Let's say you're in the market for a VPN (virtual private network). You're probably looking for some combination of better privacy (from snooping ISPs, advertisers or governments), increased online security (who knows who else is on that public Wi-Fi node?) or even more flexible video streaming options. Unlike mobile operating systems (two main options) or US mobile providers (three basic choices), you might be impressed with the range of VPN providers available to you. At first glance, you'll see at least a dozen options. However, many of the biggest names in the industry today -- and some of CNET's top VPN picks -- are owned by just three parent companies. And those "big three" have gotten even larger in just the past few months, thanks to an increasing wave of VPN consolidation . Pair that with the deliberately opaque and multinational ownership structure of many VPNs and it's becoming even trickier to make sense of which providers are owned or controlled by which parent … [Read more...] about 3 companies control many big-name VPNs: What you need to know