A beginner's guide to VPNs (2024)

A virtual private network (VPN) encrypts your online data and sends it through a tunnel by redirecting your internet connection from your ISP’s server to its own. This way, you remain hidden on the internet and snoopers can’t track your online activities, let alone steal your information to use it against you.

Now, the best VPNs do more than just keep you protected on the internet—you can also use them to enhance your gaming experience, watch live sports, torrent safely, maximize your bandwidth, and sidestep geo-restrictions and content blocks to access restricted movies, TV shows, game sales, and more.

However, there are one too many VPN providers on the market, so how do you zero in on the best one for your needs? That's where the Tom’s Guide experts (who test VPNs day in and day out!) come in. We’ve leveraged their experience and expert views to prepare this one-stop guide for VPN beginners. We’ll tell you how to set up a VPN, whether it’s worth it, what are the top 3 VPNs to get, and how should you choose a VPN.

How VPNs keep you safe online

A VPN anonymizes you on the internet, masking your IP address (your device’s digital signature) by routing your internet traffic through one of its many remote servers in the world—and not your actual location.

IP masking, combined with the VPN’s ability to encrypt your data as it moves through a safe tunnel to its destination, makes it impossible for nearby hackers, websites that use cookies, your internet service provider (ISP), the hotspot operator (if you’re on Wi-Fi that’s not yours), and even governments to track your online activities.

Almost every high-quality VPN provider comes with security features, such as a kill switch and leak protection. A kill switch is an essential part of a VPN’s security aspect as it blocks your device’s internet access if the VPN connection drops (because of a weak Wi-Fi signal, server problem, overloaded network, etc). This way, it protects you from accidentally revealing your real IP address and your online activities to prying eyes.

Depending on your needs, you may also look for VPNs that offer split tunneling, using which you can decide what part of your internet traffic is routed through the VPN’s encrypted tunnel and what passes through as normal internet traffic.

However, despite all that a VPN brings to the table from a security standpoint, it cannot prevent malware, viruses, or ransomware. If you’re after comprehensive protection from all sorts of cyber threats, we recommend using an antivirus that comes with a VPN built-in or vice versa, such as NordVPN, Surfshark and Trend Micro, among others.

How to set up a VPN

Here, we’ve taken ExpressVPN to demonstrate the process of setting up a VPN. Ideally, a good beginner VPN will be easy to set up as well as provide detailed guides for installing and activating the VPN on every single device, including PC, mobile, smart TV, gaming console, and router.

Start by signing up to ExpressVPN on its website following which you’ll be given an activation code. Next, download the VPN app for your particular device type (Windows, Mac, iOS, or Android) and enter the activation code when asked.

It’s worth noting that we recommend downloading the VPN client from the provider’s website directly as it’ll ensure that you don’t accidentally download a malicious copycat app.

Launch the ExpressVPN app and grant the system access permissions it asks for—don’t worry, it’s absolutely safe to do so. If you are concerned about the app processing your data, there are also a few non-essential permissions you can deny, such as permission to send crash reports to aid the development of the apps and permission to submit user data.

If you want to set up a VPN on a streaming device, you can follow the provider’s setup guide for your particular device. For example, ExpressVPN has comprehensive guides for Samsung Smart TVs, LG TVs, Apple TVs, and more. It's also a top-notch PS4 VPN, Roku VPN, and Fire Stick VPN.

However, if your device, such as Roku, doesn’t support Smart DNS or native VPN connections, you’ll have to take a slightly more complicated route and install the VPN on your router. Still, the best router VPN (ExpressVPN is our top choice here as well) comes with intuitive router apps and meticulously drawn-out guides to simplify the setup process.

How to use VPNs to stream content online

Netflix, BBC iPlayer, and pretty much every other streaming service offer different content catalogs in different locations and will even change which TV shows and movies are available in different regions' catalogs, meaning you may not be able to access your favorites even if they are technically still available. For example, Silence of the Lambs (previously available on UK Netflix) is now only available on Netflix in Canada—no other Netflix library has it.

The best VPNs can help you evade geo-blocks and access region-restricted movies and TV shows by changing your IP address to make it look like you’re physically present in the country whose content you wish to watch (for which your chosen VPN must have a server there—physical or virtual).

All you have to do is sign up for the best streaming VPN (we recommend using ExpressVPN or NordVPN), launch the VPN app, connect to a server location of your choice, open the streaming site on your browser, and have fun watching your favorite TV show or movie.

Similarly, you can use VPNs to bypass other content blocks as well. For instance, China has banned Whatsapp and Australia & India have banned TikTok, so if you plan on traveling to any of these locations and want to access the platform of your choice, make sure you install a high-quality travel VPN. What’s more, VPNs also give you access international game sales and shopping discounts that may be unavailable in your region.

How to choose a VPN

One of the biggest considerations when picking a VPN as a beginner is the provider’s ease of use. It must have simple, no-nonsense apps with one-click connectivity and a clearly laid-out list of servers—and other settings should also be easy to access.

Next, look for a VPN with fast and reliable connections. Good speeds mean that irrespective of whether you’re using the VPN for gaming, streaming, or casual browsing, you won’t be bothered by pesky lags and buffering.

The number of servers under a provider’s belt is just as important—a nicely spread out network of servers around the globe will allow you to connect from and to anywhere, including hard-to-crack locations whose content you may want to access.

Speaking of content, a VPN with powerful unblocking capabilities should be your priority if you want to stream your favorite movies, TV shows, and gaming titles that may be blocked in your region.

VPNs come in all shapes and sizes—and prices—so it’s crucial to strike a balance between the amount you’re willing to shell out and the features you absolutely want. Ideally, these features should include security essentials like a kill switch, leak protection, a strict no-logs policy, and strong encryption, as well as enough simultaneous connections so that you can protect multiple devices.

Also, note that while high-quality free VPNs can give you a great feel of what VPNs are like, they’re restricted in their usage and may be ineffective when trying to protect yourself.

Lastly, make sure there are ample support options—24/7 live chat, email, and/or phone so that you can always receive help the moment you need it.

The best VPN for beginners in 2024

We evaluated and compared dozens of VPN providers and prioritized factors like ease of use, customer support, price, and, of course, security to zero in on the 3 best VPN services for beginners.

Using a VPN FAQs

How we test VPNs

To make sure that we only recommend the best VPNs, Tom’s Guide experts get hands-on with every single VPN provider (popular and unpopular) every 6 months or so, conducting a series of tests to evaluate their ease of use, performance, usability, security, and value for money.

We follow our VPN testing methodology and begin at the provider’s website where we evaluate its claims and privacy policies. Next, we install the provider’s apps on all mainstream operating systems (Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, and Linux) and evaluate whether security essentials like kill switch and leak protection work as advertised.

While we’re fiddling with the apps, we also conclude whether the VPN is easy to use and value for money—to gauge if we can recommend it to beginners.

Additionally, we also test the VPN’s speeds across various devices, apps, and locations to get an accurate reading. Lastly, we put the provider’s unblocking capabilities under the scanner by throwing multiple big-name streaming services like Netflix and Disney at it.