Understanding VPNs in 2024: Privacy, Security, and Corporate Influence

00:00 What is a VPN for?

The video discusses VPN tier list for 2024. The speaker explains that while VPNs may not provide complete privacy and security, they are useful for establishing a secure, encrypted connection when using public Wi-Fi in places like coffee shops and hotels. The encrypted tunnel to the VPN provider helps protect against local attackers, but may not be effective against larger entities like government surveillance.

01:00 Best VPNs

The video discusses the best VPNs for 2024, focusing on OpenVPN and WireGuard for setting up a secure server at home. The speaker emphasizes the importance of VPNs for privacy and security, particularly for business use and secure connections while traveling. Additionally, the video addresses the use of VPNs for torrenting, downloading, piracy, and geo-unlocking. The speaker warns against trusting VPN providers due to potential corporate and government influence, and the video aims to rank and evaluate various VPN services.

03:14 Corporate Garbage

The video provides a VPN tier list for 2024, with a focus on the "Corporate Garbage" section. It highlights that ExpressVPN, CyberGhost, and Private Internet Access are all owned by the same company, while StrongVPN and IPVanish are owned by another conglomerate, which also owns several other VPNs. The video questions the integrity of these companies, suggesting that while they may offer fast connections for Geo unlocking and torrenting, they might compromise users' privacy by cooperating with the government.

04:00 Independent VPNs

The video discusses the reliability of independent VPN companies, cautioning against using them due to performance issues such as frequent disconnects and slow connections. The mentioned VPN providers, TunnelBear from Canada and TorGuard from the US, are not recommended for use. The video also highlights the potential privacy concerns associated with VPN providers located in countries within the "five eyes" or "14 eyes" surveillance alliances, emphasizing the risks of data sharing among these countries.

05:15 Best Paid VPN

In the video "VPN Tier List of 2024," the speaker discusses the best paid VPN options, highlighting Molad from Sweden and Proton VPN from Switzerland as providers that respect privacy due to their respective countries' strong privacy laws. The speaker also emphasizes that many people may not need to pay a monthly fee for a VPN for privacy and security, as there are other important layers of protection. Additionally, the speaker provides recommendations and insights into the VPN industry, including the influence of affiliate sales and the financial incentives behind VPN recommendations on YouTube.