What is a no-logs VPN?▾
A no-logs VPN is a provider that pledges not to record traffic, DNS queries, IP addresses, or connection timestamps that could be tied back to an individual user. The pledge is only meaningful when an independent auditor has examined the provider's actual infrastructure — Mullvad (Cure53), NordVPN (Deloitte/PwC), Proton VPN (Securitum), ExpressVPN (KPMG), and Surfshark (Deloitte) all have published audit reports.
Does VPN jurisdiction actually matter?▾
Jurisdiction matters when a government can compel the operating entity to hand over data. Providers in 5 / 9 / 14 Eyes countries (USA, UK, Canada, Australia, NZ + Denmark/France/Netherlands/Norway + Germany/Belgium/Italy/Sweden/Spain) are subject to those countries' data-request frameworks. Jurisdiction matters less if the provider does not log the data being requested — which is what audits exist to verify.
Which VPN protocol should I use — WireGuard or OpenVPN?▾
WireGuard is newer, uses modern primitives (Curve25519, ChaCha20-Poly1305), and is faster on most networks. OpenVPN is older, GPL-licensed, runs in user-space, supports both TCP and UDP, and traverses restrictive networks more reliably because it can run on TCP port 443. Use WireGuard by default; switch to OpenVPN-TCP when WireGuard is blocked.
Are free VPNs safe?▾
Most free VPNs are not. The exception is Proton VPN's free tier, which is funded by Proton's paid subscriptions and audited under the same no-logs policy as the paid tier. Free VPNs from less-known providers commonly monetize via traffic logging or ad injection — neither of which appear in independent audit reports.
Can a VPN unblock Netflix or other streaming services?▾
Streaming services actively block known VPN exit IPs and the cat-and-mouse game changes weekly. Vendors do not publish guarantees because doing so would invite the streamer to escalate their blocklist. The honest answer: no VPN unblocks every service all the time. All five vendors above have 30-day (or in Mullvad's case 14-day) money-back guarantees so you can test on the specific service you care about.
What is a VPN kill switch?▾
A kill switch blocks all internet traffic if the VPN connection drops, preventing your real IP from leaking to the destination service mid-session. All five vendors above ship a kill switch in their official client apps. The kill-switch behavior is also a standard test target in the published infrastructure audits — failing to recover from a dropped connection without leaking would be a finding in the report.
