More advanced routing OSes, like DD-WRT, support source routing either directly or via policy routing (see below), but again, this isn't for beginners. But whether or not your particular router supports source routing is something you'll need to find out from the documentation. If you're router-savvy, then you can do this with source routing. You'd now be using most of your Verizon Fios bandwidth, and you'd still be saving money over installing and paying for a separate VPN client for every device. Your son's gaming PC, your husband's work notebook, and the Smart TV share VPN tunnel A, while your notebook, your daughter's iPad Pro, and your Voice-over-IP (VoIP) phone system share Tunnel B. Now you point different devices at different VPNs so everyone gets a fair slice of the Verizon Fios bandwidth pie. In this scenario, you'd still save money by installing two or maybe even three VPN clients on your router, each pointing to a different VPN provider with each of those providing their own +/-200 Mbps connection. What this means is: You're now paying for 800 Mbps that you're no longer using since you're pointing every internet-capable device in your home at that one VPN tunnel. But your VPN provider can only support 200 megabits per second (Mbps) between you and its servers. Let's also say you manage to install a second router next to your hyper-proprietary Verizon Fios router and install a VPN client on that. Let's say you're paying for a fat, 1 gigabits per second (Gbps) internet connection from Verizon Fios, our Editors' Choice-winning internet service provider (ISP). If you're willing to tackle some complexity, then you've got more options when it comes to bandwidth optimization. You also want to test such services yourself on your own devices and across your own internet connection before committing to one, as these numbers can be highly dependent on geography. This means you really, really need to pay attention to the speed tests of our VPN reviews because you want the fastest one available in your area. The second downside is probably the more important one and that's bandwidth considerations.īy forcing your connection out through a single VPN tunnel, you're effectively limiting your internet speed to whatever throughput that tunnel can provide. The first is that setting up a VPN client on your router isn't quite as simple as doing it on your average user-style device, though it's by no means neurosurgery. While the benefits of having a VPN on your router are clear, the path to choosing one, ironically, starts with considering the downsides, of which there are basically two. Once you've upgraded your router to one of these platforms, you'll be able to configure a VPN on it. Alternatively, the featured models may be compatible with the DD-WRT or Tomato router operating systems (more on that below). Most commonly, they will support the OpenVPN standard, meaning you can configure a VPN with any provider that supports that standard. You're probably saving money and you don't have to worry if the kids are remembering to activate the VPN before they connect, because the router keeps it active all of the time.Īll of the routers featured here support the ability to install a VPN client, though they might do it in only one of the different ways we'll describe below. If that's not a better-together scenario, I don't know what is. And after that, every device on your side of the router will use the VPN when it connects to the outside world. But what if you could just install a single VPN client directly on your router? That's one download and one installation and configuration session. That's an OK approach if you've got one or two devices, but what about a typical family who might have several notebooks, desktops, tablets, phones, TVs, and other smart home devices connected to a network? That's not only a lot of devices, that's a lot of VPN clients with fees that can add up if you're using one for every device. In either case, you'll pay for each client application individually, and you'll download one to every device you use to trundle through the interweb jungle. This means downloading a free client or paying a small monthly dollar amount for a premium, more full-featured client from makers such as NordVPN ($3.49 Per Month at NordVPN). That is, unless you like having your web habits scrutinized and your data open to anyone because it's not encrypted. If you're a typical internet user, then you should already be using a VPN, at least in its web service incarnation.
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