Many people understand the importance of VPN software. It is a vital cybersecurity tool and should be used regularly, and especially while traveling. There is a wide variety of VPNs to choose from.
VPN software is used to encrypt your internet connection. Therefore no one will be able to see what is happening on your devices while you browse the internet. You can also use a free VPN service to change the location of your IP address.
There are often free versions of VPN software available, however, they might have some limitations. This is important to keep in mind if you want to have the best possible security for your devices at all times.
Why Do Free VPNs Exist?
Companies that develop VPN software often sell it as a subscription service with a monthly or annual fee. However, some people are skeptical of whether they want to use VPN software on their devices.
As such, most VPN providers will offer a free version of their service. This can come in the form of a free trial or a ‘lite’ version which allows potential customers to try before they buy and see if the specific VPN is a good choice for them.
However, sometimes cybercriminals can also create a fake VPN. This is known as a rogue VPN. It might act similar to a standard VPN that you would find anywhere else, however it will also be used to install malware onto your device.
If you are not careful with which VPN software you are installing on your device you could be downloading a rogue VPN. This would end up doing more harm than good to your device and it might be too late when you realize it.
Should You Use a Free VPN?
You can use the free version of a reputable VPN provider without having to worry about being scammed. However, the free trails do have some limitations that you need to know about before you use them.
These limitations can make it impossible to use the VPN long term, which means you will need to buy the subscription. Read on below to find out more about these limitations. You should use the free trails to determine which VPN provider suits you best.
You should avoid VPNs offered by unknown developers and companies. These could be used by cybercriminals as rogue software to infiltrate your devices. They will often give you full access to your VPN for free so as to make it more appealing.
Lower Speeds
The free versions offered by VPN providers will often have lower speeds than the full versions. This means that while your internet speed might be 10 MB per second, a free VPN might bring that down to 4 MB per second.
This might be frustrating if you find that your internet speeds are significantly slower than usual. You might struggle to use the websites or apps that you regularly would because of the lower speeds.
This will especially impact you if you are using a VPN to stream sports or Netflix shows from a different region. Oftentimes a free VPN will not be fast enough to stream videos and you may struggle with a lot of buffering.
Data Limits
Free VPN software will also have data limits imposed on their usage. In most cases, the limits are set to 500 MB per day. This is not enough to last for an entire day, and it will most likely surpass that data cap quickly once you being using the internet.
500 MB is certainly not enough to be able to stream sports or videos, so there is no way to use a free VPN for streaming. This makes it less appealing for people to use the free service whenever they want to stream sports in a different region.
It is best to use the paid version of the VPN to ensure that you can always stay connected to the server when you are using the internet. This will give you the best security while browsing online.
Limited Servers
VPN servers allow you to connect to different servers across the world. This is the feature that lets you change the location of your IP address. For example, you might be in the United States, but you can change the location of your device to the United Kingdom.
However, when it comes to free VPN services the servers you can connect to are limited. For example, you might only be able to connect to four servers as opposed to the full list of servers.
Moreover, these servers are often limited to random countries, so don’t expect to see the popular options on the list. This can make it difficult to connect to a server like the US for example when you need to.
