Virtual private networks, also known as VPNs, are an effective tool that anyone concerned about their online security and privacy can benefit from. It operates by connecting your computer to a server which will then forward the data to the site you wish to access. This makes it more difficult for hackers to steal your personal information, and also helps to stop snooping by the government or other organizations.
Free vpn providers have a variety of negatives that you need to take into consideration before utilizing them. The issues range from weak security protocols to data caps and slow connection speeds. In addition, free VPN services often use intrusive advertisements to earn money and could expose users to malware.
In certain instances some free vpn services keep track of your online activities and sell the information to third parties. This could compromise your data and privacy.
VPN services that are free also are known to limit the number of servers you can connect to, which can be problematic if you have to bypass geo-restrictions. Furthermore, some countries consider VPNs to be illegal, so using a free service might result wikipedia reference in legal issues.
In addition, free VPN services usually have data limits to incentivize users to upgrade to the paid version. This can be frustrating in the event that you use your VPN regularly and can cause your data plan to expire quickly. VPN connections also consume more data and bandwidth than unprotected Internet connection as your data will be sent through the VPN server.