The Memorial Day weekend is here. But, if you're traveling, be sure to stay vigilant about the information you put online along the way.

Connecting to public Wi-Fi at a local cafe or gas station comes with a few security trade-offs. Unsecured networks make it easier for third parties to monitor your online activity or intercept unencrypted data.

Luckily, a virtual private network stops this. A VPN encrypts the data you send online before it can be intercepted and it remains hidden from your ISP.

One of the best VPNs for this is ExpressVPN. Among US VPNs, it's one of only a few to offer servers in all 50 states. It also offers super-secure encryption keys, and other useful tools like a password manager depending on the plan.

What's more, it's cheap. It starts from $2.79 per month right now, almost half what you'd have been paying for it eighteen months ago. This drop puts it among the best cheap VPNs, beating the likes of NordVPN and Proton for value at the time of writing.

Depending on what you use a VPN for most, some alternatives might suit you better.

For example, while ExpressVPN has some of the best security credentials available, NordVPN is a better streaming VPN overall. We tried it with top services like Netflix, Disney+, and Prime Video, and it hardly faltered.

Equally, if you're after robust privacy laws to back up your security, or you're a keen torrenter, Proton VPN is a great solution. It's based in Switzerland and is one of the few top VPNs to offer port forwarding support.

Where ExpressVPN wins compared to both, however, is Aircove. Aircove is ExpressVPN's router, which builds VPN security in directly. While you can set up a router VPN with either Proton or NordVPN, it involves a much more complex process compared to Aircove's plug-and-play capability.