If business or adventure is going to take you to Taiwan in the near future, it is highly advisable to consider bolstering your Internet security with a VPN tunnel. As you might have guessed due to their close affiliation with China, Taiwan does censor the Internet significantly and you would do well to encrypt any data you are sending from Taiwan. In fact, the authorities in Taiwan are well known for strictly and harshly censoring the Internet – especially sites that are hosted within the US. You can expect that you are going to run into surprising restrictions when you try to access your favorite content, but a VPN tunnel will unblock all of this content and prevent and Taiwanese governmental officials or ISPs from seeing the data that you are transmitting.
But governmental censorship is only one threat to your online browsing habits in Taiwan. It also works in the reverse direction. That is to say that some websites block countries by IP address. While some people know that they can use a VPN to circumvent these restrictions, your average Internet user doesn’t know this and as a result a lot of popular sites will filter incoming requests from Taiwanese users. Whether you’re an expat or a traveler, having a VPN to help free up the Internet is invaluable.
I would highly caution you if you think you can get away with only using a proxy service. While a proxy service may work just fine for unblocking websites, they can get you into a lot of trouble in Taiwan. Remember that you are a guest in their country and if you get caught accessing content that violates laws (for whatever reason), you could potentially face some penalties. The problem with proxy services is that they don’t do anything to encrypt and hide your data as it is in transit through the Taiwanese Internet infrastructure. So even if you are browsing a harmless social media site or a site that has been blocked, your ISP might raise a red flag and you could be in for some nasty surprises.
Instead of taking these risks, it is much better to take advantage of a VPN tunnel. Unlike a proxy service, a VPN tunnel will make your data invisible to ISPs and governmental officials – so they won’t be able to see what the heck you’re downloading or which sites you are visiting online. Because you can send DNS requests through your VPN tunnel, your ISP won’t be able to see what IP addresses and names you are resolving, either. To bolster your Internet security abroad, consider the list of VPNs for Taiwan as follows:
Best VPNs for Taiwan
PureVPN – Complete Review
PureVPN is a fantastic choice owing to their coverage areas. While most people in Taiwan are likely looking for foreign VPN endpoints, if you are working in the area you may need a VPN if you are accessing your employer’s resources or network. PureVPN has servers located in Taiwan, and they have other servers in over 100 various countries. To top it all off, their service only costs $4.16 per month with an annual subscription, and they allow you to connect up to 5 devices at the same time. Their low cost and quality service make them a top pick for people in Taiwan, but Private Internet Access provides a very comparable service as well.
Private Internet Access – Complete Review
Private Internet Access doesn’t actually have any servers located in Taiwan, but this likely isn’t a huge concern because there are few web resources that are actually physically hosted within the area. The vast majority of Internet sites will be located outside of Taiwan, so your biggest concern will be finding foreign VPN endpoints to secure your connection from the Taiwanese government and ISPs. However, they do have a strong Asian presence with servers in Hong Kong, Japan, and Singapore. In total, they have over 3,000 servers located in 21 countries and they are still growing. What’s even better is that their service will allow you to connect up to 5 different devices at the same time, and their price is very enticing. For only $3.33 per month, you can get the benefits of anonymity and encryption when you purchase the annual plan.
ExpressVPN – Complete Review
ExpressVPN is another top pick for those of you living in or visiting Taiwan. Not only do they have servers located within Taiwan for domestic security, but they have servers scattered around the world in over 78 various countries. They are well-known for providing a reliable service that is consistent and fast with low ping times so you don’t have unreasonable latency when browsing the web. They’ll help you unblock websites and secure your data – making it impossible for local ISPs and the government to see your data as long as you terminate your VPN outside of Taiwan.
IPVanish – Complete Review
IPVanish is known for fast speeds over their tier-1 network, and their software is very easy to use. They aim to make their service simple to use and install. But even though they may not have any Taiwanese servers, they do offer the major coverage areas including Asia, North America, South America, Africa, and Europe. Their strong global connection profiles and their incredibly fast VPN speeds make them a viable option for those living in Taiwan, and they are always expanding the number of countries they offer servers in. For a yearlong subscription, the monthly rate can sink as low as $6.49. Lastly, they don’t impose data limits or throttle your VPN connection speed, so you can expect reliable service.