protocols, the ability to detect the fastest available server, and the ability to perform additional configuration tasks, such as disabling Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6) (which is important when you're trying to maintain a secure tunnel).

Also consider the types of services you'll want to access and what kinds of apps you'll be running. Streaming video from services such as Netflix will require not only speed but potentially a static IP address, which could drive up your monthly cost. Connecting from different countries might have a healthy or adverse effect on your overall surfing speed, which could impact the kinds of web apps you'll be able to run. Additionally, VPN performance can vary across other apps, too, especially peer-to-peer file sharing, like BitTorrent, as well as any kind of online gaming.

No matter what kind of apps you intend to use, however, you'll also want to investigate carefully, not only for compatibility with a particular VPN but also to see what kinds of data retention policy the service has so that, if data is handed over to a legal authority, your identity and activity will remain private. All of these factors will be critical in selecting which service to use.

Can I Trust a VPN?

One of the primary challenges with using a VPN service is determining to what extent you can trust that service. Even though all traffic from your computer to the VPN is encrypted, that doesn't mean the VPN service itself couldn't sniff and analyze your web traffic. Without some careful research, you could be trading one devil (your ISP) for another (the VPN service). The Electronic Freedom Foundation (EFF) does a good job of outlining what it believes are some of the most trustworthy VPNs. For those traveling abroad, this kind of research could mean the difference between going to prison or going home. Beyond this, any VPN that's worth considering publishes a lengthy description of what they do and don't do when it comes retaining and disclosing your data. The best of the best retain no logs and exist in a legal jurisdiction that makes no demands for providing or logging any browsing or network connection data.

Why consider services outside those jurisdictions then? The biggest downside is speed. At its core, a VPN is encrypting traffic, which takes time, especially when it's happening on a constant stream like when you're surfing the web. Plus, you're sending all of your traffic requests not straight to the web hosting provider who's serving up the website, but first to another computer, namely, the service's VPN server, and from there to the website—all of which takes yet more time. Combined haphazardly, these two factors can have a significantly negative impact on your browsing enjoyment, even if they do keep you safer.

In addition, depending on where your VPN is hosted, you may find that some services are less trusting or serve up different content than what you expect. Thankfully, most VPNs offer a wide variety of endpoints across a diverse geographic landscape. At the end of the day, you'll need to consider a VPN based on your needs and those can often vary significantly.

VPNs deserve a lot of credit for making the web safer. However, they also represent a range of often difficult-to-decipher policies and features. The fact that you're accessing these under Linux doesn't make things any easier since Linux isn't always for the technically faint of heart (and their users are typically not considered first-class citizens when it comes to commercial software updates). Windows users typically enjoy some kind of GUI and additional tools to help confirm that the VPN is doing what it's supposed to be doing. In Penguin land, though, you are largely on your own, but there are a few gems worth looking at. With our help, you'll know just where to look.