Even though Singapore has got one of the highest rates of internet users per population (over 72% in 2012), yet, it has also got one of the highest internet censorship imposed by the government. Political sites with opposing views to the government and all sites with adult content are completely banned. In addition to that the internet usage is highly monitored and recorded by the government. In other words, Singapore is considered one of the lowest countries when it comes to internet freedom, security and privacy in the world. This has caused a massive inconvenience for both citizens and expats. To resolve this, people in Singapore started seeking alternative options to bypass these restrictions and to avoid government surveillance. The best option here was to use a reliable VPN. The main purpose of a VPN is to keep the users’ internet activities extremely private, to protect them against any online attacks (cybercrimes), and to bypass any online restrictions (geo-restrictions and local online censorship). We have done our research according to these criteria and came up with the best 3 VPNs for Singapore.
Best VPNs for Singapore
ExpressVPN
ExpressVPN is known to be one of the strongest VPNs available. Its features are very competitive among its rival names. Based in the British Virgin Islands, ExpressVPN started back in 2009 and grew to be one of the biggest names in the VPN market. It has surely got what it takes to make it in Singapore.
Level of Security
- ExpressVPN has secured its entire network with an SSL 256-bit military grade encryption.
- The security protocols supported in the app are extremely advanced (OpenVPN with UDP/TCP, L2TP/IPSec, PPTP, and SSTP).
Network of Servers
- With a big name comes a big network, consisting of over a 1000 servers in over 145 locations, spread across more than 94 countries around the world.
- Server locations include Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Japan, Indonesia, and many more in South East Asia.
- These servers are able to bypass any geo-restrictions plus they provide countless shared IP’s for their users to hide their online identity within.
Logs Policy
- ExpressVPN only keeps the very basic contact information needed for the users’ subscription. This information is kept highly secured and is not enough to give away the users’ online identity.
- Any online activity logs are not monitored or recorded.
We weren’t surprised to find ExpressVPN up to the Singapore challenge as it has succeeded against harder challenges in other countries in the world. This is why, for Singapore users, this is a very suitable option. Even though it can be a bit costly, yet, users will definitely get what they paid for.
NordVPN
NordVPN is known to be one of the strongest advocates for internet privacy and freedom. With that intention in mind, it has been improving its place in the market year after year. It has bypassed one challenge after the other and so when it came to Singapore, the online complications were no match for it.
Level of Security
- The network is secured with a military grade AES 256-bit SHA encryption.
- The app supports the latest and most reliable in security protocols (OpenVPN, L2TP/IPSec, PPTP, SSTP, and IKEv2).
- An additional security feature is the Double Encryption, in which all data pass through 2 servers and at each server they take a layer of encryption before reaching the final destination.
- Additional security features include an automatic kill switch, DNS leak resolver, and Onion over VPN.
Network of Servers
- NordVPN has 859 server locations, spread across 57 countries around the world.
- The servers are optimized for different purposes. For example, the Ultra-Fast TV servers are optimized for online video streaming. In other words, they are optimized for high connection speeds.
- There are also Anti-DDoS servers for the more security conscious users.
Logs Policy
- NordVPN is based outside of the EU and US jurisdiction and so it is not bound by any data retention laws.
- This gives it the advantage to be fully commited to a zero-logs policy, in which it does not monitor or record any online activities or connection details at all.
NordVPN is one of the providers that give you the feeling that its features can be customized for any online challenge. This is the reason it is a highly recommended VPN for Singapore.
PureVPN
PureVPN is a Hong Kong based company that started back in 2006 with the core intention of protecting its users’ online privacy, security, and freedom. In its first year it expanded from 2 server locations to 16 server locations. This gave a clear image of the future of such a great provider. With online complications in Singapore, PureVPN didn’t hesitate and came to the rescue, bringing its A-game of features.
Level of Security
- The PureVPN network is secured with a 256-bit encryption.
- The most advance security protocols are supported by the app (OpenVPN, L2TP/IPSec, PPTP,SSTP, and IKEv2)
- Additional security features include WiFi security, internet kill switch, NAT firewall, and DDoS protection.
Network of Servers
- The PureVPN network consists of over 750 servers spread across 141 countries around the world.
- These servers provide the users with over 88,000 shared IP’s to ensure online identity invisibility.
- Dedicated IP’s are also available upon request.
Logs Policy
- Hong Kong does not have mandatory data retention laws, which gives the advantage to PureVPN to not keep any online activity logs.
- Only very basic contact information is kept for the sake of keeping the users accounts afloat.
Compared to other top of the line providers, PureVPN is extremely cost-efficient, as it has amazing features yet it is not as expensive as most premium VPNs in the market. With PureVPN, Singapore internet users can now enjoy compete freedom and safety while surfing the web.
Conclusion
Singapore was a tough challenge when it came to online restrictions but ever since VPNs came into the picture, nothing became impossible. For all internet users in Singapore that are bothered by the online restrictions or afraid of any cybercrimes, just choose the most suitable VPN for you and connect away with no limits and endless security and privacy.
