How To Choose The Best Free VPN For PC?

Without a doubt, finding the best free VPN for PC and/or other devices is not an easy task at all. There are lots of free VPNs available on the internet, but not all of them provide users with trustworthy service and reliable security and privacy.

In fact, it's never rare to encounter problems like sluggish speeds, annoying ads, weak security, poor privacy, and more while using poor-quality, untrustworthy free VPN services. In other words, using these kinds of VPNs is more of a threat than protection.

So, what should you look for in a best free VPN for PC?

Well, many different aspects are worth looking at when you consider a VPN, including the following things:

Security features

One of the biggest reasons to use a VPN is to protect your online identity and privacy, right? So, it’s always important to make sure that the free VPN service you intend to pick has essential security features, including strong encryption, reliable, open-source VPN protocols, and more.

In terms of encryption, AES-256 is currently the industry-leading encryption, which almost every premium VPN provider these days includes in their services. And the great news is that many VPN providers, such as ProtonVPN, Windscribe, AtlasVPN, TunnelBear, and more, now offer AES-256 encryption in the free version of their services.

In addition, you should also be sure that the VPN provided uses AES-256 encryption along with trustworthy VPN protocols such as WireGuard, OpenVPN, IKEv2, and others.

It’s also a big plus if the free VPN you want to choose includes a kill switch feature and additional safety features like WebRTC, DNS leak prevention, and more.

Transparent privacy policy

Another factor to consider when choosing the best free VPN for PC is whether or not it has a clear and transparent no-logging policy that ensures some protection goes with it.

In fact, it’s not rare that free VPNs operate by collecting and selling user data. That’s why you should opt for a free VPN with a strict no-log policy, so you won’t need to worry that they can collect and store your personal data.

Data cap and speed

In most cases, free VPNs are not fast and have limited data. So, you should look for free VPN services that offer a generous free data allowance per month as well as a not-bad connection speed.

When it comes to the best free VPN for PC with unlimited data, ProtonVPN is worth the first option since it does grant its free users unlimited data bandwidth per month. That means you can use the service as much as you want without spending a buck. Other free VPNs like Hide.me and PrivadoVPN also provide 10GB of free data per month, which is quite generous as compared to many other free VPNs available out there.

Servers

The number of servers and the number of available server locations are also important to consider when choosing a free VPN service.

Of course, it’s true that the best free VPN for PCs from premium VPN service providers tends not to offer a lot of server options. So, you should pick one that has at least 3–5 free servers.

Number of connected devices

Along with PCs, many people have different internet-enabled devices like phones, tablets, or smart TVs. To ensure safe browsing and privacy, each of these devices should also be covered by a trustworthy VPN.

So, if you also have different devices and want them to be protected, then you should look for VPN services that cover multiple devices. However, it’s worth noting that not many free VPNs now support multiple devices at a time. So, try to look for one that allows more than one connected device at once.

Others

Together with the five factors mentioned above, there are still some additional things that you should consider when picking the best free VPN for PC. Here are a few more aspects to take into consideration:

• Ease of use

For sure, it seems quite annoying if the VPN is a hassle to use. So, choose a free VPN that is user-friendly and intuitive.

• Customer support

It’s a significant plus if a free VPN with reliable security and privacy has good customer support. Honestly speaking, it’s not common that free VPNs, especially ones with top-notch security and privacy features, have this. So, try to look for a VPN service that has customer support.

• Ads

Many free VPNs display ads. And as a result, your experience can be affected a lot. So, try to opt for ones that promise not to display ads that can annoy you.

• Additional features

More features like split tunneling support, unblocking censored content, and more will grant you a more ideal experience when using a free VPN.

• Reviews from other users

Don’t forget to read reviews from other users. Those reviews can be a good source of information that lets you know how good a VPN actually is.

Why aren't all free VPNs safe and reliable?

Honestly speaking, a very large portion of free VPNs may come with certain dangers. If you wonder why free VPNs can pose threats or even real dangers to your privacy and security, here are a few possible reasons:

- Data collection. There are lots of free VPN services out there that collect user data and sell it to 3rd parties in return for income.

- Outdated security features. Many free VPNs use out-of-date encryption or offer a very limited number of tunneling protocols.

- Malware and other infections. There’s also a possibility that free VPNs direct you to malicious websites, according to cybernews.com.

- Others. Also, as per cybernews.com, hijacked browsers and "free VPNs can plant a tracker" are reasons why free VPN services may pose dangers to users.

Now that you know why unreliable free VPNs are not safe to use, right?

It’s true that there are significant risks associated with free VPN services. Well, that’s also exactly the reason why we have recently listed some of the most important factors to look for in reliable and trustworthy free VPNs for your PC and/or other devices. If you focus on these factors and aspects (security, privacy, data caps, a no-logging policy, etc.), it's very likely that you will find the best VPN for PC on your own.

If you are seeking recommendations for premium free VPN services, then ProtonVPN, AtlasVPN, PrivadoVPN, Hide.me, TunnelBear, Windscribe, and more are really worth checking out. They are all from reputable VPN providers, offering excellent security and privacy despite a few major drawbacks. Check out the following articles for details reviews about them:

• Best Truly Free VPN For Mac
• Best Free VPN For Windows To Protect Your Privacy
• Top Free VPN For Chrome To Make Web Surfing Safe

For sure, as compared to paid premium VPNs, their free counterparts offer much fewer features and functions. But if you are just looking for excellent security and privacy along with basic features, take the above VPNs into consideration. Of course, you can search for the best free VPN for PC on your own by at least weighing the several features listed in the first section of this post.

Final thoughts

Above are some practical tips on choosing the best free VPN for PC that you may find very helpful when looking for a reliable free VPN. Though there are lots of free VPNs available on the internet these days, not all of them are safe and trustworthy to use. So, always be careful when picking a free VPN server, and remember to stay away from unreliable ones.