What is a VPN and what does it offer us
When we connect to the Internet normally, the data travels from our computer to the remote server we want to visit (for example, a website or a download server), and the response data travels directly from the server back to our PC. In this way, our IP, and more information, is exposed so that both the remote server, its robots, and any intermediate node, can access it.
When we connect to a VPN, what we do is that our traffic, instead of traveling directly from point A to point B, is sent to an intermediate server, that of the VPN. Here, this server deletes all our data and forwards the information to the destination using your IP, so our information is fully protected. The server sends the response back to the VPN, and the VPN sends it directly to our computer. In addition, all the connections between our PC and the VPN server are encrypted, making it impossible for anything or anyone to intercept them.
In other words, what we gain by using a VPN server is:
- We prevent our internet provider from accessing our data. If we use a secure DNS, we will even prevent the ISP from filtering the DNS requests we make.
- By hiding our IP, we hide our location, so we can avoid censorship of some websites and access regionally blocked content.
- As the traffic travels end-to-end encrypted through the VPN server, we prevent them from hacking us or stealing our information.
- A VPN also allows us to connect remotely to our local network and access the resources (such as a PC or a NAS) that we have on it.
- More security on insecure networks, such as in bars, airports or stations.
There are several ways to connect to these networks to browse safely. But the most comfortable and simple is to use a browser with VPN, like the ones we are going to see below. In this review, we evaluate nine of the best online VPN browsers, for any task.
Best browsers with VPN
Depending on the browser we choose, some will allow us to protect our traffic for free, while others will force us to pay a monthly fee. Let’s see all the available options.
Tor Browser, the most secure P2P network
Tor Browser It is not a VPN browser as such, but rather it makes use of the Tor network (a distributed network) to forward our traffic through a series of nodes, in an encrypted and secure way, and make it undetectable. This browser is capable of offering us extreme security and anonymity when we connect to the Internet so that nothing and no one can identify us when we browse through this network.
Also, thanks to Tor Browser we will be able to access the hidden part of the web, the Deep Web, where we will find websites and content that is impossible to find on the normal network. Of course, we must bear in mind that the Deep Web is also a nest of hackers, so we must take extreme precautions if we do not want our anonymity to be expensive.
Once Tor Browser is installed, when you launch it, the browser itself enables and configures the proxy to forward all browser traffic through this network. In addition, it has extensions to block trackers, scripts and other types of content on the web that could pose a risk to our privacy. And all this completely free and without having to configure anything.
We can download the browser from the Tor website.
Firefox, browse safely with Mozilla VPN
firefox It is one of the most popular web browsers that we can find today, just behind Chrome and Edge. This browser, completely open source, offers users privacy that is far superior to that of its rivals, allowing us to navigate without giving away our data at all times. However, users who need extra privacy can bet on one of the services offered by Mozilla: its VPN.
mozilla-vpn It allows us to connect to the Internet securely from 5 devices at the same time, forwarding our traffic through 400 servers spread over 30 countries. This server does not record our activity, does not limit bandwidth, and allows us to encrypt our data on the device to prevent anything or anyone from intercepting it. Of course, this service has a cost of 4.99 euros per month. The advantage is that it is not only limited to Firefox, but we can use it for the entire system, and for any device.
We can access this VPN here, and download Firefox, if we don’t have it, from the Mozilla website.
Opera, the browser with built-in VPN
Opera It is another of the best known alternative web browsers that we can find. For a long time, this has offered us a Free unlimited VPN to be able to browse safely through your browser. Those responsible for Opera want any user to be able to protect their security, and for this reason they offer, within their browser, this secure connection without subscriptions, logins or installing any more extensions. Also, it works in both normal window and private browsing.
To activate Opera’s free VPN, simply go to Settings (Alt+P), and go to Privacy > VPN. Once activated, an icon will appear to the left of the address bar. Simply by clicking on it we can activate or deactivate the service, change the location and more.
Of course, we must bear in mind that this VPN can only be used within the browser. The rest of the programs will go directly to the Internet.
If you want to use this program, we can download Opera for free from its website.
UR Browser, created in the European Union
Although it is not as well known as the previous ones, if we are concerned about our data UR Browser It is a browser that we must keep in mind. This browser has a large number of functions designed to block anything that could be dangerous to our security or privacy. It allows us to select each of the elements that we want to block when we visit a website, or activate the “ninja mode” to browse as anonymously as possible.
But, if we need to go further, this browser also has an integrated VPN that allows us to forward our traffic to its servers in a secure and encrypted way so that nothing and no one can intercept it. A function free that we can use without restrictions while we browse the Internet.
We can download this browser at no cost from its website. In addition, it also protects us from viruses or different computer attacks thanks to its integrated functions.
Epic Browser, a private “Chrome”
Epic Browser is a completely free web browser designed to help us protect our security and privacy on the Internet. This web browser is capable of blocking more than 600 trackers of the websites that we visit most often, and has a function free vpnwhich allows us to forward our traffic privately through its servers placed across 8 countries.
One of the advantages of this web browser is that it is based on Chromium, so users who have used Google’s browser before will have no problem knowing how this browser works.
We can download this browser for free from the Epic Browser web.
