I’m by no means a tech expert, but I know that VPN is mandatory if you travel, or even if you go to places with free wi-fi such as Starbucks or Airports. I learned the hard way, when someone hacked into my United Airlines account a few years ago. I think it happened at the Lufthansa Lounge at the airport in Dubai, but there’s really no way to know for sure.

Wikipedia explains:

 A virtual private network (VPN) extends a private network across a public network, and enables users to send and receive data across shared or public networks as if their computing devices were directly connected to the private network. Applications running across a VPN may therefore benefit from the functionality, security, and management of the private network. 

See also, PC Magazine: What is a VPN, and Why You Need One.

For years, I used Tunnel Bear, a fun little app which gives you a limited amount of VPN for free each month. (and it even roars!). But then, with the amount of traveling I do, I found I needed more VPN than that, and Tunnel Bear got pretty expensive ($50 or $60 per year).

When my annual Tunnel Bear subscription ran out last month, I got to work. There are tons of VPN providers out there, and some have really bad reputations. The good ones can be pricey. But of course, I wanted good and cheap, not good and pricey. I don’t need anything fancy – I don’t game or download torrents, but still I want adequate protection. This was getting seriously confusing.

Overwhelmingly, NordVPN was the VPN provider most recommended by friends and colleagues that I trust. In fact, it’s chosen as the #1 VPN provider by PC Magazine.

The NordVPN website lists the features of the VPN service as well as the pricing. It begins at $11.95 per month (honestly, who pays that?), but drops to $2.99 per month if you purchase a three year plan ($107.55). You might call that a bargain, but I call it still more than I want to spend.

I never purchase anything online without checking CashBackMonitor to see if there are any points, miles or cashback portals with good offers. Enter my favorite cash back website – TopCashBack!

60% CASHBACK!!!!

Well, that works for me. I paid the $107.55 for the three-year plan and will be getting cashback from TopCashBack in the amount of $64.53.

So, I have effectively paid $43.02 for three years of the best (or one of the best) VPN services on the market. That translates to $14.34 per year, or a little over a dollar per month.

Stated otherwise, With this cashback deal, you can get the best VPN for $1.20 per month rather than $12 per month!

If you don’t have a TopCashBack account, here is my referral link. (thank you)