VPN in the browser: How good are the free add-ons?

With a VPN („Virtual Private Network“) Protect your privacy online or get over country-specific IP barriers. The easiest way to use is using a corresponding add-on for the browser. In this article we present various free tools for Chrome and Firefox and show whether you can keep up with the commercial offers. In addition, you will find out which alternatives there are to use VPN in the browser.

1. Popular VPN browser Extensions at a glance

1.1. NordVPN

The NordVPN add-on for Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox is not a VPN in the classic sense, but encrypt its data traffic via a proxy. For most websites, HTTPS is activated and traffic is secured with the help of the so-called «cybersec» function, an additional security feature that keeps malware away from your computer. In addition, it is guaranteed that your Windows computer cannot be misused for DDOS attacks.

The expansion ensures your entire data traffic (either or nothing) with TLS V1.2., But only works in the browser. Her «real» IP address replaces NordVPN with an addresses available in 60 countries with a total of 5,200 available. This also has access to content (e.g. on YouTube or Netflix) that are subject to local restrictions. However, the selection of a certain server in a certain country is not possible.

The NordVPN extension also includes an option with which you can switch off the webrtc protocol used by Firefox and Chrome. In this way, your IP address remains protected from unwanted looks at all times.

According to the manufacturer, the add-on should work very resource-saving and quickly, but in our test we unfortunately had to determine significant loss of speed.

Good to know: In fact, NordVPN is not free. However, the manufacturer offers a 30-day money-back guarantee, thanks to which you can test the service for a month free of charge and without risk. This is ideal if you only temporarily need the VPN access for a short period of time.

1.2. ZenMate VPN

The Berlin VPN service Zenmate has been around since 2013. It is subject to the strict German data protection guidelines, which will particularly please users who value high protection against state surveillance (See also «Good to know» box).

The browser expansion is available for the Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome. After registration with the provider, a small green sign next to the address bar shows the activity of Zenmate. Click on the connection status or With the help of the «Change Your Location» button between various servers from Germany, the USA, Romania or Hong Kong. This not only moves through the network undetected, but can also call up the content blocked in this way.

Surfing security is guaranteed at Zenmate by TLS encryption and an additional firewall. However, protection to the browser is also limited here, and all other programs continue to communicate with the real IP address.

Good to know: The term «14 Eyes» describes the merger of secret services from various countries, which was created by the Ukusa agreement. This primarily serves to combat international terrorism. However, if the headquarters of your VPN provider are in one of these countries, this is also associated with a certain security risk, since the publication of user data and connection protocols could be forced.

2. Opera comes with integrated VPN

Opera is the first (and so far the only) common browser that has integrated a free, unlimited VPN service. While users in the earlier versions still had to choose between the turbo mode (a kind of accelerator for website calls via a proxy) and VPN, the former has now been «eliminated». VPN is just more progressive.

Just like the add-ons mentioned above, however, it only protects the user within the browser session. All other applications that have a connection to the Internet continue to transfer their “real” IP address into the network. If you place value on perfect anonymity, you should therefore use an alternative like Cyberghost VPN or the Kaspersky Secure Connection instead.

If only surfing is to be protected, the Opera-VPN is a good choice. Especially in terms of user-friendliness, it is ahead of the VPN Add-ons of the competition, because the subsequent installation and furnishings are completely eliminated.

Simply activate the VPN add-on via a slider in the Opera settings. The secured connection is then displayed via a symbol in the left part of the address bar. Click on the virtual location of the VPN server. You have the choice between «Europa“, „North and South America» and «Asia“. However, the assignment of the IP address of a specific country is not possible.

Tipp: With Opera Portable, you can also use VPN functionality on the go, e.g. from a USB stick or an external hard drive.

3. Anonymous by the web with the Tor browser

If you want to be on the safe side, it is best to use the proxy service Tor («The Onion Router»), in which your IP address and user information are hidden behind several layers. The browser is based on Firefox and builds a secure connection into the network via a client. The complete traffic is guided via several anonymization servers and the data between the individual knots is transferred.

When trying to track your way through the Internet, only the IP address of the last node passed is known, the originally requesting client remains anonymous. However, not all connections are 100 percent encrypted here: Traffic from the client to the entry node and that from the outlet node to the target calculator is unencrypted.

However, which the Tor browser maintains a permanent VPN connection that leads all data traffic via (at least) three additional computers, it is significantly slower than an «ordinary» browser. In addition, the encryption and decryption processes at the communication centers also cost enormously.

You can use all internet services with Tor (including instant messaging, SSH or IRC), but when streaming films with high resolution, the program gets to its limits.

4. Conclusion: The free VPN add-ons are good for this

The bottom line is that there are some good (free) ways to use VPN in the browser, but even the safest of them are not completely free of risks. The tools are limited exclusively to browser protection, which means that all other programs that have an internet connection continue to reveal their true identity. The selection of countries and servers is also very limited for all add-ons, the assignment is usually automatically via an algorithm.

Many providers also provide their free extensions with a limitation, which can only be canceled by an upgrade to a premium service. With the integrated VPN from Opera and the Tor browser, however, it fails due to the speed: Unfortunately, band-wide activities such as excessive video streaming is not possible. Some of the providers even prohibit it entirely.

Summa Summarum can therefore be said that the free possibilities (perhaps perhaps the Tor project) have not been able to give the commercial services the water. If you make as few compromises as possible in terms of speed and not only want to secure the browser, you are much better advised with a premium service.

Some other VPN services for Google Chrome can be found in the following video:

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