Q: Are VPNs legal?

Yes, using a VPN is legal in most countries — it only becomes illegal to use a VPN if you’re using it for illicit purposes. But that’s against any VPN provider’s terms of service anyway. Still, keep in mind there are countries that restrict VPN usage — these usually include restrictive countries like China and Russia. If you live in or travel through such a place, make sure to always research the local laws to make sure you don’t risk any legal repercussions for using a VPN.

Q: Do VPNs work in China?

Yes, but not all of them since the Chinese government is really good at detecting and blocking VPN connections. In fact, many of the top VPNs on the market (and on this list) either don’t work in China, or only work in that country 50% of the time. The best VPN to use in China right now is ExpressVPN — it works in that country without issues 100% of the time, it provides obfuscation (hides your VPN traffic) on all of its servers and via all of its protocols, it has ultra-secure privacy and security tools, and it has the fastest speeds out there.

Q: Do VPNs really work?

Yes, as long as you use a top VPN , it should work without any issues. The easiest way to check if a VPN really works is to use a leak test tool, such as ipleak.net — just connect to it without the VPN first and then with the VPN, and see if the tool shows your real IP address and DNS addresses. If it doesn’t, it means the VPN is working well. I ran leak tests on a large number of servers from each VPN on this list, and I never saw any leaks. Basically, I tested servers in 10+ countries from each VPN. The leak test results always displayed each provider’s IP and DNS addresses, while my real IP and DNS addresses were always hidden.

Question 1

What’s the best VPN in [current_year]?

Accepted Answer

ExpressVPN is by far the best VPN on the market at the moment. It provides industry-leading privacy and security features, and it’s also excellent for streaming since it works with 100+ streaming sites. What’s more, it has servers in 90+ countries and allows torrenting on all of them, and it provides the fastest VPN speeds out there. On top of that, the VPN also has really intuitive apps for all major platforms (even routers). And its prices are affordable, and there’s a 30-day refund policy.

Question 2

Are VPNs safe?

Accepted Answer

Yes, as top VPNs always have essential security features that protect your data. This includes military-grade encryption, DNS leak protection, a no-logs policy, and a kill switch (to prevent data leaks if the VPN connection drops).

At the moment, I think ExpressVPN provides the best security on the market. On top of industry-standard security features, it also has other advanced security tools, such as perfect forward secrecy (changes the encryption key for each VPN session) and RAM-only servers, which only save data to the RAM, meaning every reset wipes everything. Plus, the VPN also has a really good malicious site blocker, a password manager, and obfuscation to hide your VPN traffic.

Question 3

Are VPNs legal?

Accepted Answer

Yes, using a VPN is legal in most countries — it only becomes illegal to use a VPN if you’re using it for illicit purposes. But that’s against any VPN provider’s terms of service anyway.

Still, keep in mind there are countries that restrict VPN usage — these usually include restrictive countries like China and Russia. If you live in or travel through such a place, make sure to always research the local laws to make sure you don’t risk any legal repercussions for using a VPN.

Question 4

Do VPNs work in China?

Accepted Answer

Yes, but not all of them since the Chinese government is really good at detecting and blocking VPN connections. In fact, many of the top VPNs on the market (and on this list) either don’t work in China, or only work in that country 50% of the time.

The best VPN to use in China right now is ExpressVPN — it works in that country without issues 100% of the time, it provides obfuscation (hides your VPN traffic) on all of its servers and via all of its protocols, it has ultra-secure privacy and security tools, and it has the fastest speeds out there.

Question 5

Are VPNs free?

Accepted Answer

There are free VPNs out there, but they’re not all good options. Many free VPNs are really subpar, actually, as they don’t work with streaming sites, they have really slow speeds, they don’t support torrenting, they have buggy apps, and some even compromise your privacy by sharing your data with third parties.

If you do want to use a free VPN, check out Proton VPN — it has the best free plan on the market since it allows unlimited data, it provides really good speeds, and it also comes with strong privacy and security features. That said, the free plan doesn’t have streaming or torrenting support, and it limits you to 1 connection and servers in 5 countries.

Question 6

Do VPNs really work?

Accepted Answer

Yes, as long as you use a top VPN, it should work without any issues. The easiest way to check if a VPN really works is to use a leak test tool, such as ipleak.net — just connect to it without the VPN first and then with the VPN, and see if the tool shows your real IP address and DNS addresses. If it doesn’t, it means the VPN is working well.

I ran leak tests on a large number of servers from each VPN on this list, and I never saw any leaks. Basically, I tested servers in 10+ countries from each VPN. The leak test results always displayed each provider’s IP and DNS addresses, while my real IP and DNS addresses were always hidden.

Best Picks

10 Best VPN Services 2024 (Updated in December 2024) — Top Picks

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10 Best VPN for iPhone 2024 (updated in December 2024) — Top Picks

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10 Best VPN for Netflix 2024 (updated in December 2024) — Top Picks

5 Best VPN for China in 2024 — 100% Working & Secure

10 Best VPN for Mac 2024 (updated in December 2024)

10 Best VPN for Windows – 100% Best Picks (December 2024)

6 Best Free VPNs in 2024 – (updated in December 2024) — Top Picks

6 Best Free VPN for Android in 2024 — Secure, Intuitive & Fast

4 Best Password Managers in 2024 (Updated in December 2024)

5 Fastest VPNs in 2024 — Read this first (Updated in December 2024)

6 Best Free VPNs for Windows in 2024 — My 100% Top Picks

6 Best Free VPN for iPhone in 2024 — Expert Picks as of December 2024

7 Best Free VPN for Chrome in 2024 — Secure, Intuitive & Fast

5 Best Free VPN for Firestick in 2024 — Easy to Use & Fast

6 Best Free VPN for Mac in 2024 — Intuitive Apps & Good Security

5 Best Free VPN for Netflix 2024 — Fast Speeds & Intuitive Apps

4 Best Secure Email Providers in 2024 – (Updated in December 2024)

5 Best VPN for Firestick in 2024 — Fast, Good for Streaming & User-Friendly

Trevor James

DeleteMe (remove personal data online)

Incogni (Another great data removal option)

NordPass (My favourite)

Startmail (Encrypted and secure)

ExpressVPN

49% OFF

Private Internet Access

85% OFF

CyberGhost VPN

83% OFF

TravelSecurely Privacy Checklist