Surf Securely with a VPN
1 DOWNLOAD WINDSCRIBE Point your web browser at https://windscribe.com, and click the “Download Windscribe” button followed by the “Windows” button [ Image A]. While you can download Windscribe plugins for your web browser, we’re going to look at the Windows program, because it gives you more flexibility than an extension.
2 INSTALL WINDSCRIBE Once downloaded, double-click the Windscribe.exe file to install it. If a User Account Control dialog appears, click “Yes” to continue. Leave “Express Install (Recommended)” selected, click “Next,” wait for the installation to complete, and click “Finish,” leaving “Run Windscribe” checked [ Image B]. Click “Allow Access” if a Windows Security alert is displayed.
3 CREATE AN ACCOUNT Because this is the first time you’ve run Windscribe, you need to create an account. Click “No” if you don’t already have one, and you’re taken to the sign-up page on the Windscribe website. Choose a username and password, enter your email address, and click the “Create Free Account” button. Click the link in the confirmation email you receive to get started.
4 CHOOSE A COUNTRY You should find that you are automatically signed in to your account within the Windscribe app—if not, manually enter your username and password. Click the drop-down menu in the center of the program window, and you’ll see a list of locations to choose from [ Image C]. Because you’re using the free version, you have to make a selection from the countries that do not have a star next to them.
5 GETTING CONNECTED Choose a server in a country you’d like to connect through, and Windscribe tries to connect. As a pop-up message explains, while a connection is being established, you are temporarily cut off from the Internet, so don’t switch connections when you’re in the middle of something important
[ Image D]. Another message is displayed when you are connected to the server you specified.
6 QUICK CONNECTION SWITCHING There is no need to use the main Windscribe program to connect to a server or switch connections. If you find a particular server isn’t working as well as you would expect, or you need to switch to another country, you can right-click the Windscribe icon in the system tray. From here, click “Location,” followed by the server you would like to connect to instead.
7 CHECK YOUR IP ADDRESS When you switch to a new server, your IP address changes accordingly. You can keep an eye on the IP address you have currently been assigned in a couple of ways, the first being to simply look in the main Windscribe window. You can also hover your mouse over the Windscribe icon in the system tray, and your IP address is shown in a pop-up window [ Image E].
8 AUTOMATIC CONNECTIONS You’ll probably want to make sure that Windscribe runs automatically when you start Windows. In the Windscribe window, click the three-line button on the left, select “Preferences” from the menu, and check the box labeled “Launch on Startup” [ Image F]. You can also check “Auto-connect to most recent location” to force the VPN to reconnect to the previously used server after a restart.
9 GET MORE DATA While the free version of Windscribe gives you a generous 10GB of data to play with each month, you can always upgrade to one of the paid-for monthly subscription options to get more data. However, you can get an extra 5GB per month just by tweeting about Windscribe. Head over to https://windscribe. com/myaccount/tweet4data, and follow the Twitter instructions [ Image G].
10 GET EVEN MORE DATA! If 15GB of data isn’t enough, and you still don’t fancy the idea of a paid-for subscription, there is yet another way to get more free data—by recommending the tool to your friends. Go to https://windscribe.com/referafriend, and you’re given a link that you can share with people you know [ Image H]. For everyone who signs up using your link, you’re given an extra 1GB per month.