what's up guys it's adam here and in today's video we're going to talk about
three of the best vpns for public wi-fi hotspots that you can use to protect your privacy
public wi-fi hotspots are convenient and increasingly common but also carry security
risks fortunately you can stay safe by using a secure vpn so let's go over exactly what a vpn is
now a vpn stands for virtual private network when you use a vpn you connect to the internet through
one of the vpn servers in doing so your device's traffic is encrypted protecting you from some of
the security threats coming from public wi-fi hotspots aside from being beneficial for your
privacy a vpn lets you access geo-restricted content including streaming services such as
netflix and bbc iplayer however not all vpns are created equal some are much faster than others
some have privacy flaws and others won't work with your favorite streaming services the best vpns for
public wi-fi hotspots are those that provide a high level of security while offering high-speed
servers and easy to use apps so i tested more than 30 vpns to see which ones can keep
you safe whilst using public wi-fi i've narrowed down your options to the top three choices which
i'll now go over one by one so the first one is expressvpn which is actually my top recommendation
due to several reasons for one thing expressvpn comes with a strict xero logs policy while
researching i find out that it's been audited and verified by independent security companies
in addition expressvpn's headquarters are located in the british virgin islands which is outside the
five 914 eyes alliance this means that they aren't required to share any of your browsing activity
with the authorities on top of that the vpn uses ram based servers so your browsing history
automatically gets deleted when you disconnect the vpn so you can happily use public wi-fi hotspots
without having to worry about your online privacy another reason why expressvpn is my top choice is
that it has robust security features that keep your data safe while you're using public wi-fi
expressvpn comes with aes 256-bit encryption which is the highest level available plus it offers ip
and dns leak protection at the open vpn protocol and an automatic kill switch that protects you
even if the vpn unexpectedly disconnects i was working in a coffee shop recently when my macbook
went into sleep mode with the vpn connected when i turned my laptop back on expressvpn's kill switch
warned me that my internet was disabled until the vpn reconnected of course i was impressed
by its fast speeds as well i tested more than 15 servers and my speeds averaged 56.7 megabits
per second even when i connected to long distance servers in australia i had average speeds of 53.4
megabits per second you only need megabits per second to watch shows in hd so this is more than
enough to stream content in high quality also it helps that expressvpn offers 3 000 servers in 90
different countries worldwide while traveling in europe i can easily access my netflix hbo
max and disney plus accounts on public wi-fi the vpn even works in china and other countries with
strict censorship like turkey and iran however i must clarify that i don't recommend any illegal
activities i advise you to read up on the local regulations before using a vpn in these countries
another feature that i love about expressvpn is that is compatible with most major operating
systems including windows mac ios android linux and more you can take advantage of this
since expressvpn allows you to connect up to five devices simultaneously for example i could stream
at disney plus on my android phone while surfing the web safely on my laptop this means that you'll
be able to share expressvpn to protect all of your devices on public wi-fi you can even choose
what traffic passes through the vpn as it comes with split tunneling i use this feature on public
wi-fi hotspots when i want to keep the local news running whilst i'm watching content from
other countries like us netflix you'll also never have to worry about losing access to your online
banking and domestic streaming sites since you can exclude them from the vpn with this feature
the only downside to expressvpn is that it's quite pricey compared to most other premium vpns
however if you're interested in trying it then i will put a special discount link to it
down in the description below to help you save some money on your subscription if you need a
good vpn to protect your privacy over public wi-fi then i would encourage you to try express since
it's practically risk-free their subscriptions are backed by a 30-day money-back guarantee so
you can test all its premium features and ask for your money back if you're not impressed i tried
the policy myself for verification and asked for a refund using its 24 7 live chat support
after the support agent asked me a few questions he approved my refund and i had the money back in
my account within three business days it really is that easy okay so let's move on to my second
recommendation which is nordvpn it's a bit more affordable compared to express and offers similar
performance and features one of the best things about nord is that their servers are blazing
fast and there's approximately 5 300 of them worldwide whether you're connecting to a public
wi-fi hotspot at your hotel or a local restaurant there's plenty of secure servers to choose from
this also makes it ideal for unblocking geo-restricted content such as netflix to catch up
on your favorite tv show or skype to keep in touch with family and friends i also found that nordvpn
is very well designed it's quick and easy to use with a wide range of apps and browser extensions
offered aside from 24 7 live chat support you can use a nordvpn on up to six devices simultaneously
of course it doesn't slack either when it comes to data security their vpn service protects you
from hackers and snoopers with the use of 256 bit aes encryption as well as a strict no logs policy
dns leak protection and a kill switch feature nordvpn also has automatic vpn connection for
wi-fi feature automatically connecting you to the vpn when you join a wi-fi network lucky express
nordvpn is also compatible with a wide range of devices and operating systems like windows
mac android ios linux and android tv now if you're looking for a budget-friendly alternative to
express and nord you'll want to go with my third recommendation which is a surf shark surf shark is
a much more affordable vpn service compared to the others but i found that it's just as capable when
it comes to data privacy over public wi-fi they've been ramping up their server network for several
years now and it has more than 3 000 servers in over 60 countries easy to use apps means this is a
great vpn for when you're on the go it's known for its unblocking potential and can help you access
the likes of netflix amazon prime video disney plus and more surf shark's security suite really
stands out to start it packs all the features you get with higher priced providers such as military
grade encryption perfect forward secrecy and leak protection in addition it comes with a kill switch
in all apps split tunneling and an automatic wi-fi protection feature more importantly no logs are
ever maintained so you don't have to worry about your personal information getting logged without
your permission so there you have it three of the best vpns that you can use to protect your
privacy when connecting to public wi-fi hotspots but before i end this video i'd like to take the
time to answer some of the most frequently asked questions that i get about this topic
so for the first question are vpns legal well the legality of vpns varies by country
thankfully vpns are legal in the vast majority of the world there's only a few regions where
vpns are illegal or in a grey area this includes countries like china belarus and iran so the next
question is aside from a vpn what other things can you do to stay safe when using public wi-fi
well there's a lot actually for one thing you should always double check the name of the network
that you're connecting to using a network with a similar name to a legitimate network is one of
the tricks used by hackers also you should avoid using public wi-fi hotspots for tasks that require
sensitive information such as online banking or making purchases with your credit card lastly
you should stick to secure networks that require a password where possible whether this is a cafe
or a hotel this is much safer than connecting to a public wi-fi hotspot that is completely open
and without security and for the third and final question can you use a free vpn for public wi-fi
hotspots well yeah you can because i know for a fact that there's a lot of free vpns out there
however i'd strongly recommend against it for many reasons for one thing free vpns are not secure
most of them lack encryption dns leak protection and other important security features such as a
kill switch without these your online security isn't any better than that of a person who isn't
using a vpn at all as a result you'll be an easy target for hackers particularly when connected to
public wi-fi hotspots also you shouldn't trust anything that's being offered to you for free
very little is actually truly free and this is certainly the case when it comes to vpns
they typically make their money by logging your data and selling it to the highest bidder
others make money from ads that may interrupt your browsing and streaming but most importantly free
vpns are slow they typically make money by logging your data and selling it to the highest bidder
others make money from ads that may interrupt your browsing and streaming
but more importantly free vpns are slow this can be a frustrating experience when you want
to browse stream and video call due to the fact that many free vpns have a lot of users
and very few servers the server load becomes too high and your bandwidth is restricted
this is not the case with the top vpns that i recommended in this video so if you're interested
in any of those vpns i'll put special discount links i was able to get for you guys in the
description area below and that can save you some extra money if you have any questions at all leave
a comment in the comment section and don't forget to like this video if you found my review helpful
and subscribe to the channel if you want to stay up to date on the latest vpns