The VPN industry has exploded over the past few years. Fuelled by a greater awareness of online security, a desire to watch geo-restricted content, and yes, piracy, more people are hiding their online identities than ever. But did you know that many VPN providers are owned by the same few companies? A report from The Best VPN, shared exclusively with TNW, looks at five companies in particular — Avast, AnchorFree, StackPath, Gaditek and Kape Technologies. It found that over the past few years, these companies have acquired a total of 19 smaller players in the VPN space, including HideMyAss and…

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