Sunday, May 06, 2018

Looking for a new VPN for my various devices

For some time I have been making use of the Opera VPN software for my Android tablet and phone.  I liked it as it 'just worked' and didn't have a major impact on either device for performance.  However, it has been discontinued and I am now looking for a new VPN for my devices.

I don't use VPN very often, just when I am out and I need to quickly check my mail or do a quick web search.  The various malls I do go to have 'free' WIFI, but, I don't want them to harvest my information and I DON'T want anyone see my passwords for mail, web sites I log on to.  I prefer what I do and where I go is my business and no one else.

What am I looking for in a VPN:

  • Minimal impact on my Android devices.  I don't want something that is a battery hog or uses so much CPU that the machine isn't responsive.
  • Preferably open source.
  • Minimal cost.  Free would be nice as long as the ads are not obtrusive.
  • They don't record much information, preferably nothing about my connection.
  • Reasonable privacy policy.  Too many companies ask you to sign away absolutely everything in the quest to protect themselves no matter how badly they screw things up for you.  They also seem to want all of your information and be able to sell it to anyone.
  • It would be nice that there are Linux and Windows versions.  My netbook and notebook are Linux (I do have openvpn there) and while I don't travel with them often it would be nice to have a good VPN for them that is the same as my Android devices.  My one Windows box never travels with me, but, just in case it would also be nice to have the same VPN running on it.  I prefer just one package so that I know that I get consistent protection and not have to learn multiple packages.
I am not going to rush into getting a new VPN, but, I will take the time to search for my replacement as this isn't a high priority item.  So far a few sites that I will be reading and starting my search with are:

The above sites are only my starting point that I will be using.  Once I pick a few packages I will be downloading them and seeing how they run and the impact on my devices.

Update 2018/06/09:

I installed windscribe as it appears to be free, has a fair limit per month.  I don't need the fastest or most data as I only need it a few times a month.  It works well enough on the tablet and I couldn't tell it was running.