Last Updated on November 12, 2021 by HowToPioneer
1. NordVPN – The Classical Based in Panama
NordVPN is the best VPN for security and double encryption. Based in Panama, NordVPN is an outfit that has real strengths in terms of security, notably the ‘Double VPN’ technology which routes your internet connection through 2 separate VPN severs (not just one), for an extra layer of security.
The number of Double VPN servers is of course, limited. However, the service also provides the usage of the Onion network on top of VPN. Besides, the service also offers automatic blocking of suspicious website. Furthermore, ads 256-bit AES encryption is also on hand. What’s more, IKEv2/IPsec security protocol has also been adopted as the default in all NordVPN’s apps for macOS and iOS, with the OpenVPN being the choice for both Android and Windows.
On the performance front, NordVPN delivers an excellent service, and as a user, you can connect with a very wide range of your available clients. NordVPN also provides a number of tutorials for the devices that do not actually have native clients.
In terms of privacy, NordVPN implements a ‘no log’ policy. Therefore, it is all good and excellent in that regard.
You can find our full review here.
About the subscription, the company offers very affordable priced commercial plans along with a free-hassle 30-day money-back guarantee (the expensive monthly subscription aside). If you like the performance of the NordVPN, you can try the 3-year plan subscription because it’s great value. Otherwise, you can opt for a 1-month plan, a 1-year plan, or a 2-years plan.
2. CyberGhost – Based in Romania the Test Winner
CyberGhost is located in Romania, and ideal location for VPNs to be located in because there are no obligatory data retention laws. Therefore, you can be sure that no authorities will force this VPN firm to provide them with access to your data.
When using CyberGhost, the IP address from their network will replace your original IP address. This makes it impossible for any website to track your online activity. Besides, all other users, particularly on the respective server will be sharing that very same IP address. This extends your anonymity, making it impossible for any websites or praying eyes to trace the IP down back to you.
CyberGhost has a very strict ‘no logs’ policy, and therefore, there is no way a hacker or authorities can see your past data even if they manage to trace your IP address. They encrypt your online activity with a 256-bit technology. With such an efficient technology, no any preying eyes will be able to even sneak a peek into your online transactions, bank account number or your private conversation.
You can find our full review here.
3. Hide.me – From Malaysia Military Grade Encryption
Established about 6 years ago, and based in Malaysia, Hide.me has established itself as one of those few VPN firms that guarantee their users anonymity and security. As you can see, the VPN provider is based in Malaysia, an ideal country for VPNs to be located in because it doesn’t belong to the 14 Eyes member countries.
Just like the name suggests, Hide.me will anonymize you, hide your internet activity from government authorities and trackers, thus making sure that any information you share or send over the internet is secure.
The Malaysia based VPN firm provides an excellent internet security – thanks to its superior encryption techniques. Furthermore, the service offers super protection from DNS and IP leaks, as well as DDOS attacks.
4. Ivacy VPN – Hong Kong Bulletproof VPN
Based in Hong Kong, Ivacy is a VPN provider that is dedicated to ensure the ultimate anonymity and security of its users. If you are looking for a VPN firm that promises, and does protect you from third party spying, then Ivacy is your best bet. The service protects users from ISP tracking as well as the 3rd party spying.
Besides, it has a very strict zero log policy, and thus, there is no way anyone or website can trace know what you have been downloading, sending, viewing or sharing in the internet. In general, it gives you the total online freedom that you’ve always desired.
Ivacy keeps the data of its users secure by using advanced 256-bit encryption technology to protect the users from snoopers, data thieves, hackers, Wi-Fi hackers and government surveillance.
You can find our full review here.
The VPN provider is able to protect you from authorities and government surveillance because it is located in Hong Kong, a country where VPNs are not forced to provide access to users data and other internet activities on government requests as the case in the 14 Eyes member countries.
5. ExpressVPN – Safe! One of the Safest VPNs
ExpressVPN is a well-established name in the world of VPN. Located in Hong Kong, ExpressVPN is one of the most reliable VPN firms for users whose priority is to ensure online security and privacy. Through its safe, secure and ergonomic services, the VPN provider ensures true online safety, anonymity, and privacy of the general public.
Apart from its location that enables it focus on ensuring privacy and security to its users, ExpressVPN also has a ‘no logs’ policy, and thus, doesn’t keep traffic logs of its users, thus making it even harder to access users’ data and online activities.
Still on the security front, ExpressVPN encrypts online connections with a top-secret level cipher, and thus, keeps the users away from eavesdroppers and hackers. Furthermore, its numerous servers will hide your system to ensure that no one intrudes the connection.
ExpressVPN uses AES-256, which is an advance encryption protocol. AES-256 is an encryption algorithm that offers the possible highest level of security. It’s important to note that AES-256 is the algorithm that guarantees 100 percent protection to classified data. It is actually unbreakable. This therefore means that even if your system is hacked, it would not be possible for anyone to actually reach your data.
Take a look at our in deep ExpressVPN review.
Security and Encryption of VPN Provider
VPN security and encryption can be a tricky business especially when you start going deeper into the different issues involved. It’s important to understand that encryption is something that can only go as far. In case the government demands logs or any other details on users from a particular VPN company, encryption will not stop the firm from handing over the said details. For this reason, you should choose a VPN provider that has a super solid ‘no logs’ policy. This is because even though encryption may keep your data private, untraced and unreadable to your ISP, the data is still visible to the VPN.
In respect to online privacy, this is one of the most common and disturbing misconceptions about the VPN security and encryption. Again, misunderstanding can sometimes be as a result of the mishmash of the jargon that that usually surrounds the talk of encryption, which can be meaningless to any casual VPN user. For instance, terms like AES, 256-bit, 128-bit, and other jargons can easily confuse casual VPN users. Therefore, a bit of explanation can really help.
Encryption relies entirely on advanced mathematical formulary to perform its duty. Encryptions vary in strength, and this is where the terms such as 256-bit and 128-bit come in. 128-bit is stronger than 156-bit. AES simply stands for Advanced Encryption Standard. AES is the computer cipher. In other words, it is the actual algorithm that is used to perform the encryption.
AES and Blowfish are actually the most common ciphers found in the daily usage of VPN.. In fact, you will always see VPN firms offering AES 256-bit encryption. 256-bit is something of a global standard for solid security. Precisely, 256-bit encryption produces an overwhelming 1.1579 x 10 to the power of seventy seven possible keys.
It therefore means that even if you combine the powers of all the most powerful computers in the world, you would still not be able to pull off a brute-force attack to break a symmetric 256-bit key.
Again, there is also the PFS (Perfect Forward Secrecy), which is a system of the private encryption keys generated for every new session. This typically ensures that even if the existing particular key in use is in some way compromised, the encryption of the past sessions cannot be cracked because all of them use a different key.
VPN Provider That are Not Located in a 14 Eye Country
The above VPN providers made it to this list of the best secure VPNs because apart from the security features that they offer, they are also not located in the 14 Eyes member countries. This therefore means that your data, even if it is visible to the VPN, will be safe from the authorities. They are located in free countries that are ideal for VPNs as there are no any mandatory data retention laws.
I recommend this VPN if you are looking for a VPN outside of the 14 eye countries.
With no government involvement, or legal restrictions, VPN companies are able to focus squarely on the privacy of their customers.
If you asked any online privacy expert, they will advise you to keep away from VPN forms based in the Fourteen Eyes, especially if privacy is one of your top priorities.
As you have noted, each of the VPN providers listed in this post are located in countries that are not members to the Fourteen Eyes. Hong Kong, Panama, Malaysia and Romania are ideal countries for the VPNs to be located in for the obvious reason that there are no mandatory data retention laws to adhere to.
Fortunately, the above mentioned VPN providers are not located in the Fourteen Eyes countries. Therefore, there is no way any of the country that belongs to the 14 Eyes can go to these VPN firms and demand access to your data or any of your logging details.
These VPN providers are free to let you know if any government is after accessing your data and any of your other logging activities because they are not prohibited by the law to do that. As you know, the 14 Eyes member countries require that every VPN firm located within their location provide them with access to users data on government request, and the VPN company is prohibited from informing the VPN user whose data and logging activities have been accessed.