Roundup.....................

Looking for a fast, feature-packed VPN that you can trust with your web privacy? Step forward Mike Williams, who compares five top providers

The paranoid Mike Williams trusts no one! Especially us, which makes his choice of VPN most excellent.

“We’re never far away from a story on how the world is being tracked and monitored online.”

Whether it’s hackers and malware, Google and Microsoft, or the CIA and NSA, we’re never far away from another story on how the world is being tracked and monitored online. Virtual private networks can help by encrypting web traffic, keeping it safe from snoopers– and that could easily include your own ISP – and even protect you on insecure Wi-Fi hotspots. They’ll mask your real identity by giving you a new IP address, and maybe give you access to geo-blocked websites.

Finding the right VPN can be tough, especially if you’re the demanding type. Most consumer VPNs focus on simplicity above all else, with a bare minimum of features and settings, and basic support for the most common devices only. We’ve deliberately avoided these beginner-oriented services, instead opting for companies with something extra to offer. Most have our providers have very strong Linux support, for instance, with their own custom clients, detailed tutorials and in-house help if you have problems.

We also chose our providers based on the features they offered, and how easy these are to tweak and reconfigure. And finally, we looked beyond the technology to details such as the privacy policy, helping us highlight the providers most likely to earn your trust with your traffic.