When studying the situation in Mexico, it did not seem very worrying at first. Internet penetration rate in Mexico has increased exponentially in the past decade and looking at it from the outside, the level of online freedom is not bad. Unfortunately, there is a hidden truth that is slightly different than that. It is known that Mexico has one of the highest drug-related crime rates in the world and due to that, the government has been recently empowered with strong online surveillance authorities. Now if this surveillance was only meant for all the drug related crimes, there shouldn’t be a problem, but we can never be so sure. Especially that there is a relatively high level of corruption among politicians. In addition to that, freedom of speech, when it comes to journalists and independent bloggers is strongly fought in Mexico. Due to that there is an equivalent level of online censorship. This can cause a feeling of discomfort to all internet users in Mexico even if they are not involved in any illegal activities. Still, nobody likes to feel as if they are being watched all the time and freedom of speech is considered a very basic human right, as long as it is practiced in a respectful civilized manner. For that reason, the use of a VPN service in Mexico seems very practical. But in order to know exactly what we need out of the VPN, we need to understand briefly how it works. A VPN is a service consisting of a global network of servers along with a VPN software that provide its users with a group of features that aim at protecting the users’ online freedom, online privacy, and online security. Let’s take a look at each of these 3 points in more detail.
Online Freedom
As we mentioned earlier that VPNs operate a global network of servers and allow their users the ability to connect to any of these servers. In order for the user to bypass any online restrictions placed by their local government, all they need to do is to connect to any of the VPN servers located outside of the country with the restrictions and so all their network traffic will go through that server instead of the server operated by the local ISP and is ordered to implement online censorship. Users can also use this feature to bypass geo-restrictions placed by online services by connecting to a server within the location of these services (for example, VPN users in Mexico can access Netflix US, which is only accessible from within the US, by simply choosing to connect to one of the VPN servers located within the US). Most VPN services support highly encrypted tunneling protocols to allow their users to penetrate any firewalls placed by local governments. These are the features responsible for ensuring the VPN users’ online freedom.
Online Privacy
The features used for online privacy are interrelated to those used for online freedom with a few exceptions. As soon as the user connects to the VPN server, the user’s IP address is automatically replaced with one of the server’s shared IP’s to hide the user’’ online identity. The second interrelated feature is the tunneling protocol supported by the VPN service which disguises all the network traffic being transmitted between the users and the VPN servers which prevents any unwanted snoopers from viewing this information. Last but not least, most of the high end VPN services have very strict “no logs” policies, as in they do not record nor keep logs of any of their users’ online activities or browsing history, to further ensure their users’ online privacy.
Online Security
The first main feature related to online security is that most VPN service providers use high level encryption, that sometimes reach military grade level, to secure their entire network of servers. Another common feature in all VPNs is that they support multiple security protocols, the most common of which is the OpenVPN protocol. These protocols can differ slightly from one VPN service to another but most protocols are pretty common. Last but not least, to further protect their users’ online security, different VPN providers offer their users different additional security features which we will discuss further with each VPN in our list.
According to our understanding of how VPNs work in general we are able to undertake a thorough comparison between the countless names of VPNs in the market and pick out the 3 most suitable VPNs for the situation in Mexico. When we compared the features, in these VPNs, related to online freedom, online privacy, and online security, with the exact online needs in Mexico, we found, almost perfect, matches.
Best VPNs for Mexico
BVPN
BVPN was officially launched in 2014 and is headquartered in the Netherlands. Ever since it started and it has been racing to the top of the ranks. Today, and in just a few years, it has succeeded in becoming one of the strongest and most secure VPN service providers in the world. It has become one of the most popular names among its competitors in the market and has been recommended in countless online challenges around the world. When we studied the situation in Mexico, it was as if BVPN was a perfect fit and hence it is our first recommendation.
Level of Security
- A military grade 256-bit encryption is used to secure the entire network
- Multiple advanced and unique security protocols supported (OpenVPN with TCP/UDP, L2TP/IPSec, SSTP, SSH, and its very own Smoke Tunnel)
Additional Security Features
- Internet Kill Switch
- IPv6 Leak Protection
- Public Wi-Fi Protection
Network of Servers
- More than 20 strategically placed server locations all over the world
- This network is regularly expanded and upgraded
- Each server is capable of providing the users with countless shared IP’s
Additional Features
- Unlimited bandwidth
- Unlimited server switching
- Up to 6 simultaneous connections
- “Fastest Server” automatic server selection
- No logs kept
- 7-day money back guarantee
PureVPN
PureVPN launched its services back in 2007 from Hong Kong with as little as 2 server locations. Over the years it has grown to become one of the most popular names among its high end competitors. It has been known to continuously expand and improve its advanced features to sustain its high quality of service. It is hard not to trust a company with this level of commitment to its users. This is why it is considered one of the most reliable VPN services available today and its strong and unique features definitely make it a highly considerable option for Mexico.
Level of Security
- Entire network is secured with a 256-bit encryption
- Multiple security protocols supported (OpenVPN, L2TP/IPSec, PPTP, SSTP, IKEv2, and its very own Stealth Protocol)
Additional Security Features
- Antivirus/Antimalware
- Intrusion Detection and Intrusion Prevention Systems (IDS/IPS)
- URL Filtering
- App Filtering
- Automatic Protocol Selection
- Wi-Fi Security
- Internet Kill Switch
- NAT Firewall
- DDoS Protection
Network of Servers
- More than 750 servers spread across 141 cities around the world
- This network is capable of providing its users with more than 88,000 shared IP’s and the availability of acquiring dedicated IP’s
Additional Features
- Unlimited bandwidth
- Unlimited server switching
- Up to 5 simultaneous connections
- Ad-Blocking
- Split Tunneling
- Smart Purpose Selection
- No logging of online traffic
- 7-day money back guarantee
ExpressVPN
Based in thee British Virgin Islands, ExpressVPN was launched in 2009. Today it is considered one of the big names in the VPN industry. It has always provided its users with the highest online security measures through its advanced features. Over the years it has been a very strong advocate for online freedom, online privacy, and online security and has been recommended multiple times in different situations around the world.In every situation it has never failed to impress its users. For this reason, and many more, we recommend it as one of the very suitable VPNs for Mexico.
Level of Security
- The ExpressVPN network is SSL secured with a 256-bit encryption
- Almost all of the advanced security protocols are supported (OpenVPN with TCP/UDP, L2TP/IPSec, PPTP, and SSTP)
Additional Security Features
- Network Lock Kill Switch
- Wi-Fi Security
Network of Servers
- More than 1000 servers in 145 server locations, spread across 94 countries around the world
- Each server is able to provide the users with thousands of, regularly rotated, shared IP’s
- Optimized servers for different purposes and to provide the highest connection speeds possible to its users
Additional Features
- Unlimited bandwidth
- Unlimited server switching
- Up to 3 simultaneous connections
- Built-in Speed Test
- Strict “No Logs” Policy
- 30-day money back guarantee
Conclusion
Compared to its neighboring countries in South America, Mexico is not considered a very threatening online environment, yet, it is always better, for the netizens in Mexico, to stay safe and to protect their online freedom, privacy, and security. Especially when it is known that the government has gained the power to perform online surveillance on its citizens. In this case you can never be too trusting on how the government would use that kind of power. What makes it an even riskier situation is how freedom of speech is being very badly treated in the country and journalists and individual bloggers face a great deal of threats if they post any content which is even remotely opposing to the government’s way of managing the country. These are more than enough reasons to make the use of a VPN in Mexico a necessity. According to the situation in Mexico, we recommend one of the above 3 VPNs for all netizens over there since these are the VPNs whom their features and capabilities perfectly meet the online needs in Mexico. The top recommended VPN of them all would, by far, be BVPN as it is the leading VPN in online security, online privacy, and online freedom.
