Hi - i just bought a new ASUS Router - it has OPenVPN capabilities.
i have some experience with other paid vpn services.
So just a basic question - is openvpn for free ? Or Do i need a paid account - in the background ? How does security differ from paid services ?
Thank You
OpenVPN is free. You don’t need an account whatsoever. In terms of security, it isn’t worse than other services, though thanks to it being open source it’s more secure, because many people all over the world can immediately fix some vulnerabilities if found, rather then waiting I for a company to fix it.
OpenVPN itself is free (as in beer) software, though there may be costs involved in using an OpenVPN service (and if one is free, you have to suspect some ulterior motive).
It’s completely free to use if you run it yourself, though that would negate many of the reasons people use a VPN, as you’d still be working through your own Internet connection.
The reason I personally find it useful is that I can run an OpenVPN server on my home computer, with just the single port it needs punched through my router’s firewall. So my Android 'phone always connects to the world via my own Internet connection, with the connection between it and my home being totally encrypted, so incapable of being snooped by public WiFi services, mobile network, etc. Not only can my 'phone then also use my own DNS server (which I use to block advertising/malware/tracking sites) but it can also connect to anything else on my home network without me having to open more ports on my router.