A VPN for a computer in 2026 is still a pair: a client program for your system and whoever provides the servers. As of 4 October 2026, with Mayak, Windows and Mac use the free Happ client with a subscription link, and Linux uses an AmneziaWG config file; we have no desktop apps of our own yet. Below: a snapshot by system, marked with what is checked by a live connection, what changed over the year, and what is actually free on a computer. Step-by-step guides are linked.
In short. Windows 11 and Mac: Happ with a subscription link; we connected this way live on 25 September 2026. Windows 10: the same path, but we have not checked it. Linux: a config file for the AmneziaWG client, version 3.0 or newer. The client programs themselves are free; someone pays for the servers. Mayak's trial is 3 days on two devices once you confirm your email, with no card, so a computer and a phone both fit in it.
We make Mayak, a private network. Our own app is for Android, and for a computer we provide a subscription link for Happ and a config file for Linux. This article is a snapshot of “what to install on a computer now”; about us there is only one section. 3 days free after you confirm your email, no card needed. The trial is free and needs no card; without an email it is 1 day.
🍎 On iPhone Mayak works with the subscription link from your account, in Happ or INCY (INCY is in the Russian App Store): where to tap on iPhone.
Today's snapshot: what to install on each system
The table is as of 4 October 2026.
| System | What to install with Mayak | Checked |
|---|---|---|
| Windows 11 | Happ (latest regular release: 4.3.0 of 15 September) and the subscription link from your account area. Five steps. | With a live connection on 25 September 2026. |
| Windows 10 | The same Happ. Microsoft ended Windows 10 support on 14 October 2025. | Not checked: what is known. |
| macOS | Happ (one build for Apple and Intel chips) or INCY from the App Store. Steps for Mac. | Happ with a live connection on 25 September 2026; INCY on Mac, no. |
| Linux | The AmneziaWG config file from your account area (amneziawg-tools 3.0 or newer). Steps. |
With a live tunnel. |
A laptop is no different from a desktop here: the system matters, not the case. What changes on the road (someone else's Wi-Fi, a hotel login page, internet from a phone) is in “A VPN for a laptop”.
What changed over the year
There is no such thing as a list of “which service works right now”: the result depends on your network and the hour, not on the program's name (why). But a few things changed for everyone over the year, and they are worth keeping in mind when choosing.
- Without masking, a connection may not come up at all. Plain WireGuard is recognisable from its first packet. In our measurement on 28 July 2026 in Moscow, on one mobile network a connection without masking did not come up at all, while AmneziaWG with masking gave 117–127 Mbit/s (what AmneziaWG is).
- The client version now matters. AmneziaWG 3.x added header protection, and clients released before it cannot open new config files. In August 2026 the Amnezia programs for Windows and Mac did not yet understand it; by 4 October, judging by the source code of the released versions, they do. Details in “Amnezia VPN on a PC”.
- Windows 10 no longer gets updates. Microsoft ended its support on 14 October 2025. Whether new client releases will run on it is up to their developers; we have not tested Mayak on Windows 10.
- A laptop on a phone's internet lives by mobile-network rules. If the mobile network is in whitelist mode, a laptop tethered to the phone will not connect, just like the phone itself (what that mode is).
How to choose a VPN for a computer now: four questions
The full list of questions to ask before paying is in “How to choose a VPN”. Here are the four worth looking at first in 2026:
- Is there a client for your system, and when was its last release? A fresh release is a sign the client keeps up with protocol changes. Leave preview builds (marked Pre-release) to those who test them.
- The whole computer or just the browser? An extension covers one browser, an app covers the whole system (the difference).
- How do servers arrive? A subscription link updates itself; a file or key has to be replaced by hand (subscription or key).
- Does it work on your network? Only you can see that: at home, on someone else's Wi-Fi, in the evening. That is what a trial is for.
A free VPN for a computer in 2026: what is really free
What is free is almost always the program, not the access. Happ, INCY and the Amnezia clients cost nothing, but they contain no servers; someone else provides those, and a server costs money every month. So free access always has a way of paying for itself: ads, data, speed limits or selling a paid tier. That is not a verdict on free services, it is a question worth asking them (five questions and our answers; separately, on free extensions).
What we offer for free is the trial: 3 days on two devices after you confirm your email, no card needed. A computer and a phone both fit in it; a third device needs a plan.
Where to download the programs
- From the developer's page or an official store. Happ for a computer from its releases page on GitHub (which file to take), INCY for Mac from the App Store.
- Not from software catalogues or a link in a chat. There it is easy to get someone else's file with the right name, and you have no way to check it.
- Amnezia: from amnezia.org or the project's releases page on GitHub; how to spot a fake.
Mayak on a computer: what exists now
- No apps of our own for Windows or Mac yet, and we give no dates. Our own app is for Android 7.0 and newer, version 0.7.40.
- What the subscription link delivers. New servers and settings arrive in Happ by themselves. One connection method arrives: a third-party client has no automatic path switching like our Android app (what is in our link).
- One subscription for all devices, each taking a place in the plan: Start up to 3, Family up to 5, Max up to 10 (what it costs).
Try it on your own computer. Create an account, open “Connecting by link” in your account area and add the link to Happ; on Linux take the “File for Linux”. We ask for no payment details for the trial. A confirmed email opens the access — 3 free days on two devices. An email is optional: without one the trial is 1 day.
What we checked
- Happ with Mayak's subscription link on Windows 11 and Mac: a live connection on 25 September 2026.
- Happ releases: the GitHub releases page on 4 October 2026: latest regular 4.3.0 of 15 September, preview 4.4.x builds next to it.
- The AmneziaWG config file on Linux: a live tunnel with
amneziawg-tools. - Masking: our measurement on 28 July 2026 in Moscow on three mobile networks.
- Header protection in the Amnezia clients: our check of the released versions' source code, 18 August and 4 October 2026.
- The end of Windows 10 support: per Microsoft's help.
What we do not know
- How Happ behaves on Windows 10. Not checked live.
- How INCY behaves on Mac. Not checked on Mac.
- When our app for Windows and Mac will come out. We give no dates.
- How other services will behave. We do not measure them.
- How the connection will behave on your network. Only you can see that, which is what the trial is for.
Quick answers
Which VPN should I install on a computer in 2026? A client for your system and a server provider you have tested on your own network. With Mayak: Windows and Mac use Happ with a subscription link, Linux uses an AmneziaWG config file.
Is there a free VPN for a computer in 2026? Free clients exist, but someone pays for the servers, with ads, data or money. What we offer for free is the trial: 3 days once you confirm your email, no card.
Where do I download a VPN for a computer? From the client developer's page or an official store, not from software catalogues.
Does a VPN work on Windows 10? We have not checked Mayak on Windows 10, and Happ's publisher documents Windows 10 from build 1809. Try it during the trial and tell us how it went.
Does Mayak have a Windows app? Not of our own yet, and we give no dates. You can connect right now through Happ with a subscription link.
Can one subscription cover a computer and a phone? Yes. Each device takes a place in the plan; the trial fits two.