Privacy in the digital age is more important than ever, and using a strong VPN can help keep your internet behavior safe from prying eyes. We write a lot about VPNs, and one provider has been making moves over the past two weeks to expand its global coverage. 

Proton VPN is the privacy tool in question, and the Swiss-based company’s network, which has the best free VPN option on the market, now spans roughly 20,000 servers across 145 countries — with new server locations in Lebanon, Nicaragua, Gabon, Papua New Guinea, Kyrgyzstan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo — making it the top provider on our best VPN list for worldwide coverage. 

VPNs, or virtual private networks, operate by masking your actual IP address with one from a remote server, allowing you to disguise your location and keep your internet activity secure.

There are a multitude of ways a VPN can enhance your experience, whether you’re looking to access streaming titles from another country or get around oppressive government firewalls that can block important information and communication pathways, and impede an open, uncensored internet.

Proton VPN now has the biggest global footprint out of all the VPNs CNET has tested. It has a vastly larger number of servers than NordVPN (9,300), and its reach exceeds NordVPN’s (135 countries), ExpressVPN’s (105 countries) and Surfshark’s (11 countries). 

There is one caveat in all of this expansion: Proton VPN doesn’t have a server presence in all 50 US states, unlike NordVPN. That said, it’s still an excellent choice for watching streaming TV shows and movies — especially if you’re traveling internationally.

A Proton VPN spokesperson didn’t immediately respond to our request for comment.

Meta’s latest virtual reality headset, the Meta Quest 3 (512 GB), will cost $100 more starting Sunday. You can blame the ongoing RAM shortage. 

Meta released the pricing update on Wednesday in a blog post calling out price increases for the Meta Quest 3 and 3S models. «The cost of building high-performance VR hardware has risen significantly,» Meta said in the post explaining the increase. 

High demand from AI data centers is straining memory chip supplies, causing supply constraints and price increases in consumer tech. Many experts aren’t expecting the RAM shortage to end until 2028. 

Counterpoint Research released findings in February showing that RAM costs increased by 80% to 90% in the first quarter of this year. Tech companies continue to hike prices, with Microsoft being the latest to increase the cost of the Microsoft Surface and Samsung doing the same for some Galaxy devices. 

Here’s the original pricing as of Thursday, along with what you can expect to pay starting April 19. 

Expect price bumps for refurbished Meta Quest headsets. Prices for Quest accessories will remain the same for now, though we’re unsure whether this applies to games in the Meta store, or whether there’ll be a change in the future. 

Meta did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

The Meta Quest 3 and 3S are Meta’s latest virtual reality headsets. The Quest 3S is the budget-friendly version, while the Quest 3 is the «pro» model. CNET’s Scott Stein rated both models high for their mixed reality, with better color cameras and improvements from the Quest 2.

Space activity has picked up this month, with two meteor showers and the historic Artemis II mission, which sent humans back to the moon and splashed down on Earth last Friday. 

Stargazers have a few more things coming in April, including a planet parade where four planets — Mercury, Mars, Jupiter and Neptune — appear in the sky at the same time. 

The small parade started on Thursday, April 16, and lasts until nearly the end of the month. All four planets will be relatively close to one another on the eastern horizon just before sunrise each day. To view the parade, you’ll need to stay up almost all night or wake up very early. And it’s best to grab a telescope. 

The optimal time to view it depends on where you are. If you’re at a higher elevation, try just before 6 a.m. local time. If you’re at sea level, wait for the planets to come up above the horizon just after 6 a.m. local time. The planets will be swiftly chased by the sun, giving viewers a narrow window to view all four planets before sunrise. 

Since sunrise varies based on location, you may have as long as 40 minutes or as little as 20 minutes to see all four planets. You’ll want to check the local sunrise times to see if you have enough time to spot all four before the sun comes up. 

The proximity to the sun and the narrow window make April’s planet parade one of the more difficult ones to see, according to Geza Gyuk, senior director of astronomy at Chicago’s Adler Planetarium. 

«Mercury is, as always, close to the sun and hard to see,» Gyuk told me. «Since Mars and Saturn will be close to Mercury, they will also be hard to see without a very low eastern horizon.»

The best days to try to see the planet parade are between Saturday, April 18 and Friday, April 24. Before those dates, Saturn is a bit close to the sun and rises late over the horizon, and after them, Mercury starts to drift precariously close to the sun.

Get out (or borrow) a telescope

Skygazers need a telescope at a minimum to see all four planets, since Neptune is not visible to the naked eye.

Even using a telescope, Gyuk says it takes some skill to pick out Neptune in the night sky. He recommends taking a pair of binoculars as well, since it’ll make the other three planets easier to see. But he warns skygazers to be careful not to look directly at the sun while using them. 

The usual stargazing rules apply: You’ll have better luck away from light pollution, so leave the city and suburbs to get the best view. 

The chance to see four planets in the sky at the same time, and so close together, isn’t terribly common. Gyuk says that astronomers tend not to refer to these events as planet parades — instead calling them «planetary alignments» — but also rarely pass up the opportunity to view planets in unique configurations like this. 

«I always try to catch a glimpse at least whenever this sort of planetary alignment occurs,» Gyuk said. «It is a thrill to me.»