Best known for its pristine white sandy beaches, golden brown sunsets, and richness in culinary cuisine; Cyprus is a must-visit for any true wanderer. The country is home to very warm and welcoming people, and as a top tourist destination; their government has put in place some measures that continue to uplift its status as a preferred holiday spot. Unfortunately, their efforts to develop their country do not extend to its Internet usage policy; since 34Wa lot of restrictions from there still exist to govern what you can or cannot do online.
Internet In Cyprus
An experiment conducted by hack66 (an observatory group that set up base in the country); revealed that the most common method of restriction applied by the Cyprian government was DNS hijacking. This was after they set out to test the Internet filtering capability that the government had put in place to implement the regulations and policies; outlined by the National Betting Authority (NBA).
Now, once you arrive in the country, a working Internet connection is something that you’re probably going to want to have. You wouldn’t want to get all that sorted out only to discover you can’t gain access to any of your preferred websites; channels simply because of the restrictions that they’ve imposed on your website. To avoid all this, all you need to do is to get a VPN.
Why Do You Need A VPN in Cyprus?
So, you are a British citizen spending your summer vacation in sunny Cyprus. You want to watch your favorite British soap opera on BBC iPlayer. As always, you pick up your iPad and log in to the BBC iPlayer app. Instead of the video, you get presented with a location error that states that the video isn’t available in your region.
To get around these geo-restrictions, all you’ll have to do is subscribe to a VPN service provider; get your account set up; then enjoy access to all the sites and channels you’d want to visit; just like you’re used to doing back at home. Once you connect to a VPN service, your data gets transmitted through encrypted servers; and this means not everyone will be able to follow up with what you’re up to online. With this in place; you’ll be able to work around any online restrictions in Cyprus since their ISPs won’t know whether or not you’re visiting their blacklisted sites.
Another major advantage you also get to benefit from is that a VPN service gets to hide your location. The location that gets picked up by your VPN service is that of the remote server that you’re connected to; and not your actual one. Hiding your location means you’ll have access to sites and channels that are very keen on where their traffic is coming from. You’ll also be able to get to different versions of the same site; making it possible to access premium services that may not be accessible from your current region.
Also read: Best VPNs for Privacy & Security in 2020
You can as well choose to hide your location and stay anonymous when online; and doing so means you can carry out anonymous purchases. The streaming services you’ll be able to access will also be of a wider range. With your ISP being unable to eavesdrop on your online activities; it’ll be difficult for them to limit your usage through things like speed throttling. This also means you’ll get to avoid emails on copyright infringement sent to your inbox.
The Best VPN for Cyprus
Picking a credible provider is one of the few things you’ll need to get right; if you hope to have no VPN connection issues. To set you off on the right track, we already have a couple of reliable suggestions that are sure to be worth your while.
#1 NordVPN (3.29$/month)
Number of servers: 3500+ | Server locations: 60+ | IP addresses: N/A | Maximum devices supported: 6
NordVPN is a Panama based VPN service provider. Hence, it is free of the U.S and the European countries jurisdictions. Due to it, the users can enjoy anonymous networking with its No Log Policy. Double encryption, a variety of protocol support, excellent customer support makes it one of the best VPN in the market. Most noteworthy, the pricing plans are quiet on the nominal side and worth the services provided.
- Six simultaneous connections
- A variety of platform support
- Double encryption for added security
- Excellent customer support
- Automatic kill switch
- 30-day money-back guarantee
- 3-Day free trial
- Unique selling proposition is that it offers hassle-free installation even for new users
Avail 72% Discount
#2 ExpressVPN (8.32$/month)
Number of servers: 1800+ | Server locations: 148 | IP addresses: 30,000 | Maximum devices supported: 3
ExpressVPN has become the market leader in the VPN industry. With its supreme quality VPN performance during past seven years. Therefore, it attracted and retained millions of users and enhanced customer loyalty. All due to services that are beyond comparison. That is the reason it sits at the top position in our VPN table. ExpressVPN is based in the British Virgin Islands. Which keeps it away from the Data Retention policies enforced by NSA, GCHQ.
- Unlimited Bandwidth with Ultra Speed
- Dedicated VPN Apps for Android & iOS
- Provides all VPN protocols OpenVPN (TCP, UDP), L2TP-IPsec, SSTP, and PPTP
- High-End Security with OpenVPN 256-bits
- Zero log keeping policy of internet activities
- 30-Days Money-Back Guarantee
- 3 Simultaneous-login Option
- Dedicated VPN App for Router
Avail 35% Discount
#3 Surfshark VPN (2.49$/month)
Number of servers: 500+ | Server locations: 50 | IP addresses: N/A | Maximum devices supported: Unlimited
Surfshark VPN is ahead of the curve in technological advancement. Surfshark VPN will ensure online privacy for your whole family – simple and intuitive on the outside with a robust security mechanism inside.
- No Logging Policy
- 500 Plus Servers Spread in over 50 Countries
- 24 x 7 Customer Service Support
- P2P Torrenting Support Available
- AES 256-Bit Network Encryption
- Comes with Zero Logging Policy
- Chrome Extension Available
- Kill-Switch functionality
Avail 81% Discount
#4 CyberGhostVPN (2.15$/month)
Number of servers: 6,200+ | Server locations: 87+ | IP addresses: N/A | Maximum devices supported: 7
CyberGhostVPN was established in 2011 and gained popularity. It is due to its dedication towards providing outstanding and unique security and privacy features. CyberGhostVPN defends privacy as a basic human right, being the first in the industry to publish a transparency report while building new user-oriented crypto-technology for the future.
- 6200+ servers in 87 countries
- Uses AES 256 Encryption
- Up to 7 Simultaneous Connections
- Supports OpenVPN, L2TP/IPsec, and PPTP
- DNS & IP Leak Protection
- No Logging Policy.
- Uses 2048 Key & MD5 Authentication
- 45-Days Money Back Guarantee
- Automatic Wi-Fi security
Avail 83% Discount
#5 Private Internet Access (2.19$/month)
Number of servers: 3339+ | Server locations: 36 | IP addresses: N/A | Maximum devices supported: 5
Private Internet Access service provides you unbeatable internet security and privacy. It is due to its sustainable and specialized security barrier based on several layers. Hence, For an end to end protection with its amazing features. That includes; Anonymous IP, high-grade encryption. That is based on cryptographically secure Blowfish CBC algorithm.
- Zero VPN Traffic Logs
- Encrypted Wi-Fi Protection
- Offers all Protocols PPTP, OpenVPN and L2TP/IPSec including SOCKS5 Proxy
- 7-days Money-Back Guarantee
- IPv6 Leak Protection & DNS Leak Protection
- The Internet Kill Switch
- P2P file sharing & VoIP Support
- Support for VPN router including DD-WRT Tomato & PfSense
- Speed Test options for all Servers
Avail 78% Discount
Can I use a free VPN for Cyprus?
First off, it’s worth knowing that most free VPNs don’t offer servers in Cyprus. Indeed, the average free VPN offers far fewer servers than the best-paid VPNs. This poses a couple of problems. First, having only a small number of servers means a higher user load on each. This results in slow browsing and streaming speeds, as well as issues such as lag and buffering. Second, it also means fewer IP addresses, limiting the amount of content you can unblock.
Another reason to avoid free VPNs is that they don’t do enough to protect your privacy. In particular, they lack essential security features such as encryption and a kill switch. Some make money by spamming you with irrelevant and inappropriate ads while others even log your browsing data and sell it to the highest bidder. If you want to browse the web anonymously while in Cyprus and abroad, you should avoid free VPNs at all costs and choose a privacy-first VPN provider instead.
Conclusion
If you go on and choose either ExpressVPN or NordVPN as your preferred provider, we’d appreciate it if you let us know about your experience. Just leave a comment or two in the section below, and we’ll be happy to engage with you.