Best VPNs for remote workers: secure your online work environment

The easiest, fastest, and most affordable way to secure your online work environment at home is to use a Virtual Private Network (VPN). This article reviews and compares the best VPN options for freelancers and other remote workers.

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Working from home comes with many benefits. You get to enjoy your favorite coffee in the morning and save time and money you’d otherwise spend on transportation. However, while your home-based work environment might give you a sense of comfort and security, dangers lurk as soon as you get online. 

Companies all over the world implement robust security measures to protect their projects and employees. In the meantime, your home is probably not as safeguarded. The good news is you can quickly change that. Follow this guide to discover how and which VPNs are the most suitable for the job and how to put them to their best use.

What are the best VPNs for securing your online projects?

Following meticulous analysis and daily testing, we’ve carefully selected the following VPNs as your ideal partners for work. We entrust the final decision to you, however, confident that you’re the most qualified person to match specific VPN features with your unique needs.

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Our main criteria for choosing the above VPNs:

• Commitment to a strict no-logs policy
• Robust encryption, with a choice of advanced VPN protocols
• Top-notch privacy and security customizations
• Fast and reliable connection speeds 
• Broad server network
• User-friendly interface and customer support
• Compatibility with multiple platforms
• Good value for money (affordable plans, simultaneous connections, etc.)
• Availability of anonymous payment methods

The best VPNs for remote workers: In-depth analysis

This section presents you with a more in-depth analysis of the best VPNs for remote workers. So, let’s dig into their privacy and security features, and plans and pricing in more detail.

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How to set up a VPN to secure your home office: Step-by-step instructions

Securing your home office network may sound like a lot of work, but with a VPN, you can enhance your online privacy and security in the blink of an eye. Follow these streamlined steps to get optimum protection for your home-based projects with a VPN service.

Don’t forget to verify the VPN connection to ensure your work-related online activities are secure and private. You can do it by checking your IP address and/or conducting leak tests. Our recommended VPNs all provide generous simultaneous connections, but if you wish to secure your entire household, consider using a VPN router as well.

What other measures can you take to safeguard the privacy and security of your remote work?

Setting up a VPN is a great start, but there’s more you can do to protect your sensitive work. Here are some additional measures to secure your home office:

• Use strong, unique passwords – Use complex passwords for all your accounts and devices, and change them often. This is not always easy and requires some dedication. Alternatively, a reliable password manager can help you create and keep track of them.
• Enable two-factor authentication (2FA) – Add an extra layer of security to your accounts by setting up a second form of verification on top of a strong password.
• Make regular updates – Keep all your software, including your OS, applications, and antivirus, up to date to protect your work against the latest vulnerabilities.
• Secure your Wi-Fi network – Use WPA3 encryption for your Wi-Fi network, change the default router login, and hide your Wi-Fi network from being publicly visible.
• Use antivirus and anti-malware programs – Install trustworthy software to protect your devices from viruses, malware, and similar threats.
• Benefit from firewalls – Use hardware and software-based firewalls to control incoming and outgoing network traffic based on your organization’s security policies.
• Make regular backups – Back up your important data to an external hard drive or cloud storage to protect against data loss caused by cyberattacks or hardware failure.
• Keep up with security news – Stay informed about the latest phishing attempts and techniques. Refrain from opening emails and links from unknown sources.

We appreciate that these may seem like a lot, however, at ProPrivacy, we strongly believe that prevention is better than a cure. What may seem time-consuming at this moment can help you save a lot more time along the road. By incorporating all, or at least some, of the above practices – along with the use of a VPN – you can create a super safe environment for your home office and private endeavors.

Our VPN testing methodology: How we chose the best VPNs for your online work

ProPrivacy’s methodology for determining the best VPNs for online work is truly comprehensive. It focuses on the most important factors to ensure that our recommended VPNs deliver what they say on the tin. We test VPNs with specific tasks daily and then we compare results with their competitors to ensure we recommend only the top choices to our readers.

Here are the key elements I’ve considered and compared to determine the best VPNs for a great variety of remote work environments:

Security features

ProPrivacy only takes into consideration VPNs with advanced security features such as AES-256 encryption, secure and efficient VPN protocols (OpenVPN, WireGuard), and a kill-switch. The former is essential to protect your sensitive work data from cyber attacks, while a kill-switch protects your work online even if your VPN connection inadvertently drops.

Privacy practices

We dig deep into the privacy practices of each VPN in our article, assessing their privacy policies to ensure they are watertight and transparent. Then we check the advanced privacy features they offer, such as multi-hop (layered privacy), obfuscation (stealth servers), and DNS leak protection. Some of them can be critical for protecting your online activities.

Speed and performance

Everyone wants a VPN that performs seamlessly, especially for work-related activities and platforms. Here, the speed of a VPN is crucial. We test the fastest VPNs on the market and put them head-to-head in our comprehensive comparisons. We also make sure their connections are stable to ensure they can handle video conferencing, large file transfers, and other data-intensive tasks with ease.

Server coverage 

A wide and diverse server network means better access to global content and more options for finding a fast and reliable connection. This is important for remote workers who may need to access geo-restricted services or prefer to connect to servers in specific locations for better performance.

User-friendliness and support

ProPrivacy values VPNs that are robust in their security and performance but super easy to customize and use across different apps and devices. Additionally, we like to contact their customer support from time to time, just to confirm their responsiveness and helpfulness. These can make a real difference in some scenarios, especially with VPN newbies.

Additional features and customizations

Not only do you want your VPN to work each time, but you also want it to work as intended. Features like split tunneling (allows users to choose which sites go through the VPN), auto-connect, and threat protection, can be important assets when sorting out your work-related tasks. These additional features can significantly improve the performance and flexibility of the VPN you use for work.

Value for money

We carefully compare the cost of a VPN service against the features and benefits it offers. A VPN that provides excellent value for money doesn’t have to be the cheapest one. Rather, it comes with a reasonable price tag for a wide-ranging suite of security and privacy features, superb performance, and valuable customer support. Additionally, considerations such as the availability of multiple connections and money-back guarantees also play a role in our assessment of a VPN’s overall value. We want users to feel confident enough to invest in a VPN service, knowing they can try it entirely risk-free.

Interested to learn more about our VPN reviewing processes? You can do so on our page specially dedicated to the ProPrivacy methodology.

FAQs: The best VPNs for remote workers

[[post-object type=”accordion” question=”How do I choose the best VPN server for remote work?” answer=”For optimal performance, choose a VPN server that is geographically closest to your current location. This will enhance the speed of your VPN and prevent lags. However, if you need access to valuable work resources in a specific country, select a server in that country instead. The VPN will change your IP address to make it seem like you’re coming from there, and with that, grant you unrestricted access.

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[[post-object type=”accordion” question=”Can a VPN affect my internet speeds for work?” answer=”Yes, using a VPN can slow down the speed of your internet due to encryption overhead and the server distance. However, the best VPNs from this article minimize speed loss with efficient protocols and a wide network of servers, ensuring you always have a server close by to opt for.

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[[post-object type=”accordion” question=”Can I use a free VPN for work?” answer=”We strongly advise against using free VPNs for your important tasks, such as work-related activities. While there are a few reputable free VPNs on the market, they come with limitations in speed, data allowance, and server availability, which can negatively affect your remote work, or even make it impossible. Others offer unlimited bandwidth but are unsafe to use because they collect user data or distribute malware. Investing in a paid service, be it a very cheap VPN, offers much better security, performance, and privacy features essential for professional use.

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Conclusion

Picking any of the best VPNs for remote workers is a great way to accomplish a secure, private, and efficient work environment. To ensure such a VPN service, look for strong encryption, a strict no-logs policy, high-speed connections, advanced features, and a worldwide network of servers. By choosing a service that aligns with these criteria, you can work with confidence knowing that your privacy is protected and your projects are safe. 

Once again, here are the VPNs we recommend for people working from the comfort of their homes.

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