How we test VPNs

They all say they're the best — here's how we find out who's telling the truth. VPN users have an unbelievable amount of choice in the market, but lots of those choices are bad. Upwards of 180 virtual private networks are available for commercial users alone. For the casual user who just wants a VPN to protect themselves online or change their virtual location, the risk of analysis paralysis is very real. It doesn't help that VPN providers love to make misleading claims about their own product. Read a few of their homepages and you'll start to see some phrases repeat. "Lightning-fast." "Bank-grade encryption." "Zero-logs policy." It's designed to sound good without meaning much, and unfortunately, even the best providers love to talk like this. Our team at Engadget started digging into the VPN world to help you cut through all this clutter and pick the provider you actually want and need. We've developed a rigorous testing process that combines investigative journalism, objective te ... Read full article.