Athens, Georgia is a medium-sized city-county located 70 miles NE of downtown Atlanta. It currently has an estimated population of 125k. There are several things that make the city an appetizing place to visit. That includes a number of tech companies, the University of Georgia (UGA), and more. If are planning a trip to the city because of college football or other reasons, you will likely encounter public WiFi somewhere. Before you do, make sure you use a VPN first. We’ll tell you why shortly. In the meantime, please check out our choices for the best VPNs for Athens.
Rank | VPN Service | Our Score | Server Locations | Visit |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 9.8 | 160 | ||
2 | 9.4 | 87 | ||
3 | 9.2 | 95 | ||
4 | 9.0 | 110 | ||
5 | 8.8 | 73 |
In 1785, the Georgia General Assembly granted a charter for the University of Georgia to be the first state-supported university. Sixteen years later, the university’s board of trustees selected a site on the hill above Cedar Shoals. John Milledge, one of the trustees and later governor of the state, purchased 633 acres and donated it to the university. He named the surrounding area of Athens after the Platonic Academy of Plato.
Economically and culturally, the medium-sized town has several things to do. Visitors to the area enjoy the State Botanical Garden of Georgia, the Georgia Museum of Art, the Globe bar, the music scene, the University of Georgia, and more. Of course, you can always go the 70 miles to Atlanta if you want to. As you can see, the town grew up around the college.
Despite all of the great things to do, you may find yourself with some downtime in the city. That is where using public WiFi is common. Luckily, there are many businesses in the area that offer free WiFi to their patrons. That is great for everyone including cybercriminals. You can bet that there are many just waiting to get ahold of your private information. When you use a VPN, you create a secure and encrypted connection to the server of your choice. That will make it much more difficult for anyone to steal your sensitive data.
The second reason you would want to use a VPN is to help get around geo-restrictions. Have you ever been blocked by a firewall from seeing something you want to see? That is a geo-restriction. They are common at schools like UGA, businesses, other organizations, and even some countries. When you use a VPN in this case, you will make the blocking software think you are located someplace else. That way, you can enjoy everything normally.
1. ExpressVPN
Save 49% and get 3 months free with 12 months of our #1 rated VPN
- Best price – $6.67/mo. for 15 months (see all plans)
- Guarantee – 30 day risk-free money back guarantee
- VPN apps – Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Firestick, router
- Network – 160 server locations in 94 countries
- Logging policy – No-log VPN located in British Virgin Islands
2. NordVPN
- Best price – $3.49/mo. for 36 months (see all plans)
- Guarantee – 30 day money back guarantee
- VPN apps – Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Firestick
- Network – 87 server locations in 59 countries
- Logging policy – No-log VPN located in Panama
3. Private Internet Access
- Best price – $2.69/mo. for 24 months (see all plans)
- Guarantee – 30 day money back guarantee
- VPN apps – Windows, Mac, iOS, Android
- Network – 52 server locations in 30 countries
- Logging policy – No-log VPN based in the US
4. CyberGhost
- Best price – $2.75/mo. for 36 months (see all plans)
- Guarantee – 45 day money back guarantee
- VPN apps – Windows, Mac, iOS, Android
- Network – 112 server locations in 90 countries
- Logging policy – No-log VPN located in Romania
5. IPVanish
- Best price – $5.20/mo. for 12 months (see all plans)
- Guarantee – 30 day money back guarantee
- VPN apps – Windows, Mac, iOS, Android
- Network – 75 server locations in 56 countries
- Logging policy – Zero-log VPN based in USA