Every VPN imposes a performance penalty. Encrypting your traffic, routing it through an intermediary server, and decrypting it at the destination all consume time - and that time shows up as slower downloads, lagging uploads, and higher latency. The question is never whether a VPN will slow your connection, but by how much. After more than a decade of structured speed testing, PCMag's latest results show that the performance gap between the best and worst providers is wide enough to matter to ordinary users.

Every unprotected visit to an adult website leaves a traceable record: your IP address, your browsing timestamps, your content preferences - all visible to your Internet Service Provider and, potentially, to the sites themselves. This is not a theoretical risk. ISPs in many jurisdictions are legally permitted to log and retain traffic metadata, and adult sites routinely deploy trackers that follow users well beyond the boundaries of a single session. The solution is not incognito mode. It is encryption - and the most accessible form of it for everyday users is a VPN.

For anyone who has been waiting for the right moment to invest in a VPN subscription, Surfshark's Memorial Day promotion delivers a combination of extended coverage and tangible cash-equivalent value that is difficult to dismiss. Exclusive to TechRadar readers, the deal pairs a 27-month protection window - a two-year plan plus three bonus months - with Amazon gift cards worth up to $30, depending on the tier selected. The offer expires on June 2, leaving a narrow window for action.

Torrenting remains one of the most efficient ways to move large files online because it spreads the download load across many users instead of a single server. That efficiency comes with trade-offs: your IP address is exposed to others in the network, your internet provider may detect the activity, and copyrighted material can bring legal consequences even when the protocol itself is lawful.