Best VPN for Windows 10

We believe you should be using a VPN on your Windows 10 device as much as possible.

Below are they main reasons why you should starting using a top Windows VPNs:

1Hide your web activity from third-parties

If you don’t use a VPN, your online activities are visible to many indiscreet eyes: your internet service provider (ISP), your government, snoopers, hackers and cyber criminals.

Particularly worrying is the fact that in some countries ISPs are forced to log customer traffic data, while in other nations ISPs are legally allowed to sell web browsing data to advertising companies.

By using a trusted Windows VPN, you’ll be able to hide your IP address and conceal your web activity from snoopers. By connecting to a VPN server, your ISP will only see that you’ve connected to that server, but no more than that.

2Circumventing geo-blocks

Not all of world’s web content is available to you, regardless of where you live. That’s because some web content, especially video content, is either locked to specific regions (due to content licensing rights) or has been blocked by your ISP.

To get round this, you’ll need to change your IP address to a region that will allow you to unlock that online content.

A VPN is essentially an IP changer, since it masks your actual IP address with the IP address of the VPN server you’re connected to.

Netflix is a good example of geo-blocked content, as its video library varies across different countries. You can see how to unlock Netflix libraries below.

3Protection against hackers on public WiFi

Unsecured WiFi hotspots in cafes, hotels and public places are dangerous places where hackers lurk in search of personal data to steal.

In fact, hackers can intercept your web communications by carrying out man-in-the-middle (MITM) attacks over unsecured WiFi connections.

Because a VPN encrypts all the web traffic to and from your device, it makes it a lot harder for a hacker to interfere with your data communications.

4Window’s Security & Privacy Issues

Windows 10 comes with many privacy and security issues which makes the use of a VPN, and other security tools, very important.

When you buy a PC with Windows pre-installed, some of the features enabled by default are not very privacy-friendly. For example, Integrated Advertising and Tailored Experiences mean that Microsoft will be tracking what you do.

Windows will also scan the contents of your emails and store this information on Microsoft’s servers.

We recommend you disable all these features when you start up your Windows machine for the first time. Most of these features can be deactivated from the Privacy section of your Windows Settings.

5Microsoft’s NSA Compliance

Microsoft is renowned for passing data over to the infamous NSA, the USA’s secret intelligence service that was caught spying on millions of people.

While Microsoft claims that the US government doesn’t have access to any Microsoft product, such as Outlook, OneDrive, or Skype, it will comply with data requests from the NSA.

A VPN won’t help much with (4) and (5), but it’s important that we make you aware of how using a Windows machine can affect your online privacy.

There are several ways to install a VPN on your Windows desktop or laptop. All of the methods are quick and easy, however we’re going to run through the easiest and most popular setup method.

Here are the steps to take to setup a VPN on Windows 10:

1Download Your Chosen VPN Software

Log into your VPN account and download the Windows client from the interface. Click on the download button and a .exe file will download onto your computer.

2Run the Windows Application

Open up the download .exe file from either your web browser, or from the folder where your downloads are stored. Follow the on-screen prompts that will guide you through the installation process.

3Log In

If the application asks you to, enter your login credentials and/or your activation code. This varies across VPN providers.

4Check Your Settings

Once you’re logged into the Windows VPN client, the first thing to do is make sure your security settings are optimised. This means making sure that:

• Your VPN kill switch is activated
• DNS leak protection is turned on (if applicable)
• Check your VPN protocol settings

5You’re All Set

You’re now ready to select a server location of your choice and connect securely to it.

If you want a more in-depth explanation, or see other setup methods, we’ve created a comprehensive guide on how to install a VPN on Windows 10.

There’s some confusion as to whether Windows 10 comes with a built-in VPN or not.

If you go to Settings > Network & Internet, you’ll see an option to add a VPN connection. And, if you click ‘Add a VPN Connection’ it comes up with Windows (built-in).

To clarify, this is not a built-in VPN provided by Windows, but it’s simply a feature that allows you to add existing VPN server details from a VPN service.

In other words, built-in is merely Microsoft’s way to say that a feature is available within Windows to add a VPN connection. 

Why bother paying for a VPN when you can get one for free, right? 

Sadly, many free VPNs are to be avoided. They’re often very poor at protecting your privacy, and some even extract your personal information or inject malware into your device. Most free VPNs are bad news.

We’ve carried several investigations into free VPN services, and our findings have been alarming. Here’s an illustration to show you what we found out:

We do understand that not everyone wants, or can afford, to buy a VPN.

The good news is that there are a handful of free Windows VPN clients that are safe and good enough for casual safe web browsing. Below are the current top five free VPNs:

• Windscribe
• ProtonVPN
• TunnelBear
• Hide.me
• Avira

The VPNs above are completely free, and don’t require any credit card or payment details when you sign up.

It’s definitely worth checking our guide to the best free VPNs, where you can read more about each of these VPN services’ strengths and weaknesses.

As mentioned above, there are many (free) VPNs that you should never use because of the dangers associated with them.

Here are some of the worst VPNs we’ve tested that are still available and come with Windows apps:

• SkyVPN
• Betternet
• Hola VPN
• Touch VPN
• VPN 99
• VPNBook
• SlickVPN

Many people turn to VPNs to unlock Netflix’s regional libraries, which offer different video content based on your location.

For example, the American Netflix library has over 5,500 titles, while the UK catalogue less than 3,000, and the Australian one only 2,000.

If you want a VPN that unlocks US Netflix on your Windows device, you need to get a tried and tested service that consistently bypasses Netflix’s VPN restrictions.

The problem is many VPNs are not able to beat the Netflix VPN ban, which is why you may have gotten this proxy error alert when using a sub-optimal VPN:

That’s why we’ve tested over 70 VPN services and have identified the best VPNs that still unblock Netflix. Choose the one that’s right for you out of those five, and set the VPN up using the installation method above.

Once the VPN is up and running, you can either select a US server location from the app’s server list, or pick a dedicated Netflix server (not all providers have these, though).

Now that you’re connected to a US server, your IP address will have changed to a US one and you should have no issue watching US Netflix.

Expert tip: If you’ve already visited the Netflix website before turning on your VPN, clear your web cookies from your web browser. Sometimes cookies can interfere with your VPN connection, and cause issues when you try to unlock the American Netflix library.

In case you’re wondering, you can also unlock HBO, Hulu and ESPN from abroad by using a top streaming VPN. The same applies to Disney+, as long as you use one of these working VPNs.

PC gaming is more popular than ever and you might be one of the millions of gamers playing on their PC every day.

Microsoft knows this, and even introduced ‘Game Mode’ to Windows 10, which is designed to produce higher frame rates and lower latency.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t take into account your privacy and security. 

With all the risks that online gaming poses, for example DDoS attacks, you should consider using a VPN to increase your security and take advantage of other benefits a VPN gives you.

Benefits of Using a VPN when Gaming

• Protecting from DDoS attackes
• Unlocking geo-restricted games
• Accessing geo-blocked game features
• Bypassing IP blocks

Drawbacks of Using a VPN when Gaming

• Higher latency/ping
• Some VPN IPs are blacklisted

If you’re a PC gamer, read our guide on the best VPNs for gaming. Whether it’s Minecraft, World of Warcraft or Fortnite, this list is for you.

If you’re planning on going to China, and want to be able to access the ‘open’ Internet from your Windows laptop, you’ll need a VPN. But not just any VPN, as many services won’t work in such a high-censorship country.

To bypass the Great Firewall of China, we strongly advise to use one of the best VPNs for China on your PC. The top three at the moment are:

• ExpressVPN (read our review)
• Astrill VPN (read our review)
• PrivateVPN (read our review)

Please be aware that in China VPN speeds are much slower than in other countries. Also, even if the three VPNs above are the most reliable in beating Chinese censorship filters, sometimes even these top China VPNs won’t work due to heightened web traffic restrictions.

Freegate is free anti-censorship software, and it’s one of the most popular proxy anonymity tools used in China to circumvent censorship. It’s also very easy to add to Windows PCs.

The important thing to remember about Freegate is that it’s just an anonymizer proxy, not a VPN. In other words, it should be faster but your connection isn’t encrypted, and it’s not guaranteed to work all the time.

Here’s a quick comparison between VPNs and Proxies:

Additionally, Freegate is far less user-friendly than VPNs as it has an incredibly outdated look. Most VPNs are consumer products designed to make their use as easy as possible, without compromising performance.

Overall, we recommend using a VPN instead of Freegate as your main ant-censorship tool.

Microsoft Edge is a web browser developed by Microsoft in 2015, meant to replace Internet Explorer.

Since its release it’s been the default browser for Windows, so it’s only natural that you should ask: can I use a VPN while using Microsoft Edge? The answer is yes.

 

Just like any other web browser, you can use Microsoft Edge while connected to a VPN service.

However, none of the top VPN providers provide VPN extensions for Microsoft Edge. This means that you’ll have to run the main VPN application while browsing (we recommend doing this anyway).