It can be difficult to choose the best VPN from among the hundreds of different options, because the majority of them make wild claims in their marketing that they aren’t always able to fulfil. The French VPN service provider IdealVPN has been in the game since 2010, giving them more than a decade of experience providing VPN services. A VPN with that much experience in the market ought to be able to compete with the top VPN services currently on the market, but that is not the case for this VPN provider.

France is one of the worst locations for a VPN to be based, because it is a part of the 14-Eyes Alliance. This is a group of countries that collect and share a lot of information among themselves. You should use caution while using any VPN that is based in countries that are part of the 5/9/14 Eyes alliance. VPNs operating in these nations may be asked by foreign intelligence agencies to collect or reveal specific data. 

• You can visit IdealVPN here.

Pricing & plans 

IdealVPN gives you three pricing plans: monthly at $5.76 per month, 6-monthly at $4.80 per month and annual at $4.76 per month. For the 6-monthly plan, there is also a 3-day trial available. Both the 6-month and annual subscriptions are billed annually. 

Payment options include Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, and Maestro. However, there is no mention of a refund or money-back guarantee, and the VPN forbids using the same account for multiple connections at once. This is unusual, as these days most VPNs offer a 45 days money-back guarantee. If you are looking for a free VPN or trying to get the best value for money, there are much better options out there. 

Privacy & encryption 

According to IdealVPN, it keeps track of the date, time, and length of your VPN connection as well as the amount of bandwidth used. It claims that it uses this information to uphold its terms and conditions, produce statistics, and improve the caliber and dependability of its service. Remember that the VPN provider is based in a jurisdiction that is a member of the 14 Eye Alliance, so if the VPN keeps a record of your private information, law enforcement could obtain it if they coerce the company to share it.

IdealVPN uses 128-bit encryption, which is weaker than the 256-bit algorithm used by the majority of VPNs on the market. They employ the PPTP VPN protocol, allowing you to establish a connection on your own device, and you also get a dynamic shared IP address, a NAT firewall, and port forwarding. Although torrenting is permitted by IdealVPN, we advise you to check your local laws first before torrenting, as it may be against the law where you live. 

Support

IdealVPN is compatible with Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, and Android. It doesn’t have any native clients, but the provider does claim its service can be enabled on them. IdealVPN also provides guidance in the form of FAQs and setup guides.

Even though the VPN provider states that customers can contact their customer service department by email or contact form, we did not get a response when we sent a message. Contrary to IdealVPN, VPNs like ExpressVPN have helped the VPN market significantly by providing dependable customer service that includes live chat, guides, FAQs, and product tutorials. 

Streaming

One of the main selling points of many VPNs is the ability to access geographically restricted streaming services like Netflix and BBC iPlayer. While most VPNs can grant you access to your preferred streaming content across various platforms, IdealVPN can not. That is because, despite numerous attempts, we were unable to get the software to function, which prevented us from testing the VPN's streaming or speed capabilities. We think that this VPN is no longer in operation, but they haven't made any official announcements to that effect. 

We suggest checking out ExpressVPN if finding the best VPN for Netflix or other streaming sites is your main aim. This excellent VPN provider will give you access to any restricted content on any platform of your choice while also providing great speed and other advanced features.

Alternatives 

IdealVPN isn’t ideal because it doesn’t work! If you are looking for a standard VPN to use, we suggest checking out ExpressVPN, one of the most well-known names in the VPN industry. It is a far better choice because it offers blazing-fast speed and excellent security features. 

You can also check out top players in the VPN industry such as NordVPN, Surfshark, and CyberGhost. All of these VPNs will provide you with high-quality service, thousands of servers, round-the-clock customer support and a wide range of cutting-edge features. 

Verdict

IdealVPN is a laughably poor VPN service, one that is very far away from major platforms such as ExpressVPN for many reasons but mainly for not being able to connect at all. This is followed by a total lack of communication from the customer support’s side, absence of important information and native apps, and many other issues. Due to the awful experience in trying to test it, we aren’t even sure why this provider still has half-decent reviews online.

• We list the best business VPN providers.

Intego has been developing Mac antivirus software for close to three decades. The Intego Mac Premium Bundle X9 pulls each individual security program into a single package. While you can purchase one or two of these tools individually, we strongly recommend the full Intego antivirus suite to ensure you're fully protected both on and offline.

Although Macs may have historically held a reputation for being invulnerable to viruses, we're seeing more and more threats being designed for Mac devices. In fact, both independent security test labs AV-Comparatives and AV-Test consistently test antivirus programs against Mac malware specifically.

This antivirus suite includes Intego's antivirus, VirusBarrier, with its firewall, NetBarrier. It also has the Mac Washing Machine to help clean up your desktop and look for weak spots in your system where threats can sneak in. Finally, you get Mac ContentBarrier Secure is Mac Internet Security with both web filtering and time controls. Confused, yet? Dont worry. We'll take you through all the testing and all the discovery and all the details you need to decide if Intego Mac is the antivirus solution for you.

Plans and pricing

Mac Premium Bundle starts at $70 to cover one device for one year, $95 to protect three devices, or $120 to cover five devices. These prices jump up by 21% - 22% on renewal.

This is fair value considering everything you get with it. For example, you can purchase the Mac Washing Machine on its own, but it will cost you $55.99 for one year and a single device. Likewise, ContentBarrier, Intego's parental controls, can also be bought on its own. This will cost you $39.99 for one device for a year, or $69.99 for two years.

Both VirusBarrier and PersonalBackup are included in every Intego Mac antivirus package. VirusBarrier is the basic antivirus engine that stops malware in real-time while the cloud backup storage is a definite bonus to have included.

If you don't need all that extra protection, you'll find a better deal with Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac. For basic malware protection, you'll only pay $26 for the first year and $40 on renewal.

No need to decide just yet, though. Intego has a generous 30-day trial available for its Mac antivirus and a 30-day money-back guarantee to give you even more time to decide if you want to stick with it.

Intego Mac Premium Bundle

The Intego Mac Premium Bundle trial is easy to find on the website. We downloaded and launched the installer in a couple of clicks, then chose the modules we needed (VirusBarrier, NetBarrier, ContentBarrier, Personal Backup, Washing Machine), set them up in a minute or two, and rebooted our machine.

On launch, a prompt asked us to set up NetBarrier. Configuring firewalls can be a challenge, but not here. NetBarrier asked us for the kind of network we were using currently (home, work, public Wi-Fi), configured itself to match, then displayed the main firewall window.

Graphics showing incoming and outgoing traffic, and highlighting anything currently blocked (incoming internet connections, say) ensure this looks a little prettier than the average firewall. On the right-hand side are switches which let you select your network type, blocking or allowing incoming and outgoing internet and local connections, and adding exceptions as required.

NetBarrier monitors apps as they try to go online. It allows trusted apps to connect immediately, and asks your permission for everything else. This isn't quite as intelligent as we'd like, and for instance it had to ask us whether we should allow Google Chrome Helper to go online. Still, if you know for sure that an app is safe, one click adds it to the whitelist, and you won't be prompted again.

This isn't the smartest or most configurable of firewalls, then, but it's mostly easy to use and does a reasonable job of keeping you safe.

Intego Mac Premium Bundle: VirusBarrier

Intego's VirusBarrier opened with a "What's New" page, proudly pointing out that 'threats are now quarantined automatically.' Sounds good to us, though we're a little surprised that wasn't the case in the previous version.

A Setup screen then asked us to choose from three levels of protection.

Minimum scans emails, archives, and connected iOS devices only.

Standard scans for all Mac, iOS, Windows, Linux, and Android malware, as well as looking out for malicious scripts, hacking tools, and keyloggers.

Maximum adds an automatic Quick Scan which runs after every malware definition update.

We opted for Standard mode, but if you're less sure, it's easy to change this later. Mode settings are customizable, too, so if you're mostly happy with Standard mode but don't need scanning for Windows malware, that can be turned off.

For the most part, you should then be able to leave VirusBarrier alone to protect your system. Real-time scanning is on by default, and you'll be alerted if there are any problems.

If you need to take some manual action, though, a straightforward interface makes VirusBarrier generally easy to use. Your main device and any connected devices are listed in a left-hand sidebar; clicking any of these displays options to run a Quick or Full scan, or adjust scan settings, and the main VirusBarrier window displays your security status and gives access to more settings.

Most options are as we'd expect (scan for hacking scripts: yes or no), but some are more interesting.

You can choose which of nine archive types you'd like to scan, for instance, as well as setting an archive timeout (handy for deeply nested archives – zips within zips).

An option to scan with low priority reduces system impact with the trade-off being longer scan times.

VirusBarrier has no safe browsing settings of its own but can enforce Safe Browsing in Chrome, Safari, and Firefox, and warn you if it's turned off.

Protection

VirusBarrier has what it calls a quick scan, but it's more thorough than most, checking 210,000 files on our test system and taking just over 20 minutes. But the situation improved for the second scan, where decent optimization saw the scan time drop to only two minutes.

Our main antivirus testing tools run on Windows, which limits what we could do here. But we found that although VirusBarrier missed some solely web-based threats, its file detection layer worked well, identifying and quarantining any dangers as soon as we downloaded them.

VirusBarrier isn't tested often by the big independent labs, and we have to go back to 2021 to find Intego's last results at AV-Test. These were seriously impressive, though, with 100% detection of the test malware, minimal performance impact, and zero false positives, earning the package the maximum score for protection, speed, and usability.

AV-Comparatives' tests are more recent. These show Intego struggles a little with stopping some Mac malware. However, it stopped every Windows threat. These are malware files that pop up on Mac machines and won't hurt your computer but can be inadvertently sent to Windows users. Having the reassurance that all threats are under control with Intego is a big plus in our book.

Intego Mac Premium Bundle: ContentBarrier

Intego's ContentBarrier is a configurable parental controls system that offers various tools to keep your kids safe online.

Content filtering enables blocking websites by content, or those which include custom keywords. You can further customize this by adding specific websites to a blacklist or whitelist. When your child visits a blocked site, they see a "not allowed" message, but if this is a legitimate site, you can override it for them by entering your password (a handy usability plus).

Intego's Anti-Predator feature blocks chats with inappropriate content. We'd like to tell you this uses cutting-edge machine learning-powered AI, but it mostly just looks for phrases like "how old are you", "can we meet" and "I am your friend", so we'd expect a lot of false positives. It blocks encrypted chats by default.

More conventional tools include the ability to limit network access by time, to block particular internet access types (P2P, FTP, SSH, audio/video, connections to game servers), and to log keystrokes and take screenshots to help you spot any issues, later.

You're able to create custom profiles for each child's account, ensuring a teenager doesn't have to face the same restrictions as a five-year-old.

There are no particularly advanced features here, no smart GPS location or geofencing tools, and ContentBarrier doesn't have any web-based dashboard where you can monitor all your kid’s activities from one place.

The app can keep you up to date with what's going on via email reports, though, and it could be enough for not-so-demanding users. If you're unsure, take a look: Intego's generous 30-day trial gives you plenty of time to find out.

Intego Mac Premium Bundle: Washing Machine

Security suites often include some kind of general system maintenance tool, and Washing Machine is Intego's offering; a simple app that aims to find and delete junk and duplicate files, and help organize your desktop and dock.

The Reclaim feature searches for leftover files in five categories, for instance – Caches, Downloads, Languages, Logs, and Trash – and displays its results. If you're the technical type, you can browse the list of files and select what to keep and what to wipe. But if that's too much hassle, you can choose your preferred deletion mode (Aggressive cleans as much as possible, Safe keeps more recent files) and have Washing Machine clean up with a click.

The Duplicates module searches for duplicates in your choice of categories (Folders, Archives, Movies, Documents, Music, Pictures). This worked quickly for us, especially as it searches on content rather than just file names. The app automatically chooses which files to keep, but you can also choose manually, or select a general rule for all files (keep the earliest files, the latest, the shortest path, the longest, and so on). As with the Reclaim module, it covers the basics, but there's nothing particularly advanced here.

Finally, Washing Machine's Organize feature includes a handful of simple management tools. It helps you automatically or manually move files from your desktop to the appropriate folder, and organize the apps in your dock. It can also help you build Smart Folders, an easier way to give you access to important files and apps. Again, this handles the basics, but nothing more.

Overall, we're struggling to see any compelling reason to install Washing Machine ahead of other maintenance tools. It does have some value, though, and if you're planning to buy Intego's Mac bundle anyway, you might find one or two of its features useful.

Intego Mac Premium Bundle: Personal Backup

Intego's Mac Premium Bundle includes Personal Backup, a versatile local backup tool. It's a configurable app, more flexible than the built-in Time Machine with plenty of features and settings.

Personal Backup can easily back up your choice of folders, for instance. Optional file versioning enables keeping old versions of files. It can also clone your whole drive to an external disk or a disk image file, allowing you to boot from the external drive if your main system fails.

You don't have to choose a preferred backup type, as Personal Backup can create and run as many backup jobs as you need and on a custom schedule (back up your work files hourly, maybe, but your media files daily, and create a bootable disk image every week).

As a bonus, Personal Backup is able to sync your selected folders between two Macs. As with backups, you can create multiple sync jobs and set them up to run automatically, at your chosen interval, or leave them to be run manually whenever you like.

This isn't a hosted backup service – there's no cloud storage space and no direct support for backing up to cloud storage accounts. That's no great surprise, though; Norton LifeLock 360, for instance, provides cloud storage space, but Macs are left out – it only has a PC client.

Personal Backup may not be enough for everyone, then, but it's a likable local backup tool, easy to use, and with a decent feature set.

Intego Mac Premium Bundle: Final verdict

When it comes to pure virus protection, Intego scored well in its last antivirus testing lab results. This is a suite that's jam-packed with extra features for somebody who wants to make sure that they're getting the whole kit and caboodle on their Mac.

The welcome 30-day trial gives you time to find out if the virus protection software and extra features are for you or whether opting for more straightforward Mac Internet Security is the best value.

• We've also highlighted the overall best antivirus software

VPNPrivacy is a minimalistic VPN service that primarily advertises to individuals, small and medium businesses. That said, although it supports torrenting and gives no restriction on speed limit it falls behind in basic functionality considering the price it is set at. But make no mistake - VPNPrivacy is not the best VPN on the market. It’s not even close. It has a lot of drawbacks, and is not at all recommended for use.

Since its establishment in 2007, the Canadian-based VPNPrivacy has served thousands of users, including individuals, small and medium-sized businesses, by providing them with online privacy, freedom, and security. The company has offices in Montreal, Canada, and Scranton, USA.

VPNPrivacy has ten VPN servers in four countries, including the US, Singapore, Canada, and Europe. Compared to big-name businesses in the sector like ExpressVPN, which has thousands of servers spread across 94 countries, this is a relatively small number of servers. 

We also found it quite strange that VPNPrivacy website does not have a security certificate, which means any information you send or receive using that page is unprotected and may be stolen, read, or altered by attackers, hackers, and government agencies. This is incredibly absurd, coming from a business offering privacy tools. Also, VPNPrivacy has not undergone a VPN audit, so if you intend to use this VPN, you should do so with caution. 

• You can sign up for VPNPrivacy here.

Pricing & plans

VPNPrivacy offers a one-month subscription at $10, a six-month subscription at $8.60 per month, and finally a one-year subscription at $8.10 per month. Even though the 1-year plan should be the least expensive, it costs more than almost every other VPN service we've used.

The service can’t even compete with the best free VPN providers. There’s a ‘free trial’ - but it’s not quite as it seems. It costs $3.50 for a one-week VPN account, which contradicts the purpose of a free trial since you're not supposed to pay. This indicates that there is no free trial available for VPNPrivacy, which is odd given that other VPNs offer generous free trials. 

Another drawback of this VPN is that, in contrast to other VPNs that give you access to all of their servers, you are only given the option to choose one of their four servers when you want to purchase VPNprivacy’s subscription plan.

That said, the provider accepts Paypal, Visa, Mastercard, AliPay, and UnionPay as payment methods. All plans come with stealthy VPN technology, no speed limits, three simultaneous connections, multi-platform support, and a 3-day money-back policy, but only in the event that you can’t connect to your selected VPN server and its tech support confirms the issue.

Privacy & encryption

Unfortunately, we were told in VPNPrivacy's terms of service that it keeps log files on its servers for five days, after which the logs are deleted from its servers. However, they claim that neither monitoring nor censorship of your online activities takes place using these log files. Instead, they are used to track server performance, find software bugs, spot potential security vulnerabilities, and track down abusive customers.

According to the privacy statement of the service provider, they do not keep a record of your browsing history, traffic destination, data content, or DNS queries. They also assert that they will never keep a record of your connection, including your IP address, outgoing VPN address, connection time, or session length.

Although it might sound enticing, in today's privacy-unfriendly world, it is not enough for a VPN to merely claim that it does not keep logs or that the logs kept are secure; instead, we expect each VPN to hire an impartial auditor to verify any claims it makes, to prove if they are accurate or not.

VPNPrivacy uses the 256-bit AES encryption algorithm and supports the OpenVPN, PPTP, and L2TP encryption protocols, but as always, OpenVPN is highly recommended for maximum performance. It’s touted as a VPN for torrenting, but the service lacks a VPN kill switch, which would help you conceal your IP address if you lose your internet connection while using the VPN. 

Streaming

The best streaming VPNs let you access well-known platforms services like Netflix and BBC iPlayer - particularly in regions where such content is unavailable. It’s a big deal. Many people seek the feature to be able to access content that is exclusive to certain locations. 

Unfortunately, VPNPrivacy is not the best VPN for Netflix or other streaming sites. We found it’s currently unable to grant access to these streaming services. It’s a big point of difference compared to major competitors that help you to defeat geo-restrictions. 

Speed & experience

One of a VPN's most crucial characteristics is speed because it enables you to access various websites, download torrents for gaming, and other uses. A slow network would render a VPN useless for even the most basic tasks.

That said, due to the restriction of choosing just one server, we were only able to test the speed of the USA server and were unable to try servers in other locations. We started testing the service with a baseline speed of 48.32 Mbps on the USA server, which is close to our physical location. We were very dissatisfied with what we got after running a few tests—the download speed was only 8.48 Mbps, which is incredibly slow considering the price of this VPN. If you want a far better option in terms of speed, we recommend that you choose a different VPN provider, such as ExpressVPN, which we have tested in the past and has faster speeds to suit your needs.

Support 

Despite not having a native app, VPNPrivacy is compatible with Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, and routers. Instead of native apps, they provide setup instructions on their website for using their VPN on these operating systems.

Although VPNPrivacy has an FAQ section on its website, it is very sparse and won't help you if you encounter any serious problems while using the VPN. They also don't have a live chat feature to easily connect with a customer service representative, nor do they have a troubleshooting guide to assist you. Instead of offering you a 24/7 live chat, what they offer is a phone number for financial inquiries as well as an email address where they promise to provide technical support. 

We attempted to test the customer support responsiveness by requesting technical support via email. We never received a response. 

Alternatives

To be very candid, VPNPrivacy is not suitable for use, especially considering all of its disadvantages and the price it comes at. There are far better services available at better prices, such as NordVPN, CyberGhost, or Surfshark. We’ve found these provide you with better privacy and more reliable services than VPNPrivacy.

Additionally, you can test out ExpressVPN, the market leader, which is a much better choice than VPNPrivacy and will provide you with a more sophisticated platform, support for Netflix and torrenting, thousands of servers, round-the-clock customer service, detailed information on the website, and a no-logs policy that has been independently verified.

Also, all of these VPNs come with native clients for the apps they support, reasonable price, money-back guarantees and generous free trials so you can try them out risk-free. 

Verdict

Put bluntly, VPNPrivacy isn't worth your money if you take into account all of its drawbacks, such as the slow speed, limited customer support, strange website without a security certificate, small servers, and lack of a native client.

Given the absence of a free trial and the scant information available on its website, it is safe to conclude that this is an unreliable choice for a VPN. We can’t overstate this enough: more dependable VPN providers are available. 

• Also see: the best business VPN.

We are all aware by this point that the government, businesses, and cybercriminals are watching everything we do online. By encrypting your online data, a VPN can help you feel more secure and give you peace of mind, however, it can be difficult to find a trustworthy VPN. 

Due to the fact that many VPNs are only effective at talking and working, when we come across a VPN that claims to be able to unblock any website or server and protect you online, we test it out and give an unbiased review to determine its suitability. And that brings us to VPN Monster. 

The Russian VPN provider has 120 server locations spread across 40 nations. Comparing this to the best VPNs on the market, which offer thousands of servers, coverage is incredibly inadequate. 

VPN Monster: Pricing & plans 

VPN Monster offers three paid packages (all of which have the same features) as well as a three-day free trial that requires your email address. You can also net a 35-day free trial depending on whether or not you are willing to surrender your email and phone number; however, the free trial is limited to a small number of VPN servers. And there’s no true free VPN option here either. 

The premium plan, which includes three packages, comes with a 7-day money-back guarantee if you are dissatisfied with any aspect of the service; however, this isn't impressive given that the industry standard is 30-days. The following are the packages:

Monthly: $9.73 

Tri-monthly: $32.10

Annually: $46.68 

VPN Monster accepts credit cards, PayPal, Qiwi Wallet, UMoney, WebMoney, and even Bitcoin for anonymity. 

VPN Monster: Privacy & encryption 

It should be noted that although VPN Monster claims to have a strict no-logs policy, you shouldn't just take its word for it because they haven't asked an independent auditor to check the servers for any logs. Without a VPN audit, this claim is difficult to accept at face-value. 

However, we reviewed VPN Monster's privacy statement and discovered that it does log some of your information, such as your email, order status, and cookies. VPN Monster claims that cookies are only stored in order to prevent re-registration for the free trial. If you are oblivious to the fact that browser cookies can be used to track you, this should worry you. 

Although VPN Monster is a Russian product, the company that created it is registered in Seychelles, so it is not subject to Russian legal restrictions. Seychelles' government has strict guidelines regarding online privacy. As it is not under the jurisdiction of the Five Eyes Alliance, you can use this VPN with confidence, knowing that no one can access your data.

Though we prefer having a wide range of protocol options, VPN Monster offers only the OpenVPN protocol (TCP/UDP) with military-grade AES 256-bit encryption, a double VPN feature that navigates your online activity through two servers rather than one, encrypting your data twice. VPN Monster also has a VPN kill switch that disconnects your device from the internet in the event that your VPN connection drops unexpectedly. This helps prevent the disclosure of your information to uninvited parties like websites and hackers. 

When we checked for IP and DNS leaks, we were pleased to see that the VPN did not reveal our IP address or DNS requests. You can browse now without worrying about your privacy being invaded. 

VPN Monster: Streaming 

When we tried, the US server could connect and stream Netflix. But, regrettably, it didn't work for Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, or BBC iPlayer, which most often put locational restrictions on access to their content. 

This part is getting more and more crucial as more people learn about the benefits VPNs have for bypassing geo-restricted content - in other words, changing location and IP address with a VPN. Selecting the correct provider who can meet your needs is advisable if this is a top priority for you - and thankfully, there are plenty of Netflix VPNs and streaming VPNs that do provide this service.  

VPN Monster: Speed & experience 

Despite the fact that every VPN will, to some level, slow down your connection, the best ones have quite a negligible effect that restricts lags or buffering. The location, connection, and internet network you are using may also affect the speed. 

Running our speed test did not provide us with particularly impressive connection speeds. On a connection that can handle 70.02Mbps, we only received a comparatively small 12.05Mbp. Then after, we ended up choosing to use a server in Luxembourg, which delivered only 9.89Mbps and performed worse than we had anticipated. we used a 25 Mbps internet connection and connected to its Italian server; we got a download speed of less than average at 25 Mbps. 

VPN Monster: Customer support 

On its official site, VPN Monster doesn't provide live chat, email support, or even a ticketing system. While submitting a ticket was simple, the customer service team at VPN Monster occasionally takes a while to give a response. 

After having to wait for 10 hours, we eventually received a response, but it lacked both professionalism and technical assistance. Besides that, it has a FAQ section with answers to technical questions, primarily troubleshooting instructions. The FAQ section was helpful to me, so I found it to be useful.

VPN Monster: Apps 

Linux, Windows, iOS, macOS, Android, and routers are all supported by VPN Monster through its desktop and mobile VPN apps. You can configure VPN Monster on your router, but it must support TLS authorization, the OpenVPN protocol, and configuration files with the .ovpn extension. 

On your desktop Mac or Windows computer, VPN Monster is simple to install. You can just register for any of the trials if you want to try it out first. You can easily navigate the app because both the Mac and Windows versions of the user interface are identical.  

The installation of the applications on Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, Linux, and routers went without a hassle; but even so, since VPN Monster supports the OpenVPN protocol, we had to confirm that our routers also support TLS authorization and configuration files with the.ovpn extension.

VPN Monster: Alternatives 

ExpressVPN

ExpressVPN is one of the best VPN services available. It has lightning-fast, live chat support 24 hours a day, servers in over 94 countries, and excellent security measures. It enables five concurrent connections on devices and unblocks everything. It also has a rigorous no-log and privacy policy, so you can be confident that your data will not be shared.

Read our full ExpressVPN review 

NordVPN

NordVPN is a VPN industry giant. The service has over 5,200 servers scattered across 60 countries, provides live chat help, 24/7 email support, military-grade encryption software, and supports up to six simultaneous device connections.

Read our full NordVPN review

Proton VPN

Proton VPN is an alternative that does not monitor your actions and does not utilize any of your personal information. Furthermore, Proton VPN offers a feature that prevents trackers from following you, as well as a built-in kill switch that automatically stops all network traffic if the VPN connection is lost.

Read our full Proton VPN review

PureVPN

This VPN provides the finest protection against ISP speed limiting, allows you to access prohibited websites, and protects you from third-party online snooping. With the availability of sophisticated features such as intrusion detection systems, anti-spam, IP protection, and web threat monitoring, you can expect the greatest degree of network threat security.

Read our full PureVPN review 

VPN Monster: Verdict 

Due to the lack of available servers in a few locations, VPN Monster does not stand out when compared to its competitors. It is slow, has poor unblocking capabilities, and there hasn't been any independent auditor to inspect the servers, so you cannot be certain that they do not log your data.  

• Best business VPNs: Keep employees secure online

When it comes to privacy tools and online security, ZoogVPN does a good job. It is one of the best options available in the market today. In this review, we will discuss the features that make ZoogVPN a great choice for those looking for online security and privacy. We will also look at how ZoogVPN compares to some of the best VPN providers on the market.

Zoog Services IKE was founded in 2013 by IT professionals with experience dating back to the 1990s. Zoog Services is the leading provider of ZoogVPN with headquarters in Patras, Greece, and offices in different continents like Asia, and North America. With ZoogVPN, you can have access to over 60 VPN servers. 

ZoogVPN: Price 

ZoogVPN's pricing structure is pretty straightforward. The free VPN plan allows you to use the program without spending a dime. With the free plan, you will have access to 10GB of bandwidth and you can connect up to 2 devices at the same time. 

The monthly plan starts at $9.99. This gets you access to all of ZoogVPN's servers in over 50 locations, over 1000s IPs, unlimited devices, P2P included, 256-bit encryption, full features, 20 Netflix regions, Hulu, Disney+, iPlayer as well as their strong encryption software and 24/7 customer support.

If you need more than that, they also offer a yearly plan for $2.99 per month (billed annually at $35.99). This plan comes with everything in the monthly plan, plus additional features like unlimited bandwidth and access to "stealth servers" in 10 additional countries. 

Finally, it offers a 2-year plan for $1.87 per month (billed annually at $44.99). This is the top-of-the-line offering and includes everything in the monthly plan, plus even more features like dedicated IP addresses and priority customer support. 

ZoogVPN offers a 7-day money-back guarantee. This allows you to test-run the service before making a long-term commitment. The VPN accepts payment methods from credit cards, PayPal, WebMoney, Qiwi, and Mint. There are other options such as cryptocurrency (BTC, ETH, LTC, DAI, USDC, and BCH).

In comparison to other top VPN providers, ZoogVPN's pricing is on the lower end of the spectrum. For example, ExpressVPN - one of the most popular VPNs on the market—starts at $12.95 per month for their annual plan (or $8.32 per month if you want to pay monthly). So, already you're looking at savings of over 50% with ZoogVPN's premium plan compared to ExpressVPN's monthly price. 

NordVPN is another popular option that starts at $11.95 per month for their annual plan (or $12.95 per month if you want to pay monthly). Again, that's a significant saving compared to ZoogVPN's premium plan—over 30%. Needless to say, when it comes to price, ZoogVPN is tough to beat.  

ZoogVPN: Privacy and encryption 

As far as ZoogVPN is concerned, it takes its customer's right to privacy seriously and provides full details on how they work to ensure your privacy. It uses AES-256 encryption with a 2048-bit key while transferring data over its VPN tunnel. In addition to this, they use other advanced technology including SHA1 and SHA256 authentication mechanisms which ensures no third-party can see what you are doing on the internet. The result? Your activities can never be traced back by third-parties or by government agencies, allowing you to use the internet freely.

ZoogVPN provides you with the most reliable and secure VPN protocols. By default, ZoogVPN comes with IKEv2 and OpenVPN connections as well as L2TP and IPSec protocols for maximum online security. One thing we love is its built-in VPN kill switch feature. This protects you from unexpected VPN connection drops by automatically locking your internet when they happen for extra peace of mind.

When you are connected to ZoogVPN, your IP address and DNS will be fully anonymous. There is no risk of identity theft or other unwanted activity when using this service because it comes equipped with leakproof enabled by default that ensures there are never any leaks. 

However, we are not impressed with ZoogVPN’s keeping a log of the email and activities of its users. We do not know the intention behind this, but if top-notch anonymity is your goal, then ZoogVPN is not the best choice. You may consider going for ExpressVPN and IPvanish VPN, which offer zero-log policies. 

ZoogVPN: China 

At the time of writing, this VPN does work in China. You may be met with a few speed issues, but other than that there are no major problems reported by users using this as a VPN for China. This tool is able to bypass the Great Firewall of China using its Shadowing feature. 

ZoogVPN: Ad blocker 

During our test, we found out that ZoogVPN includes an ad blocker in its service that can help to prevent ads from appearing on your browser while you are connected to the VPN. This is a great feature for those who want to stay distraction-free and focus on their online activities without having to deal with pesky advertisements at all times. 

You can simply enable the ad blocker within the ZoogVPN app and enjoy a seamless browsing experience free of ads. Additionally, this feature also helps to improve your browsing speed by blocking unnecessary trackers, cookies, and other resources that may cause unwanted popups. 

ZoogVPN: Torrenting and P2P 

ZoogVPN serves up a reliable VPN for torrenting and P2P file-sharing. Additionally, the strong security features of ZoogVPN also offer added protection and privacy when using torrenting and P2P networks, keeping your activities and personal information safe from prying eyes.  

ZoogVPN: Streaming 

During our test, ZoogVPN unblocked US Netflix and Disney+. Also, we were able to stream content from Hulu, BBC iPlayer, ITV Hub, and RTE. ZoogVPN performed above our expectations in terms of bypassing geo-restricted content from the US, UK, and many other countries. Ideal if you’re on the hunt for a streaming VPN or a VPN for Netflix.  

ZoogVPN: Customer support 

The VPN is compatible with all of the popular operating systems which include Windows, macOS, and Linux, with mobile VPN apps for Android and iOS. It even supports certain TV and routers. You’ll also find secure access over OpenVPN protocols. Customer support was a big concern for us, so we reached out to see how it went. 

Using the live chat, we received an instant response that was genuinely helpful. Via email, we had an answer to our query within 10 minutes of sending. The company also lists its contact information on official websites which adds credibility when needed like during emergencies or crisis situations where having quick access can be crucial. 

ZoogVPN: Speed and experience 

While this VPN is pretty quick, make no mistake, this isn’t the fastest VPN in the world - and the servers are not as quick and reliable as the speeds they advertise. We connected to one of their VPN servers, but it dropped down unexpectedly after just a few seconds. We connected to one of its US servers and found that our internet speed without ZoogVPN was 51.41 Mbps, but when we hooked up with the service it decreased to 13.67Mbps. 

ZoogVPN: Alternatives 

NordVPN is a popular VPN service that offers unlimited bandwidth, multiple server locations across the globe, 2 simultaneous logins, and P2P support for downloads. It also provides additional features like a kill switch, dedicated IPs at an affordable price, and 24/7 customer support through live chat or email.

ExpressVPN is another excellent choice if you're looking for a fast and reliable VPN service. ExpressVPN has servers in 94 countries, which means that you can unblock nearly any website or online service in the world. ExpressVPN encrypts your traffic with strong encryption, making it impossible for anyone to snoop on your connection. ExpressVPN also offers live chat support 24/7 in case you ever need help with the service. 

PureVPN is yet another popular name in the VPN industry and offers many useful services like unlimited bandwidth, high-speed servers across the world, P2P file sharing, malware protection, DDoS protection, etc. This service comes with a good privacy policy as well and you can use it without any worries about your confidential data getting leaked or compromised in any way. 

Zoog VPN: Pros and Cons 

One of the biggest pros of using ZoogVPN is its excellent customer support. The live chat feature allows you to get in touch with a representative quickly and easily, and the helpful responses we received from the team really impressed us.

Another major benefit of this service is that it offers great security features like strong encryption and an effective kill switch, which help keep your data safe from hackers and other online threats.

However, some users may find that the limited number of server locations available can be a drawback when trying to access certain websites or content that may not be available in specific regions. Another con of ZoogVPN is that it keeps logs of users’ email and online activities. Additionally, ZoogVPN slows down the internet connection.

Verdict

Overall, ZoogVPN is a reliable and secure VPN service that offers great customer support and good security features. It does keep logs of its users’ activities, so if you want to remain completely anonymous online, you may consider a different VPN service. But, if you're looking for a decent VPN service with plenty of features at an affordable price, then ZoogVPN should meet your needs. 

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