Gary Williams was the owner-operator of McDonald’s franchises, and a dedicated sports administrator, including managing the Nelson Giants basketball team. Read...

It happened at the intersection of Cook and Nelson Streets just after 5.15am Monday. Read...

Nelson schools among next in line for critical funding as your donations flow in. Read...

To make our PCWorld best VPN list a VPN needs to offer a comprehensive list of features. There are many features that make up a VPN but the most important among them directly impact a VPN’s performance, privacy, and security. Here is my short list of the top six features to look for. 1. No-logs policy A VPN prevents others from seeing the websites that you visit, but the VPN provider can still see those URLs. An unscrupulous VPN provider can keep a record of your browsing activity and pass it along to a third party such as advertisers or law enforcement. In light of this, most VPNs claim to have a no-logs policy as an assurance to consumers. No-logs means the VPN does not keep any record of your web activity or when you log on and off. In reality, however, those claims aren’t always true — there have been cases of VPNs logging user data despite what they say, so it pays to do your research to find a legitimate no-logs policy — i.e. one that’s been independently verified — before you sign up to any service. 2. Fast speeds A VPN has to encrypt your web traffic and divert it through its own server before sending it to its destination. That means your internet speeds will be slowed down slightly when using a VPN. Different VPNs will do this at varying speeds with some being faster than others. The fastest VPNs are those with the lowest impact on your download speeds and latency. You can check our reviews to gauge the fastest VPNs among the ones we test. 3. A wide server network A VPN’s server network is a list of the proxy IP addresses the VPN makes available to its users. A large server network means there are more servers to connect to and more opportunities to unblock content. The closer you are to a VPN’s server the faster your connection will be, so you should pick a VPN with a large network and connect to a server near you. Pexels: Dan Nelson 4. A kill switch A VPN kill switch is a failsafe that prevents VPN users from accidently leaking data in the event the VPN connection drops out unexpectedly. An active kill switch will shut off your internet connection so you’re not exposed online. There are also kill switches that prevent you from going online at all unless the VPN connection is activated. 5. Content-unblocking ability Streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, and other platforms will block VPNs for content distribution and copyright reasons, but a good VPN should be able to skirt around the blocks. Ideally, a good VPN should be able to unblock streaming services from multiple IP addresses, unblocking content libraries available in different locations. 6. Anonymous DNS Servers DNS (Domain Name System) is the technology that connects URLs with servers to bring up the websites you’re looking for. VPNs that use public DNS servers risk sending your request outside the encrypted tunnel, making your IP address readable. This is known as a DNS leak. To avoid a DNS leak, ideally you want a VPN that resolves requests with its own private DNS servers. Related content Best VPN services: 8 top picks for every VPN need 5 VPN features you need to start using today Does a VPN make you anonymous? Read...

Ethical beauty brand The Body Shop has returned to this country with a new franchise owner and a new store in Richmond, a town near Nelson in the South Island. Read...

The New Zealand operation of the UK-based beauty brand was put into liquidation in April with the closure of 16 shops and the loss of about 70 jobs. Read...

Central Nelson retailers are already looking forward to the end of major roadworks on their doorstep as some businesses struggle with fewer customers. Read...

A New Zealand series win or a 2-2 draw will be the two possible outcomes as the five-match affair heads to Dunedin on Thursday. Read...

Look back at live coverage as the Black Caps hosted the West Indies at Saxton Oval in Nelson in the third of five Twenty20 internationals. Read...

One new measles case has been found in Nelson, bringing the total of confirmed cases to 18. Read...