VPNCompareHQ answers

Every answer below is aimed at a question people measurably search for, is written from named sources, and links to the page that handles the job itself. None of them is a landing page in disguise.

• What is a VPN kill switch, and when does it actually save you

  What a VPN kill switch does, the two kinds providers ship, and how to tell whether yours is on before you need it.

• Split tunneling VPN: choosing what goes through the tunnel

  What split tunneling does, the two directions it works in, and the everyday problems it solves without turning the VPN off.

• IKEv2 VPN: what the protocol is for, and when to choose it

  What IKEv2 is, why it is the mobile protocol, and how it compares with WireGuard and OpenVPN on the things that matter.

• NAT firewall: what a VPN provider means when it lists one

  What a NAT firewall does on a VPN server, why your home router already does it, and when it makes a real difference.

• Proxy site: what one actually does, and where it stops

  What a web proxy site does, the three things it does not do, and when a VPN is the answer instead.

• Proxy: what the word means, and how it differs from a VPN

  The three kinds of proxy people mean, what each is for, and the one question that decides whether you need a VPN instead.

• Free proxy server: what you are actually getting, and from whom

  How free proxy servers are paid for, the failure modes to expect, and the paid options at the cheap end of the index.

• Free web proxy: what it covers, and what it quietly misses

  What a free web proxy protects, the leaks that make it unreliable, and when a device-level tool is the right shape instead.

• Premium proxy: what the paid tier buys, and who it is sold to

  What separates a paid proxy from a free one, the two markets the phrase covers, and which of them a consumer is in.

• SOCKS 5 proxy: what it is, and when a VPN subscriber wants one

  What SOCKS5 does differently from a web proxy, why VPN providers include one, and the encryption it does not give you.

• VPN Sweden: what a Swedish exit is actually good for

  Why people want a Swedish VPN server, what Swedish jurisdiction does and does not mean, and how to check a provider has one.

• Can I use a VPN to sports bet, and what happens if you try

  What licensed sportsbooks actually check, why a VPN does not satisfy it, and what the account terms say about the attempt.

• Can I get caught torrenting with VPN protection, and how exposure really works

  How torrent monitoring identifies people, which part a VPN changes, and the three ways it fails anyway.

• VPN geo blocking: what it is, and what a VPN actually changes

  How geo-blocking is enforced, which signal a VPN alters, and why the same trick works on one service and not another.

• Test my VPN: the four checks worth running, in order

  How to confirm a VPN is doing its job: the address check, the DNS check, the IPv6 check and the kill switch check.

• Unblocked VPNs: why a network blocks one, and what happens next

  How networks detect and block VPNs, what obfuscation actually does, and the rules worth knowing before you go looking.

• Free trial VPN: what is a trial, what is a refund, and what is a free tier

  The three things sold as a free VPN trial, which providers offer which, and the terms that decide whether you get your money back.

• VPN trial: how to test a provider without committing to three years

  A practical order for trying a VPN: the free tier first, the monthly plan second, and the long prepayment only once it works.

• VPN online: what works in a browser, and what needs an app

  The difference between an online VPN in a browser and an installed one, and which failure modes belong to each.

• VPNs: how the market is priced, and the one number to read first

  How consumer VPNs are priced, why the headline is not the price, and what separates the providers once the term is read.

• Top VPN providers, ranked on what they print and what they renew at

  The providers whose published prices and terms stand up best, each ranked on figures quoted from their own pages.

• VPN for expats: keeping your home country's services working

  The four services that break when you move abroad, what a VPN fixes, and the one it usually cannot.

• Free VPN Australia: which free tiers include Australian servers

  The providers publishing a real free tier, whether Australian locations are in it, and what the paid plans beside them cost.

• Free UK VPN: which free tiers include a UK server, and what they limit

  The providers with a published free plan, whether a UK location is in it, and what the paid plans beside them print.