A virtual private network is useful for hiding our browsing from prying eyes of all kinds. Thanks to Virtual Private Networks, therefore, you can hide any online activity. But why do it? Protecting privacy, in addition to being a right, can have several concrete benefits. One that prevents the so-called price discrimination, the practice for which we see different prices, perhaps of a plane ticket, depending on what our presumed purchasing power is, derived mainly (but not only) on the basis of our position. There is the best free VPN for Windows, which keeps you away from danger when you surf on the Internet.

Another practical reason is to also be able to access blocked sites: use social networks even within a corporate network that blocks them, connect to banned platforms in Italy (such as a torrent site), or see Netflix even if you are in countries where it is not available. Finally, it is important to use a VPN every time you connect to a public wifi network, which is notoriously insecure.

Not only that: VPNs become crucial tools to circumvent the censorship of authoritarian regimes, which prevent access to countless platforms (the classic example is that of China, where Facebook, Google, Twitter, WhatsApp and others are blocked). Also in non-democratic countries, the VPN is also very useful for making it more difficult to track down dissidents who organize protests and more through the Internet. For this reason, using VPNs is prohibited in China, Iran, Russia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and still others. But VPN for Windows is worthy of trying.

How do you install a VPN?

First of all, it depends on which operating system you are using, on which device you are installing it and which VPN you choose. In principle, the steps to be taken are always the same. After registering on the VPN site and downloading it, we need to install it as we would with any other software. After that, we must launch the software and log in with our credentials. We’ll be presented with a screen indicating that we’re still not connected to the VPN.

There are typically two alternatives at this point: one is to allow the program to determine which server to connect to, and the other is to provide a menu from which we must select the server that is best for us and then click Connect. Some browsers, such as Firefox and Chrome, allow you to download VPN extensions, which are very simple to install but guarantee protection only while we are using that particular browser. Opera, on the other hand, offers a default VPN.

There are free VPNs available, but they are not advised since the protection they provide is just limited. It’s also crucial to pick a free VPN that can secure numerous devices because today’s Internet users don’t just use it on their computers, but also (and maybe most importantly) on their smartphones and tablets.