You’ve probably heard of VPN (Virtual Private Network), that “virtual private network” that allows you to encrypt your activities on the Internet, so as to make them hidden from hackers and surveillance agencies.
There are several VPN service providers that, to give you access to all the features of this type of protected and secure connection, require you to activate a subscription. The choice of a certain provider is essential, as it allows you to better protect your privacy and avoid the possibility of malicious attacks and viruses can interfere with your online communications.
But what are the best VPNs in Italy for free and for a fee? You can find out by continuing to read this article. Let’s start first, however, with some general considerations, which you should take into account regarding the choice of the best VPN.
How to Choose the Best VPN
Using a VPN service does not necessarily require a financial outlay, however, it is better that you know a few things before proceeding to the request. A free VPN may be of dubious origin and this can be quite risky, as the server itself, designed to protect you from data theft and monitoring by third parties, may itself be recording your traffic in order to show you advertisements or analyze your data.
In particular, as far as advertisements are concerned, they have loading priority, because you clearly don’t pay for any subscription: this means that browsing may be slower and less controlled, resulting in more malware. So, you might “pay” for using a free VPN with super slow speed, invasive advertising, malware or, even, with the theft of your data.
Whatever it is, among the best free VPNs we will present below, along with the paid ones, we assure you that they do not perform any profiling activities. Another thing you should know is that the VPN, whether free or paid, does not make you totally safe from the fact that no traces of your activities remain on the Internet, especially in the eyes of Italian and international law: therefore, using the VPN to carry out illegal activities does not make you exempt from the control of the judicial authorities who, through special warrants, could easily trace your IP address. We advise you, therefore, to choose this service, aware of these possible risks.
The Best VPNs of 2019
Although aware of these risks, are you convinced to use a VPN to protect yourself from prying eyes and also to hide your geographical location? You are in the right place, at the right time. Here we recommend the 10 best free and paid VPNs currently in circulation. The paid ones, however, offer the possibility to use the VPN for free for a certain period of time.
Opera VPN
Opera, the well-known Internet browser, offers a VPN service that allows you to mask your IP address while you are doing your web activities: you could, for example, access sites that are blocked in your country. Lo svantaggio principale di questo servizio VPN è che la protezione offerta non va oltre la navigazione in Rete, ma si limita esclusivamente ai siti visitati attraverso il browser.
Per attivare Opera VPN devi, innanzitutto, scaricare il browser, accettare i termini di servizio ed installarlo. Completata l’installazione, apri Opera e segui i seguenti step:
- Fai clic sul pulsante con la O Rossa in alto a destra;
- Vai su Impostazioni;
- Cerca la voce Riservatezza & sicurezza;
- Clicca su Attiva la VPN e spuntala.
Adesso puoi tornare alla tua attività di navigazione protetta dalla VPN di Opera.
Tunnel Bear
Tunnel Bear è una società che ha sede in Canada e che si è meritata diversi approfondimenti su testate giornalistiche e televisive importanti, come la CNN, soprattutto per quanto riguarda la user experience e la semplicità di utilizzo. What you should basically do is choose a country and click ON: this way you have an IP address of the chosen country and encrypted data traffic.
This VPN is free up to an internet bandwidth of 500 MB, provided you simply register. If you are comfortable with it, you can access unlimited internet bandwidth with monthly payment ($9.99 per month) or yearly payment ($59.88 with payment on yearly basis). So, what you should do is simply this: press Create Account and follow the instructions that are sent to you via email to confirm your registration.
Hide Me
Hide me has servers in 22 countries, including Italy, and is famous for its speed, transparency and security: this service does not record online activities in any way, the traffic is encrypted globally and makes, as a result, the VPN very reliable. Upon registration, the free version offers 2 GB of monthly traffic. If you wish to unlock the data limit, you can subscribe to the service for $4.99 per month.
To download Hide Me, simply connect to the download page on the official website, choosing the one most suitable for your system and hit the blue Download Now button. Once downloaded, press Yes, Install and Finish.
Avira Phantom VPN
Avira Phantom VPN was developed by Avira company, the well-known German antivirus company. The service offers a network of 50 servers in 36 countries and has the following features: AES encryption is 256-bit; there is support for OpenVPN; there are other essential and undiscovered features, such as Kill Switch.
Avira Phantom VPN provides 500 mb of free traffic per month: if you want unlimited traffic, you need to subscribe, which costs 7.95 euros per month.
Cyber Ghost
Cyber Ghost really seems like a safe choice. It has over 6,000 servers in over 90 countries and uses the best encryption in the industry (256-bit). It also offers dedicated streaming and torrenting features, as well as built-in malware tracking and adblockers.
This online VPN service is available for various operating systems and you can use up to 5 devices on the same account. The service has a cost: for 1 month you pay 10.99 euros; for 1 year 59.88 euros billed annually (or 4.99 euros per month); for 6 months the cost is 7.99 per month (or 47.94 euros billed every 6 months).
The price of this excellent VPN service, considering the various features offered, does not present an exorbitant cost and is definitely one of the best paid VPNs ever.
Betternet
Betternet definitely stands out from the rest by offering a free VPN service to customers for 7 days, with no data limits and the ability to use an almost infinite number of devices. After the 7 days are up you need to subscribe at a cost of $11.99 per month.
Every now and then there are advertisements and in-app suggestions during the trial period, but they are definitely acceptable given the ability to access all the features of the service. On Windows computers, Betternet is available as an extension (which you can install from the Chrome Web Store), while on Android and iOS you just need to download the Betternet app from the store on your smartphone by default.
Windscribe
Among the best VPNs for Italy, Windscribe is a Canadian provider that provides a number of popular features: you can, for example, make use of torrents, access Netflix catalogs from other countries (such as the US, UK, Japan and Brazil), surf the web anonymously. Although Windscribe doesn’t have a large network of servers, it is still great because it guarantees you perfect anonymity and allows you to bypass geo-restrictions, such as the Great Firewall in China.
If you want to use Windscribe on your computer, you have to go to the program’s download page and click on the icon for your operating system. After installing the program and ticking the I accept the terms of agreement box, finish the installation by double clicking Next and Finish.
Vypr VPN
Vypr VPN, one of the best paid VPN services, has one more advantage over its main competitors: it features technology called Chameleon, designed to further reduce data recognition by those who can intercept your activity. This makes the software of great importance in those countries that enforce really strict restrictions.
Chameleon, basically, allows masking of OpenVPN metadata, so as to ensure that it is impossible for it to be identified by DPI (Deep Packet Inspection), which is the classic method of inspection.
You can try VyprVPN for free for 1 GB of traffic, after that you have to subscribe: the cost is $5 per month billed annually with unlimited traffic and 3 simultaneous connections from other devices; it costs $6.67 per month if you want, instead, 5 simultaneous connections.
Hyde My Ass
This popular paid VPN service has 925 servers all over the world and among its main advantages is its compatibility with different platforms: you can easily use it from smartphones and tablets as well as from computers. Among the highly appreciated features there is also the very fast upload of large files. There is no option to try Hyde My Ass VPN service for free, but when it comes to the cost, it is definitely affordable: you can pay €10.99 for a month, €44.94 for six months (€7.49 per month) or €71.88 for a year (€5.99 per month).
Nord VPN
This VPN service provider offers advanced features, but most importantly, it has on its side the great advantage of trying them for free for a month. It’s great, then, if you don’t have to use it for long. Among other things, Nord VPN allows you to enjoy unlimited streaming (it always manages to unblock Netflix so you won’t miss a single episode) and total security. For these and many other reasons we wanted to include it in the list of the best VPNs available in Italy.