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TL;DR: Get Visual Studio Pro and beginner-friendly coding courses for $55.97 (reg. $1,999) if you buy before February 23 at 11:59 p.m. PT.  Learning to code? You’ll want a good place to do it, and it helps to have a few professionally led tutorials showing you the ropes. This bundle comes with Microsoft Visual Studio Pro and the Premium Learn to Code Certification Bundle, and the whole thing is on sale for $55.97 (reg. $1,999).  Visual Studio Pro is used by developers of all skill levels, and there are a few good reasons why. First, it’s a 64-bit Integrated Development Environment, so you can work on complex projects for mobile or desktop apps.  Other IDEs are pretty barebones, but Visual Studio Pro has a lot of tools that make a big difference. That includes IntelliCode, which analyzes your code as you write it and suggests endings for lines or blocks. CodeLens gives you information about your code, including recent changes, authors, tests, and commit history. And you can even collaborate in real time with Live Share.  This bundle also comes with a bunch of courses breaking down the basics of programming in a few different languages. There are courses for Python, C++, MySQL, JavaScript, and more. All course material is yours for life, too.  You have until February 23 at 11:59 p.m. PT to get Visual Studio Pro and the Premium Learn to Code Certification Bundle on sale for $55.97.    Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022 + The Premium Learn to Code Certification Bundle – $55.97 See Deal StackSocial prices subject to change. 

Whether you’re looking for a productivity desktop, a gaming PC powerhouse, or a stylish all-in-one Windows machine, we’ve got you covered. The team at PCWorld sort through all of the daily computer sales and put together a curated list of the best deals available. But not all deals are really deals, so we only choose those offered by reputable companies and that include great hardware to ensure you get the best value for your money. We’ve also included some helpful answers to common questions about buying a computer at the bottom of this article. If you’re considering a laptop instead, be sure to check out our best laptop deals, updated daily. Note: Tech deals come and go quickly, so it’s possible some of these computer discounts will have expired before this article’s next update. Best gaming desktop computer deals iBuyPower TraceMesh Gaming PC, Ryzen 7 7700/RX 7800XT/32GB RAM/2TB SSD, $1,399.00 (13% off on Walmart) MSI Codex Z2, Ryzen 5 8400F/RTX 4060/16GB RAM/1TB SSD, $849.00 (13% off on MSI) MSI Codex Z2, Ryzen 7 8700F/RTX 4060 Ti/32GB RAM/1TB SSD, $1,099.00 (15% off on Amazon) HP Omen 25L, Core i5-14400F/RTX 4060/16GB RAM/512GB SSD, $899.99 (26% off on HP) Thermaltake LCGS View i4770, Core i7-14700KF/RTX 4070/32GB RAM/1TB SSD, $1,679.73 (12% off on Amazon) Lenovo Legion T5, Core i7-13700F/RTX 4070/64GB RAM/2TB SSD, $1,769.99 (5% off on Amazon) Asus ROG Gaming Desktop, Core i7-14700F/RTX 4070/16GB RAM/1TB SSD, $1,299.99 (31% off on Newegg) My top picks: The iBuyPower TraceMesh Gaming PC for $201 off on Walmart provides solid midrange gaming power thanks to its all-AMD Ryzen 7 7700 CPU and RX 7800XT GPU combo. They even throw in a generous 32GB of RAM and 2TB of onboard storage to sweeten the deal. If you’re looking for something even more budget friendly look no further than the MSI Codex Z2 for $50 off on MSI’s website. This budget gaming rig was already a great deal at full price, but now it’s the cheapest you’ll likely find any build with an RTX 4060. Sporting good performance features for the price, it’s a strong option for 1080p gaming value. Best mainstream desktop computer deals Minisforum Venus UM790 Pro, Ryzen 9 7940HS/32GB RAM/1TB SSD, $555.00 (24% off on Minisforum) ROG NUC 760, Core Ultra 7-155H/RTX 4060/16GB RAM/1TB SSD, $1,299.00 (7% off on Amazon) GMKtec Mini PC N150, Twin Lake N150/8GB RAM/256GB SSD, $139.99 (22% off on Amazon) Apple Mac Mini 2024, M4/16GB RAM/256GB SSD, $499.99 (17% off on MicroCenter) Apple Mac Mini 2024, M4/16GB RAM/512GB SSD, $744.00 (7% off on Amazon) My top picks: Lenovo machines are known for their design and reliability and the IdeaCentre line of desktops is no exception. Right now, Lenovo is offering the IdeaCentre Mini for $150 off on its website. With an impressively small footprint and great productivity features, this mini-PC is a must-have if desktop space is in short supply. If you’re more of a Mac fan, then this rare deal on the latest M4 Mac Mini for $100 off on MicroCenter is for you. The brand new 2024 Mac Mini is a seriously good option for those looking to get great mini-PC performance for price. The M4 chip has outstanding processing power and this Apple model also comes with a good amount of RAM and onboard storage. Best all-in-one computer deals All-in-one desktop computers combine a PC’s hardware with a modern display to make a desktop computer that has both form and function. Since everything is built together, you can save precious desktop space with an all-in-one. They make capable work computers and they can also be excellent home computers with the wide range of features appealing to the whole family. HP AiO 27, Core i5-1335U/16GB RAM/512GB SSD/27-inch 1080p display, $999.99 (9% off on Amazon) HP OmniStudio X AiO, Core Ultra 5 125H/16GB RAM/256GB SSD/31.5-inch 4K display, $1,079.99 (25% off on HP) Acer Aspire C22, Core i3-N305/8GB RAM/512GB SSD/21.5-inch 1080p display, $419.99 (16% off on Amazon) iMac M3 2023, M3/8GB RAM/512GB SSD/24-inch 5K display, $1,529.00 (10% off on Amazon) My top picks: The workhorse HP AiO 27 is on sale for $100 on Amazon. Good performance features thanks to the new Raptor Lake-U CPU and a nice 27-inch display make this a standout all-in-one deal. HP continues with the great deals right now on its all-in-one PCs with the new HP OmniStudio X AiO for $370 off on HP’s website. The latest all-in-one from HP packs a gorgeous 31.5-inch 4K display and it’s powered by a robust Core Ultra 5-125H CPU. Computer deals FAQ 1. What are good websites to find computer deals? There are a ton of sites that sell computers, and scouring through all of them would take you a lot of time—that’s why we do it for you here and highlight the best deals we find. However, to save you some time and frustration, you need to be smart about where you look at any given time of the year. If you’re looking for a new computer during the holidays or around popular sale periods such as Black Friday or back-to-school, then you are likely to find great deals directly through first party vendor websites. These include the retail storefronts of popular computer manufacturers such as HP, Dell, and Lenovo. However, if you are looking in between sales periods, it’s generally a good idea to search through large third-party retailers such as Amazon, Adorama, Walmart, BestBuy, and Newegg. Oftentimes these websites will offer limited Deals of the Day type sales in hopes of getting rid of excess stock. On the upside, you can score still-decent PCs at a steep discount. 2. When’s the best time to shop for a PC computer? Typically you’ll want to time your PC computer shopping around a prominent sales period. The biggest sales periods are Black Friday/Cyber Monday in late November and Amazon Prime Day in early-to-mid July. The best sales often occur leading up to and during these two events and they are great times to snag a new PC computer for cheap. Other holiday shopping periods such as the New Year sales in January, President’s Day sales in April, and the back-to-school sales event in August are also good times to find discounts on computers. 3. What type of desktop should I get? You’ll see a ton of options when searching for a desktop computer, but they all mainly fit into four main categories: productivity tower PCs, gaming PCs, mini PCS, and all-in-ones (AiO). Which you should end up buying is entirely dependent upon what your needs are and what you want to do with your computer. If you are looking for something that will work in a home office or family room, then a productivity PC or AiO with a solid CPU and lots of RAM and storage is probably the way to go. If gaming is your main concern, a gaming PC can offer a lot more bang for your buck than a laptop and you should focus on getting the best GPU possible. Or if you just want something that can fit anywhere and provide basic computing then a mini PC is a good bet. 4. What CPU and GPU should I get? When looking at your new computer’s CPU, get at least an Intel Core i5 or AMD Ryzen 5, both of which will provide plenty of processing power for everyday computing tasks. If you don’t intend to do any PC gaming, then feel free to save some money by going with integrated graphics. However, if you are looking to get your game on, we recommend at least an Nvidia GeForce 3060 or AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT, as these are the least expensive discrete graphics cards that can handle ray tracing well. If you aren’t interested in those cutting-edge lighting effects, however, the RTX 3050 and Radeon RX 6600 also provide good 1080p gaming performance at even lower prices. 5. How much memory and storage does my PC need? As for RAM, we think its best to shoot for 16GB at the minimum for productivity and gaming, but for family computers and internet browsing, 8GB should suffice. Storage size is dependent upon your personal needs, but it is generally a good idea to opt for an SSD over an standard HDD as they are much faster and don’t significantly affect the price of a desktop. Before deciding, it’s best to consider what your intended use of the computer will be. Are you just doing work or web browsing? Then something like 512GB will be plenty. If you want to load up a lot of large files such as games or content creation projects, then you’ll need at least 1 or 2TB or storage. However, just remember that even if your computer doesn’t have enough storage built-in you can always upgrade your SSD or go with an external drive to increase your available storage options. 6. Is it a good idea to buy a refurbished computer? Refurbished computers are used machines that have been repaired, upgraded, and cleaned for the purpose of reselling. They’re usually open-box returns, overstock, or models with minor cosmetic damage (scratches, scuffs, etc). Refurbished computers can be a bargain hunter’s dream as they’re likely still in good (or great) condition and you can save a lot of money. That being said, refurbished computers can have their downsides as well. In addition to cosmetic blemishes, some of the internal components might be a little older or outdated and they might not be in peak condition due to previous usage. If you do consider buying a refurbished computer I recommend looking at eBay as they offer a one-year warranty. You can also check out manufacturer’s retail storefronts like Dell’s Outlet Store and Apple’s Refurbished Store—just be sure to look at the terms of warranty offered before purchasing.

PC gaming via the Microsoft Store can be a pain: game updates can lag, and mod support may be limited. But Microsoft is testing at least one small improvement: modular downloads of games via the Microsoft Store. The new update, being tested for now in the Canary Channel, appears in Windows Insider Build 27888, which launched today alongside support for the MIDI 2.0 specification. Some games, like the recent Call of Duty games, ship with multiple game modes: a campaign, multiplayer, and so on. And with game developers trying to support both cutting-edge and older systems, there may also be texture packs that provide the highest quality for the newest hardware. But if you have an older, 2020-esque PC, the last thing you might want are ultra-high-quality textures jamming up your hard drive and straining your broadband data cap — you can’t run them anyway! What Microsoft is testing are better ways to control those downloads, so that you can choose which components of the game to download yourself. “Once your game is installed, you can return to its product page, click the new Manage button, and modify what components are installed,” Microsoft adds. Microsoft is testing the ability to manage your downloaded game content, too.Microsoft Sure, many prefer gaming via Steam instead. As they say, though, it’s a small tweak, but a welcome one — especially for those who still get Microsoft’s Game Pass games. And for those of us who doggedly refuse to shell out an additional fee for unlimited data, it can save us money, too.

For many, MIDI means SoundBlaster cards, chiptunes, and WAD files played to the sound of a killer synth score. But Microsoft Windows has begun previewing MIDI 2.0, the first update to the MIDI protocol since 1983. Microsoft is building an in-box public preview of Windows MIDI Services into Build 27788 of the Windows 11 Canary Channel, an experimental build that doesn’t guarantee that it will ever be released to the public. But it undoubtedly will, with the work that Microsoft has already put into this. Windows MIDI Services includes the updated MIDI stack, not only including MIDI 2.0 but also an update to MIDI 1.0 that allows it to run on Arm64 as well as Windows. MIDI is a way to record and play back music, and as Microsoft notes, forms the foundation of syncing drum machines and synthesizers. MIDI 2.0 includes what modern musicians want, Microsoft said, “like increased speed and fidelity, better control of instruments, modern bi-directional conversations and negotiation between instruments, discovery, better USB timing, and more.” It’s also open source. You can read Microsoft’s blog post for more about all of the technical goodies, which also includes a high-speed MIDI class driver supplied by AMEI (Association of Musical Electronics Industry of Japan) and written by AmeNote. There’s an entire SDK, and Microsoft is working on a Network MII 2.0 transport layer, too, in conjunction with third-party equipment that will support the new standard. The build also includes a number of fixes and improvements, such as: When “Restore previous folder windows at logon” is enabled in File Explorer, Microsoft will also now restore all the extra tabs which you previously had open in each File Explorer window. If you were working on a file on OneDrive on your phone, you will see a notification on your PC to pick up where you left off, assuming that it’s been recent enough. Microsoft is adding a feature to turn off the “Start backup” nagware for those who aren’t already backing up Documents, Picture, or the Desktop folder.

VPNs, or virtual private networks, are one of the most effective ways to stay safe online. Not only do they allow you to stay anonymous, but they can help safeguard your data and keep intrusive trackers at bay. Plus, they allow you to get around region blocks on streaming services and avoid ISP throttling. However, you usually have to pay for a VPN subscription and adding an extra monthly expense might not be an option. That’s where a free VPN can come in handy, providing you with much needed security for no cost at all. While I advise that you opt for a premium VPN, such as those in our roundup of the best VPNs, I understand that sometimes you just don’t want to pay for yet another service. Therefore I’ve curated a list of the best and most trustworthy free VPNs around. I detail what restrictions they may impose and what activities they’re best used for — streaming, torrenting, browsing, etc. Following my recommendations you can read more about what to look for in a free VPN and how I test these services. Proton VPN – Best free VPN Pros Excellent free plan Great privacy tools Reliable and transparent no-logs policy Cons Expensive Price When Reviewed: 1 year: $59.88 ($4.99/mo) I 2 years: $107.76 ($4.49/mo) Best Prices Today: Retailer Price ProtonVPN $9.99 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket $9.99 at ProtonVPN Why I like ProtonVPN If you’re looking for speed and excellent privacy in a free VPN then ProtonVPN is your best choice. The only real limitation to this service is that you can only connect with one device at at time, other than that it’s practically a premium VPN. The service comes from a trustworthy, privacy-focused company that has undergone a successful audit of its no-logs policy. It’s also mercifully free of ads — a rarity among free VPNs. You’ll be able to choose from five servers located all of the world including Japan, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, and the U.S. Plus, there are no data limits, meaning you can surf and stream to your heart’s content. ProtonVPN even showed decent speeds in my tests, just going to show that this is the free VPN to get. Who should use ProtonVPN Users who need anonymity and speed while using their VPN will stand to gain the most from ProtonVPN’s free version. Because you’ll only be able to connect with one device at a time though, users who want to use a VPN with multiple devices might need to look elsewhere. Read our full ProtonVPN review PrivadoVPN – Best free VPN runner-up Pros Excellent free version Unblocks streaming services 10 simultaneous device connections Based in privacy-friendly Switzerland Cons No independent audit Smaller server network Feature set not as robust as some competitors Price When Reviewed: $10.99 Best Prices Today: Retailer Price PrivadoVPN $10.99 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket $10.99 at PrivadoVPN Why I like PrivadoVPN Both PrivadoVPN’s premium and free versions are really solid overall services. While I recommend either plan, it was the free version of the VPN that really stood out. It comes with 13 global servers to choose from, a generous 10 simultaneous device-connection limit, and up to 10GB per month of high-speed data. Most of the other free VPNs only match one of these features, PrivadoVPN provides them all. Plus, in my testing I found that even the free servers were able to unblock streaming services — a rarity among free VPNs. The only reason Proton VPN came out on top in this list is because it offers a truly unlimited free version. That doesn’t take away from PrivadoVPN though, as it is about as close as you’re going to get otherwise. The 10GB-per-month data cap only applies to high speeds, after you reach the cap you’ll still be able to use the free VPN but with throttled speeds. Who should use PrivadoVPN PrivadoVPN is a good option for just about anyone looking to use a free VPN. The good amount of global servers to choose from and ability to unblock streaming services means you can use it to stream while traveling for free — just be aware that streaming in HD will hit that data limit pretty fast. Privacy-conscious users should be aware that the company has not yet completed an independent audit, but it does promise to abide by its no-logs policy. Read our full PrivadoVPN review CyberGhost VPN – Best free VPN browser extension Pros Independently verified no-log policy Seriously impressive server spread Generous 45-day money-back guarantee Cons Server speeds can be hit-or-miss Lacks some extra security features offered by competitors Price When Reviewed: $12.99 Best Prices Today: Retailer Price CyberGhost $12.99 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket $12.99 at CyberGhost Why I like CyberGhost VPN CyberGhost VPN provides an excellent VPN with plenty of servers optimized for different tasks such as gaming, streaming, and torrenting. While you do need to pay for the premium service, with access to all of its 9,000-plus servers and additional security features, CyberGhost also has a great browser extension that it offers for free. If you have either Chrome or Firefox you can download the extension without having to pay anything and enjoy access to a limited number of the VPN servers — currently sitting at eight servers in four countries. Additionally, you are able to connect and use these VPN servers without having to worry about bandwidth limits or data capping. Unfortunately, in my tests I found that the servers I used in the browser extension were not able to successfully unblock streaming servers. However, if you start using the free browser extension and decide you like CyberGhost, you can always opt for a premium membership, which can be as low as $3 a month for a long-term plan and even comes with a generous 45-day money back guarantee. Who should use CyberGhost VPN CyberGhost’s free version is ideal for users who don’t want to pay for a premium VPN service but also don’t want to worry about a monthly data cap. Plus, the fact that CyberGhost VPN’s free version is browser-based means that users who don’t want to bother downloading and setting up a new application can have the VPN based simply in either their Firefox or Chrome browser. Read our full CyberGhost review Windscribe – Best free VPN for speed Pros Good free plan Fast speeds Unlimited device connections Cons Streaming unblocking is inconsistent No independent audit Price When Reviewed: 1 year: $69 ($5.75/mo) I Monthly: $9/mo Best Prices Today: Retailer Price Windscribe $9 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket $9 at Windscribe Why I like Windscribe VPN The Windscribe VPN service seems to get better and better each time I review a new version. It not only has an excellent Pro version that is reasonably priced, but it has a stand-out free service as well. What makes Windscribe’s free service really shine is a combination of perks and speed. Not only do you get top-notch speeds, but you also get a maximum 10GB of bandwidth per month and no device limits. To get that bandwidth, though, you’ll need to confirm via email address — if not, you’re stuck at 2GB per month. The free service offers 10 regional connections including the U.S., Canada, UK, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Netherlands, Switzerland, Norway, and Romania. It also has a ton of privacy features such as blockers for site notifications and “we use cookies” banners, WebRTC leak protection, location spoofing, user agent rotation, and more. The service is also extremely easy to use with a simple setup and solid performance for a free VPN. I not only recommend the Windscribe free service on its own, but also as an easy way to get to know the service before committing to a paid tier with premium features. Who should use Windscribe VPN Those who want a free VPN with fast speeds and a generous helping of extra perks will find that Windscribe is the go-to option. Most free VPNs are only good for location spoofing with no real added features, and that’s why Windscribe is so good. It offers way more for users and the fact that it gives you up to 10GB of bandwidth means you can use it multiple times throughout the month without having to worry about hitting the data cap. Read our full Windscribe Pro review Hide.me – Best free VPN for speed runner-up Pros Strong privacy practices Affordable long-term plans Lots of power user options for customization Free version available Cons Speeds were inConsistent in our tests Not the easiest VPN for beginners Free version has strict data limits Price When Reviewed: $9.95 per month | $34.95 for 6 months | $59.95 for 27 months Best Prices Today: Retailer Price Hide Me $59.95 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket $59.95 at Hide Me Why I like Hide.me VPN Hide.me offers a solid paid VPN service and the company is generous enough to provide the full premium feature set in its free version as well. Its server speeds are a bit inconsistent, but overall they are pretty fast and rank within the top 20 of all — paid or free — VPNs that I’ve ever tested. That makes it plenty speedy for the typical use cases for a free VPN. When you use Hide.me’s free service you’re limited to 10GB per month and one device at a time, as well as eight region choices including Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, U.S. East, and U.S. West. Who should use Hide.me VPN Hide.me’s free VPN is a solid option for any and all users. Not only are the speeds good for secure browsing, but you have access to the full premium feature set as well. The speeds are not quite as good as ProtonVPN and there is a monthly data cap, but the trade-off is that with Hide.me you have access to useful features such as split-tunneling and the ability to choose between multiple proxy configurations. Read our full Hide.me review TunnelBear – Best free VPN for get-in, get-out chores Pros Fun and easy-to-use interface Reliable security features Unlimited simultaneous device connections Cons Lacks some advanced features for power users Customer support not the most helpful Not a good option for torrenting Price When Reviewed: From free ($4.19 per month for annual plan) Best Prices Today: Retailer Price TunnelBear $4.19 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket $4.19 at TunnelBear Why I like TunnelBear VPN I’ve always liked TunnelBear. It’s simple to use, affordable, and the speeds are fine. In my speed tests, TunnelBear was outside the top 10, but its speeds were still good enough for most browsing or online tasks. That’s more than enough for what this free VPN would be suited for, since you will only get a maximum of 500MB per month with the free version. The idea is to provide a trial for testing out the service before making a bigger commitment. Thankfully, beyond the data limit, the free version of TunnelBear puts no restrictions on what features are available so you’re able to experience the full application for no charge. The data limit won’t allow you to stream or play games for the most part, but it’s enough for quick hits when you’re on the road for checking email, or some basic web browsing. Plus, TunnelBear keeps track of your bandwidth usage so you can see when you’re getting too close to the limit. Who should use TunnelBear VPN TunnelBear’s free VPN is best suited for those who need a one-and-done VPN experience. The 500MB data cap is quite restrictive, but you have access to all of the premium features from an excellent VPN service. This includes split-tunneling, a unique HTTPS masking feature, and your choice of multiple VPN protocols. Read our full TunnelBear review AVG Secure VPN – Best VPN free trial Pros 10 simultaneous device connectionsUnblocks streaming servicesFree 60-day trial Cons Logs some user activity dataNot a lot of extra featuresLong-term only subscription options Price When Reviewed: $53.88 per year Best Prices Today: Retailer Price AVG $4.55 View Deal PCWorld Software Store $5.99 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket $4.55 at AVG$5.99 at PCWorld Software Store Why I like AVG Secure VPN You might be wondering why I’d even bother including a free-trial option. Well, AVG Secure VPN is not only a fine premium service on its own, but it provides a 60-day free trial for new users. That’s incredibly generous for a premium service — most other VPNs only offer one-week free trials at best. AVG is a household name in security software and they don’t disappoint with their VPN either. The free trial gives you complete access to all of the paid features such as 10 simultaneous device connections, over 700 servers across more than 50 countries, and guaranteed streaming service unblocking with specific servers. The speeds aren’t the fastest I’ve ever seen, but they’re good enough for most general online activities. All-in-all, two months for free of AVG Secure VPN is a fantastic deal, just remember to cancel the subscription before the free-trial runs out. Who should use AVG Secure VPN Most people looking for a free VPN for shorter-term use will stand to gain a lot from AVG Secure VPN’s free trial. But I think it’s an exceptional choice in particular for those who are traveling for awhile and need a VPN while abroad. By taking advantage of a premium service’s speeds and broad server network you can access all of your streaming content no matter what country you find yourself in and you shouldn’t have to worry about frustrating data caps from other free services. Stream and browse to your heart’s content for no cost — well, at least for 60 days. Read our full AVG Secure review Other VPN reviews and features ExpressVPN: This household favorite continues to be one of the best VPNs around thanks to its great speeds and strong privacy. Hide.me VPN: A feature-packed VPN with a decent free version that is good for basic online tasks and browsing. PrivadoVPN: Swiss-based VPN comes with decent speeds, good streaming service compatibility, and an excellent free version. Should you use a VPN browser extension? What you gain, what you give up How to test your VPN speed VPNs and the law: How often does law enforcement actually request VPN logs? What to look for in a free VPN Choosing a free VPN is a question of weighing the trade-offs with each service. Do you want unlimited bandwidth, but a restriction on devices? Or is it preferable to have more devices but deal with a bandwidth limit? One thing you definitely want to avoid is a VPN that is ad supported. Ads expose you to tracking by the company delivering said ads, which is something you definitely don’t want. Also, stay away from any deal that suggests you can get a VPN by “sharing” your bandwidth like we saw with the Hola VPN scandal back in 2015. You also want to watch out for any VPNs you’ve never heard of, or that don’t have any official reviews by third-parties. After that, you want to consider the usual issues such as the server network, connection speeds, privacy policy, Netflix support, and additional features. How I test VPNs I judge VPNs on a variety of criteria including server network, connection speeds, privacy protections, ease-of-use, additional features, and cost. For a more detailed guide on how I test, check out PCWorld’s comprehensive guide on how we test VPN services. Speed tests are kept as simple as possible. I average the connections between different global locations for any given VPN and then compare them to a baseline internet speed to get a good picture of the overall connection speeds. I thoroughly research and analyze the privacy policies and histories of each VPN and note any outstanding discrepancies or data collection issues. Experience and ease-of-use are subjective, but I try my best to give an accurate representation of how it feels to work with the VPN. Since you don’t have to pay for a free VPN, the value will be contingent upon the trade-offs you’ll need to make and the restrictions it has in place. Free VPNs aren’t a top recommendation, but if you’re going to go that way I’d strongly suggest the VPNs mentioned above. FAQ 1. What is a VPN? A VPN, or Virtual private network, is a way to encrypt your internet traffic and disguise your identity while browsing the internet. Through a VPN provider, you connect to their anonymized server with end-to-end encryption which redirects all of your traffic through that intermediary server thereby looking to outside viewers as if your location is that server itself. Additionally, VPNs allow you to connect to servers all across the world. So if you are looking to access location restricted content, such as streaming services, you can gain access via connecting to the appropriate country’s server. 2. How does a VPN work? A VPN hides your IP address by redirecting it through a intermediary server hosted by the VPN provider. To anyone watching, the VPN server then becomes the source of your traffic instead of your own IP address. These remote servers can not only be in your own country, but they can also be located in different countries around the world. All of your network traffic from your computer to the VPN is sent over a secure and encrypted connection.  While browsing the internet and connected to a VPN, the VPN acts as a middleman between your computer and a website. Your computer sends a request to the VPN which then passes it on to a website. The website in return sends its response back to the VPN which forwards it through the secure connection back to your computer. All of the traffic rerouted through the VPN appears as if it is coming through their server rather than your own computer. This keeps your ISP and other third parties from potentially snooping on your internet activity. 3. Are VPNs legal to use? Absolutely! In most countries, including the United States, it is perfectly legal to use a VPN. You might notice that some websites try to block VPN connections, but they are still okay to use. Please note, while using a VPN is legal, some of the activities done while using a VPN might be illegal. Activities such as downloading pirated copyrighted content or accessing dark web markets are both illegal with and without a VPN. 4. Should I use a free VPN? That will depend on how you wish to use a VPN. A free VPN can be a great option for those who just need a quick and simple privacy solution. Whether it’s a one-off use case or you’re happy to just do basic internet browsing, a free VPN might be the way to go. If, on the other hand, you want to use a VPN to stream shows and movies or need it to access servers in different countries then you’ll likely need to upgrade to a paid service. Free VPNs will always come with tradeoffs. These can take the form of restrictions to available servers, speed constraints, or data limits. You may also find that free VPNs come loaded with ads or collect and sell your user date — thereby defeating the purpose of a private VPN. It’s best to fully understand what you’ll get with any free VPN and make sure to stick with vetted, trustworthy services such as those in the list above. For more information, you can read our in-depth article explaining free VPNs.