Finding a good VPN

[wolfkitty42]

Does anyone have resources for a good free/cheap VPN? I think I should get one with recent events, but I don't have a great budget.

⚑ Moderators Note ⚑

This post has been split from another topic for clarity!

[Oceansandy02]

Does anyone have resources for a good free/cheap VPN? I think I should get one with recent events, but I don't have a great budget.

You can try tunnelbear! It has 2000 MB per month and is free, but then again, I only really used this app to download apps like the Japanese version of project sekai, as well as some region-locked games. It also requires you to make an account.

However, I can't think of any other VPN that is free. You should look into this, and weigh your options.

[Hoshi]

Does anyone have resources for a good free/cheap VPN? I think I should get one with recent events, but I don't have a great budget.

Mullvad VPN is the best of the best and has a flat fee of 5 bucks a month. It has literally been raided by the government and no logs were found. No, I'm not joking. Pretty much every highly advertised VPN has been compromised and does not genuinely have your best interest in mind, so I'd recommend to avoid them at all costs even if you don't go with Mullvad.

[crazyroostereye]

Does anyone have resources for a good free/cheap VPN? I think I should get one with recent events, but I don't have a great budget.

Mulvard and Tunnelbear are excellent VPNs I would recommend myself, preferably Mulvard. But next to it, I would recommend if you are really concerned to also use something like the Tor Browser as it runs vie the Onion Network. On top of the VPN it also provides an obfuscation of your browsing. It's slower but might be what you need.

[Yuvi]

Mullvad VPN is the best of the best and has a flat fee of 5 bucks a month. It has literally been raided by the government and no logs were found. No, I'm not joking. Pretty much every highly advertised VPN has been compromised and does not genuinely have your best interest in mind, so I'd recommend to avoid them at all costs even if you don't go with Mullvad.

But next to it, I would recommend if you are really concerned to also use something like the Tor Browser as it runs vie the Onion Network.

these two are great suggestions and i personally second them. another good option is Proton VPN, however they have been in hot water recently for... stuff (reddit link)

its also worth mentioning that using Tor is free as well, which may be better for budgeting reasons! its also decenteralised which means you also dont need to put your trust in a single vpn company (even though i personally feel Mulvard is excellent)

perhaps for your web browser you could just use Tor and for everything else you use a vpn? but whatever you do dont use tor and mulvard together.

ultimately the best option may be to try out both and see which suits your needs and wants better

edit: forgot to mention but most free vpns on are a little eeeehhhhh as well, if you do use one make sure you look into it properly before doing so

[ThunderPerfectWitchcraft]

its also worth mentioning that using Tor is free as well, which may be better for budgeting reasons! its also decenteralised which means you also dont need to put your trust in a single vpn company (even though i personally feel Mulvard is excellent)

perhaps for your web browser you could just use Tor and for everything else you use a vpn? but whatever you do dont use tor and mulvard together.

Note that the exit nodes can fish up your data; you shouldn't use TOR to login to your personal E-Mail-Account, your Banking account, Paypal or anything else that would be catastrophic when hacked. This is - fundamentally - also true for VPNs - but here you have only one party you need to trust, while you get connected to a random node when using TOR.
It is also noteworthy that TOR is obviously infiltrated to a degree by government actors that allows them to identify users if they really want. This doesn't devaluate it as a tool per se, but you should be aware of this.

I'm also using Mullvad.

[crazyroostereye]

Note that the exit nodes can fish up your data; you shouldn't use TOR to login to your personal E-Mail-Account, your Banking account, Paypal or anything else that would be catastrophic when hacked. This is - fundamentally - also true for VPNs

This is true, If you need to log into a system that is bound by your Name or other Identifying Information (Email, etc.). Just do it in the Clearnet. If you want to use services that allow anonymized accounts, or you have a set of non-traceable Identities. Then you should use TOR/VPN. While VPN is to certain extend connect to your Name while Tor is not as much.

[ThunderPerfectWitchcraft]

This is true, If you need to log into a system that is bound by your Name or other Identifying Information (Email, etc.). Just do it in the Clearnet. If you want to use services that allow anonymized accounts, or you have a set of non-traceable Identities. Then you should use TOR/VPN. While VPN is to certain extend connect to your Name while Tor is not as much.

If I remember correctly, the exit note is also technically able to fish up your data, as long as you don't use https, and even then, a man-in-the-middle-attack is possible. Any account you use can get compromised or hijacked, even though the risk is rather low. This is btw. the reason why Edward Snowden did not only use TOR but always went wardriving to communicate with the press prior to his leaks.
Probably irrelevant for most of the users here, but I think this is important to know.

[wolfkitty42]

perhaps for your web browser you could just use Tor and for everything else you use a vpn? but whatever you do dont use tor and mulvard together.

Wait, how come they aren't compatible?? Sorry if this is a silly question. I really appreciate everyone's advice so far!