How we tested...

All our VPNs were tested using the same Ubuntu 16.10 system. We wanted something that had been around for a while, and that we would expect all services to support. We ran web benchmarks including those at speedtest.net and testmy. net. We repeated the tests multiple times for multiple servers, typically in at least four location areas (UK, Europe, US, Australia/Asia), then ran the same tests with the VPN turned off to look for any changes.

Even though they assign you a new IP address, some VPNs can still give away details about your real IP address. We looked for leaks by visiting ipleak.net and dnsleaktest. com. We also spent plenty of time checking out service fundamentals of each app. What’s the support website like, what does the privacy policy say, and are there any catches in the small print? We covered it all!