Quick note regarding affiliate links-many VPN providers do offer those programs, but that doesn't mean all UA-camrs who accept sponsorships participate in the programs. I have accepted sponsorships from Surfshark in the past (I use them mainly to bypass idiotic blackout restrictions for sportsball games), but I don't participate in their referral program because IMO that creates the conflict of interest that causes a greater loss of objectivity. A paid sponsorship is a one-time deal for a video, and I have one or two per month, with no ongoing contracts, but an affiliate program creates perverse incentives IMO. All that said, accepting any paid sponsorships also taints opinions, no matter how pure the 'influencer', so that's why the FCC has pretty strict guidelines on disclosure... which many (most?) don't even follow :P
He should have asked nord vpn to sponsor this video, would have been funny. (I said nord vpn, because i personally see loooooots of video sponsored by them)
Depending for what: for criminals (sadly) the best VPN is probably public WiFi (cafes, libraries, trains), for avoiding Netflix regional blockades - most VPNs will do, for businesses - self-setuped openvpn/wireguard, for safer web browsing - keep your OS and browser up to date, don't ignore "invalid certificate" or "this site isn't encrypted" errors. I don't agree that Proton is that better than other similar VPNs, Switzerland isn't the same neutral, privacy-saving country as it used to be, currently in the age of cybercrime no country is.
@Kcorey I recommend getting Proton Unlimited. You'll get cloud (still in beta), amazing vpn, secure pass manager and enhanced email with aliases, which is must since I've tried it. Also a calendar, but I don't use it. You can get it up to 40% off during holidays sales or around 10$ a month. Amazing price to privacy ratio. (y)
@ShadowWolf2023-yp5zgProton has a free version. Limits you to fewer countries, can't Torrent, and a couple other features are behind a paywall. The paid version is definitely worth it tho. And the free version is nice if you just need a VPN for a quick sus Google search or connecting to public wifi.
For total anonymity on the internet I recommend these following steps: - Smash all of your electronic devices - Avoid public places - Leave everything behind - Disappear, go somewhere they can't find you (probably deep inside Siberia would be best) - Become a hermit, living off grid, never make contact with the outside world.
Solid. I'm partial to the "juggle so many identities, you yourself don't know who you are anymore" approach. It's the age-old debate of hiding vs spoofing.
My oldest kid (23 now) loves their promoted volume discount: "one month = $5. If you prepay a whole year, it's just $60!" Ha! They'll also take cash. Cute!
All cheaper VPNs require you to get a longer subscription. If you use the VPN for torrents, you don't need to keep subscribed the whole time, just download enough to last you for a while.
That's basically how I see it. For me the mail and password manager are the most useful, the calendar the least, and vpn coming middle of the pack, with my least like program being the cloud storage they offer. However if you're paying for the year or two year package, it's so little cost that I don't even really consider it worth choosing any package below unlimited.
I use VPN for bypassing network restrictions, like I just spent 5 weeks in the hospital and without a VPN gaming was impossible. Sure could set up one at home but when I'm not home there's no guarantee it won't run into issues I can't resolve remotely if I can't bypass said restrictions in the first place, as well as some networks block specific protocols which would require you to setup multiple ones at home too. Having a 3rd party I can just connect to different servers to and swap between protocols with is just so much easier for this use case.
I've been using PIA for a while, its only for Torrenting to avoid my ISP from complaining. Its... fine... I haven't switched to ProtonVPN out of lazyness. It does its job and lets me torrent TBs of data without getting complaints from the ISP.
Whenever I see a youtuber I like doing a VPN sponsored bit, I get it, he's saying the words but he's winking like: You know this is garbage, but i'll take their money anyway.
And it's sad because they're lying in exchange for money and no one should have to do that :(. We are human beings and we deserve better than to sell our souls and LIE to our viewers. I like some channels with VPN sponsorships, but I can't respect them afterward.
NordVPN is pretty respectable as far as big corp VPNs go. They have some of the fastest download speeds, they’re in Panama which is not a member of five eyes or fourteen eye, and their no-logs policy has been audited and confirmed. But generally, VPNs aren’t a magic solution to your internet privacy needs. It’s part of an overall approach to maintaining your privacy and security on the web. Good video.
I love that this video dropped almost immediate after Linus and Luke talking about how they stan PIA even while not being sponsored for years. I have used PIA, and Express, and Proton. And honestly, I have not had any problems with any of them. Except for when I went to cancel my Express membership and they tried to FOMO me and ran me through a bunch of pages that had me clicking cancel 3, 4, maybe even 5 times. Definitely very corporate.
Yup. If for some reason your IP address shows up on the wrong list, you're getting a strike and a letter from your ISP, and you will NEVER get the benefit of the doubt. But involve even a bottom tier VPN, and chances are that neither you nor your ISP will hear a thing about it, and that makes the ISP just as happy as it does you.
My VPN company Bullshaguard has been subpoenaed countless times and we refused to give over our customers information. Why.... because we say we did and our word is our bond
I am actually using VPN because for some reason my ISP doesn't like some connections and I can't for example play some online games. When I connect to a VPN it magically works.
Honestly, I know Nord had a big issue awhile back where a server was compromised and they didn't let us know for ages. I was using them before that and still use them, partially because I have been too lazy to change and partially because I brought a 3-year sub using a coupon to knock the price down and a cashback thing that meant I paid like $30AUD for 3 years. I know that privacy on the internet does not exist, I just throw some things in there to reduce my surface area, I also use Pihole and unbound. I don't always use a VPN, I don't always use the same browser, I don't always use the same computer, I don't use banking apps or anything like that in public places, I use different fake/randomised names, dob, addresses, on each site I use, and I use a password manager with random different passwords I change monthly. I know this reduces some of my information being shared, but it will only be a drop compared to what they do get.
I've been a subscriber to PIA for something like 12yrs and can't say I've ever had any concerns re: logs or data being sold. You say PIA is owned by a conglomerate which also owns two others, but this doesn't imply foul play, nor shared development; PIA only sold itself to Kape a few years ago. That said, I may well switch to Proton, having seen this, although this is mostly because I'm a little miffed with PIA's server performance in some countries.
I am a Proton subscriber for email and get their VPN as part of the subscription. I have a 1 gig Internet connection at home and get nearly 90% of that speed using wireguard on my home server. That's really great speed tbh
In my region the main reason for VPN and proxy usage is gaining access to content blocked by government agencies. Can't use these "best options" in such case, both can be (and were) blocked by protocol -_- Really happy for people that don't have to bother with that type of problem. Value your freedoms while you have them and stay hydrated
Chris Titus is now my most trusted tech source. Got me into Linux years back & is always my first, trusted source for searching tech related honest information.
hey Chris, you should do Tailscale,Zerotier and Netbird next, Also would really like you to do some detailed review of SoftEther VPN. Good stuff, short and to the point.
I used PIA for years but their IPs get blocked a lot so it makes it a pain to do normal things sometimes and their connection integrity isn't what it used to be. I switched to proton like 30 mins before watching this video lol. I mainly am not a fan of ads and tracking, the pi-hole has been much more useful than a VPN for that.
Had a look at your site its pretty damn detailed, appreciate all your efforts But I feel the rating are fairly broad, things like Linux GUI/firestick support and the vast majority don't care for it. Privacy and features should really be their own separate scores or something because it feels really off that more proven privacy focused VPNs are outranked by things that have extra feature some people might not need. Like "Community Toxicity Levels" being a part of the score seems kind of ridiculous really.
@@BryceWill-mw3il sure, but i was the first one to come up with the idea. i own the literal domain. and ive reviewed more vpns than anyone on youtube with the data to support it. just seems like chris is copying my idea without doing the work 🤷🤷
Damn. I came for the tier list, but I ended up learning way more than I expected. Always great videos. Now I understand the value of running my own wire guard VPN for remote access, but trust no one for privacy
Could you do another tier list of selfhosted vpns like wireguard based vpns such as netbird or tailscale (or rather headscale). That would be great as I'm not sure which ones are good.
Lawrence Systems did a really good one awhile back. He actually has a forum setup and it looks like Netbird ( GitHub ) uses Wireguard and has iOS and Android apps now.
Crazy how with pretty much only have Mullvad as a "kinda secure" vpn provider. We definitely need more of them. (proton isn't bad but it doesn't stay even close to mullvad)
Literally just use Real Debrid’s torrenting feature and you’ll never get a letter in the mail from your ISP telling you they’re gonna throttle your connection, again.
Real Debrid is the "DeFacto" subscription service for Kodi, but also allows torrent D/L's, including some obscure material you couldn't find elsewhere. Just google it. It does take some "learning" to use at it's fullest--not the most intuitive interface.
@Anon-Man. A service where you give them a torrent (upload a .torrent or a magnet link), they torrent it on their servers, then serve it to you as a normal download. I've been using it since T-Mobile's 5G home internet doesn't work well with p2p connections (something to do with ipv4 vs ipv6 or something), and it definitely works pretty well.
I pay for ProtonVPN...I use it on my phone too. Maybe overkill...I'm also very careful about what kind of data use I do use. But I'm looking toward the future, and it's not bright.
Ive been a huge supporter of Mullvad for many years and I love the direction they are going. Diskless servers is a super nice peace of mind. Their transparency is second to none. I recently looked into IVPN again, and you can tell they are inspired by Mullvad for sure (Actually not sure who came first or did it first, i could be wrong). The same level of transparency, public audits etc... If I had to complain about IVPN it would be that they dont list what servers they rent/own like what Mullvad does. But thats just me grasping at straws and wouldnt really consider that a "complaint" at all, let alone a deal breaker.
Mullvad is from Sweden. However Sweden is part of fourteen eyes surveillance. They have strict log policy but still is. They also have privacy focused browser in collaboration with Tor project.
Proton's annual subscription is kind of costly relative to other VPNs, but it does come with 500 GB of cloud storage and Proton Mail, so I've stuck with them for several years now.
yeah i was wondering about ivpn myself. also a mullvad user, tying out proton this month for it's Port forwarding and have been meaning to rid my self of outlook and gmail and will also if protons password manger is good enough to maybe make the switch from 1password
@@inchsurfinfo2228 uh it's ALL intel agencies, not just mossad. anything based in a country thats apart of othe 5, 9 and 14 eyes all engage in unlawfu shared mass surveillance of their citizens
I have an L2TP vpn set up at home running from a synology NAS. I use it to remote into my PCs from anywhere. I also use it for browsing the web sometimes, but i dont necessarily switch it on for that purpose. I kind of understand the benefits of tunnelling and my device behaving like it was on another LAN, but cant this fact also compromise all my devices at home if someone attacked the client device? I imagine my client device would still be visible on a public network.
I do find VPNs handy, though I think they're probably oversold to people who don't need them. Even setting aside privacy, geo-fence evasion, the scallywag life, and a (probably redundant secondary) layer of encryption I've got uses for one: ) Handy on networks like work WiFi. No need to tell them I'm on indeed ) Handy as a networking tool. Port forwarding makes it super easy to do something like have somebody RDP into a virtual machine. ) Handy for legal stuff that I'd like to obscure my IP. Things like using WGET to scrape an offline copy of a site, but if I set off any alarms I don't get my IP blocked.
Didn’t Express VPN get subpoenaed and they didn’t have any logs to turn over? Seems like that’s true for a few of these VPN’s but I haven’t seen you address this fact
I love the channel and watch it regularly, Chris has one of the best channels when you look at content, the validity of that content, the usability of that content, the videography, editing, scripting, oration and presentation. I love those, but I hate the cringe thumbnail. Don't dog pile me in the comments for this because the comments are a place to say what you think about an influencers video production.
SurfShark was briefly indie and then got swallowed up and that's when I bailed out. Ghost bought up by another spying outfit... left them ages ago. Bad. And so it goes. Too many in too few hands means something nefarious is afoot.
There are other, obscure reasons to use a VPN. For example I'm on an ISP that frequently changes my public IP-address. This causes disconnects to the MMO I play. In fact it causes 5 minute downtime, possibly for security reasons as the game servers see it. A VPN can give you a more stable public IP than some ISPs, working around such problems.
doesnotcompute6078You're right that the IP _usually_ stays the same. However, how is that helpful? DId I not establish that my ISP frequently changes IP in the first sentence? My post was for people in a similar situation, not for you. For reasons beyond my control I am on 4G+. I currently have no access to a landline. And, tbh, 4G+ is absolutely fine for my purposes, except for this one problem. Even the pricing is fair. However, for a time, my ISP used some sort of load balancing where there was no public IP-address at all. Every single (TCP) connection was using a different public IP from a pool of addresses in a certain range. This denied access to the particulat game I play entirely without one of the above workarounds. My ISP has stopped doing that as of late, but still changes the IP-address quite frequently. Could you pay for a static IP? Possibly. Could you just pay Mullvad or Proton instead? You got to admit that also is an option.
I'm curious as to how you would rank the SPN offered by Portmaster. After all, Portmaster is Open Source but the SPN itself isn't and is a paid service offered by Safing, the company behind Portmaster, and they do advertise it strongly for privacy and stuff.
a trustworthy vpn provider, like proton, is good not only to hide your traffic from you local ISP, but it does a malware barrier, dns leak prevention, blocks trackers, and takes the responsibility for root certificates
i've never heard of them giving out user logs aside from that super funny based sigma 2024 vpn provider with 30gig bandwidth codes, no port forwarding on the free tier but that's understandable after taking in mullvad's stance
The moment you put Express and Nord in the garbage tier, I knew I had to subscribe to your channel. I've seen other Tech UA-camrs do VPN tier lists and they'd always put these 2 (Express and Nord) high up in the list.
"They're very commercially successful so they automatically go in the bottom tier" is very weak reasoning. He gives even less details and critical analysis than some of the reviews he (rightfully) warns about.
IMO, Proton VPN is the best - I've used the free tier ever since the day it came out, and it's amazing. Also I don't really understand Surfshark and PIA being in Corporate Garbage, they're both very good and very popular, but I've never used them so I don't really know. I understand Nord being in garbage though, it's very overrated from all the sponsorships last year or so... reminds me of the Laifen toothbrush, it's in EVERY video now! Oh and Norton deserves its own F tier 😆
Heya awesome video, this and the antivirus one - I appreciate that you do not provide affiliate/promo links. It gives me greater confidence in your opinions and thoughts on these products. I do have a question and want to know your thoughts on Identity Theft Protection products like AURA and if you would suggest getting something like this at all and if so which products would you suggest I look in to
Thank you for you honesty, chris! Okay... for a school project: Let's say Joe wachtes 18+ stuff on the internet and doesn't want the ISP to know. He also is an Emulation nerd and visits some websites ... Would wireguard/openVPN make sense there? Or Mullvad/Proton?
nobody ever gets into trouble going to emulation sites, only providers of roms i.e. owning a website that offers roms gets into trouble. MOSTLY when it comes to piracy you only get into trouble for uploading. Even when torrenting, they specifically check for seeders, which is why torrenting is dangerous and so many swtch to filesharing services.
Thank you so much! I will refer this video to everyone that is so convinced of their safe monthly VPN subscription xD.. Its rediculous how many people advertise that third party VPNs are safe. Its absolutely not. One should never trust profit driven companies, period.
It depends on what you are using the VPN for. Use it for things that your ISP will ding you for, and to get around geo restrictions. Don't expect a VPN to protect you from something the government won't like.
I'm not sure why people think Wire Guard is good, mainly because it's limitations as a layer 3/4 protocol. Wire Guard is excellent in terms of being an open source project, with many open implementations, but as protocols to is squarely on the "meh tier" middle bracket.
Chris what options are there for vpn's and general privacy for those of us who can't afford to pay for them? And the best way to set them up for someone learning about this for home or personal use.
Quick note regarding affiliate links-many VPN providers do offer those programs, but that doesn't mean all UA-camrs who accept sponsorships participate in the programs.
I have accepted sponsorships from Surfshark in the past (I use them mainly to bypass idiotic blackout restrictions for sportsball games), but I don't participate in their referral program because IMO that creates the conflict of interest that causes a greater loss of objectivity.
A paid sponsorship is a one-time deal for a video, and I have one or two per month, with no ongoing contracts, but an affiliate program creates perverse incentives IMO.
All that said, accepting any paid sponsorships also taints opinions, no matter how pure the 'influencer', so that's why the FCC has pretty strict guidelines on disclosure... which many (most?) don't even follow :P
You mean the FTC?
@@notsure1274one of the shitty 3 letter agencies
@@notsure1274 Ah that's the one! Was thinking of FCC after working on some broadcast videos lately, oops.
Jeff is a cool guy
@@Raylightsen you are too! :D
And so is CTT!
I guess Norton could have gone into that D tier since it's not just corporate garbage, but also norton corporate garbage
Norton = garbage, until they stop bundling so much crap. So, they'll just spend a ton on advertising to keep the top spot.
D tier? Nah they need a N teir all of thier own N for "Never ever considder this spyware"
There go all chances at a VPN sponsorship
Oh no! Welp, at least I still have my day job haha.
lmao
Chad Moment 😂
Or... The marketing pays you so much, that you say that theirs is the only safe one xD He just upped the chance to get a massive deal
He should have asked nord vpn to sponsor this video, would have been funny.
(I said nord vpn, because i personally see loooooots of video sponsored by them)
Mullvad got raided by the Swedish authorities and the police couldn't get any logs because there weren't any. Best VPN with the best price
But I think geo unlocking doesn't work for everything? I red about Formula 1 not geo unlocking
Can't that be said about a lot of the corpo vpns too?
@@xBintumost streaming services block mullvad's servers
Mullvad will even take cash. They really don't keep records on their users at all. It's wild.
PIA as well.
Best VPN is "your friend's computer" (evil smile)
And if they're deaf and mute it gives you another security layer.
Neighbor wifi
LOL. Me in the Starbucks parking lot, watching the raid take place.
Depending for what: for criminals (sadly) the best VPN is probably public WiFi (cafes, libraries, trains), for avoiding Netflix regional blockades - most VPNs will do, for businesses - self-setuped openvpn/wireguard, for safer web browsing - keep your OS and browser up to date, don't ignore "invalid certificate" or "this site isn't encrypted" errors.
I don't agree that Proton is that better than other similar VPNs, Switzerland isn't the same neutral, privacy-saving country as it used to be, currently in the age of cybercrime no country is.
Not a huge privacy guy, but Mullvad and Proton are what I expected to be the winners. Outstanding :)
Which do you like? Mullvad or proton??
@@Kcorey Mullvad is excellent. Don’t have personal experience with proton VPN but i use their email service and know they’re a good company.
@Kcorey I recommend getting Proton Unlimited. You'll get cloud (still in beta), amazing vpn, secure pass manager and enhanced email with aliases, which is must since I've tried it. Also a calendar, but I don't use it. You can get it up to 40% off during holidays sales or around 10$ a month. Amazing price to privacy ratio. (y)
@ShadowWolf2023-yp5zg mullvad is amazing, definitely use it
@ShadowWolf2023-yp5zgProton has a free version. Limits you to fewer countries, can't Torrent, and a couple other features are behind a paywall.
The paid version is definitely worth it tho. And the free version is nice if you just need a VPN for a quick sus Google search or connecting to public wifi.
For total anonymity on the internet I recommend these following steps:
- Smash all of your electronic devices
- Avoid public places
- Leave everything behind
- Disappear, go somewhere they can't find you (probably deep inside Siberia would be best)
- Become a hermit, living off grid, never make contact with the outside world.
Solid. I'm partial to the "juggle so many identities, you yourself don't know who you are anymore" approach.
It's the age-old debate of hiding vs spoofing.
- and don't forget to buy expressVPN using the link in the description
haha
Mullvad: Your either in our out, you don't get sponsors.
My oldest kid (23 now) loves their promoted volume discount: "one month = $5. If you prepay a whole year, it's just $60!" Ha!
They'll also take cash. Cute!
They offer a 10% discount if you use crypto and take monero.
All cheaper VPNs require you to get a longer subscription. If you use the VPN for torrents, you don't need to keep subscribed the whole time, just download enough to last you for a while.
No one's safe on the internet
Amen bro!
@Pax.Alotin "hi nobody, this is dad"
Said too many dads ever
then tell me all your passwords and give me some money and nvm
Does that mean you shouldn't try to protect yourself?
@Pax.Alotin only elder linux users have common sense just like chris
Proton has always been a solid mail provider for me. TheVPN is kind of a bonus.
Same here, but also, swiss law was factor for me.
That's basically how I see it. For me the mail and password manager are the most useful, the calendar the least, and vpn coming middle of the pack, with my least like program being the cloud storage they offer. However if you're paying for the year or two year package, it's so little cost that I don't even really consider it worth choosing any package below unlimited.
yeah proton is goated
Can I use it to watch moves in different countries? Like on some streaming services?
@@Herghun Yes, you can use it to watch region locked streaming content.
I use VPN for bypassing network restrictions, like I just spent 5 weeks in the hospital and without a VPN gaming was impossible. Sure could set up one at home but when I'm not home there's no guarantee it won't run into issues I can't resolve remotely if I can't bypass said restrictions in the first place, as well as some networks block specific protocols which would require you to setup multiple ones at home too. Having a 3rd party I can just connect to different servers to and swap between protocols with is just so much easier for this use case.
I've been using PIA for a while, its only for Torrenting to avoid my ISP from complaining. Its... fine... I haven't switched to ProtonVPN out of lazyness. It does its job and lets me torrent TBs of data without getting complaints from the ISP.
Yep. PIA for torrent and getting around everything blocked at work.
Whenever I see a youtuber I like doing a VPN sponsored bit, I get it, he's saying the words but he's winking like: You know this is garbage, but i'll take their money anyway.
And it's sad because they're lying in exchange for money and no one should have to do that :(. We are human beings and we deserve better than to sell our souls and LIE to our viewers. I like some channels with VPN sponsorships, but I can't respect them afterward.
NordVPN is pretty respectable as far as big corp VPNs go. They have some of the fastest download speeds, they’re in Panama which is not a member of five eyes or fourteen eye, and their no-logs policy has been audited and confirmed. But generally, VPNs aren’t a magic solution to your internet privacy needs. It’s part of an overall approach to maintaining your privacy and security on the web. Good video.
I ended up choosing Proton. It's free option has been decent and has clients for Linux as well so it's fairly easy to set up.
Also one of the few with port forwarding still
I love that this video dropped almost immediate after Linus and Luke talking about how they stan PIA even while not being sponsored for years. I have used PIA, and Express, and Proton. And honestly, I have not had any problems with any of them. Except for when I went to cancel my Express membership and they tried to FOMO me and ran me through a bunch of pages that had me clicking cancel 3, 4, maybe even 5 times. Definitely very corporate.
I trust a VPN more than I trust my ISP. I really only use a VPN to obfuscate my traffic at the ISP level.
Yup. If for some reason your IP address shows up on the wrong list, you're getting a strike and a letter from your ISP, and you will NEVER get the benefit of the doubt. But involve even a bottom tier VPN, and chances are that neither you nor your ISP will hear a thing about it, and that makes the ISP just as happy as it does you.
Torguard was subpoenaed to give over logs on someone but they didn't have the logs so they couldn't give them over. That's one reason I use torguard.
Same thing happened with PIA.
My VPN company Bullshaguard has been subpoenaed countless times and we refused to give over our customers information. Why.... because we say we did and our word is our bond
Torguard is the only one I have had full success with for geounblocking for major streaming services & it is reliable enough.
@@daboogiemansass yea but now they are owned by Kape.
FWIW PIA's no logging policy has been tested in US courts twice under subpoena, and in both cases no identifiable user data/logs could be provided
Shush PIA bad.
Isn’t this true for express VPN also
The company that actually went to court is not the same company that currently owns PIA.
I switched off all Google stuff to Proton a few years ago. Been very happy.
Old joke regarding security: "Good luck; I'm behind seven proxies!"
that reminds me of tor lol.
Proxy chains
How does that work ?
@@Games-wh7eysmth about onion layers idfk
I am actually using VPN because for some reason my ISP doesn't like some connections and I can't for example play some online games. When I connect to a VPN it magically works.
Some ports are blocked for me on warzone and using protonmail I can easily play
same here. using openvpn and wireguard on some cloud VM.
that's so fucked up to hear...
Honestly, I know Nord had a big issue awhile back where a server was compromised and they didn't let us know for ages. I was using them before that and still use them, partially because I have been too lazy to change and partially because I brought a 3-year sub using a coupon to knock the price down and a cashback thing that meant I paid like $30AUD for 3 years. I know that privacy on the internet does not exist, I just throw some things in there to reduce my surface area, I also use Pihole and unbound. I don't always use a VPN, I don't always use the same browser, I don't always use the same computer, I don't use banking apps or anything like that in public places, I use different fake/randomised names, dob, addresses, on each site I use, and I use a password manager with random different passwords I change monthly. I know this reduces some of my information being shared, but it will only be a drop compared to what they do get.
I use a few of the other features on Proton, so it made sense to pay for the VPN as well, since they bundle it all together.
Great vid Chris, nice to see somebody actually be honest about the realities of these VPN providers
If someone else refutes what he says, are they dishonest?
Good content as usual.
Regards from Sweden
I have been waiting for a video like this for so long
Thank you!
This is one of the few tier lists that is hard to argue, it's just objectively correct xd. Good job!
I've been a subscriber to PIA for something like 12yrs and can't say I've ever had any concerns re: logs or data being sold. You say PIA is owned by a conglomerate which also owns two others, but this doesn't imply foul play, nor shared development; PIA only sold itself to Kape a few years ago. That said, I may well switch to Proton, having seen this, although this is mostly because I'm a little miffed with PIA's server performance in some countries.
Proton gave user data and it lead to arrest in Spain so I wouldn't call them exactly trustworthy. They keep IP logs and probably other things.
@@boccobadz good to know!
I am a Proton subscriber for email and get their VPN as part of the subscription. I have a 1 gig Internet connection at home and get nearly 90% of that speed using wireguard on my home server. That's really great speed tbh
I know a thing or two about VPN's and you are spot-on! Respect for telling like it is.
In my region the main reason for VPN and proxy usage is gaining access to content blocked by government agencies. Can't use these "best options" in such case, both can be (and were) blocked by protocol -_-
Really happy for people that don't have to bother with that type of problem. Value your freedoms while you have them and stay hydrated
Chris Titus is now my most trusted tech source. Got me into Linux years back & is always my first, trusted source for searching tech related honest information.
Thank you for providing an unbiased review. I was relieved to not see a referral link.
Sure appreciate this info. Thanks!
hey Chris, you should do Tailscale,Zerotier and Netbird next, Also would really like you to do some detailed review of SoftEther VPN. Good stuff, short and to the point.
I used PIA for years but their IPs get blocked a lot so it makes it a pain to do normal things sometimes and their connection integrity isn't what it used to be. I switched to proton like 30 mins before watching this video lol. I mainly am not a fan of ads and tracking, the pi-hole has been much more useful than a VPN for that.
Preach, Chris! Thanks for sharing truthful information.
Interesting video... No mention of my website tho? I did make video to counter your points to give my thoughts on this one
Had a look at your site its pretty damn detailed, appreciate all your efforts
But I feel the rating are fairly broad, things like Linux GUI/firestick support and the vast majority don't care for it.
Privacy and features should really be their own separate scores or something because it feels really off that more proven privacy focused VPNs are outranked by things that have extra feature some people might not need.
Like "Community Toxicity Levels" being a part of the score seems kind of ridiculous really.
You are reviewing vpns in general, not for privacy. And your website is not like some "ultimate guide" that everybody has to use.
@@BryceWill-mw3il sure, but i was the first one to come up with the idea. i own the literal domain. and ive reviewed more vpns than anyone on youtube with the data to support it. just seems like chris is copying my idea without doing the work 🤷🤷
Damn. I came for the tier list, but I ended up learning way more than I expected. Always great videos. Now I understand the value of running my own wire guard VPN for remote access, but trust no one for privacy
Could you do another tier list of selfhosted vpns like wireguard based vpns such as netbird or tailscale (or rather headscale). That would be great as I'm not sure which ones are good.
Lawrence Systems did a really good one awhile back. He actually has a forum setup and it looks like Netbird ( GitHub ) uses Wireguard and has iOS and Android apps now.
Thanks for your honesty!
Thank you, Chris! Subscribed.
Crazy how with pretty much only have Mullvad as a "kinda secure" vpn provider. We definitely need more of them.
(proton isn't bad but it doesn't stay even close to mullvad)
Thanks Chris I love your honesty,especially about u tubers 30%,no wonder that most do it,but never tell you about their cut.
Literally just use Real Debrid’s torrenting feature and you’ll never get a letter in the mail from your ISP telling you they’re gonna throttle your connection, again.
Yes do tell
Real Debrid is the "DeFacto" subscription service for Kodi, but also allows torrent D/L's, including some obscure material you couldn't find elsewhere. Just google it. It does take some "learning" to use at it's fullest--not the most intuitive interface.
@Anon-Man. A service where you give them a torrent (upload a .torrent or a magnet link), they torrent it on their servers, then serve it to you as a normal download. I've been using it since T-Mobile's 5G home internet doesn't work well with p2p connections (something to do with ipv4 vs ipv6 or something), and it definitely works pretty well.
You still have to pay for RD
@@GrigRP It's pretty cheap if you buy 180 days(best deal), and you can "stack" another 180 on that if you want ~a year before you have to re-up.
Good video.
Could you consider doing a video for setting up a server where OpenVPN or Wireguard runs on it?
I pay for ProtonVPN...I use it on my phone too. Maybe overkill...I'm also very careful about what kind of data use I do use. But I'm looking toward the future, and it's not bright.
Thank you. I knew nothing about what a VPN was or did and now I feel way more educated about it.
I use Proton it's free
Norton should be forgotten.
Great as always Chris, Cheers!!!
No AirVPN? edit: also IVPN
As a Brazilian, this came up right on time xD
Qual seria a melhor escolha caso isso entre em uma derrocada para uma china da vida? Fiquei em dúvida entre a proton e mullvad.
@@VilaHarper Eu peguei NordVPN quando o barba subiu a rampa mas hj em dia eu acho que iria de ProtonVPN
Pretty spot on. Although I think Proton edges out Mulvad in regards to split tunneling by app setup. I have used them both in the past.
oh man!! the thumbnail 😂.. so much rage
Ive been a huge supporter of Mullvad for many years and I love the direction they are going. Diskless servers is a super nice peace of mind. Their transparency is second to none. I recently looked into IVPN again, and you can tell they are inspired by Mullvad for sure (Actually not sure who came first or did it first, i could be wrong). The same level of transparency, public audits etc... If I had to complain about IVPN it would be that they dont list what servers they rent/own like what Mullvad does. But thats just me grasping at straws and wouldnt really consider that a "complaint" at all, let alone a deal breaker.
The number one need is one proven to be without logging
Mullvad is from Sweden. However Sweden is part of fourteen eyes surveillance. They have strict log policy but still is. They also have privacy focused browser in collaboration with Tor project.
Proton's annual subscription is kind of costly relative to other VPNs, but it does come with 500 GB of cloud storage and Proton Mail, so I've stuck with them for several years now.
what's a master list with no hide expert vpn or mooni net?
hide
hide maybe
mooni is free
No AirVPN or IVPN? I personally use mullvad
yeah i was wondering about ivpn myself. also a mullvad user, tying out proton this month for it's Port forwarding and have been meaning to rid my self of outlook and gmail and will also if protons password manger is good enough to maybe make the switch from 1password
Used to use Mullvad, but they disabled port forwarding so I use AirVPN now.
Both are Mossad operations. Use Mullvad. Not acquired by Kape Technologies. Yet. 🔻
@@inchsurfinfo2228 uh it's ALL intel agencies, not just mossad. anything based in a country thats apart of othe 5, 9 and 14 eyes all engage in unlawfu shared mass surveillance of their citizens
@@inchsurfinfo2228 and neither airvpn or iVPN are owned by kape tech, the ones that are as far as ik are Express PIA cyber ghost and intego
I physically frowned when i saw norton. I didn’t even know they had a vpn.
I have an L2TP vpn set up at home running from a synology NAS. I use it to remote into my PCs from anywhere. I also use it for browsing the web sometimes, but i dont necessarily switch it on for that purpose. I kind of understand the benefits of tunnelling and my device behaving like it was on another LAN, but cant this fact also compromise all my devices at home if someone attacked the client device? I imagine my client device would still be visible on a public network.
@doesnotcompute6078when they do it right
I do find VPNs handy, though I think they're probably oversold to people who don't need them. Even setting aside privacy, geo-fence evasion, the scallywag life, and a (probably redundant secondary) layer of encryption I've got uses for one:
) Handy on networks like work WiFi. No need to tell them I'm on indeed
) Handy as a networking tool. Port forwarding makes it super easy to do something like have somebody RDP into a virtual machine.
) Handy for legal stuff that I'd like to obscure my IP. Things like using WGET to scrape an offline copy of a site, but if I set off any alarms I don't get my IP blocked.
Thanks for the video!
Finally a brave and honest opinion! Which ones are better for Russia and China? Thanks in adv!
Maybe do a video on Wireguard setup for a new user?
You mention Freedom of the Press Foundation's short VPN list includes Mullvad. But, that list also includes SurfShark.
password manager tier list for 2024, please. and thankyou for the video on these.
Didn’t Express VPN get subpoenaed and they didn’t have any logs to turn over? Seems like that’s true for a few of these VPN’s but I haven’t seen you address this fact
Ditto.
I love the channel and watch it regularly, Chris has one of the best channels when you look at content, the validity of that content, the usability of that content, the videography, editing, scripting, oration and presentation.
I love those, but I hate the cringe thumbnail. Don't dog pile me in the comments for this because the comments are a place to say what you think about an influencers video production.
SurfShark was briefly indie and then got swallowed up and that's when I bailed out. Ghost bought up by another spying outfit... left them ages ago. Bad. And so it goes. Too many in too few hands means something nefarious is afoot.
one thing to add: openvpn or wireguard can be installed on any cloud vm.
Dual Tunneling is an interesting thing.
From someone like Mullvad to Cryptostorm or vice versa.
I use it for watching shows not available in my region. Or make sure its' on if I'm using public wifi and then avoid doing anything sensitive anyways.
Chris hit it out the ballpark. I use my VPN to avoid DRM clauses from my cable provider. Cable tv robs me blind every month.
There are other, obscure reasons to use a VPN. For example I'm on an ISP that frequently changes my public IP-address. This causes disconnects to the MMO I play. In fact it causes 5 minute downtime, possibly for security reasons as the game servers see it. A VPN can give you a more stable public IP than some ISPs, working around such problems.
doesnotcompute6078You're right that the IP _usually_ stays the same. However, how is that helpful? DId I not establish that my ISP frequently changes IP in the first sentence? My post was for people in a similar situation, not for you.
For reasons beyond my control I am on 4G+. I currently have no access to a landline. And, tbh, 4G+ is absolutely fine for my purposes, except for this one problem. Even the pricing is fair. However, for a time, my ISP used some sort of load balancing where there was no public IP-address at all. Every single (TCP) connection was using a different public IP from a pool of addresses in a certain range. This denied access to the particulat game I play entirely without one of the above workarounds. My ISP has stopped doing that as of late, but still changes the IP-address quite frequently.
Could you pay for a static IP? Possibly. Could you just pay Mullvad or Proton instead? You got to admit that also is an option.
Mullvad is the way to go. Slow at times but it’s a small price to pay.
I'm curious as to how you would rank the SPN offered by Portmaster. After all, Portmaster is Open Source but the SPN itself isn't and is a paid service offered by Safing, the company behind Portmaster, and they do advertise it strongly for privacy and stuff.
Good video!
there were cases were proton gave restore email, so mullvad is more secure IMHO
a trustworthy vpn provider, like proton, is good not only to hide your traffic from you local ISP, but it does a malware barrier, dns leak prevention, blocks trackers, and takes the responsibility for root certificates
No Windscribe?
Canadian based company... I toss it in the Meh tier.
Corporate Garbo - company is in 5 eyes.
@@TitusTechTalk lol why did you respond on this channel
i've never heard of them giving out user logs
aside from that super funny based sigma 2024 vpn provider with 30gig bandwidth codes, no port forwarding on the free tier but that's understandable after taking in mullvad's stance
@@TitusTechTalk go away fake
all well and good, but if a VPN isn't the answer to some small amount of privacy, instead of bashing everyone, why not suggest a solution?
Thank you for keeping it real
No Windscribe? Huh
The moment you put Express and Nord in the garbage tier, I knew I had to subscribe to your channel. I've seen other Tech UA-camrs do VPN tier lists and they'd always put these 2 (Express and Nord) high up in the list.
"They're very commercially successful so they automatically go in the bottom tier" is very weak reasoning. He gives even less details and critical analysis than some of the reviews he (rightfully) warns about.
IMO, Proton VPN is the best - I've used the free tier ever since the day it came out, and it's amazing. Also I don't really understand Surfshark and PIA being in Corporate Garbage, they're both very good and very popular, but I've never used them so I don't really know. I understand Nord being in garbage though, it's very overrated from all the sponsorships last year or so... reminds me of the Laifen toothbrush, it's in EVERY video now! Oh and Norton deserves its own F tier 😆
Hi. Can you add that Johnny Harris interview into the description?
Many thanks!
Titled "Why We Shouldn't Underestimate This Spy Network" for anyone looking for it
Heya awesome video, this and the antivirus one - I appreciate that you do not provide affiliate/promo links. It gives me greater confidence in your opinions and thoughts on these products. I do have a question and want to know your thoughts on Identity Theft Protection products like AURA and if you would suggest getting something like this at all and if so which products would you suggest I look in to
Thank you for you honesty, chris!
Okay... for a school project: Let's say Joe wachtes 18+ stuff on the internet and doesn't want the ISP to know. He also is an Emulation nerd and visits some websites ...
Would wireguard/openVPN make sense there? Or Mullvad/Proton?
nobody ever gets into trouble going to emulation sites, only providers of roms i.e. owning a website that offers roms gets into trouble. MOSTLY when it comes to piracy you only get into trouble for uploading. Even when torrenting, they specifically check for seeders, which is why torrenting is dangerous and so many swtch to filesharing services.
Proton VPN constantly carrying my college life where the wifi here is severely restricted to hell... big props for them to give free unlimited plan
Thank you so much! I will refer this video to everyone that is so convinced of their safe monthly VPN subscription xD.. Its rediculous how many people advertise that third party VPNs are safe. Its absolutely not. One should never trust profit driven companies, period.
It depends on what you are using the VPN for. Use it for things that your ISP will ding you for, and to get around geo restrictions. Don't expect a VPN to protect you from something the government won't like.
I'm not sure why people think Wire Guard is good, mainly because it's limitations as a layer 3/4 protocol. Wire Guard is excellent in terms of being an open source project, with many open implementations, but as protocols to is squarely on the "meh tier" middle bracket.
test the protonvpn speeds over time. Try at the 1g download speed and watch what happens over a day to the speed. Interesting.
i'm surprised that you didn't mention AirVPN since they seem to be pretty solid as well
I had always assumed that VPNs were totally compromised by state agencies.
Chris what options are there for vpn's and general privacy for those of us who can't afford to pay for them?
And the best way to set them up for someone learning about this for home or personal use.
nice and helpful video.
what about SPN from Safing, creator of Port master?
Dude, ya best, tnx!