Best VPN Software for PC and Mobile

What Is VPN Software?

VPN stands for “Virtual Private Network.” It is a software program that allows the user to work securely and establish connections with other businesses by shielding your networking session. With the help of a secure VPN software, you can have easy access to websites and other region-based restricted content, apart from the already discussed safety and security perks. The connection established is a virtual one (since the network doesn’t belong to that region), and functions exactly like the associated private network, hence the name Virtual Private Network. It provides the feature of network encryption, which was also one of the main reasons why it got started.

How Does VPN Software Work?

When a remote VPN software is enabled for networking, it requests the targeted network to establish a virtual connection. Upon approval, a private virtual connection is established, and you are now connected to a virtual network with a different geographical location.

These steps are involved in the functioning of virtual private network solution:

• VPN software solutions is in a ready state to send a connection request to the remote network.
• Acknowledgment from the private server network for connection.
• Your connection and your IP address now point to a new private network.
• An additional server is added in between to maintain the connectivity.
• The destination website receives requests as if you are placing them from a nearby network location.
• You can now access various online content anonymously and securely.

After finishing the networking session, you can disconnect from the VPN by turning off the software and return to your original network. Standard services resume as soon you disable the VPN software, and you no longer have anonymous access.

Benefits of Using VPN Software

VPN tools, in its initial days, played a pivotal role in various businesses and organizations by providing them a secure networking ecosystem. It was predominantly used by the Government and other ventures to transmit confidential information online without exposing the same to hackers and malicious portal viruses. Today, VPN is not only used for the purposes mentioned above, but it serves a multi-functional role.

Here are some of the many benefits of using best VPN software:

1. Pocket Friendly: Covering the financial aspect, virtual private network solution and applications are available for free across varied platforms. There are paid versions and pay-only versions as well, but unless you need it for very confidential work, the free version does the job efficiently.

2. Ease-of-Access: Using best VPN tools is not a difficult task. Some software takes you directly to the secured connection while some ask the region of choice before establishing the connection. In both cases, you need to do is click on the “Connect to VPN” button, and you are good to go.

3. Penetrate Filters and Inaccessible Content: After establishing a virtual private connection, you have access to blocked websites and content that has not been available in your geographical location. The honesty of purpose here plays a vital role because what may seem an advantage at first, can be misused as well for wrong reasons and harmful intent.

4. Boost the Security Level: VPN tools offers enhanced security levels because the users anonymously browse the internet while they are connected to a VPN. Their personal information and other system-based data are secured from the prying eyes of data hackers and other malicious data-accumulating applications. For businesses and Government, top VPN software solutions has made the process considerably smooth. The hassle for searching a secured connection is significantly reduced, and most transactions are processed securely unless there’s something extremely outrageous from a hacker.

5. Performance Enhancements: Enhancement in internet performance doesn’t entirely depend on the VPN. However, some websites and applications are inadvertently slow in some regions and take a long time to buffer and load. With the help of a VPN connection, such issues are easily rectified because now you have remote access to the website with a changed location.

What Are the Essential Features You Should Look for in a VPN?

There are numerous VPN providers in the market. Therefore, you should list down all the requirements your selected VPN should fulfill. You can proceed with a free or paid VPN version based on those requirements.

These are some of the essential features that your VPN must offer:

1. Multi-Device Functionality: VPN services are usually used in multiple devices once purchased. The VPN software for business should allow you to connect various devices (desktop, tablet, mobile phone, etc.) simultaneously without any compromise in functionality. The paid versions provide separate login credentials that allow you to access the services in remote devices as well. At times when your system crashes, this function becomes essential, and the VPN tools you choose should mandatorily have it.

2. High-end Speed: More the speed, faster the transmission, and lesser the chances of failures and crashes. Although most VPNs provide high-end speed, leave no doubt while opting for the VPN that best suits your requirements. Make sure that the VPN has no fluctuations to change in private networks, and the transition is smooth and secure.

3. Maximum Encryption: Free versions of VPN provide decent levels of encryption and security. But for business and other organizations seeking military-grade encryption, a paid version is always the safer option. VPN systems provide encryption by adding multiple security layers in between the host and the destination network. Higher levels of encryption administer greater levels of connection security.

4. Advanced Firewalls and Anti-Blocking Mechanism: VPNs that offer firewalls not only make the connection secure but it also identifies which websites are safe to traverse. Viruses and malicious file extensions cannot break the firewalls, making it a must-have in your VPN system. The anti-blocking mechanism enables the VPN to penetrate through to the regions that have anti-VPN plugins. This way, you can access any location irrespective of their VPN blocking status and enjoy uninterrupted service.

5. No Data Transmission Limits:  Barriers restricting you from transferring data due to bandwidth limitations can hinder your work progress. Bandwidths don’t allow the user to exceed the data limits, and further connections cannot be established. VPNs that don’t have such transmission limitations are preferred because of smooth functionality and no restrictions.

What Are the Types of VPN Software?

The key focus of best CRM software (customer relationship management) is to enhance the quality of the relationship between an organization and its customers, along with empowering sales and managing the workload of the sales team with efficiency and easiness VPNs differ in their functioning, and before finalizing the perfect virtual private network solution for your venture, you should know their types to understand their operation better.

VPNs are classified into two types:

1. Remote Access VPN: Remote Access VPN, as the name suggests, allows the user to access the internet by establishing a remote connection with the destination server. The connection is kept virtually private, and hackers can retrieve no data due to the smart encryption. Private users and companies profoundly use Remote Access VPN for secure data access and transmission. A new technology, called SASE (Secured Access Service Edge), is flourishing and can be considered a successor to the Remote Access VPN.

2. Site-to-Site VPN: Site-to-Site VPN service enables the multinational organizations and companies to have multiple offices to connect over a secure network. They use the Site-to-Site VPN (also called Router-to-Router VPN) and securely connect with other branches of the company.

Site-to-Site VPN is further bifurcated into two subtypes:

• Extranet: When the networking takes place between offices of different companies having different ISPs.
• Intranet: When the connection is established between the offices or firms of the same company where open resource sharing can take place.

Why Should Businesses Use Virtual Private Network Software?

Virtual Private Network was created to solve the purpose of secure business transmissions over the internet. It still stays the same way because no business wants to expose their details to the probing eyes of a hacker.

Below is the list of reasons for businesses to use VPN:

1. Businesses need high-end encryption systems because their functioning requires transmission of confidential details and company-use-only statistics that cannot be exposed under any circumstances. VPN provides them the apt platform to continue their work without any uncertainty.
2. Companies require remote access and resources for their campaigns. However, geographical barriers prevent them from doing so. With VPN implementation, these barriers can be skipped, and retrieval of data inadvertently becomes flawless.
3. Companies adopt geo-marketing strategies for their awareness campaigns. However, monitoring the ROI (Return on Investment) for such expeditions is an uphill task. With the help of a secure VPN software, you can get these priceless insights, and modifications can be swiftly made into the current campaigns.

What Are the Best Ways to Choose a VPN Service?

Depending upon your needs, you can choose secure VPN software that fulfills your requirements without hammering your budget for the same. You can form your check-list for selecting a business VPN service providers. Following points you should keep in mind:

1. Compatibility with Your Devices: List the devices supporting VPN connectivity. Make sure that your primary device can run a full-fledged best VPN solution without missing out on any of its features. If your device is not up to the mark, upgrade your device first before selecting a VPN service.

2. Value for Money: A hefty amount must be paid for businesses targeting military-grade encryption levels. However, it doesn’t imply that you have to buy the best VPN tools. Private users use free VPN software solutions, while companies incline towards paid software. Selecting a service that offers more justifiable prices is the best way to choose a VPN.

3. Less Maintenance, More Output: Brisk research regarding the best VPN solution empowers you to determine which service offers highly sustainable service with significant output figures. Also, get to know about the customer service of the VPN service providers and proceed with the one that provides the most reliable service.

List of Best Business VPN Service Providers

1. StrongVPN

StrongVPN is exactly what the name reflects - a strong VPN service provider that you can count on. Its wide network is spread across 24 countries and covers more than 12,000 customers. Its subscription plan starts at $5.75 per month which makes it one of the most affordable services out there.  

StrongVPN is also available on all major platforms including Mac, Windows, and even mobile devices (iOS and Android). However, if you are particularly interested in using Apple’s devices then you will get the best help from this guide for iPhone, tablet and MAC VPN.

2. SaferVPN

SaferVPN is one of the newcomers in the VPN space, but don’t let its lack of experience give you the wrong impression. It’s very much capable of giving neck-to-neck competition to the older players that are ruling the market. In fact, it’s so confident in its quality of service that it offers a 30-day money-back guarantee! There aren’t many services that can give that kind of offer, so that should tell you something about its performance and quality.

SaferVPN has servers in 33 countries and offers the option of onsite servers as well as cloud servers. It’s a particularly good product for SMEs as it offers a console feature that allows you to create different user groups that have different levels of access rights. As for the payment, you can pick either of the two options- standard, or customized.

3. NordLayer

NordLayer provides a Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) solution with integrated Zero Trust policy segmentation. It reinvents the corporate VPN model to offer a software-only instrument for remote work access or hybrid working environment online security.

Consolidating SD-WAN and network point security technologies, it builds on a global server network of VPN servers for public and private gateway access. Additional features like device posture checks, DNS filtering, cloud LAN, and site-to-site capabilities are additions that expand service use cases and will be appreciated by organizations of all sizes.

It also supports SCIM, API integrations and can be combined with existing single sign-on solution providers like G Suite, Azure Ad, Okta, etc. Complex setups don’t overburden the end-users as the whole setup involves only the installation of an app.

4. PureVPN

If it’s the Internet speed that holds the highest priority among other aspects of a VPN service providers, then PureVPN is for you. It offers a smooth and lag-free browsing experience apart from an unrestricted bandwidth that allows you to download as many files as you want. It also has a traffic chart that allows you to monitor your usage.

Some other interesting features of PureVPN include automatic selection of the default server that’s fastest for you, split tunneling that allows you to select specific traffic to go through VPN, and extended protection for all your Internet-enabled devices such as video game console, fridge, etc.

5. TunnelBear

TunnelBear is on this list because not only it’s super-efficient, it’s extremely user-friendly too. In fact, it’s one of the best VPN apps for those who aren’t quite tech savvy but want to set up the service on their own.

TunnelBear has servers in 20 countries which means you have plenty of options. It can be used by five users at a time and each user is charged individually on an annual basis. For businesses, it also offers a business plan called “TunnelBear for Teams” which you can check out.

Since TunnelBear comes with a 7-day free trial, you can use it and get a first-hand experience before you finally sign up for a paid plan. Thus, it’s a great product to start with before you compare your other options.

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