A VPN can give travelers a much-needed extra layer of cybersecurity and make it easier for them to access censored or geo-blocked content. This article covers the factors you should look at when choosing a VPN for your vacation.
While a secure, trustworthy VPN is always a useful tool to protect your online activity, travelers can benefit all the more from a VPN because of the situations they regularly face. Whether connecting to public WiFi or trying to access geo-blocked content from back home, a VPN helps keep your connection secure and unblock websites. With that in mind, there are specific criteria you should look at when choosing a VPN for travel.
1.Security
Your priority when evaluating any VPN should be security, but especially when considering which VPN to use on vacation. When you travel, you are often forced to rely on public WiFi(new window) for your Internet access. This puts your personal data at risk. The last thing you want to worry about on holiday is a malicious or unsecured WiFi hotspot exposing your personal data. Also, depending on where you travel, the government may be interested in monitoring your online activity.
At a minimum, the VPN you use should use strong encryption(new window), protect against DNS leaks(new window), and, ideally, only use VPN protocols(new window) that are known to be secure. It should also be headquartered in a country with strong privacy protections(new window) that is not a member of the Five Eyes or 14 Eyes agreements(new window).
2. Trustworthiness
A VPN service essentially replaces your Internet service provider: It can see all of your online activity. For this reason, you should only use a VPN service that has a no logs policy and a track record of integrity. Proton VPN’s no logs policy is regularly audited by independent experts(new window), and we publish the results on our website.
Learn more: Is Proton VPN trustworthy?(new window)
3. Locations
Checking where a VPN service has servers(new window) can also be important when evaluating how useful it will be to you. When you are abroad, if you use DuckDuckGo and do not use a VPN, the results will be in the local language and the prices will be in the local currency. This is not always helpful. However, by connecting to a VPN server in your home country, you can see results in your native language. This will also help you keep up with news and events from home. (Also check where its headquarters is: to keep your online activity secure, your VPN should be based in a country with strong privacy laws(new window), like Switzerland.)
4. Access to your favorite streaming sites, like Netflix and Hulu
Vacation is all about relaxation, and what could be more relaxing than watching your favorite shows? Unfortunately, configuring a VPN to work with streaming services can be quite tricky. If you plan to use your VPN to stream movies and TV that you’ve subscribed for, make sure it works with Netflix(new window) and Hulu(new window) (among others) before signing up.
Proton VPN
Our VPN service meets all the criteria above. To protect your data while traveling abroad, you can download the Proton VPN app(new window). We are a community-supported VPN service that was developed by the same team that created Proton Mail, the world’s largest secure email service(new window). We only use the highest strength encryption and VPN protocols known to be safe to secure our VPN tunnel. We are based in Switzerland, and we follow a strict no logs policy(new window). With over 400 servers in over 30 countries on six continents, we can provide you with a fast, secure, and private VPN connection no matter where your travels take you. And our Plus plan users can access Secure Streaming, which allows you to watch your favorite shows on Netflix, Hulu, HBO Go, and other streaming sites.
Be sure to keep your data safe this summer and have a great trip.
Best Regards,
The Proton VPN Team
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