Dubai Expo Kicks Off Despite Raging Pandemic, But Local Authorities Aren't Afraid of Virus

Aside from boasting one of the highest vaccination rates in the world, Dubai has also implemented a number of restrictive measures to host millions of visitors without putting their health at risk. They include the creation of sanitation stations as well as deep cleaning and specialised medical facilities.

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EU Postpones Free Trade Agreement Talks With Australia for Month Amid AUKUS Row, Reports Suggest

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The European Union has postponed the 12th round of negotiations on a free trade agreement with Australia for a month amid the diplomatic row over the US submarine contract with Canberra under the recently-established AUKUS alliance.

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Leave Me Be! Golden Retriever Annoyed by Grooming

Pet owners know that dogs and cats rarely tolerate grooming, especially if there are some knots and mats in their hair.

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This intuitive Zoom alternative is on sale for 96% off

TL;DR: A lifetime subscription to the ElevenSight Remote Engagement Platform is on sale for £26.05 as of Oct. 1, saving you 96% on list price.

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If you’ve had it up to here (raises arm upward) with Zoom, but need a simple way to connect with clients, customers, and coworkers, look no further than the ElevenSight Remote Engagement Platform.

While created out of pandemic frustration, ElevenSight is more than just a way to host meetings and conferences virtually. It’s an award-winning browser-based and mobile one-click video, audio, chat, web conferencing solution. So, yes, it can be used for video-chatting your coworkers and collaborating on ideas virtually. But it can also be used to deliver omnichannel customer experiences, host one-on-one virtual interactions, or even let customers step into the showroom from afar with a one-click video call. Ultimately, it serves as a way for entrepreneurs and small businesses of all kinds to engage, transact, and increase sales, as well as improve customer satisfaction.

Users simply must create their own personal e-line, which is basically like a personal email address, and it becomes an encrypted link that they can share with anyone. When a customer or client clicks on the link, it’ll take them directly into a video or audio call with you. They won’t need to download an app to use it or jump through hoops for connections. It’s instantaneous and easy to use, even for the least tech-savvy folks among us.

Another cool feature of ElevenSight is the ability to add a super-button to any website. This super-button integrates with your favourite CRMs, helps you increase lead conversions, track lead sources, track the number of calls received, and ultimately get a better look at overall engagement for you and your brand.

These are only a few of the perks that have earned ElevenSight a TiEcon 2021 award, as well as 5 out of 5 stars on G2. You’ll have to sign up for yourself to reap the rest of the benefits.

For a limited time, you can sign up for a lifetime subscription to ElevenSight’s Starter Plan, which includes one-user access to an e-line address, a personal meeting room address, three-way calling, screen sharing, unlimited call time, and more, for just £26.05.

Credit: ElevenSight

Save 96% on the ElevenSight Remote Engagement Platform

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Create killer copy with a lifetime subscription to Writesonic’s AI-based software

TL;DR: A lifetime subscription to the Writesonic Starter Plan is on sale for £51.77 as of Oct. 1, saving you 98% on list price.

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Let’s face it. Not everyone was born to be a writer. And if you’re one of the many who can’t arrange words into eloquent segments, you’ve likely already made your peace with it. Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean you’re free of all writing forever. In fact, if you run a business of any shape or size, you’re going to need a wordsmith to give your brand a fighting chance.

Along with visual content and SEO, written content is essential to most business marketing strategies. But when funds are tight, the luxury of an on-staff content writer is sometimes not something you can afford. That’s where artificial intelligence saves the day (as usual). With Writesonic, the AI-powered tool that helps you write copy effortlessly, you can create high-performing ads, landing pages, descriptions, blog posts, and more in just seconds without breaking the bank.

Rated 4.9 out of 5 stars on AppSumo, Writesonic has the power to boost your business without you lifting a finger. Well, you’ll actually have to click a few buttons, but it’s still a major energy and time-saver. You’ll select from a collection of copy templates depending on what you need, including landing pages, ads, and more. Then, simply enter a short description (just one or two lines) of your product or service as input, hit generate, and watch as a dozen high-converting copy variants are formed in front of your eyes. If you want to add a few things in after the fact, feel free to edit the results. Then just copy, share, and launch your AI-written copy. 

Writesonic is powered by OpenAi, a San Francisco-based artificial intelligence research lab, and their revolutionary Generative Pre-trained Transformer 3 technology. Consider it the brains of the operation. It uses deep learning to scour the web and figure out what type of content performs well and how to sound like a human, thus delivering only the best for you and your brand.

For a limited time, you can grab a lifetime subscription to this game-changing tool for only £51.77.

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Archbishop Invites Catholics to Pray For Pelosi ‘to Convert Her Heart’ Over Abortion Controversy

On September 24, the US House of Representatives passed with a 218 – 211 vote the Women’s Health Protection Act (HR 3755), which preserves the right to abortion access in every state in the country. US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who is Catholic, supported the legislation.

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'Punching the Air' More Than Usual: Pele Released From Hospital

The legendary Brazilian footballer was brought to the hospital in early September to have a tumor in his colon removed. At one point the 80-year-old was reportedly "rushed" into the intensive care unit.

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Waka Waka Robbery: Shakira Reclaims Her Purse Stolen by Pair of Wild Boars

In a viral Instagram story, the Latino pop queen told her 70+ million subscribers that the boars who "attacked" her took her item into the forest while her phone was still in there, but she did not give up and managed to find the thieving hogs.

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Text of $3.5 Tn Bill Replaces the Word 'Mothers' With ‘Pregnant, Lactating, Postpartum Individuals’

Recently, some politicians could be heard replacing gender-defining lexis with a number of peculiar collocations as to respect inclusiveness. The trend, meanwhile, has stirred criticism from American women, who say that erasing words such as “mother” devaluates one of the most important and precious human roles.

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Sullivan Meets French Ambassador to Discuss Confidence-Building Measures

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan has held a meeting with French Ambassador to the United States Philippe Etienne to discuss confidence-building measures following the diplomatic row over the US submarine contract with Australia under the recently-established AUKUS alliance, the White House said.

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Israel Conducts Investigation Into Incident With Drone Reportedly Downed by Hezbollah in Lebanon

The Shiite political party and militant group reportedly claimed in a statement earlier that its fighters shot down an IDF drone in the Maryamin valley with "appropriate weapons."

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New Memoir Claims Prince Andrew Cozied Up to Epstein at his 'Eyes Wide Shut'-like Mansion - Report

The latest revelations come from a new autobiography by Katie Couric, in which she takes aim at a wide variety of celebrities, including fellow TV stars and even British royals, but also engages in some self-reflection.

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Video: Woman Fights Off Leopard With Walking Stick in Mumbai

A 55-year-old woman fended off an attack by a leopard that crept up on her outside her home Wednesday evening in the Aarey Colony suburb of Mumbai, India, with nothing but just a walking stick.

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Ousted Israeli PM Netanyahu Reportedly Penning Book on His Premiership

The recent year has been tough for Bibi, who has been battling corruption charges brought against him and faced regular protests over his handling of the pandemic. The failure to form a government after the fourth snap elections in just two years eventually led to him being ousted and a new prime minister — Naftali Bennett — installed.

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Anarchy in the US? What Would've Happened if the US Government Had Shut Down

The US Congress narrowly avoided a shutdown of the federal government on Thursday by passing a temporary funding bill. But what if they hadn’t? Was the US on the verge of anarchy? Not quite. Here’s a few things that would - and would not - have happened if the US ran out of money.

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Israel Opens Diplomatic Mission in Bahrain, One Year After Signing of Abraham Accords

Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid has carried out his first visit to the Kingdom of Bahrain, a year after the countries established diplomatic relations. Bahrain’s ambassador has already started his work in Tel Aviv.

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Digital Vibes Report Reveals Corruption Behind South African Health Ministry’s COVID-19 Media Deal

After months of pressure, the administration of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has released the results of a government probe into a contract for a COVID-19 media campaign with Digital Vibes, revealing extensive corruption behind the awarding of the deal.

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Nigel Farage Angry Over UK Fuel Crisis As He Was Hit by Van While Driving Around 7 Petrol Stations

The United Kingdom has faced dramatic fuel shortages due to a lack of qualified truck drivers, as many left the country after Brexit. Meanwhile, obtaining a driver's license has been difficult due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Interruptions in fuel supplies have affected food shipments and other crucial services.

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New study of police killings confirms what activists have said for years

When someone in the U.S. is killed by a police officer, there's no guarantee that their death will be recorded as such.

This reality is no surprise to the activists, many of them Black, Latino, and Indigenous, who've said for years that their loved ones, friends, and neighbors are killed by police officers yet officials don't accurately report their cause of death. Instead, the fatality might be attributed to causes like heart disease or sickle cell trait. Sometimes coroners or medical examiners are embedded in police departments and may be under pressure to list a cause other than police violence. In other cases, they fail to properly cite the cause of death because of poor standards or training.

A new study published in the Lancet illustrates the vast disparity between the federal government tally of police killings and what people see happening in their own communities. The researchers estimate that between 1980 and 2018, more than 55 percent of these incidents, or 17,100 deaths, were misclassified or unreported in official statistics. They also found that Black Americans disproportionately experienced fatal police violence. They were 3.5 times more likely to be killed by a police officer than white Americans.

The study was led by researchers at the University of Washington School of Medicine's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME). The research team took figures from the National Vital Statistics System, which tracks every death certificate in the U.S., and compared them to estimates of police violence generated by the non-governmental open-source databases Fatal Encounters, Mapping Police Violence, and The Counted. Those projects have endeavored to track police killings in all 50 states through public records requests and media reports, and past research has demonstrated that such open-source databases can be highly accurate.

The study's authors concluded that the U.S. must replace "militarised policing with evidenced-based support for communities," prioritize the public's safety, and "value Black lives."

"We think the U.S. should really be investing in solutions to police violence that are led by Black, Hispanic, and Indigenous communities."

"We think the U.S. should really be investing in solutions to police violence that are led by Black, Hispanic, and Indigenous communities," Eve Wool, a co-lead author of the study and a research manager at IHME, said in an interview.

The study is one of a few recent efforts to quantify the undercounting of police killings. In 2017, Harvard researchers compared data from Fatal Encounters to National Vital Statistics System figures and similarly found that the government failed to record more than half of police killings in 2015. Misclassification rates were particularly high for Black people, those living in poor counties, victims killed by means other than a firearm, and youth ages 18 and younger.

Social epidemiologist Justin M. Feldman, lead author of the 2017 study and a Health and Human Rights Fellow at the Harvard FXB Center for Health & Human Rights, peer reviewed the Lancet study prior to its publication and told Mashable that it provides a persuasive estimate of undercounted deaths.

The research adds to his findings by projecting the disparity over the course of decades, as opposed to a single year, and by estimating deaths by race and ethnicity at the state level. During the time period studied, the five states with the highest underreporting rates were Oklahoma, Wyoming, Alabama, Louisiana, and Nebraska. States with the lowest rates were Maryland, Utah, New Mexico, Massachusetts, and Oregon.

Feldman described the decades-long estimate of uncounted deaths as a "best guess." Since the open-source databases collectively reflect deaths that happened between 2000 and 2019, the researchers produced a historical estimate for fatalities going back as far as 1980 by using a statistical regression to compare those figures with government data.

Their finding — that 17,100 out of 30,800 deaths were unreported or misclassified — rests on the assumption that the rate of underreporting remained stable over time.

Feldman noted that it's likely the study understated the extent of the problem given that coroners and medical examiners may have omitted or misclassified far more deaths decades ago compared to recent years, when there's been increasingly more pressure from the public as well as health departments to accurately account for deaths caused by police violence.

SEE ALSO: Police killings are a mental health crisis for Black people. They deserve real solutions.

The findings point to the need for policy solutions that improve accurate reporting of police killings and prevent those deaths in the first place, Feldman said.

"We still, in 2021, don't have good government-run systems tracking police killings," he said.

Feldman suggested that death certificates in the U.S. could include a checkbox where a coroner or medical examiner would indicate whether the person died during an encounter with the police or while in their custody. Checking the box wouldn't mean police caused the death, but could trigger further review by government officials.

Feldman said that during the Obama administration, a Justice Department initiative used artificial intelligence to trawl the web for media reports related to deaths that happened in police custody and then surveyed local officials to learn more about what happened. The program appears to have languished during the Trump administration, but Feldman said it should be revived. He also noted that the federal agency can withhold a portion of government grants from police departments if they don't report deaths in custody.

"We still, in 2021, don't have good government-run systems tracking police killings."

Karin D. Martin, an assistant professor at University of Washington's Daniel J. Evans School of Public Policy & Governance who has studied policy solutions for police violence, said the latest research confirms what's generally known about undercounted deaths and how Black Americans are disproportionately killed by officers. (Martin wasn't involved in the research and has no affiliation with the IHME.)

Martin says that preventing police killings requires a deep understanding of how widespread firearm availability and possession in the U.S. creates a culture in which law enforcement may perceive any interaction with the public as potentially life-threatening, and may react violently as a result. It also means looking at issues like why communities are over- or under-policed, why the baseline suspicion of people in some communities is so high, and how rules set by police departments, like whether officers can shoot a suspect fleeing a non-violent crime or whether they can engage in high-speed chases, can contribute to police killings.

"I think it's a very complex problem, and that it needs to account for both the environment that law enforcement officers are encountering, and for the history of policing in this country, and the racial issues that have plagued this country forever," said Martin.

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Trump Calls Milley a “Weak Sister” who was ‘Too Scared to Come Talk to Me’

Trump blasted Gen. Mark Milley as “weak” and “too afraid” to talk to him after learning of the discreet phone calls to China that he made towards the end of the Trump administration and for his handling of Afghanistan under President Biden.

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Manchin Proposed $1.5T Top-Line Number for Reconciliation Bill to Schumer

Sen. Joe Manchin (R-WV) is floating a $1.5 trillion top-line deal to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) for the multi-trillion-dollar reconciliation package after a report revealed that he would only contribute that amount earlier this summer.

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US Drone Strike Reportedly Kills Senior Al-Qaeda Leader in Syria

A drone strike on a vehicle traveling along a rural road in rebel-controlled northwestern Syria on September 20 is claimed to have killed the terrorist group's leader. At the time, the media reported at least one person dead, without indicating the identity.

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Photo: Satellite Captures Alleged Iranian Missile Production Site Damaged by Blast

Earlier this week, Iranian media agencies reported a fire at one of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) research sites west of the capital of Tehran. However, the cause of the fire at the "research self-sufficiency center" was not reportedly indicated.

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Getting a new MacBook Pro? You still need a VPN — here's why.

In case you haven't heard, Apple's new 24-inch iMac is an absolute dreamboat of a desktop — and those colors? *chef's kiss*

"With its fun aesthetic, compact size, smooth performance, and more," it basically "begs to be used anywhere but the office," says tech reporter Brenda Stolyar, who bestowed Tim Cook's latest M1 machine with a coveted Mashable's Choice Award after taking it for a test drive. (Here's the full review of the new iMac.)

But for everything the new iMac can do, there's one thing you won't find under its hood — or that of any Apple-made computer, come to think of it — and that's some sort of technology that can protect you from online snooping. Enter: virtual private networks.

What's a VPN?

Without getting too deep in the weeds — we've already done so here — a virtual private network, or VPN, is an encrypted connection between your Mac and a private, remote server. Some have likened it to "a secure tunnel for web traffic," "a personal bodyguard for the internet," and "an anonymous middleman that does your browsing for you." But in the most basic sense, it's a service that keeps you totally incognito on the web by masking your online activities and making it seem like your connection's coming from somewhere you aren't.

Is a VPN necessary for Mac?

"Hold up," you're probably thinking. "Isn't macOS famously secure by default?" You're not wrong, actually: All Macs and MacBooks ship with built-in antivirus software that blocks and removes malware, and any apps you download from the internet are swabbed for malicious code by Apple's Gatekeeper tool. Furthermore, all of the data that lives on your macOS device's hard drive is secured with FileVault 2, a full-disk program featuring XTS-AES-128 encryption and a 256-bit key.

It's when any of your precious data ventures outside the localized protection of your Mac that things start to get dicey — and that happens every single time you connect to the web. Your Internet Service Provider, or ISP, tracks your every click to compile browsing logs they (sometimes) sell to marketers, who are champing at the bit to use your data for targeted ads. That information can also wind up in the hands of certain government agencies if your ISP is served with a subpoena.

SEE ALSO: Which Apple iMac color perfectly matches your personality?

Connecting to a public WiFi network is especially risky since you don't know who set it up or who else is using it; wannabe hackers can easily hop on to intercept your internet traffic in some sort of "man-in-the-middle" attack when you're browsing the web at a café, library, or airport.

A VPN takes care of those privacy issues and then some: With your IRL location hidden, you can skirt geo-restrictions that streaming services like Netflix have put in place and bypass government censorship in places like China. Online anonymity also means you're free to dabble in torrenting/peer-to-peer file-sharing — not that we condone the illegal kind, FWIW. (For even more VPN use cases, click here.)

Which VPN is best for Mac?

There's no specialized VPN for Macs, but almost all major VPN providers maintain support for macOS apps. So, with lots of options, you'll want to think carefully about which features matter most to you: Do you want a VPN with a huge server network and split tunneling for streaming and gaming? Will you feel more confident browsing with a kill switch or multihop (double VPN)? Do you need support for a bunch of connections based on the size of your household? Do you have the budget for add-ons like a dedicated IP? (Here's a refresher on any of those terms, if you need it.)

No matter what, make sure the VPN you choose ticks two important boxes: One, its privacy policy should explicitly state that it doesn't collect or store any consumer logs that can be traced back to you — otherwise, what's the point? (It greatly helps if said policy has been verified by a third-party audit, too.)

Two, your go-to VPN should be based somewhere privacy-friendly. Certain countries (including the United States) are part of global intelligence-sharing "Eyes" alliances and can force VPNs within their borders to cough up any user data they have on hand. Move a provider to the top of your list if it's headquartered in Panama, Switzerland, Romania, or the British Virgin Islands, which don't have laws mandating data retention.

We should also mention that we highly recommend paying for a VPN — there are some decent free ones out there, but their log policies can be questionable, and they're definitely not going to be as robust as their paid counterparts in terms of network size and security features.

If you need a little guidance, just keep scrolling: We've put together a rundown of the eight best VPNs for Mac users as of 2021. (Note that all of them accept Bitcoin for anonymous payments, use AES 256-bit encryption — a standard military-grade protocol — and support iOS apps for a secure and seamless Apple ecosystem.)

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Comparing popular VPNs? Folks on Reddit have some thoughts.

Slow WiFi and an exposed Google history are an avid internet user's worst nightmares, and the Obama-era rules that protect from these have been under attack since 2017. Hopes for change were all but crushed when a late 2020 vote affirmed the FCC's commitment to erasing net neutrality. Squashing these protections essentially gives internet service providers the green light to dish unfair treatment to certain web traffic — like throttling a Netflix connection or charging extra to use a certain social media platform. And don't get us started on how it could affect smaller sites with smaller budgets.

Discussions about the government's right to spy on your digital habits without a warrant don't exactly make anyone feel confident, either.

SEE ALSO: California's net neutrality law is a reality. Here's what it means.

Whatever the reason, people are becoming more and more paranoid about the vulnerability of their internet usage (that, or they're just really tired of American Netflix). In turn, Google has become littered with VPN reviews and lists of the best VPNs according to experts, tech publishers, and regular consumers alike. But if you wanted a more raw take on the day-to-day VPN experience from normal people (people with absolutely no filter), there's only one place to go: Reddit.

What is a VPN used for?

The bottom line is simple: People don't want other people watching what they're doing online, even if they're not doing anything wrong.

A VPN (virtual private network) is an internet security subscription that basically allows you to make up your own internet rules. It acts as a bodyguard between you and your internet service provider (and hackers, and other third-party weirdos) by hollowing out a personal anonymity tunnel through which you perform all of your internet activities. A VPN's job is to plug the holes that could be making your data vulnerable to nefarious eyeballs, like creeps scouring public WiFi networks for personal information that could be used to steal your identity. VPNs are as wise of a precaution as antivirus software or a password manager (yes, this applies to Macs too).

Hackers love free WiFi for the same reason you do: Connecting to the internet requires no authentication. That network is littered with unsecured devices, many times belonging to working professionals with bank accounts and business credentials that have phishers frothing at the mouth. Often, the easiest thing for hackers to do is slide in between your device and the connection point. This Man-in-the-Middle situation is like eavesdropping, but on emails, credit card info, and work logins. Other hackers users public WiFi to unleash malware to all of the suckers using the network without protection.

Many folks avoid the public WiFi risk by recruiting their phone's hotspot. But on the flip side, cellular data limits might be an issue — setting up a situation where both a laptop and phone need VPN protection. Many Reddit users suggest using something like EasyTether to share the VPN connection. Just download and enable a proxy app on your phone, configure it on your laptop, and you can enjoy a sort of reverse hotspot VPN-style.

Does a VPN help with streaming?

The convenience factor also plays a big role. VPNs also provide a way for people to get around internet roadblocks and censors. These can be location-based or around blocks to certain websites set by, say, your school.

All decent VPNs offer a wide selection of servers based in multiple geographic locations. Picking one of those essentially tricks your ISP into thinking your device is based there, maneuvering around geoblocks and opening the door to international content, like another country's Netflix library or BBC iPlayer.

VPN criteria, as made *very* clear by Redditors

The specs that Reddit users care about in a VPN are easy to tally when the same ones (or multiple people bitching about the lack of the same feature) pop up in countless subreddits throughout the year. Here are the ones that were mentioned the most:

Streaming dependability is a given. Tons of people want a VPN solely to watch content from other countries, so a VPN's ability to fake out geoblocks and get around a streaming site's VPN blocks is crucial. The speed at which that content streams matters, too (a fast VPN should be able to upscale to HD without lag). Connection speed and location spoofing are dependent on the number of servers and where they're located — more servers means less people hogging a single server's capacity, and various locations means more streaming libraries from around the world. (Free VPNs typically don't have the funds to support as robust of a menu of servers.)

For obvious reasons, most big streaming services aren't psyched on the idea of VPN usage and will probably mention it in their terms and conditions. If they happen to sniff out your VPN-ridden IP address, you're not necessarily screwed. The most likely repercussions would be the inability to access the streaming platform (even if it just worked the day before), but there have been instances of steaming services terminating subscriptions associated with spoofing.

Split tunneling can aid with traffic jams as well. VPNs that support split tunneling let you route some of your traffic through the encrypted VPN tunnel while bouncing other traffic over the internet directly. One might choose to separate less demanding but high-security activities like web browsing from high-bandwidth but low-security activities like streaming or playing video games. Advantages include reduced traffic on corporate networks, better speeds and reduced latency for the chosen tasks, and more customized privacy. If you're looking to tunnel to specific apps, look for an SSL VPN.

No DNS leaking is a good test of a VPN's trustworthiness. Think of a DNS (Domain Name Service) as the internet's phonebook: It's the service that transfers host names for humans to understand (like Mashable.com) to IP addresses for computers to understand. A leaked DNS essentially blabs your browsing history to whoever's watching on the other end — thus totally defeating the purpose of a VPN.

SEE ALSO: It turns out purposely messing with your targeted ads isn't a good idea

A kill switch cuts your connection to the internet if a secure connection to your VPN drops without notice. This is less likely on a high-quality VPN with a hefty roster of servers that can balance the traffic of millions of users, but far from impossible. By default, your device will switch back to your personal IP address or, worse, a public one. The speedy end-all action performed by a kill switch essentially ensures that you aren't unknowingly operating on a weak IP address. Some kill switches operate in the form of a firewall.

Jurisdiction — or the country in which a VPN is originally based — will dictate the privacy laws that VPN has to follow. Some places are nosier than others, mostly depending on their membership in an intelligence-sharing alliance (or not): The Five Eyes, Nine Eyes, and Fourteen Eyes are all but guaranteed to come up in any subreddit about a certain VPN's privacy policy. Countries in these groups have agreements related to third-party sharing and may be following strict data retention laws, depending on their legal jurisdiction. (Let's say a VPN is officially based in the US but has an office in Switzerland. The company can decide to follow Swiss legal obligations in order to avoid loopholes that make user data vulnerable.)

Not all VPNs run equally smoothly on every device, so app compatibility can make or break your VPN experience. Before signing up, make sure that your chosen VPN's app doesn't have major bugs on your operating system. For instance, some mobile VPN apps don't play as well on iPhone as Android, or an app might keep getting killed depending on other apps sucking your phone's battery.

Are free VPNs the move?

Reddit has strong feelings about this. It's bluntly summed up here in response to an inquiry about the "best free VPN":

Credit: reddit/screenshot

Reddit users will let you know that comparing free VPNs to paid VPNs just doesn't make sense. It's like comparing apples to oranges, and you'll almost definitely be skimping on some crucial features by opting out of paying. Proof isn't always provided, but many Redditors are convinced that free VPNs don't follow a true no-log policy or sell your data to third parties. "Free" is sometimes synonymous with "slow" due to fewer servers in fewer locations.

The general consensus seems to be to only use a free VPN to test the waters, then cough up the credit card info (or Paypal, or Bitcoin, or Visa gift cards from your grandma). Most times, this can be done through a trusted paid VPN that has a free tier to experiment with, or via a free trial, which many services offer. In a rare turn of events, Reddit backs Windscribe's free service hard. However, free VPNs can step up to the job for more temporary endeavors — like having access to your home country's streaming services while going abroad for a semester or keeping up with a certain sport for a season. Because paid VPNs only really get affordable when a one or two-year subscription is met, it may not make sense to pay $10 or $12 per month for the few months that you need a VPN.

The Wireguard vs. OpenVPN debate: What VPN protocol is best?

If you know to check Reddit for VPN advice, you likely already have some general knowledge about VPN protocols. But here's a breakdown if you need a refresher: A protocol is the rulebook that dictates how the VPN client talks to the VPN server and creates a tunnel, ultimately playing a role in security and vulnerabilities. Outdated-yet-popular protocols like L2TP/IPSec and PPTP, two more modern protocols often come up in conversation on Reddit: Wireguard and OpenVPN.

Both are open source, giving anyone in the community access to the source code to conduct their own investigation on potential security flaws — and Reddit users appreciate the ability to take things into their own hands. Wireguard's simpler code base is a little easier to crack and offers technical perks like better encryption and connection times, but it's not as polished as OpenVPN. OpenVPN, on the other hand, is the go-to for streams and gamers.

Subreddits get much further into the weeds than this, and TechRadar does a sweet job of unpacking it all.

Here are the VPNs that Reddit users recommend the most in 2021:

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Ditch the landline and get yourself a VoIP already

We have evolved past the need for landlines. Welcome to the era of VoIP. At its simplest, a VoIP (also known as Voice over Internet Protocol) is a way of making phone calls through the internet rather than having to rely on a regular landline or your cell phone. Think of it kind of like FaceTime or Skype but typically far more advanced and specialized than those services.

While many VoIP services involve a subscription fee, don’t let the dollar signs fool you: they often end up saving you money and can prove to be cheaper than using a standard phone line. That's particularly the case when dealing with long-distance calls or business conferences. Such services are also typically far more reliable, which is crucial for certain scenarios. And as more of the world moves online and businesses shift to more remote work, being able to stay connected and in contact anywhere is increasingly important.

Keep on reading and we'll explain all when it comes to the wonders of VoIP and take a look at the best VoIPs, no matter what your situation is.

Why are VoIPs important?

VoIPs are important for many different people. For businesses, it can be hugely beneficial to have crisp and clear calls, no matter where you're calling from. Most companies can’t settle for static and spotty signals when it comes to important conference calls and daily communications. VoIPs provide a steady connection and crystal clear call quality as long as you have an internet connection.

SEE ALSO: What the heck is a VoIP? An expert explains.

For those people with relatives around the world, they can enjoy cheap phone calls that remain high in quality and aren't dependent on anything other than a regular landline for the relative. That's particularly useful when dealing with friends or family who aren't tech-savvy. You’ll save on those international charges that can add up in a hurry and spend more time talking about what is important to you rather than doing tech support for those on the other end of the line.

In all cases, the big benefit is the reduced costs. Regular calls and international calls cost a lot over time. Businesses have the additional expense of needing to pay for features like toll-free numbers or automatic call recording. These can all come as standard with certain VoIP services.

How do VoIPs work, exactly?

VoIP systems are much simpler than you might imagine. Put simply, they are a way to make calls over your internet connection instead of your landline or mobile network.

To get a little more technical, VoIP systems let you connect to a server that allows you to place calls to other telephone networks across your internet connection. It converts your analog voice signal — the kind that is used when placing a standard phone call — into a digital signal by your VoIP service provider and transmitted over your internet connection.

The result is an experience identical to placing a call over a landline or mobile network, except the call quality is better and the cost is typically cheaper.

What to look for when buying a VoIP service

There are dozens of different VoIP services out there, so it's important to know what you are looking for and what will best serve your needs.

Think about why you are considering a VoIP service in the first place. If you're looking to call relatives at a lower price, then you don't need to worry about business features like toll-free numbers, fax, or automatic call recording. However, you do want to make sure the calls are crisp and high-quality, and voicemail features could be useful.

If you're a small business, you don't have to worry about conference call support for dozens of users, but you could probably do with some flexibility to expand the plan as your business grows. You also want to check that you can port your old number across if customers are used to that number from before.

And if you’re a larger business, you’re going to want to take a look at the full suite of features. Conference calling might become essential, especially if your workforce is becoming more remote-friendly. Fax services, as well as toll-friendly numbers and answering machine features are also likely to need some consideration.

In all cases, it's vital to know what your budget is so you can keep to it accordingly. Read on to discover our picks for the best VoIPs.

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Best VoIP for small business owners — whether you're WFH or not

Small businesses have to find ways to compete with the big box stores and companies with more resources and recognition. The best way is to stand out by developing a reputation for reliability and top-notch service. One of the keys to achieving that is by always being available and easy for your clients and customers to contact. There's a secret weapon that small businesses can utilize to stay connected: VoIP.

An excellent VoIP service (it stands for voice over internet protocol, in case you were wondering) goes a long way to making this possible while keeping costs low.

So what is a VoIP, exactly?

Think of it like using FaceTime or Skype but as a professional service, or as a souped-up and internet-connected version of your standard landline connection. Everything businesses need from their phone system, VoIP can do better — and often cheaper.

But, how do you know what to look for when seeking out a great VoIP service for your small business? Don't worry. We've got you covered with a look at the best VoIPs for every kind of small business and every budgetary need.

Why does your small business need a VoIP service?

When it comes to running your business, there is perhaps nothing more fundamental to the operation than communication, from organizing your team to getting in touch with customers and clients. VoIP services provide an enhanced version of what you'd expect from a standard business phone provider. A VoIP service gives you crystal clear phone calls and video calls because you're connected to the internet and have a digital connection that can transmit more data at faster speeds. Even better, you can typically get service from a VoIP provider at a lower price than a landline service.

SEE ALSO: Best VoIP services

That makes it ideal simply if you're trying to communicate with other employees remotely, but it also offers so much more. Many VoIP providers offer services for small businesses will give you toll-free numbers, automatic call recording, and even features like a switchboard feature or virtual receptionist assistant. All these capabilities make your business seem more professional to potential clients, as well as help you organize your work practices more effectively.

Why VoIP is ideal for the remote workplace

We already covered call quality and some of the additional features that you can get from a VoIP service, but there are other benefits as well. Key among them is the fact that VoIP systems can integrate seamlessly into your existing workflow. That is a big deal. Anyone who has ever been a part of an office that tries to switch over their CRM software knows just how big of a disruption it can be. VoIP services often offer options that allow you to use it with your existing software without any interruption.

It’s also the ideal tool for the modern workplace. As more and more companies are going remote — or staying remote after the pandemic — staying in touch with your team is as important as ever. So is making sure they have access to the tools that they need to do their job. VoIP services aren’t limited to the hard-wired connection of a landline. You’ll be able to set up conference calls and access the full suite of tools from your VoIP’s digital dashboard no matter where you’re working from.

What to look for in a small business VoIP

There are dozens of different VoIP companies out there, so it's crucial that you know what elements you most need. The smallest of small businesses may only need a cheap landline replacement and some basic collaborative features for remote workers. Still, it's likely you also want extra features, like being able to record calls or a virtual receptionist to handle multiple clients at once. 

Avoid overpaying for services you don't need. If your business doesn't rely on CRMs, then you shouldn't go out of your way to find a VoIP service that includes CRM integration. Make sure your VoIP can grow with you, such as by ensuring that you can upgrade your service as you develop. It's good to have a business plan for the future. 

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Pope Francis to Require Vaccination or Negative COVID-19 Tests From Vatican Staff - Report

Pope Francis had previously said that everyone in the Vatican had been vaccinated, "except for a small group, in which we are studying how to help them." The pontiff called for greater discussion of the topic so as to clarify any questions surrounding the vaccines.

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Pentagon Leaders Told Senators US in Talks to Use Russian Bases for Afghan Ops - Reports

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mark Milley told lawmakers in a classified briefing that the Biden administration is in talks about using Russian bases in Central Asia to conduct counterterrorism missions against targets in Afghanistan, Politico reported on Wednesday.

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Everyone you need to remember before seeing 'No Time to Die'

Folks, it's finally here. But wait, who is that again?

After over a year's worth of delays due to the ongoing pandemic, No Time To Die is about to land in cinemas. It's been six years since the last James Bond film, Spectre, was released in 2015, so it's been quite a while between missions.

With director Cary Joji Fukunaga at the helm, No Time to Die introduces a host of new characters, including Rami Malek as villain Lyutsifer Safin, Lashana Lynch as British 00 agent Nomi, Ana de Armas as Cuban CIA agent Paloma, alongside Dali Benssalah, Billy Magnussen, and David Dencik as Primo, Logan Ash, and Valdo Obruchev respectively.

But there'll also be a bunch of familiar faces returning for the the 25th film in the Bond franchise, including, of course, Daniel Craig in his final ride as 007. Craig's run has included some more heavily serialised plotlines and character arcs than the franchise has previously done (even though they're many of the same characters from throughout the franchise), so it's good to have a rough handle on Bond's history with some of those faces.

Seeing as it's been so many years since we've seen many of these characters, here's a handy guide to those who return in No Time to Die, so you can be all “Ahhhh, them!” when they appear onscreen. Obviously, there will be spoilers for the previous Bond films, but not for No Time To Die.

Eve Moneypenny

Eve (Naomie Harris) presents Bond (Daniel Craig) with a ceramic gift from M in "Skyfall." Credit: Francois Duhamel

Naomie Harris first starred as Eve Moneypenny in Skyfall, the first film in which M's secretary Miss Moneypenny was given, you know, a first name or a solid backstory. Yes, it took 20 (twenty!) films before one of the longest serving characters in the franchise got a name.

Moneypenny was played by Lois Maxwell for decades (in 14 films!), before Caroline Bliss took over for the Timothy Dalton era of The Living Daylights and License to Kill, and Samantha Bond played her in Pierce Brosnan's films. Moneypenny and Bond have always had a level of sexual tension between them, never actually following the banter anywhere because workplace, people — the horny VR simulation scene in Die Another Day doesn't count, but the Skyfall shaving scene in brings it pretty damn close.

SEE ALSO: 'No Time To Die' is an epic last chance to fall for Daniel Craig's Bond

In the Craig films, Moneypenny begins working as a field agent with Bond in Istanbul in the opening scenes of Skyfall. After dodging VW Beetles with her Land Rover Defender in a hectic chase, she accidentally shoots Bond in the shoulder on M's order as he's on top of a moving train wrestling with mercenary Patrice. Unfortunately, the bad guy gets away with a hard drive full of details on undercover NATO agents, which villain Raoul Silva (Javier Bardem) publishes on YouTube. Moneypenny's temporarily suspended from field work — "something to do with killing 007" — though she works with Bond again in Macau before declining a return to the field after M's death.

In Spectre, she's secretary to the new M, Gareth Mallory (Ralph Fiennes) and a strong ally to Bond, at all hours and timezones.

Dr. Madeleine Swann

Dr. Madeleine Swann (Léa Seydoux) returns in "No Time to Die." Credit: NICOLA DOVE 2021 DANJAQ, LLC AND MGM

Léa Seydoux first showed up as Dr. Madeleine Swann in Spectre in 2015, after Bond makes an appointment with her for a psychiatric evaluation. According to Bond's research, Swann trained at Oxford and the Sorbonne, became a consultant, and spent two years with Médecins Sans Frontières. Bond finds her running a clinic at the top of a mountain in the Austrian Alps.

He received this tipoff from her father, Mr White (Jesper Christensen), who appeared in most of Craig's films: Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace, and Spectre as a high-ranking member of SPECTRE and an organisation known as Quantum. (So they're the ones who interrogated Vesper Lynd [Eva Green] in Casino Royale and she made a deal to spare Bond's life for the suitcase of money Le Chiffre lost to Bond in the card game that came from LRA commander Steven Obanno [Isaach De Bankolé], all events which led to Vesper's death. It's a lot!)

Bond tracked White down to his cabin in Austria, where he was hiding out as a SPECTRE defector, and made a deal to protect Swann. Swann and Bond head to L'American (a hotel in Tangier, Morocco, which White and his ex-wife frequented). There, a mouse (!) somehow showed Bond a secret room where Swann's parents kept their secret SPECTRE shit (including the location of Blofeld's lair). Bond and Swann grew close, then had sex on a train in Morocco after being attacked by Hinx (Dave Bautista) and his SPECTRE crew. Ah!

Then, Swann and Bond met Blofeld at his desert lair, where he showed Swann a video of her father's death by suicide, and revealed he came to White's home once and met Swann when she was a kid. When Bond was being tortured, Swann said she loved Bond, which is a jump in their relationship, but she eventually leaves when they're back in London, to escape the spy life. But she's captured by Blofeld and rescued by Bond in the final showdown. They have a big cheesy smooch on the Westminster Bridge when everything's over and drive off into the political heart of London at the end in an Aston Martin DB5.

Q

Q (Ben Whishaw) in "Skyfall". Credit: Danjaq / Eon Productions / Kobal / Shutterstock

Bond franchise legend Desmond Llewelyn’s long-running role as Q, quartermaster of gadgets at MI6, was inherited by John Cleese for Die Another Day (well, he was promoted from his assistant role in The World Is Not Enough), then Ben Whishaw in Skyfall — Q didn’t appear in Casino Royale or Quantum of Solace, and neither did many gadgets.

We first meet Whishaw's Q in front of a Turner painting in London's National Gallery, telling Bond, "I'll hazard I can do more damage on my laptop sitting in my pyjamas before my first cup of Earl Grey than you can do in a year in the field." Whishaw is the perfect modern version of Q, actively throwing the exploding pens of the Brosnan days in the bin for a more online approach — aside from the gadget-stocked Aston Martin DB10 in Spectre. Whishaw maintains the character's classic long-suffering frustration at Bond's reliance on firearms and disregard for keeping expensive equipment intact, all the while sipping from his Scrabble mug.

Q fuses some nifty science with his gadgetry in Spectre, including his "smart blood" nanotechnology which allows him to track Bond's movements. And he's a good ally, as he lied to M for Bond to disguise his whereabouts when tracking Blofeld in Austria, even meeting him at Dr. Swann's clinic to help with Bond's investigation, and helping Bond eventually stop Blofeld.

Felix Leiter

Bond (Daniel Craig) and Felix Leiter (Jeffrey Wright) in 'Casino Royale'. Credit: Jay Maidment

Felix Leiter has been a longtime ally of Bond’s, first appearing all the way back in the first Bond film in 1962, Dr. No, helping out Sean Connery (he's played by Jack Lord in the most incredible sunglasses). Leiter is a CIA agent who always gets Bond out of trouble, with the pair often trading intelligence. Jeffrey Wright took on the role for Casino Royale in 2006, first meeting Bond at the pivotal baccarat game with Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen).

Leiter turns up in Quantum of Solace working with the CIA's South American head Gregg Beam (David Harbour! Forgot he was in a Bond film!), and striking a bad oil deal with bad guy Dominic Greene (Mathieu Amalric). Leiter was promoted to replace Beam at the end of this film.

Leiter isn't in Spectre, but Bond calls him to help Lucia Sciarra to safety after she gives him information on SPECTRE, in which her husband was an assassin.

Ernst Stavro Blofeld

Lifelong adversaries: Ernst Stavro Blofeld (Christoph Waltz) in 'No Time to Die'. Credit: NICOLA DOVE 2021 DANJAQ, LLC AND MGM

Bond's historically cat-petting arch-nemesis Ernst Stavro Blofeld finally made an appearance in the Craig era in Spectre. Blofeld was Bond's enemy mainly throughout the Sean Connery films, played by four different actors (notably including Donald Pleasence and Charles Gray) leading the organisation known as SPECTRE — Special Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion. They're the ones with the octopus rings. Blofeld's very first appearance was in the second ever Bond movie, 1963's From Russia with Love, but he wasn't named, and he supposedly died in 1981's For Your Eyes Only in a sequence that has Roger Moore's Bond dropping a man who resembles Blofeld into a smokestack using a helicopter.

In the Craig era, Blofeld was revealed to be very much alive and in action, having been the puppetmaster behind the acts of Le Chiffre in Casino Royale, Dominic Greene in Quantum of Solace, and Raoul Silva in Skyfall. We first glimpse him at the funeral of Marco Sciarra, a SPECTRE assassin Bond kills in Mexico City, then Blofeld is revealed in a SPECTRE meeting in Rome.

In Blofeld's desert lair, he revealed Blofeld is the alias for Franz Oberhauser, the son of Hannes Oberhauser — a man who became some kind of foster father to Bond, teaching him to ski and hunt as a child after losing his parents. Franz killed his father. "It was all me, James, it's always been me, the author of all your pain," he said, literally backing this up by torturing Bond.

After Bond and Swann blew up Blofeld's lair (giving Blofeld the facial scar made iconic by Pleasence), the pair had a showdown in the old MI6 headquarters where Blofeld set up a creepy maze trap with...printouts? Of Le Chiffre et al? After a Thames chase, Bond shot down Blofeld's helicopter, which crashed on Westminster Bridge, and the SPECTRE boss was captured by MI6.

M

M (Ralph Fiennes), Moneypenny (Naomie Harris) and Tanner (Rory Kinnear) in 'No Time to Die.' Credit: NICOLA DOVE 2021 DANJAQ, LLC AND MGM

Having taken on the role of M in the Brosnan era, delivering such memorable burns as calling 007 a "sexist, misogynist dinosaur," Judi Dench's version of the head of MI6 was, frankly, everything. She was tragically killed in the final showdown with Raoul Silva in Skyfall.

Ralph Fiennes entered the Bond films in Skyfall as Gareth Mallory, the new chairman of the Intelligence and Security Committee reporting to the prime minister. He basically fired M after the failed opening mission in Skyfall (she fired back with a superb "To hell with dignity. I'll leave when the job's done," to Mallory's face). Mallory made this moment up to M by taking a bullet from Silva for her in the hearing room.

After M's death, Mallory was promoted to head of MI6. Fiennes brings a similar uptight bureaucratic energy to the role as Bernard Lee, who played M for most of the Bond films in the '60s and '70s. However, Mallory hasn't just lived his career in an office — he was lieutenant colonel in Northern Ireland, Hereford Regiment, and spent three months in the custody of the IRA.

In Spectre, M put up with a bunch of crap then got replaced by the corrupt director-general of the Joint Security Service Max Denbigh (Andrew Scott), also known as C. He dissolved the 00 program and planned to install the Nine Eyes global intelligence committee that would have shared a whole lot of data from nine of the world's intelligence agencies (MI6 included) with each other, but really, with SPECTRE — C turned out to be working for them, and M confronted him before he fell to his death.

Bill Tanner

Bill Tanner is back as MI6's Chief of Staff, played by Rory Kinnear. He's the guy that keeps the whole British espionage machine going, reporting directly to M, briefing agents, running field ops, and generally keeping track of Bond and his activities. Tanner appears in several Bond films before Craig's time, starting with The Man with the Golden Gun in 1974, but it wasn't until Quantum of Solace that we'd see Kinnear in the role. He got the new MI6 set up after the terrorist attack on headquarters in Skyfall, and shielded M from Silva's attacks in the hearing room. In Spectre, he's still running the new HQ, and helps Bond bring down Blofeld with M, Moneypenny, and Q.

Alright, you're on your own now. No Time to Die is showing in cinemas from Sept. 30 in the UK and Oct. 8 everywhere else.

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Bill Cosby Thinks R. Kelly's Trial Was Racist, Singer 'Was Screwed' - Report

54-year-old Kelly was found guilty of sexually assaulting women and minors for decades on charges that included racketeering and violating the Mann Act, which bars the transportation of individuals across state boundaries for immoral purposes. At the sentencing scheduled for May, he faces up to life in prison.

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Alabama Governor on Defensive Over Plan to Use $400 Million in Federal Covid Relief to Build Prisons

Alabama Republicans are firing back amid criticism by Democrats for a decision to use $400 million given to the state by the federal government to build and repair prisons. Governor Kay Ivey (R) said the funds are meant to replace lost revenue.

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Tunisian’s President Named Arab’s World First Ever Female Prime Minister

Tunisia's President Kais Saied appointed Najla Bouden Romdhane on Wednesday as the new Prime Minister, a crucial step in leading the country out of its political crisis.

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Biden Administration to Issue New Memo to Terminate Trump-Era Remain in Mexico Policy

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said in a press release it will issue a new memorandum to terminate the Trump-era Migrant Protection Protocols after a Texas judge ordered the federal government to reinstate the rule, which required asylum-seeking migrants to stay in Mexico while awaiting court proceedings.

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Congressional Committee on January 6 Events at Capitol Subpoenas Trump Ally, 10 Organizers

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The congressional Select Committee investigating the events on the US Capitol on January 6 said that it has subpoenaed long-time Trump ally Katrina Pierson and ten other organizers of rallies that occurred before the riot, according to a press release, issued Wednesday.

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Polish President Signs Decree on Prolonging Emergency on Border With Belarus for 60 Days

WARSAW (Sputnik) – Polish President Andrzej Duda has signed and sent to the parliament a decree on extending the state of emergency on the border with Belarus for the next 60 days, the presidential office said.

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Ronaldo Rescues Manchester United Against Villarreal, but Can He Save Their Season?

Manchester United stared at a familiar proposition on Wednesday night. Knotted at 1-1 against their Europa League Final foe Villarreal, United looked out of ideas. In a game where they had been second best, a draw appeared to be a fair consolation. That was until Cristiano Ronaldo rescued the day.

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EU Court of Justice Strikes Down Morocco Trade Deal over Western Sahara Exports

The European Union Court of Justice has struck down a trade deal with Morocco it says didn’t have consent from the Polisario Front, which has declared Western Sahara to be an independent Saharawi republic. The court previously ruled against the deal in 2018, but the EP passed it anyway, claiming it had found a loophole.

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Norwegian Professor Under Investigation For Allegedly Violating Nuclear Sanctions on Iran - Reports

Norway, which is not a member of the European Union, has supported the EU's restrictive measures on Iran's nuclear program.

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Biden Should Appoint Envoy for Closing Guantanamo, Ex-Muslim Chaplain at Gitmo Says

WASHINGTON (Sputnik), Ekaterina Chukaeva - US President Joe Biden should appoint a special envoy who would facilitate the release of Guantanamo prisoners and negotiate their repatriation with other countries, James Yee, a former US Army Muslim chaplain at Guantanamo Bay, told Sputnik.

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US Aviation Agency Says Virgin Galactic May Resume Operations After Closing Mishap Probe

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said in a statement that Virgin Galactic may resume flight operations after it concluded its investigation of the Unity 22 launch mishap that took place in the state of New Mexico in July.

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Ted Cruz Dares AOC to Weep Before 'Biden Cages' for Migrants at Southern Border - Report

Back in 2018, the future unofficial leader of the progressive wing of the Democratic Party, also known as the "Squad," protested against President Trump's migration practices, publicly stating that the US "stole refugee children from their parents, & caged them." Photos of her crying near a fence were widely criticized for being staged, however.

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US House of Representatives Passes Bill to Suspend Debt Ceiling Through December 16, 2022

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The US House of Representatives passed legislation on Wednesday evening that would suspend the debt ceiling through December 16, 2022.

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Search for Gabby Petito Leads to Discovery of Missing Man’s Body

The high-profile search for Gabby Petito leads a rescue team to the body of a missing hiker Robert Lowery, who disappeared in the same park where Petito’s body was found.

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Save 50% on unlimited access to thousands of crafting courses

TL;DR: A one-year subscription to Creativebug Fine Art and Craft Classes is on sale for £25.57 as of Sept. 29, saving you 50% on list price.

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Instagram and TikTok certainly can serve as a source of inspiration, but the more time you spend on these apps, the more your creativity could end up suffering. It's time to channel your creative energy into something other than scrolling. If you don't know where to begin, this Creativebug subscription can help you tap into your artistic side at the drop of a hat.

With this one-year unlimited plus subscription to Creativebug's fine art and craft courses, there's no limit to what you can learn and create with your hands. Creativebug features on-demand access to over 1,000 arts and crafts courses for artists and makers of all skill levels. Plus, all courses that you stream on the app are completely ad-free and perfectly edited in high definition.

With new courses released from top artists in their fields daily, you'll never get bored or run out of creative juice. If you're concerned about the membership lasting just a year, upon access to this subscription, you'll automatically get 12 class credits that never expire and that you can keep forever to continue your creative journey.

Craft topics range from knitting, sewing, and crocheting, to paper crafts, jewelry making, and food and home crafting. If there's any sort of DIY project you wish you had learned, now's your shot. You can download everything you need to get crafting right in the app, including patterns, templates, and recipes. You can even stay connected with other artists through the online in-app community galleries and forums. 

Normally a one-year subscription to Creativebug's arts and crafts courses featuring over 1,000 different courses retails for £52. But now for a limited time, you can shave 50% off of the regular price and get unlimited access for just £25.57.

Save 50% on Creativebug Fine Art and Craft Classes

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Everything you need to know about NordVPN

Not bad, NordVPN. We were hopping around proxy servers on Chrome without any drops in speed. This is what using a virtual private network (VPN) should feel like. We noticed a similar experience on an Android phone where we didn’t have to sacrifice speed for privacy.

“Well, that’s not so great.” That was the reaction when we started testing NordVPN on a MacBook. While NordVPN delivers in the privacy department, speed can be inconsistent. However, there are a few X factors, including Netflix access and availability in China. This makes NordVPN perhaps the best option for many users, though to really get the most out of it you need to dig around a little.

NordVPN is one of the best VPNs available today. The slew of privacy options and servers remains a huge draw as does its ability to get around geo-locked content on Netflix, Hulu, and more.

Additionally, NordVPN remains a top choice for those seeking a VPN that works in China. The main drawbacks continue to be the premium price and somewhat inconsistent speeds. But, NordVPN remains a top contender for best VPN in 2021... at a premium price.

How does NordVPN work?

If you’re using the internet, you’re doing so through an Internet Service Provider (ISP). That ISP is also recording everything you’re doing in some capacity. While the data isn’t easily accessible or being used actively (to, say, serve you ads), you don't have a say in what does or doesn’t get logged.

A VPN, however, obscures your browsing habits and routes your IP address through a server the VPN company provides instead of your ISP’s server.

NordVPN takes a no-frills approach to VPNs. Monthly subscriptions start at £8.84, but you can save money by purchasing a longer subscription. Currently, the plans are:

• 1-year: £43.66 or £3.64/month

• 2-year: £65.86 or £2.44/month (with 3-month gift)

The Android app features a blue and white map, some trees, a few boats, and map markers to identify VPN locations. A simple drop-down menu reveals your new IP address and your current location.

A screenshot from NordVPN's interface. Credit: NordVPN

Over in settings, you can add more layers of security. The CyberSec option blocks ads and protects your phone or laptop from malware and phishing attacks. You can auto connect using Quick Connect, the default option, or choose your preferred server or country.

The app is easy enough to navigate, but there's a slight learning curve to the various offerings. You can't easily figure out if tapping on, say, "Obfuscated Servers" or "Auto Connect Server" will turn something on or take you to a new page with additional information.

Additionally, while generally easy to use, the Obfuscated Servers option isn't really explained. "Servers capable of bypassing specific country restrictions," reads the description, but what's the actual benefit of turning this feature on? Based on previous knowledge of VPNs, this feature hides the fact you’re using a VPN to make it look like you're using a normal server. So, I'd recommend residents of countries with restrictive internet laws should turn this feature on.

NordVPN works seamlessly across all the devices we tested. The Android app is lightweight with minimal battery usage, even when working in the background. Over on Chrome as a proxy, it works as you would expect. Just click on the drop-down menu, select your server, and start using a VPN. There are nearly 6000 servers in 59 countries, so there’s definitely an option out there for you.

NordVPN looks great on a Mac. It’s still minimalist, but all the features are easily accessible through the menu pane that drops down. You can search for features or quickly toggle on security features or see what VPNs are available.

It’s a smooth experience, but there isn't a lot of guidance. For VPN vets or experts, it’s fine that there isn't a lot of detail on what the "Double VPN" option does, but novices may feel lost and will likely stick with the default Quick Connect option.

What advanced features does NordVPN offer?

While it’s not the most stylish VPN around, NordVPN more than makes up for it with an abundance of privacy features.

A great VPN has to give you the tools to protect your privacy. In addition to the standard VPN, Obfuscated Servers, and CyberSec options, NordVPN gives you even more ways to protect your privacy. Again, there’s no hand-holding on why you might turn on one feature or the advantages of certain other features.

Like the label says, the Double VPN option funnels your internet traffic through two VPN servers. It’s anonymous on top of anonymous and ideal for the security-minded. This can help protect against any data leaks, but comes at the expense of speed.

NordVPN also lets users access the Tor network through its Onion Over VPN servers option. Your internet traffic is first sent and encrypted through their server, which is then sent to the Tor Network. You’ll be able to access to all the sites, from the harmless to the nefarious, found on the “Dark Web.” For torrent aficionados, NordVPN has P2P Servers optimised for peer-to-peer sharing.

Perhaps the best “security” feature is the country where NordVPN calls home. A company is subject to a country’s laws on what data and personal information is collected. Not surprisingly, some countries have more restrictive data storage laws than others.

Complicating matters are international intelligence agreements. Most notably are a series of “eyes” agreements. The Five Eyes Alliance, as it’s popularly known, is an intelligence agreement between the U.S., Canada, Australia, the UK, and New Zealand. That intelligence sharing agreement added four more members — Denmark, France, Norway, and the Netherlands — to become Nine Eyes. Sweden, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Belgium also have intelligence agreements with these countries and the collective is known as Fourteen Eyes.

If your VPN is hosted in one of these countries, it's possible any personal data and other information that the VPN service logs may be shared as part of an intelligence agreement (though many don't log any browsing info at all).

However, NordVPN is incorporated in Panama. The only data NordVPN is keeping is related to billing and website functionality. These details include email addresses, payment information, cookies, and data collected for Google Analytics.

Everything else you do using one of their VPNs will not be recorded, according to NordVPN. This includes everything from bandwidth usage to session information to connection timestamps. While you may never be involved in an investigation, NordVPN would not have much useful information even if they were compelled to turn over any data.

Still all of that would be for naught if there were data leaks. Fortunately, NordVPN is one tight ship. You can see if your VPN is leaking information through an online DNS leak test. A domain network service (DNS) leak occurs when information slips through the secure network. If a website you’re visiting requests your IP address and receives it from your ISP and not your VPN, then you have a leak. Testing for a DNS leak on Chrome and on a MacBook revealed no leaks. Only one server was detected and my chosen country was correctly identified.

NordVPN is one of the few VPN options for China. Most privacy services are blocked in the country, so finding any VPN that works in China is worth your attention. It requires a bit more technical understanding and using the Obfuscated Servers option, but it works, at least per online sources.

NordVPN checks all the privacy boxes you need in a VPN. It has a no-log policy, there are multiple options for additional security, and there are no leaks. Even better, NordVPN is as fast as it is secure. Well, almost.

Does NordVPN deliver decent connection speeds?

NordVPN says it uses an algorithm to identify the fastest server as part of its Quick Connect option. We were sent to a nearby VPN and we never noticed a dip in speed. In fact, the VPN was just a bit faster than the usual connection in Chrome.

Quick Connect (default) speed. Credit: nordvpn

Switching to France and we noticed the same fast speeds, but did notice a significant drop in upload speed. That won’t be an issue until you decide to send a large file across the internet.

We did notice a huge drop in speed while using a proxy located in Argentina. Internet speed was at a near standstill and brought us back to the days of AOL and a dial-up connection. That’s not a good look in 2018. The Brazil proxy was better, but up to 40MB slower than what we experienced elsewhere.

Argentina server speed. Credit: NordVPN

Brazil server speed. Credit: Nordvpn

Using NordVPN on a MacBook, we did notice connectivity issues and slower speeds. We could Quick Connect without a problem and most countries worked, but there were several occasions where we could not connect to a European country such as France or Germany. When connected to a VPN in the UK, we noticed a 30MB drop in speed. NordVPN remains one of the fastest VPNs and its performance improved in the latest tests performed by PCMag.

France server speed. Credit: nordvpn

UK server speed. Credit: nordvpn

Slower speed can be forgiven if there’s something to counter this negative experience. Luckily, Netflix works on NordVPN and that may be enough of a selling point for potential customers.

Netflix has been dogged in its pursuit to crack down on VPN and proxy usage. We were thwarted from watching region-locked shows while using TunnelBear, but that was not the case with NordVPN. We had full access to a range of shows through NordVPN.

Should you subscribe to NordVPN?

It’s easy to see why NordVPN has received a lot of love from VPN enthusiasts. There are a lot of privacy options and all of them require a simple button press to toggle on. Speed can be a concern, but that’s a caveat for all VPNs.

NordVPN stands out for its privacy features and its ability to fly under the radar of both Netflix and China. That’s a huge achievement and one worth the price of admission. While it may not be the most user-friendly VPN around, NordVPN should be considered by anyone serious about privacy.

Credit: NordVPN

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