Some providers boast about their free VPN plans, but then hamstring them with limits and restrictions, hoping you'll upgrade as quickly as possible. Swiss-based PrivadoVPN is far more generous, and its free offering is something you might be able to use long-term.
PrivadoVPN's choice of locations goes well beyond the two or three countries you get with some providers. You get P2P-friendly servers in nine countries: US, UK, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Netherlands, Mexico, and Switzerland. Windscribe does a little better with eleven countries, but PrivadoVPN still tramples over most of the competition.
You get full access to all those locations, with a data limit of 10 GB every 30 days. That's better than some, but PrivadoVPN goes even further. If you use all 10 GB on day one, you're not cut off entirely. The app still gives you unlimited data via a single emergency server. It's very slow—1 Mbps, in fact—but at least it means you don't ever have to be unprotected.
There is one significant restriction: PrivadoVPN only supports connecting a single device at a time. You can install it on as many devices as you like, though, and keep in mind that other family members can also sign up and get their own 10 MB of data.
PrivadoVPN doesn't omit key features like WireGuard support (Image credit: PrivadoVPN)
It's also good to see that, unlike some providers, PrivadoVPN doesn't try to punish free users by leaving out key features (WireGuard, kill switch, specialist unblocking of streaming sites, you know how it works usually). Yes, the company limits your choice of locations and data use, but otherwise free users have access to just about everything PrivadoVPN has to offer.
My final quibble is that the PrivadoVPN support site is incredibly bare-bones. There aren't a ton of articles, which makes it more difficult to troubleshoot issues if you do come across obstacles. Compared to ExpressVPN and PIA, there just aren't enough articles covering the basics, technical topics, and all the bits in-between.
Privacy and logging
PrivadoVPN scores highly on privacy at a technical level. A choice of the highly secure WireGuard, OpenVPN, and IKEv2 protocols shields your traffic from hackers. Private DNS keeps your browsing activities out of sight, and a kill switch blocks your internet if the VPN drops, ensuring your data is never exposed to attackers.
These technologies deliver what they promise, too. Multiple test sites failed to uncover the tiniest hint of a DNS leak, and no matter what sneaky tricks I used to shut down the VPN (and I know a lot of sneaky tricks), the kill switch unfailingly kept me safe.
It's worth noting that PrivadoVPN hasn't undertaken a no-logging or security audit, which means you'll have to take the provider's word that they're not misusing your data. Obviously, this isn't ideal, and I'd like to see the VPN take a step towards transparency by investing in regular audits. Doing so will ensure that PrivadoVPN doesn't lag behind the likes of TunnelBear (which has had four annual audits), and gives prospective customers an immediate heads up that their privacy really is the priority.
PrivadoVPN does at least have a clear and simple privacy policy, though. This explains that logging is kept to a minimum, and the company doesn't record anything that could connect any internet action to your account.
PrivadoVPN has a clear no logs policy, but it hasn't been independently audited (Image credit: PrivadoVPN)
Windows and Mac apps
PrivadoVPN's desktop apps have a straightforward interface which makes it easy to find and access all its various features.
If your needs are simple, things can be as easy as clicking Connect when you need the VPN's protection, and Disconnect when you don't. The app automatically uses the nearest server, and the data left this month is always clearly visible, a handy reminder if you're close to running out.
Clicking the default location displays your options, with cities in an impressive (for a free VPN) nine countries. Some free VPNs force you to scroll down the full location list, and look for icons to separate the free and premium servers, but PrivadoVPN takes a much easier approach: it simply displays all the free servers at the top of the list, so there's no scrolling at all.
Connection times were excellent at around one or two seconds for my nearest location (the slowest providers might take 20 seconds or more).
The desktop clients present the user with a smart and straightforward interface (Image credit: PrivadoVPN)
The desktop apps don't have a lot of features or configuration options, but they cover the basics. You can choose from the WireGuard, IKEv2, and OpenVPN protocols. There's also an Auto-Connect option which tells the app to automatically connect to your preferred server when it launches, and a kill switch to protect you if the VPN drops.
However, the kill switch is of the 'hard' variety, which will block your access to the internet entirely if you're not connected to PrivadoVPN. It works like a treat, but it's somewhat extreme, and lacks the kind of customizability that other providers offer. Ideally, the kill switch would have a 'soft' alternative where users can still access the internet even if they switch off their VPN.
The Windows app now has a split tunneling feature. In a click or two you can choose apps that won't be passed through the VPN. That's useful for applications that don't need the VPN's protection, and there's another welcome bonus: the more traffic you route outside of the VPN, the less data you'll use, and the longer your allowance will last.
Overall, while PrivadoVPN's desktop apps don't lead the way in any specific area, they're strong all-rounders, thoughtfully designed, with a decent feature set suitable for beginners and experts alike.
There's a decent selection of options in the Settings panel (Image credit: PrivadoVPN)
Android and iOS apps
PrivadoVPN's mobile apps have a simpler and more stylish look than the desktop editions. Out go the high contrast colors and bright orange buttons, in comes a relatively subdued and stripped-back design—little more than a Connect button and the name of your currently selected location.
There are a handful of configuration options in the Settings box. The iOS app allows you to choose a preferred protocol from WireGuard, IKEv2, and OpenVPN, and the Android build goes a step further with split tunneling support.
Mobile app performance can vary considerably, depending on your device and network conditions, but both the Android and iOS versions worked very well for me. They connected faster than the desktop apps, even when using the throttled 'emergency' servers. My connections were reliable, with no unexpected drops or speed issues.
PrivadoVPN's mobile apps look a little underpowered compared to the competition, with most providers offering more features and configuration options. But they're fast and easy to use, and if those are your priorities, they could be a smart choice.
We were impressed by the mobile apps, even if they're not perfect (Image credit: PrivadoVPN)
PrivadoVPN performance
Speed matters, even with a free VPN, so I put PrivadoVPN through its performance paces from a UK data center with a very capable 1 Gbps connection. The results were impressive, with the service delivering speeds of around 350 Mbps. That means PrivadoVPN has raced ahead to the number one spot in our fastest VPN rankings, overtaking Proton VPN.
Most free VPN plans don't include any form of streaming support, but PrivadoVPN is a rare exception. You get exactly the same unblocking abilities as paying customers, and I had no trouble accessing US Netflix, Disney Plus, Amazon Prime Video, and BBC iPlayer.
PrivadoVPN proved to be seriously nippy in our speed testing (Image credit: Speedtest.net)
If your regular paid VPN has occasional unblocking issues, PrivadoVPN might be worth having around as an emergency short-term backup. (Netflix says its data demands can be as little as 0.3 GB per hour for low quality, 1 GB for standard definition, so you can squeeze a fair amount of viewing from your 10 GB a month allowance.)
I had no significant issues setting up or using PrivadoVPN, but if you're not as lucky, it's good to know there's help available. PrivadoVPN doesn't have live chat, but you can contact support via email. We sent a test question and received a thorough and accurate reply within a couple of hours, suggesting PrivadoVPN should be able to quickly solve most problems and get you up and running again.
There's a lot to like about PrivadoVPN's free plan (Image credit: PrivadoVPN)
Final verdict
Try many free VPNs and you're often annoyed by everything the service left out. Try PrivadoVPN and you're likely to be pleasantly surprised by everything you get: great speeds, a reliable kill switch, and unblocking results that beat many paid VPNs. A must-try provider.
At first glance, VyprVPN might seem much like any other small provider but look closer and you'll find there's much more here than you might expect.
The network 'only' has 700+ servers, for instance, but they're spread across 70+ locations in 60+ countries. The servers also don't have the same focus on Europe and North America that we often see with other providers. VyprVPN has 14 locations in Asia, 5 in the Middle East, 7 in Central and South America, 2 in Africa, and 5 in Oceania.
Even better, these servers are owned and managed by the company. That means there's no reliance on third-party web hosts, unlike most of the competition.
Welcome features include a zero-knowledge DNS service, a custom Chameleon protocol to help bypass VPN blocking in countries like China, WireGuard support to optimize performance, P2P support across the network, and 24/7/365 customer support to help you whenever you are in need.
Wide platform support includes apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Tomato-based routers, QNAP, Anonabox, Smart TVs, and Blackphone.
The website also has 30 tutorials to help you set up the service on Linux, Blackberry, Synology NAS, OpenELEC, Android TV, Apple TV, and via DD-WRT, AsusWRT, OpenWRT, and more.
Whatever hardware you're using, VyprVPN supports connecting up to 10 devices simultaneously. That's more than most, but if you do have a lot of hardware to protect, keep in mind that Atlas VPN, IPVanish, PureVPN, Surfshark, and Windscribe have no fixed connection limits at all.
VyprVPN was, until recently, run by a company called Golden Frog which was incorporated in Switzerland to take advantage of the favorable privacy laws. Its founders were behind some other big internet names including Usenet provider Giganews,
This all changed during our review, and apparently, VyprVPN is now owned by the US-based Certida. It’s too early to say for sure what this means (apart from exposure to the much less favorable US privacy laws), but we’ve a couple of early thoughts.
The good news is that it might bring new investment. VyprVPN hasn’t had any significant updates for a very long time, and if it had just run out of money, a new owner might help bring it back to life.
The bad news is that VyprVPN hasn’t clearly explained what’s happening to its customers, and some parts of what’s happened raise warning flags with us.
VyprVPN used to have an ‘About Us’ page where it proudly boasted of its Swiss registration, for instance. When Certida took over, we would expect that page to be updated with the new details. Instead, it took the page down and added a much harder-to-find FAQ page with a handful of details on Certida.
Don’t think you can head off to the Certida page to find out more either. It’s basically a single page with links to VyprVPN and Giganews.
This all looks a little amateurish and doesn’t show anything like the transparency we would expect from a VPN provider. Still, it’s also very early days, and if the new ownership brings new ideas and investment, then maybe customers will be better off overall.
VyprVPN pricing
VyprVPN's pricing is surprisingly simple. There are just two plans: you can opt to pay $10 billed monthly or sign up for a year at $60 to reduce the cost to $5 a month.
That really is it. There are no special discounts, no free months, and the price won't double on renewal. What you see, really is what you get.
These aren't unreasonable prices. ExpressVPN, Hotspot Shield, IPVanish, NordVPN, and others ask $7-$8 or more on their annual plans after any starter deals expire. Still, if you want to save more, there are better deals available.
Private Internet Access' three-year deal is $2.03 for its first term, for instance, with three months free. Looking at the totals, handing $60 to VyprVPN gets you one year of protection; giving Private Internet Access $79 covers you for three years and three months.
Payment options include card, PayPal, Amazon Pay, and checking or saving accounts in the US. No Bitcoin, unfortunately.
If you sign up and aren't happy, you're protected by a 30-day money-back guarantee. A few companies give you more – Hotspot Shield and CyberGhost allow 45 days, for example – but 30 days should be long enough to identify any problems.
Private Internet Access' three-year deal is $2.03 for its first term, for instance, with three months free. Looking at the totals, handing $60 to VyprVPN gets you one year of protection; giving Private Internet Access $79 covers you for three years and three months.
VyprVPN protects your privacy with 256-bit encryption and strong support for a variety of VPN protocols (Image credit: VyprVPN)
Privacy
VyprVPN protects your privacy with well-chosen protocols and strong encryption capabilities. It supports AES-256-GCM and SHA384 HMAC for OpenVPN, with TLS-ECDHE-RSA-2048 to provide Perfect Forward Secrecy. Perfect Forward Secrecy is a smart technique that ensures that a different key is used for every connection so that even if an attacker obtains a private key somehow, they would only be able to access data in that particular session.
WireGuard, OpenVPN, and IKEv2 are supported across all platforms. VyprVPN's custom Chameleon 2.0 protocol is available on all platforms to help you bypass the most aggressive VPN blocking. Reports suggest this works well in China, although we don't test this so can't confirm it.
VyprVPN provides an encrypted zero-knowledge DNS service, DNS filtering, and other snooping strategies. Works for us, but if you've other needs, it's good to see the apps also allow you to use whatever third-party DNS service you need.
Individual apps have their own privacy-protecting technologies, too, including options to defend against DNS leaks and kill switches to reduce the chance of data leaks if the VPN connection drops. We'll look at these in more detail later.
VyprVPN's privacy policy is clear on its logging policy. There's no recording of source or destination IP addresses, connection start or stop times, user traffic, or DNS requests.
The company verified this with a public audit by Leviathan Security Group. leviathan examined source code, logged into servers, inspected running processes, and more, and although it reported a few configuration mistakes, they confirmed that the company didn't log user activity.
While that's great news (and more than what most VPNs have done), the audit took place in September 2018, and can't tell us anything useful about what's happening now. We don't expect any provider to match ExpressVPN's level of audit enthusiasm (it's gone through 11 in the past year alone), but with more than four years since VyprVPN's last inspection, it's surely time for another.
VyprVPN offers clients for most major platforms (Image credit: VyprVPN)
Setup
Signing up to VyprVPN is easy, and once you've handed over your details, the website points you to an Apps page with a host of useful links.
There are downloads for the company's Windows, Mac, Android and iOS apps, the raw Android APK file if you need to install it somewhere manually, and VyprVPN's Chrome browser extension.
Setup is easy, and much the same as every other VPN app you've ever installed. Download and run the app, follow the instructions, enter your username and password when you're prompted, and essentially, you're ready to go.
You're not restricted to the apps either. VyprVPN's website has tutorials to help you manually set up the service on Chromebooks, Linux, Synology NAS, OpenELEC, Android TV, Apple TV, and on routers via DD-WRT, AsusWRT, OpenWRT and more.
These setup guides are, for the most part, relatively basic. Many are short, with only the bare minimum of text, and no screenshots (the Android TV guide says little more than 'you'll need the Android app, get it here or here'). They appear to cover the essentials, though, and should get you connected with minimal hassle.
VyprVPN's Windows VPN client looks and feels much like a mobile VPN app. It consists of a simple opening window that displays your connection state and preferred location, and a button you can click to connect or disconnect.
A capable location picker lists available locations by country and city, and it includes ping times to give you an idea of distance and provides a simple Favorites system to save your commonly used servers. Locations are sorted by country but you can also organize them by continent or ping time.
Although we're happy with the general design, a graphical glitch immediately spoiled the effect. The app displayed our default location using its long name, 'United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.' While this is correct, the app didn't wrap the location to fit it all on the window, and the beginning and end were cut off. It's a tiny issue, but also seriously unprofessional, and leaves us with other questions. If VyprVPN hasn't noticed or been concerned enough to fix such an obvious problem in more than a year, what else has it missed?
Back to the feature list, there's support for four protocols: WireGuard, OpenVPN, VyprVPN's proprietary Chameleon, and IKEv2. That's more than we usually see, so while this many are not necessary, it's always good to have options if one or two protocols fail.
Connection times are longer than usual, at up to 12 seconds for WireGuard. The best apps manage 1-2 seconds, and when you're used to that level of performance, an extra 5 to10 second delay can become annoying.
A Connection Details panel is just a click away and displays details including your upload and download speeds, the session length, your chosen server, protocol, and more. This isn't the most essential of features, but the stats could be useful occasionally, and we're happy to see them here.
VyprVPN also includes a built-in kill switch in case your VPN connection goes down (Image credit: Golden Frog)
A kill switch aims to protect you if the VPN drops, or that's the idea, but it didn't always work that way.
If we manually closed an OpenVPN connection the kill switch kicked in instantly, blocking internet traffic, displaying a warning, and giving us an option to reconnect.
If we did the same with an IKEv2 connection, though, the kill switch didn't appear to work, and our device used its regular internet connection instead. The app didn't display a 'Disconnected' notification, either, so if it was minimized or obscured by another app window, you wouldn't even realize there was a problem. Fortunately, it did automatically reconnect within a few seconds, limiting our exposure.
We found the kill switch protected us properly on WireGuard connections, which is important as we suspect most people won't use anything else. But again, the app warned us of connection troubles via its own window, rather than using desktop notifications as a more obvious alert.
VyprVPN's kill switch does a reasonable job in some situations but it can't begin to match the reliability of the best of the competition.
Why is there constant 1-2% (Image credit: Future)
While testing, we noticed an odd technical issue. An app file called VyprVPNService.exe was constantly using 1-2% of CPU time, even when the app wasn't connected or even running. What was going on?
Digging deeper, the service seemed to be constantly running a task called 'NetworkStateMonitor.monitorThroughPut.' The app can display your current upload and download speeds whether you're connected or not, so from the name, it looks like this task is collecting those figures. Fair enough, but we expect the task to stop when you close the app, it's actually running all the time, whether you need it or not.
The Settings dialog includes all the usual options to customize how the app works. You can have it automatically connect when Windows starts or the application launches. DNS leak protection reduces the chance of others snooping on your web traffic, and an auto-reconnect feature automatically re-establishes your connection if the VPN drops.
If VyprVPN's zero-knowledge VyprDNS service doesn't suit your needs, you can switch it to any other DNS provider you like and you can configure the app to automatically connect to VyprVPN whenever you access untrusted Wi-Fi networks. That's not just a convenient time-saver, it’s a safety net too. There's always a chance you'll forget to connect when you’re on a public network and leave yourself inadvertently exposed to danger.
There's the core of a good app here. It’s easy to use, has a strong set of features, and VyprVPN's own Chameleon protocol helps you get online where others can't. It just needs a major update to fix the issues and generally get it running smoothly again. Hopefully, that's coming soon.
VyprVPN's Mac client is similar to the Windows software, but adds split tunneling into the mix (Image credit: VyprVPN)
Mac and mobile apps
Some VPN providers spend a huge amount of time polishing their Windows app but make little effort to provide the same level of power on other platforms. But not VyprVPN - it's done a far better job of making key features available everywhere.
The Mac and Android apps look and feel almost identical to the Windows version. Spend a couple of minutes with one, and you'll immediately be ready to use either of the others.
They include almost all the most advanced Windows features, WireGuard, OpenVPN, and Chameleon support, customizable DNS, auto-connect, and a kill switch to block your connection if the VPN drops. Mac and Android users also get the Connection per App feature, VyprVPN's take on split tunneling, which isn't available on Windows.
The Android app also supports URL filtering to protect you from malicious websites. Although we didn't test the effectiveness of the system, we noticed that it gives you more control than most competing services. If you hit a site on the blocklist, for instance, the system doesn't just block it. Instead, it displays a warning, and you can ignore this and proceed to the site if you're sure it's safe.
VyprVPN's iOS offering can't match Mac and Android for power and doesn't include a kill switch, split tunneling, URL filter, or many other settings. That's not really VyprVPN's fault though. Apple's security model means it's just not possible to deliver all the same advanced VPN features on iOS that we see on other platforms.
There's still plenty to like. The iOS interface is clear and simple and most operations work just as they do with the other apps. Furthermore, with support for WireGuard, OpenVPN, IKEv2, and VyprVPN's Chameleon protocol, the iOS app should get you connected just as easily as the rest of the range.
VyprVPN's iOS app looks quite similar to its Android offering (Image credit: Golden Frog)
We evaluate every VPN we review with a variety of speed test benchmarks (Image credit: Speedtest.net)
Performance
To understand the real-world performance of a VPN, we measure download speeds multiple times, with multiple speed test sites and apps including SpeedTest, Cloudflare, and Measurement Lab across multiple sessions, in both US and UK locations.
OpenVPN speeds proved epicly bad, with UK speeds averaging 40Mbps. Even poor providers typically reach at least 100Mbps. That's so low we'd normally assume it was a mistake, or a temporary glitch, if not for the almost identical 35-40Mbps we saw in our last review.
Fortunately, VyprVPN doesn't just support the OpenVPN protocol, and switching to WireGuard accelerated our downloads to 300-325Mbps. That's still on the low side – PureVPN reached twice VyprVPN's speed at 650Mbps in its last reviews, and is still only #12 in our last speed charts - but VyprVPN is likely to be enough for many devices, connections, and tasks.
VyprVPN failed to get us into US Netflix in our latest round of testing (Image credit: Netflix)
Virtual locations
VPN performance can be affected by a provider's use of virtual locations. A provider might offer a location in Cambodia, for instance, which returns a Cambodian IP address, but uses servers that are physically based somewhere else. The service should work for unblocking, as you're getting the IP address you expect, but if you're in the country and the server is based far away, it'll be slower than you expect.
VyprVPN doesn't say much about virtual locations on its website, but our tests suggested they're used for several countries, and in some cases, the real server locations are some distance away. VyprVPN's Hong Kong and Marshall Islands locations appear to be in Hong Kong, for instance, while the company's Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, India, and Russia locations all appear to be served from near Amsterdam.
This isn't necessarily a problem. For instance, many providers host their India servers in a different country to avoid the country's upcoming data logging laws. If you happen to be in Amsterdam or Western Europe, having a local server for a distant location could improve speeds. The problem is, VyprVPN's virtual and real locations can be further apart than we see with most providers. ExpressVPN not only says exactly which of its locations are virtual, but also tells you where they're really hosted, and we'd like to see other VPNs be just as open with their customers.
Netflix and streaming
VPNs for Netflix have become particularly popular. So, it’s no surprise VPNs often sell themselves on their ability to access geo-blocked sites, giving you access to content you wouldn't normally be able to view.
VyprVPN had some success in testing, getting us into US Netflix, Disney Plus, BBC iPlayer, the UK's ITV, and Australia's 9Now.
US Amazon Prime Video was a bit hit-and-miss. We could usually stream content but had occasional DNS errors. That might have been some temporary issue during the review and nothing to do with Amazon detecting our VPN, but we can't say for sure.
There were plenty of very clear failures, including Netflix Australia, Canada, Japan, UK, along with Australia's 10 Play and Channel 4 in the UK.
VyprVPN clearly has some unblocking skills, but others go much further. ExpressVPN, NordVPN, Private Internet Access, ProtonVPN, PureVPN, and Surfshark all unblocked every platform we tried in their last tests.
VyprVPN's knowledgebase includes some decent content, but some articles are pretty barebones (Image credit: VyprVPN)
Support
VyprVPN support starts on its website, where a knowledge base provides setup instructions, troubleshooting guidance, and specific advice for various device types.
We noticed a link titled 'VyprVPN forum', clicked it to take a look, but got an 'Error 404: Page Not Found' error message. That looks very unprofessional and reinforces our earlier impression that no one's paying much attention to the details anymore.
There is at least a lot of content here, with plenty of guides covering setting up the service on a wide range of platforms. Regrettably, they're generally short, with few (or no) screenshots to help illustrate the points they're trying to make. FAQs can also be very basic, often no more than 'How do I turn on feature x?', with a few lines of text to point users in the right direction.
Still, there is some decent content here, and an accurate search system did a good job of finding relevant articles for all our test keywords.
Help is just a click away with live chat support (Image credit: Golden Frog)
If the website can't help, live chat is available to give you a near-instant response. We raised one test question and the support agent was talking to us within a couple of minutes and gave a helpful and informative response.
The final option is to send an email. We raised a simple product question and had a clear response within 15 minutes.
VyprVPN support has some issues and it's not as thorough or in-depth as top competitors like ExpressVPN. The website does give you basic information on a wide range of topics, though, and with speedy live chat support on hand, it shouldn't take long to get helpful advice on any service problems.
There's a lot to like about VyprVPN, all in all (Image credit: VyprVPN)
VyprVPN review: Final verdict
VyprVPN isn't the fastest or most powerful VPN, and the various app issues and annoyances make it difficult to recommend. Still, the service is easy to use, with more features than most, and if you could benefit from VyprVPN's firewall-bypassing Chameleon protocol then it may be worth a look.
Swiss-based PrivadoVPN is a young provider with a simple and appealing message. It's a 'fast and secure VPN you can trust', says the website. Sounds good, but do the facts back that up?
The network has 'hundreds of servers' with locations across 48 countries. That's smaller than many—the top providers have thousands of servers—but it's big enough that there's likely to be a server near you.
A strong range of apps covers Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, Fire TV, and Android TV. Support for up to 10 simultaneous connections means you're less likely to run into device limits, too, although Atlas VPN, IPVanish, Surfshark, and Windscribe don't impose any limits at all.
Protocol support is good, with the speedy and secure WireGuard, OpenVPN, and IKEv2 available across the range.
Getting connected doesn't just shield your internet activities from snoopers. Privado VPN's Control Tower content filtering system also protects you from ads, trackers, and malicious websites, while a simple parental controls-type system can block adult content and even social media sites.
PrivadoVPN gets top marks for its P2P support, with torrent-friendly servers, a SOCKS5 proxy to maximize torrenting speeds, and a kill switch to protect you if the VPN drops.
If you run into trouble, 24/7 support is available to help troubleshoot. However, PrivadoVPN's support site is incredibly basic (ExpressVPN has 120+ troubleshooting articles; PrivadoVPN has five.) Fortunately, there's live chat and email support on hand if you need it, and my test email question got a helpful response in under 70 minutes.
PrivadoVPN boasts locations in 46 countries and some fairly priced plans (Image credit: PrivadoVPN)
PrivadoVPN pricing plans
Privado's plans start with a capable free option. This gives you a choice of 12 locations, and a maximum of 10 Gb data per month, but covers only one device and drops SOCKS5 (although it still supports P2P).
It's a decent free plan that outperforms many big names. Avira's Phantom VPN free plan limits you to 500 Mb a month, for instance (ouch), and Avast One's free app has a generous 10 Gb a week data allowance, but it doesn't allow you to choose a location. Proton VPN scores for its unlimited data, but only gives you a choice of three locations.
Paying $10.99 a month (card, PayPal, and even Bitcoin) for Privado's monthly subscription gets you unlimited data, the SOCKS5 proxy, and support for up to 10 simultaneous connections. Most providers ask around $10-$13 for monthly-billed accounts, so this is a pretty fair deal.
Buying an annual plan cuts the cost to a tiny $2.50 a month in the first term, rising to (a still reasonable) $4.99 a month on renewal.
The best deal, a two-year plan, costs $1.99 a month for the first term and $3.99 on renewal.
In my eyes, this is great value—although there are a handful of providers that are cheaper still. Private Internet Access' three-year plan is priced at only $3.33 a month, for instance, and that's the standard fee; there's no built-in doubling of the price on renewal.
Privacy and logging
PrivadoVPN claims to offer two major layers of privacy. It's based in Switzerland, meaning you benefit from 'the strongest consumer privacy laws in the world', and even if PrivadoVPN is served with a court order asking for information, it's a zero-log service with nothing to hand over.
PrivadoVPN's privacy policy details some of the information the service collects. You must provide your email address to sign up, and its mobile apps grab your device identifier and use crash reporting libraries to receive reports if an app fails.
Unfortunately, PrivadoVPN hasn't put itself through any logging audits, which means we have to take it at its word. Undertaking one of these third-party audits would do wonders for the service—it's a clear indicator of a service's commitment to transparency and privacy, after all.
PrivadoVPN makes solid claims on the privacy front (Image credit: PrivadoVPN)
Privacy tests
My PrivadoVPN privacy tests came back with mixed results. The Blacklight privacy inspector found PrivadoVPN's website used 13 trackers and 19 third-party cookies, which is way above average.
Most providers use trackers, admittedly, and while they're not necessarily harmful, it's also not what we'd expect from a privacy firm—especially when other VPNs including Mullvad, Hide.me, Proton VPN, and PureVPN don't use trackers or third-party cookies at all. There's also an inherent risk of digital fingerprinting with these trackers, given how interconnected they tend to be, so it's something to be wary of if privacy is your main concern.
PrivadoVPN's apps collect anonymous app crash data and send it back to the company. I noticed that the Windows app does this by default, and although you can turn it off, you'll have to find the right setting, first. I prefer ExpressVPN's approach, where the app installer explicitly asks for permission to collect this data during setup. That ensures users are always clear about what's happening and have the option of turning off telemetry with a click.
Once the apps are installed, though, the picture improves. PrivadoVPN only uses the best and most secure protocols (WireGuard, OpenVPN, IKEv2), and they're all correctly set up for maximum privacy. DNS leak protection keeps your browsing private, and a capable kill switch prevents data leaks if the connection drops.
Control Tower (PrivadoVPN's content filter) also did a fair job of protecting me online, and its ad-blocker scored 75% in my tests (other VPNs average 50-90%.) Malware protection was below par at 42.7%, but the app shielded me from 90% of my test trackers, at the top end of the usual 70-95% range. I wouldn't rely on PrivadoVPN as my only source of web protection, but it's ideal for use as a second layer of protection alongside a specialist antivirus or internet security app.
Virtual locations
Many VPNs make at least some use of virtual locations. You might see Cambodia on the location list, for instance, and if you choose it you'll get a Cambodian IP address, but the physical servers could actually be hosted in another country.
This has its advantages. If the country has relatively poor connectivity, for instance, then hosting the servers somewhere else might get you better and more reliable speeds. If you're in or close to that country, it's a different story. When you're in Cambodia and connect to the Cambodia location, but your server is actually in New York, then it's going to cause an unexpected drag on performance.
I like to see VPNs being clear and upfront about their use of virtual locations. PrivadoVPN, unfortunately, doesn't really live up to my expectations. The website says PrivadoVPN uses virtual India servers to avoid the country's upcoming logging laws, but I found no information on the rest of the network.
There was some good news, however, as I found that Brazil, Israel, the Philippines, and even Ukraine all have servers in or very close to their named countries. On the other hand, I noticed several countries appeared to use servers based in London. These include India and Russia, which I can accept for security reasons, but I was surprised to see the South Africa location also uses servers in or close to the UK.
This won't be an issue for everyone. If you're in London, and connecting to South Africa, it could be a plus to have a local server, but I'd like to see PrivadoVPN be more transparent about where its locations are really based so that potential customers can understand the issues for themselves.
Windows apps
PrivadoVPN's Windows app looks very similar to every other VPN app you've probably ever used. Big 'Connect' button here; current location displayed there; click the location to choose something else from a list, while that gear icon over there leads you to useful tweaks and settings. You'll feel at home right away.
The location list is more configurable than many, with options to sort PrivadoVPN's servers by name or latency, or to show the nearest servers at the top.
Connecting to a new country is a little awkward. In other apps, you can often double-click a country and immediately connect to its best server. Here, you'll have to click to expand its list of cities, even if there's only one, and then click again to connect. There's a workaround—add a city to your Favorites and you don't have to expand the list of cities, saving you a click each time—but this is still a small usability hassle I'd like to see fixed.
PrivadoVPN's Windows app is hampered by a cramped and cluttered interface (Image credit: PrivadoVPN)
Connection speeds were slower than most, at 5-10 seconds for WireGuard and sometimes over 20 seconds for OpenVPN (the best apps are ready to go in 1-2 seconds for WireGuard, 6-8 seconds with OpenVPN.) That can become annoying if you're regularly connecting and disconnecting, but if your device connects automatically when it starts, you might not even notice.
I also noticed an odd technical issue: when I left the PrivadoVPN app window open on the desktop, even if I wasn't connected, it constantly used 4-5% of my CPU time. Although that may not sound like much, it was enough to raise Task Manager's 'Power Usage' rating for PrivadoVPN to 'moderate', and I'm certain it'd eat away at your laptop battery.
As with the location list issue, there's an easy fix: minimize the app to the system tray and CPU usage drops to zero (when you're not connected.) But, as with the location list issue, life would be easier if you didn't have to notice the problem and then discover (and remember) these odd workarounds in the first place.
Windows settings
PrivadoVPN's Windows app isn't as configurable as the top competition, but there's still plenty to explore.
You can opt to connect via WireGuard, OpenVPN, or IKEv2, for instance, or select Automatic to allow the app to choose the best option. You're able to use OpenVPN via UDP or TCP, select a port, or even choose a Scramble option to try and conceal your traffic from snoopers. This may not be enough to get you online in China, seeing as the country makes huge efforts to prevent VPN use, but it could bypass other VPN blocks. I'm glad to see it included in PrivadoVPN's package.
PrivadoVPN now supports WireGuard on most platforms alongside OpenVPN and IKEv2 protocols (Image credit: PrivadoVPN)
The app can automatically connect as soon as it launches. Plenty of VPNs do the same, but PrivadoVPN gives you far more control over its choice of server. You can have it connect to the recommended location, your last used server, a random server, or a random server from your Favorites list. It's a great idea I wish other providers would adopt.
A SmartRoute system is essentially PrivadoVPN's take on split tunneling. In a few clicks, you can build a list of apps that will always use the VPN, while others can be set to bypass it, perfect for apps that aren't VPN-compatible (and don't need PrivadoVPN's protection.)
I was happy to see the app included a kill switch, and even happier to find it worked precisely as advertised. Whatever I did to make the VPN drop, it blocked my internet connection and reconnected automatically. My traffic was never exposed.
The kill switch is one of the absolute variety, though: once you've turned it on, your internet is blocked, even after you manually close a connection or shut down the app. Other providers have at least the option to take a more lightweight approach, where you're protected if the VPN drops during a session, but it won't block your internet if you manually disconnect. I'd like to see PrivadoVPN add something more configurable, too.
Overall, this is a decent group of settings, but there's scope for adding more. PrivadoVPN has no customizable DNS settings, for instance, and no 'auto-connect when you access insecure networks' option. Still, the app has improved significantly since our last review, and I suspect even more features are coming soon.
The kill switch works well enough (Image credit: PrivadoVPN)
MacOS and Mac apps
PrivadoVPN's Mac app has a nearly identical interface to the Windows version with a very similar design and location list. That's always a usability plus, as it means once you've learned one, you'll know exactly how to use the other.
There's another benefit in faster connections. The Mac app sometimes connected in as little as two seconds, a fraction of the times I saw on Windows.
PrivadoVPN doesn't support split tunneling on Mac, but that's not unusual (Apple's security model makes it far more challenging to implement.) The app does still include the most important features in WireGuard, OpenVPN and IKEv2 support, and a kill switch to prevent data leaks if the VPN connection drops.
I saw some odd behavior from the app in my previous review, but this time it behaved just as you'd expect: easy to use, with all servers connecting the first time, and no unexpected disconnects.
Put it all together and, although Privado's Mac offering doesn't excel in any area, it's simple to operate and should cater to most user's needs. Even if you're unsure, no problem: the free plan means it's easy to try out the app and see how it works for you.
The Mac app keeps the interface simple much like the Windows edition, but we found it suffers from some annoying issues (Image credit: PrivadoVPN)
Mobile apps
PrivadoVPN's mobile apps tick all of the right boxes and allow you to take your protection on the go—and the iOS app adds some mobile-friendly touches, including the ability to swipe up to display the location list.
However, like the Mac app, it doesn't support Favorites. There's no kill switch, and the app's auto-connect option is relatively limited (you can set it up to connect when the app starts, but you're not able to choose the type of location.)
Still, the iOS app does support WireGuard, OpenVPN, and IKEv2 connections, and they all proved speedy and reliable for me.
As usual, Android users get the most mobile power (this time, even more than Mac.) Getting protected can be as easy as hitting 'Connect', but there's the full location list when you need to change servers, and a decent set of features underneath, like a kill switch, WireGuard, OpenVPN, and IKEv2 protocol support, split tunneling, and more.
As for our concerns, I saw a lot of reviews complaining about Android battery usage, and my Windows CPU hassles left me wondering if they might have some truth. I didn't test this, but keep it in mind, and perhaps try the free app before you buy.
The mobile apps make some improvements on the desktop clients (Image credit: PrivadoVPN)
Netflix and global stream unblocking
PrivadoVPN got off to a good start in my unblocking tests, instantly accessing US and UK Netflix, along with the UK's BBC iPlayer, ITV, and Channel 4.
Unfortunately, I didn't have the same success with other Netflix libraries, and PrivadoVPN failed in Australia, Canada, and Japan.
The service couldn't defeat Australia's 10 Play, either, though it did unblock the relatively straightforward 9Now.
The mixed picture continued right to the end, as PrivadoVPN unblocked US Amazon Prime Video, but missed with Disney Plus.
PrivadoVPN delivered the goods with some very big-name providers, then, and that's better than most. If unblocking results are a priority for you, however, there are other providers you can consider. ExpressVPN, NordVPN, Private Internet Access, ProtonVPN, PureVPN, and Surfshark all unblocked every one of our test sites in recent reviews.
PrivadoVPN unblocked US Netflix and everything else we tried for that matter (Image credit: Netflix)
PrivadoVPN performance
We measure VPN performance with several benchmarking services—SpeedTest's website and command line app, Measurement Lab, Cloudflare, and more—from both a UK data center and a US residential location with a 1 Gbps connection.
Each benchmark is run five times with our normal connection (that's with the VPN off) to establish a baseline, then five times while connected to the VPN using WireGuard, and five more using OpenVPN (where available). All tests are repeated again later (that's a minimum of 120 speed checks), then we analyze the data to see what's going on.
PrivadoVPN's results kicked off with a relatively ordinary 120-130 Mbps for OpenVPN connections. You'll have no problems browsing or streaming with that, but Hide.me reached 260 Mbps in its last OpenVPN test, and Mullvad, our top performer, managed 500 Mbps and more.
PrivadoVPN also supports WireGuard, though, and switching protocols accelerated my downloads to 830-880 Mbps. This isn't quite the fastest I've seen, and NordVPN, IPVanish, and Windscribe all maxed out our test connection with speeds of 950 Mbps and more in their last tests. But unless you're downloading terabytes of data on a regular basis, you're unlikely to notice any difference, and PrivadoVPN's WireGuard performance is more than fast enough for most devices and internet connections.
We benchmark every VPN we review with a variety of online speed tests (Image credit: nPerf)
PrivadoVPN review: Final verdict
PrivadoVPN stands out for its speed and generous free plan, but the various app usability and other annoyances mean it doesn't match the top providers. Try it, but take the free plan for a spin before you spend any cash.
TechRadar rating: ⭐⭐⭐½
Subscribe if:
✔️ You're looking for a bargain: whether you opt for one of Privado's annual plans or its free tier, you'll get a VPN that packs a lot of functionality into an inexpensive package.
✔️ You need a speedy service: PrivadoVPN's WireGuard speeds are seriously impressive, and more than enough to handle gaming, streaming, and torrenting.
✔️ You have lots of devices to cover: a subscription bags you up to ten simultaneous connections, meaning you can share the VPN's robust security with the family or simply ensure all of your gadgets are shielded.
Don't subscribe if:
❌ You need access to lots of content libraries: while PrivadoVPN managed to unblock some Netflix catalogs and regional services, it didn't achieve full marks in our streaming tests.
❌ You want comprehensive support: the PrivadoVPN support hub is pretty bare-bones, and other providers (like ExpressVPN) have more articles to pick through, covering everything from the basics to technical topics.
❌ The lack of an audit is a red flag: currently, PrivadoVPN hasn't undergone a third-party audit to verify its logging claims, which means you'll need to put a lot of trust in the provider without any verifiable claims that it's got your privacy in mind.
Driver issues can lead to frustration - a slow PC, stuttering games and software, and even video playback. While Windows Update adds drivers to your PC, operating system patches and updates are prioritized.
From a point of overall stability, this might make sense. However, if you have specific hardware (e.g. specialist audio equipment) or a brand new device (perhaps a monitor) and its drivers are not available in Windows Update, you have a problem.
The solution is a driver updater, software like Avast Driver Updater that is designed to find, download, and install the latest drivers for your computer.
You’ve probably heard of Avast Software s.r.o, the Czech cybersecurity company now owned by Gen Digital Inc. (formerly Symantec). But you might be more familiar with Avast’s antivirus tools, rather than system performance tools.
Avast driver updater: Plans and pricing
(Image credit: Avast)
You can sign up for an annual Avast Driver Updater subscription via the website for an annual license that covers a single computer, at $43.99 for 1 year. However, if you opt to download the trial version and click the upgrade button, you’re offered a choice of discounted options to sign up for 2 or 3 years.
Payment options are limited to credit/debit cards or PayPal. Note that the software comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee should you decide you don’t want the subscription. Note that this isn’t a one-off payment, but an annual subscription. This will recur annually until canceled, so keep an eye on this if you don’t think you’ll use it long-term.
Avast driver updater: Features
(Image credit: Avast)
To run Avast Driver Updater, you need Windows 10 or 11 (although 7, 8, and 8.1 are supported). Minimum hardware is 1GB of RAM, 2GB of storage, and an Intel Pentium 4/AMD Athlon 64 or later.
Avast Driver Updater includes the key features you would expect from a driver management tool.
Automatically scans
The software scans your system for outdated drivers automatically when you load it, and identifies anything that needs updating. This can have a beneficial impact on your system, notably in reducing security risks caused by old drivers and reducing the chances of system crashes or lock-ups.
Similarly, improved audio and smoother graphics can be enjoyed with the latest drivers installed.
Checks over 300,000 hardware devices
Avast Driver Updater can compare your system setup with a database of over 300,000 devices and components and scans in real time to look for drivers when new devices are added. Identified drivers are selected based on the operating system version in use, and the hardware itself. For instance, a hybrid may require different drivers for the same device than a desktop PC would.
Backup and restore drivers
It isn’t wise to simply bulk-update a bunch of drivers without first taking steps to back things up. Windows uses restore points when running Windows Updates, and Avast Driver Updater uses a similar feature here. Before new updates are installed, the existing drivers are backed up. If you run into any problems using the new drivers, you can easily reinstate the originals.
Note that older backups are deleted after 3 months by default, but you can set this to 6 months at the longest.
(Image credit: Avast)
Alternative drivers
In the event of a hardware vendor not providing updated drivers for a prolonged period, Avast Driver Updater offers alternatives. These are installed after a specific length of time (6 months by default, 1 year maximum) after the official driver developer’s last update.
Although useful, this feature can cause problems. Although it is enabled by default, this feature can be disabled.
Desktop notifications
If you want to know the latest news from Avast Driver Updater, you can enable desktop notifications. This will inform you when new scans have run in the background. Note that multiple languages are supported with this software.
Account management
You can access account information from within the Avast Driver Updater tool. As well as being able to sign into an existing Avast account, you can enter the software’s activation code, and manage your Avast subscriptions.
Avast driver updater: Interface and in use
(Image credit: Avast)
Firstly, downloading the Avast Driver Updater is uncomplicated. Go to the official website and download the installation file, whether free or paid. Afterward, run the downloaded file, and it begins installing. It doesn't require much computing resources, just 1GB RAM or above and at least 1GB free space on your hard drive.
The free version only lets you scan and update drivers, whereas the paid version has added features.
After installing and launching the software, you’ll see that it's easy to use. It has a central dashboard from which you can control all the features. The features are easily accessible on this dashboard for you to choose from.
The Avast Driver Updater scores very high in user-friendliness and ease of use.
Avast driver updater: Support
Avast's searchable knowledge base can help you find answers to common problems (Image credit: Avast)
What happens if you can’t get results from Avast Driver Updater, or need to cancel the subscription? Avast’s website has a whole subdomain dedicated to product support, providing assistance for everything from installation and activation to billing, subscriptions, and refunds.
Several help pages can be found for each Avast application, including Avast Driver Updater, which should help you to solve most issues. For those problems that aren’t covered, you can get in touch with Avast’s support team through the website (limited to subscribers).
Support can be contacted directly if you wish to cancel your subscription.
Avast has a 4-star rating on Trustpilot.
Avast driver updater: Competition
Driver updating tools are popular PC performance options, so it should come as no surprise that a whole host of similar apps are available. Think IObit Driver Booster and Ashampoo Driver Updater; many others also crowd this somewhat niche sector.
In fact, Avast even has competition from within its own stable. Avast and AVG (a company it bought in 2017?) are both now owned by Gen Digital. Both offer very similar suites of software, including driver updating tools. In our view, there is very little difference between these two utilities.
The similarities between the tools are so great that you cannot actually install them both on the same system.
Avast driver updater: Final verdict
When looking for a driver updater utility, you want software that doesn’t just look like it is regularly updated, it runs like it is. Avast Driver Updater looks good, boasts modern features (a slick user interface, account, and license management options), and will also update your Windows drivers.
Avast Driver Updater’s free trial is functional and limited only by time, rather than features. This means you can get a good idea of whether it will help you get the best performance out of your PC without paying first. And when it comes to subscribing, the app isn’t too expensive.
Overall, it’s a good driver updater that will deliver the latest drivers to your Windows PC as they’re released.
Who wants a VPN with an OpenAI-powered chatbot? Yeah, me neither. But, as brands try to jump on the AI bandwagon and stand out in the crowded VPN space, that's what FlowVPN has given us
Needless to say, it's far from being one of the best VPN services on the market, but keep reading as I take a look at whether the AI chatbot offers any benefit to the VPN, how FlowVPN stacks up with the rest of the VPN market, and answer the all-important question—should you try FlowVPN for yourself?
FlowVPN isn't exactly a newcomer to the industry, rather its ultimate owner Portable LTD was formed in the UK in 2011. They're a medium-scale provider that operates "over 100 servers" in 60+ locations, but the exact number isn't publicly stated (which doesn't exactly inspire confidence).
The first real red flag for FlowVPN is the jurisdiction it's based in. The United Kingdom is part of the Five Eyes information-sharing pact, which means that it is one of the least suitable locations for a VPN provider. The relationship between GCHQ and the NSA is well documented, and both organizations are keen to undermine VPN privacy wherever possible. Combined with their lack of no-logs policy, FlowVPN isn’t a suitable choice when it comes to handling sensitive personal information.
FlowVPN pricing
FlowVPN is positioned as a cheap and cheerful budget VPN provider. There are three different plans on offer: monthly, quarterly, and annual. All of the plans offer the same functionality and features, and the only difference between them is the duration of the subscription and the prices.
FlowVPN’s monthly plan is priced at $6.99 per month. This is pretty cheap compared to most VPN providers, especially considering there are 60+ locations on offer. Unfortunately, the discounts don’t drop much lower from here.
Their quarterly plan is priced at $18, or $5.99 per month, which is roughly a 15% discount. Here’s another issue with FlowVPN: Their discount on the monthly plan is advertised at 30%. That’s not true. I'm not sure if this is just an issue in how their marketing is coded or outright deception, but either way, it's an odd claim.
Lastly, their annual plan is priced at $50.04, or $4.17 per month, which comes out to around a 40% discount. Unlike the previous plan, the website states this one correctly.
FlowVPN does not offer a free version and, while it does offer a five-day free trial, there's no money-back guarantee period. This is a real problem, and we've received a few reports of users being unable to cancel their free trial without contacting their payment provider, and being unable to get refunds if their trial expired and they began paying before they were able to cancel. You should therefore exercise caution when signing up for the free trial. At the bare minimum, you should use a virtual credit card that you can easily cancel.
For payments, FlowVPN accepts a wide variety of options, including the classic credit/debit cards such as American Express, MasterCard, and Visa. They also offer PayPal, various cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, and even gift cards as an option.
Privacy and encryption
FlowVPN uses AES-128 encryption to protect your data. While this can't be cracked with current supercomputer processing power, it’s surprising that FlowVPN doesn't offer an AES-256 option for added security. This more secure standard is supported by many of the leaders in the VPN space, and its absence speaks to how FlowVPN’s overall approach to security is lagging behind current industry practice.
FlowVPN offers access to the highly secure and widely trusted OpenVPN, IKEv2, and WireGuard protocols. The inclusion of WireGuard here is a major plus, however, it can only be used on certain platforms such as iOS and Mac. Unfortunately, FlowVPN also allows you to use several insecure protocols, such as PPTP and VPN over SSH.
In terms of features, FlowVPN doesn't seem to provide even the bare minimum. There is no mention of a killswitch anywhere, let alone anything more advanced such as split-tunneling or multi-hopping. Not having a killswitch is a major failing, it provides an extra layer of security and should be included with every VPN these days. FlowVPN should add a kill switch ASAP but there are far more pressing issues with this VPN.
A no-logs policy? Ha, forget it. FlowVPN's privacy policy explicitly states that the company actively monitors usage for a broad range of illegal activities, as well as some perfectly legal ones (like sending an email with an attachment over 20MB). Client information is handed over in response to any inquiry or warrant by law enforcement, so FlowVPN essentially tells you that your traffic is being monitored.
While it seems like this VPN works in China, the lack of technical competency and awful privacy policy means I cannot recommend this VPN for use inside China (in fact, it may be dangerous to do so). Instead, I'd suggest you check out NordVPN or ExpressVPN—especially if you’re looking for a P2P-friendly VPN, as none of FlowVPN’s servers support P2P traffic.
Streaming
The good news is that FlowVPN can unblock most major streaming services, including the likes of Netflix, Hulu, HBO Max, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, and BBC iPlayer. Well, sometimes. FlowVPN just cannot do this consistently and I had to try multiple servers in the hope that one would suddenly work. Even after my testing, there didn't seem to be any real pattern when it came to accessing geo-blocked content, it just randomly worked at some point. In short, FlowVPN can unblock geo-restricted content on these services, but it cannot do so smoothly or consistently.
If streaming geo-blocked content is one of your top priorities, I recommend you go for ExpressVPN. ExpressVPN will consistently and effortlessly unblock all the geo-blocked content on the major streaming services listed above, and its superb speeds mean you'll get the smoothest streaming experience possible.
Speed and experience
I tested out three different servers in various locations to get an idea of how fast FlowVPN is. All of my tests were conducted on the same 100 Mbps connection using Ookla Speedtest for consistency.
First off, I connected to the UK server. As this is the server that's closest to my actual location, you would expect to see the highest numbers here. After a few inconsistent results at the beginning of my connection, I came back an hour later and found that the best results I got were 61.40 Mbps download and 17.93 Mbps upload. Honestly, this is a pretty decent result. There are certainly faster VPNs out there, but this isn’t awful by a long shot.
I tested the server in Germany next. This connection was far more consistent, clocking in at 55.74 Mbps download and 12.84 Mbps upload. All in all, these results were roughly in line with what I expected based on the UK tests.
Finally, I tested FlowVPN's US Northeast server. This performed a little lower than expected, clocking in at 38.62 Mbps download and 7.99 Mbps upload. Like the German server, the results of all my tests were consistent, so I can surmise that their servers are working properly. All in all, these results are pretty middling, but nothing egregious.
Customer support
FlowVPN's customer support provides the bare minimum. There's no live-chat support system, which is a major downside in this category, just a basic support ticket system and an FAQ on their website.
That's not great, and it gets worse. When I tested the support ticket system, I did not receive a reply. As there's no other way of getting help, this essentially means that FlowVPN provides no customer support. The FAQ is also very barebones and does not seem to provide any valuable information whatsoever. I found it particularly disconcerting that there’s a section with no meaningful advice on which VPN protocol to use beyond recommending PPTP and L2TP over OpenVPN.
I’ve also heard reports of customers being unable to cancel their free trials because of this apparently nonexistent customer support. As the terms of service make it clear that no refund will be given once the free trial is over, this means that signing up for a trial locks you into a payment. That's a situation that's shady at best, and frankly malicious at worst.
Compatibility
FlowVPN has Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android apps. Check the fine print here, however, as these apps were not created equal. You can only use the WireGuard protocol on the Mac and iOS apps, making them vastly superior. It’s a rare case where the Apple apps are better than the Windows and Android equivalents, but it took me a few connection attempts to get the Windows app working at all. There is no mention of Linux whatsoever on the FlowVPN website.
FlowVPN allows you to use up to 10 devices at a time according to their website. This is roughly consistent with the industry standard, but this number is going up all the time and many top-tier VPN providers are switching to an unlimited subscription policy.
Alternatives
1. The best VPN overall: NordVPN
NordVPN tops our list as the best VPN overall thanks to its excellent privacy, high speeds, and integrated suite of security tools. With unbeatable content unblocking power, amazing speeds, and customizable pricing, you'll only pay for what you need. See for yourself with a 30-day money-back guarantee, and get the best VPN on the market.View Deal
2. The best VPN for beginners: ExpressVPN
ExpressVPN offers a simple one-click connect interface so you can set it and forget it. Plus, it consistently unblocks Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, BBC iPlayer, and Disney+. Unlike FlowVPN, ExpressVPN has a strict no-logs policy that has been independently audited by third parties on an ongoing basis. With a 30-day money-back guarantee you can even put it to the test risk-free, too.View Deal
3. The best cheap VPN: Surfshark
If you've got a lot of devices to protect, or you just don't want to spend too much money on a VPN, Surfshark is a great choice. One subscription covers unlimited devices, so you can use as many as you want simultaneously. On top of fast connection speeds, Surfshark also keeps you safe with a password protection system that evaluates if your details are easy to guess, reused, or have been leaked online. Plus, with a 30-day money-back guarantee, you can try it for yourself and see how it compares to the more expensive services.View Deal
Verdict
FlowVPN is a medium-scale VPN provider with some major issues. Their privacy policy is barely worthy of the name as it allows far too much leeway for data collection and essentially gives FlowVPN carte blanche to kick you off the platform for practically any infraction. However, it’s far more likely that you won’t be able to get the service working effectively and be left out of pocket with no chance of a refund.
Beyond the frankly abysmal customer service, the VPN is based in a Five-Eyes jurisdiction, does not support P2P, and lacks features that any decent VPN has had for years. Their VPN protocol support is also not up to industry standards, allowing for the use of several outdated and dangerous protocols
In conclusion, I simply can't recommend this VPN. The blatant logging and sharing of personal data is unacceptable, and the combo of terrible customer support and no money-back guarantee is downright predatory and leaves users unable to get their money back. In short, I’d advise you to avoid this VPN and use a top-tier VPN like ExpressVPN instead.
Brickhouse Security is a New York-based company that offers GPS fleet tracking services. Founded in 2005, the company offers various security and tracking solutions. A trusted brand in the US, Brickhouse Security offers services to over 80% of Fortune 500 companies, along with 2,500+ government agencies. Furthermore, the firm also boasts over 40,000 companies globally as its clients.
Brickhouse Security sells a wide variety of tracking hardware including GPS trackers, surveillance cameras and other security systems. These products are plug-and-play vehicle tracking devices, as well as advanced hardware and software solutions tailored to specific business requirements.
(Image credit: Brickhouse Security)
Brickhouse Security: Pricing
Brickhouse Security offers a diverse range of hardware options with pricing starting at $29.99 for the Livewire Dash GPS Vehicle Tracker. This tracker provides updates every 60 seconds and offers access to highly detailed reports on your fleet's travel history. Unfortunately, it does not list specific monthly pricing tiers on its website.
However, Brickhouse offers a free demo for companies to test out its services and products. Their products also come with free, unlimited lifetime technical support and a 30-day money-back guarantee.
(Image credit: Brickhouse Security)
Brickhouse Security: Features
Brickhouse Security offers smart GPS fleet tracking services equipped with features that will likely meet the requirements of most businesses. These solutions not only efficiently track and manage assets on the move, but also help clients optimize their workforce, fleet, and enhance cost efficiency.
Brickhouse Security’s solution aims to help clients with:
Reducing the number of traffic and compliance violations
Reducing fuel expenses by managing routes efficiently
Efficiently handling dispatch and scheduling
Improving the vehicle’s lifespan
Ensuring driver safety
Providing driver training on better driving habits
The company offers a wide variety of customizable reports, such as efficiency reports, vehicle maintenance reports, safety reports, and driver scorecards. These reports can significantly help key decision-makers in optimizing fleet operations.
Brickhouse Security offers a cloud-based solution that can be accessed from anywhere using any device. The solution is accessible via the web, which hosts two different platforms. TrackView is applicable for clients who joined before October 2019, and customers who signed up after October can log in to the newer LocateGPS dashboard. The company also offers a mobile app for Android and iOS.
The company offers both hardwired as well as battery-powered GPS trackers, all dependent on 4G for connectivity.
(Image credit: Brickhouse Security)
The key features of Brickhouse Security are:
Real-time tracking: Real-time tracking allows operators to stay in control of the fleet, ensure drivers adhere to their assigned routes, and assist them in case of any issues. It also keeps them informed about the ETA, traffic status, and delays, and allows them to efficiently dispatch the nearest vehicle to the job site.
Reducing costs: Efficiently managing your fleet results in reduced fuel costs, leading to an overall reduction in expenses. Features like geofencing ensure that drivers follow their designated route, and detailed reports like idling reports help identify where fuel is being wasted. Optimizing routes also helps as drivers often have a favored route which may not always be the most fuel-efficient.
ELD compliance: Brickhouse Security offers an ELD compliant tracking solution that helps reduce penalties during roadside inspections. By electronically recording drivers' Hours of Service (HoS), vehicle log errors, and more, the solution reduces paperwork and improves compliance.
Variety of tracking hardware: Brickhouse Security provides a diverse range of tracking solutions, including hardwired options for compliance requirements, plug-and-play devices, and battery-operated trackers. This allows companies to optimize hardware costs and choose the appropriate tracker based on the specific needs of each vehicle.
Geo-fencing: While a basic feature with all GPS tracking solutions, Brickhouse Security allows you to create a geo-fence for every asset. Every time an asset enters or exits the designated area, the system alerts the operators instantly.
Technical support: Brickhouse Security offers free and lifetime technical support for all the hardware it sells. Unfortunately, Brickhouse Security doesn’t specify if the support is available on-site as well.
(Image credit: Brickhouse Security)
Brickhouse Security: Customer Support
Brickhouse Security’s support team can be reached via a direct call, chat, email or SMS. The company has a toll-free number for calls and texts in the US, plus an international helpline. There is a live chat option as well, and both the call center and live chat team are available between 10am to 7pm on weekdays.
Additionally, the website hosts a comprehensive Knowledge Base for troubleshooting common problems. While Brickhouse's social media accounts are not very active, its YouTube channel is occasionally updated.
Brickhouse Security: Final verdict
Brickhouse Security has an impressive line-up of customers, including many major businesses. It offers a plethora of hardware devices that come with free and lifetime technical support. Unfortunately, it does not prioritize marketing and releasing new content for its social media platforms.
Despite being accredited by the Better Business Bureau, Brickhouse Security lacks substantial reviews on the Bureau's platform, which may pose challenges for consumers seeking user-based feedback before making a purchase. However, it's noteworthy that it has a commendably low number of complaints, an incredible feat for a company as old and as big as Brickhouse Security.
Sign up with a regular VPN and you'll probably expect access to a carefully managed network of high-powered dedicated servers, while support for the very latest encryption and protocols blocks all unauthorized access to your traffic.
Hola isn't like that at all.
The Israeli company describes its offering as a "community powered (Peer-to-Peer) VPN". You'll get to choose a destination country from a list of 41 options, but Hola routes your traffic through other Hola user's computers, rather than its own network.
The service is much more basic than other VPNs – there is no P2P support, no dedicated IPs, no port forwarding – but there are some possible benefits, especially if you're looking to unblock Netflix or other sites or platforms.
Conventional VPNs often struggle with unblocking, exactly because they route their traffic through relatively few servers. Having large numbers of users with the same data center IP addresses makes them easy to detect and block.
But with Hola, your traffic could be routed through any of thousands of ordinary devices in ordinary homes. From the website's point of view, your browsing looks no different to its other visitors, which means you're far less likely to get annoying "unavailable in your region"-type warnings.
One obvious concern here is that although you get to use the bandwidth of other Hola nodes, they can also use yours. This isn't just regular internet users looking to stream TV shows in other countries. Hola also makes money by selling some of your bandwidth to businesses, as a reliable way to access web data from around the world.
Plenty of people don't like this idea on principle. The approach has created some very bad Hola-related headlines in the past, and left the company with a horrible reputation for privacy.
From a practical point of view, though, Hola shouldn't have much impact on your system. The company points out that it only routes traffic through devices if they're completely idle and not running on battery power, and even then, Hola doesn't use more than 3MB data on mobile devices, 100MB on desktops.
There’s still scope for problems. If your system becomes the exit node for another Hola user who's hacking, sending spam or downloading something illegal, for instance, your IP address may be recorded as the offender.
Fortunately, if you like the concept of Hola, there's a simple way to avoid the risk: switch from a free plan to a paid option and you won't have to share bandwidth.
Hola collects quite a bit of data about its users online activity (Image credit: Hola)
Pricing
Hola is available in a free plan, but this has many issues. It allows others to use your bandwidth, displays regular popups while you're connected, and limits the usage you can make of the service each day.
Uncomfortable with that? Then we'd really recommend you sign up with a real VPN, but if for some reason you're keen on Hola, you can also upgrade to Hola Premium.
The service supports Windows, Mac, iOS and some Android devices, and can be set up to run on routers, gaming consoles, smart TVs and more. Hola Premium allows you to connect up to 10 of these devices simultaneously, and as you're a paying customer, no one else will be able to use your bandwidth.
Prices start high at $14.99 billed monthly, or an equivalent $7.69 on the annual plan. You could sign up with ExpressVPN, a vastly superior service which actually will protect your privacy, for a very similar price ($12.95 monthly, $8.32 on the annual plan.)
Hola's pricing is designed to push you to the three-year plan, though, which is far cheaper at $2.99 a month. That's good value, but again, you can get far better VPNs for much less.
The excellent Private Internet Access gives you three years plus three free months for $2.03 a month, for example. That translates to 39 months of coverage for $79, while Hola offers 36 months for $107.55.
The Hola Ultra plan allows connecting up to 20 devices, and adds support for Smart DNS and 4K streaming. Sounds reasonable, at least until you see the very high prices: $29.99 billed monthly, $19.99 on the annual plan, $7.99 over three years. Private Internet supports unlimited devices, also has smart DNS and should have no difficulty with 4K streaming, all from barely a quarter of the price.
If you do decide to sign up, Hola's payment options include credit card, PayPal, Google Pay and more.
Hola has a money-back guarantee, but beware, this only applies if you've never made a single Hola Premium connection, and you make your claim within 14 days of purchase. Most VPNs allow you to use the service as much as you like for a full 30 days to decide if the service is right for you.
Privacy and logging
In theory, signing up with a VPN can be a great way to shield your browsing from snoopers.
In practice, there's a problem. Sure, using a VPN prevents your ISP from tracking what you're doing, but it also gives your provider a perfect chance to do the same. That's why it's important to check that your chosen VPN doesn't log any of your online activities.
We took a look at Hola's Privacy Policy, and quickly realized this is as far away from a 'no log' VPN as it's possible to get.
When you use the service, for example, the policy says Hola might log your IP address, operating system, browser type, the web pages you visit, when you arrive, and how much time you spend on each one.
If this is a mobile device, Hola also makes a careful note of all your installed apps.
Hola says it doesn't 'rent or sell any Personal Information', but that's not as reassuring as it sounds. The company also says it may share Personal Information with 'subsidiaries' and 'affiliated companies.' Even if Hola doesn't rent or sell your data, that doesn't tell you what these other companies might be doing with it.
There's another potential catch. In data protection terms, "Personal Information" refers to items that identify an individual, so Hola is telling us that it won't sell user contact details. Your browsing history isn’t necessarily 'Personal Information', though, and there's nothing here that says Hola can't sell it, or "share" it with an "affiliated company" for some other purpose.
It gets worse (no, really.) Hola says it may also share your Personal Information and other data to comply with legal requests or to detect fraud or violations of its policies. So not only might the company hand your browsing history over if the authorities ask, but it also reserves the right to analyze it for potential 'violations.'
Still in any doubt? Compare the Chrome Store 'Privacy practices' page for NordVPN and Hola. The NordVPN page says it will not collect or use your data. Hola's says it collects personally identifiable information, financial and payment information, authentication information, personal communications, location, web history, and user activity.
Put it all together, and if you care at all about privacy, Hola is clearly not the service for you. Check out the best free VPNs for far more trustworthy providers who'll genuinely protect your privacy rather than compromise it.
Hola provides its users with a custom version of the Chromium browser (Image credit: Hola)
Security
Hola protects your web traffic using the IKEV2 protocol by default, and the Hola site says apps can also fall back to the older PPTP/L2TP protocols if IKEv2 won't connect.
This gets you AES-256 encryption with relatively basic SHA1 integrity checks. Hola's Windows app allowed us to customize encryption settings, so you can switch to SHA256 or SHA384, for instance. But the app also offers some very poor choices, including MD5 hashing and DES3 encryption, a near 50-year-old protocol which is so vulnerable to attack that NIST says it should no longer be used. (You don't have to select these, but there's always a chance someone might do so by accident, and we're struggling to see why they're on the list at all.)
Although Hola's default encryption settings are enough to, say, shield your web traffic on public Wi-Fi, they can't match the security you'll get with the top VPN competitions. Most providers use leading edge protocols such as OpenVPN or WireGuard, for instance. PPTP and L2TP are so insecure that the bulk of the industry dropped them long, long ago, and although IKEv2 isn't a bad option, it's also on the way out. (NordVPN began removing IKEv2 support in June 2023, for instance, as it doesn't offer the best security.)
Hola apps
Hola has apps for Windows, Mac, and iOS devices, but the Android situation is more uncertain. Hola has apps available on the Samsung Galaxy and Huawei stores, but not Google Play.
Confusingly, we noticed a 'Hola VPN Proxy Unblocker' app on Google Play, which uses an old Hola logo to add a little more legitimacy, but has nothing to do with the real Hola company. We would expect Hola to make more of an effort to detect bogus apps trying to cash in on its name, but in the meantime, download apps directly from the setup links on Hola's website, and if you're using Android, install the Chrome extension instead.
Hola's mobile and desktop apps (stripped-down versions of Chromium) have a plain but very familiar interface: a big On/ Off button, a list of locations underneath, and a handful of icons for tasks such as managing your account or tweaking a few settings. If you've used another VPN app you'll figure it out immediately and even if you're a total VPN newbie, it'll only take a minute or two.
One of the reasons the apps are so straightforward is they have almost no features. The Location menu is a simple list of countries with a search box, for instance: there's no server load information, no ping times, no Recent Locations list, no Sort option, no Favorites system, no 'right-click a Hola icon and choose a country' option, nothing else at all.
Sometimes Windows VPN apps hide useful features away in a Settings box, but Hola's options are relatively basic. There's the usual 'launch with Windows' and "automatically connect" settings; an App Kill Switch to close specific apps if the VPN unexpectedly drops, and (as we discussed above) some largely unnecessary encryption options, but that's about it. If you're hoping for split tunneling, "auto-connect on accessing Wi-Fi", ad blocking, DNS tweaks, or anything similar, then prepare for disappointment.
Simplicity can work if what you get works well, for instance, but that's not the case here. The app took an average of 15 seconds to connect, for instance; that would quickly wear down our patience, especially when ExpressVPN's Windows app took around one second on the same system.
Occasionally the app didn't connect at all, displaying a cryptic "there was an internal authentication error" message, along with what looked like a clickable "try again" link (although clicking this did nothing.) We found a "Fix connection" menu option that fixed these connection issues, which is better than nothing, although we're struggling to see why the app didn't automatically use that when its initial connection failed.
Overall, the apps are both far more basic and far less professional than most of the VPN competition. Even if you just want to connect to your nearest server and do nothing else at all, there are many far better and more reliable options elsewhere in the VPN world.
Hola Chrome extension
The simplest way to sample Hola is via its Chrome, Opera or Edge browser extensions. Hand over your email address to create a free account, and you can begin unblocking sites immediately.
The extension is very easy to use. Tap a shortcut to common destinations such as Netflix, or enter the domain you'd like to unblock, and Hola connects and takes you there immediately.
This worked well for us, and we managed to view exclusive Netflix content in the US, Australia, and Canada from our UK location.
The free version has some annoyances and limitations. It popped up alerts every 10 minutes, for instance. After 30 minutes, we also had to wait for a 60-second countdown. There's also a limit on your usage per day, although this doesn't appear to be fixed. Many reports say you can only use the service for an hour, but Hola doesn't give a figure, and we made it to around 75 minutes before the clock ran out.
Still, if you've a quick and easy task in mind—checking Twitter when it's blocked on your network, say—then Hola is one of the more reliable free ways to make that happen.
DNS leak and kill switch tests
A VPN must shield all your traffic from snoopers, and in part that means directing all your DNS queries (the requests which translate domains like techradar.com to IP addresses) through the VPN's encrypted tunnel.
We checked Hola for problems with DNSLeakTest.com, DNSLeak.com, IPLeak.net, and others, but none of them spotted any DNS, WebRTC or other leaks.
Hola's Windows app includes an application kill switch to close specified apps if it detects the connection has dropped. You could get Hola to close your browser if the VPN failed, for instance, to reduce the chance that your browsing might be unprotected.
Although this approach has some value, we prefer the full system kill switch you'll get with most VPNs. If Surfshark's connection drops, for instance, its kill switch automatically blocks all internet activity on your device, without you having to manually specify every possible process with a network connection (a very good idea, because there are way more than you think).
To test this, we added an app to the kill switch, connected to Hola, and then turned our router off and on to simulate a network failure. The app didn't react for more than a minute, then switched its display to show that the VPN was off. It didn't raise a notification to warn us, though, and the kill switch had no effect, either: our target app continued to run as normal.
We tried manually closing Hola's connection, instead. The app reconnected, but the lengthy connection time meant our traffic could be unprotected for several seconds.
We expect a decent VPN app to at least display a notification when it spots the disconnect, then tell us that it's redialling, and when the connection is established. Hola's Windows app just displayed its status as 'On' at all times, with no alerts or notifications to tell us when we were (or were not) protected. And again, despite the service reconnecting (so it must have known the VPN had dropped), the app kill switch had no effect.
While this doesn't prove the kill switch is entirely useless - maybe it activates in other situations that we didn't test - it's still a very poor performance overall. A simple notification if the connection drops would at least allow the user to stop what they were doing, if necessary, but the app couldn't even manage that.
Hola was able to unblock many popular streaming sites in our tests but you're limited to just an hour per day unless you upgrade to a paid plan (Image credit: Hola)
Netflix and streaming
Hola sells itself mostly on the ability to unblock top websites, especially Netflix and other streaming platforms.
We found Hola's free browser extension successfully unblocked Netflix libraries in the US, UK, Australia, Canada, and Japan.
Hola Premium works a little differently, so we ran some extra tests. It also allowed us to view exclusive Netflix content in the US, UK, Canada, and Japan, and with Australia on its second try (having to retry is a hassle, but as long as a service is unblocked at least once in three connections, we count it as a pass.) The app got us easy access to a couple of other top US platforms in Disney Plus and Amazon Prime Video. It worked with regional sites including Australia's 9Now and 10 Play, and the UK's BBC iPlayer, ITV, and Channel 4.
That's an excellent set of results, but some other services are just as effective. Private Internet Access also unblocked 100% of our test streaming platforms when we last checked, for instance, for a fraction of the cost of Hola Premium.
We replaced our normal speed tests for this review and streamed 4K video from popular streaming sites to determine Hola's performance (Image credit: Hola)
Performance
We measure the top speed of any VPN by running multiple top performance tests (SpeedTest.net, Cloudflare, Measurement Lab, and more) from a UK data center with a 1 Gbps internet connection.
Hola's download speeds averaged around 180 Mbps to 240 Mbps, more or less what we'd expect for an IKEv2 connection.
Providers who support WireGuard or similar protocols can be much faster. For example, NordVPN and Surfshark all reached over 950 Mbps in their most recent tests. But, realistically, Hola's performance is more than enough for browsing, streaming, and most other web tasks.
Support
If Hola doesn't work for you, there are a couple of ways to get some help and advice.
Hola's web-based Help Center is a searchable support site with articles on installation, troubleshooting, billing, and more.
There's a lot of information on offer. The Setup Guide area has sections for 11 platforms, for instance, many with step-by-step advice on how to get Hola running.
But there are also some significant problems. We couldn't find even a mention of Hola's Windows kill switch, for instance, or some of its other more advanced features. And although Google removed Hola from the Play Store long ago, Hola still hasn't removed its "Get Hola for Android" link. Clicking it now leads you to a 'we can't find that page' link; very unprofessional.
There's no live chat, but paying customers can contact Hola's support team via email (free users are stuck with the website, unfortunately).
We fired off a message explaining that our Windows app kill switch didn't work, we'd uninstalled and reinstalled with no change, and asked what to try next.
A reply arrived about 8 hours later. That's a reasonable response time, but the reply wasn't the best. Instead of simply accepting what we said or sounding apologetic, the agent began: "I have tested the app kill switch and it works as it should." Saying to a customer who has a problem, "Well it works for me," is never going to create the best impression.
Still, we were intrigued. we responded "How did you test the kill switch?" hoping to get help improving our own tests. But, for some reason, our agent didn't want to explain exactly what he had done, and four days and no reply later, we finally gave up.
Final verdict
Yes, Hola can unblock most websites, but at what cost? The free version requires you to share your IP address, bandwidth and browsing history with the company (and who knows else), while the paid edition charges 2-3 times as much as some top providers, yet still has more logging than almost anyone else. Run (don't work) to our Best VPN list and choose a provider who will care about your privacy, rather than trash it.
Sign up with a regular VPN and you'll probably expect access to a carefully managed network of high-powered dedicated servers, while support for the very latest encryption and protocols blocks all unauthorized access to your traffic.
Hola isn't like that at all.
The Israeli company describes its offering as a "community powered (Peer-to-Peer) VPN". You'll get to choose a destination country from a list of 41 options, but Hola routes your traffic through other Hola user's computers, rather than its own network.
The service is much more basic than other VPNs – there is no P2P support, no dedicated IPs, no port forwarding – but there are some possible benefits, especially if you're looking to unblock Netflix or other sites or platforms.
Conventional VPNs often struggle with unblocking, exactly because they route their traffic through relatively few servers. Having large numbers of users with the same data center IP addresses makes them easy to detect and block.
But with Hola, your traffic could be routed through any of thousands of ordinary devices in ordinary homes. From the website's point of view, your browsing looks no different to its other visitors, which means you're far less likely to get annoying "unavailable in your region"-type warnings.
One obvious concern here is that although you get to use the bandwidth of other Hola nodes, they can also use yours. This isn't just regular internet users looking to stream TV shows in other countries. Hola also makes money by selling some of your bandwidth to businesses, as a reliable way to access web data from around the world.
Plenty of people don't like this idea on principle. The approach has created some very bad Hola-related headlines in the past, and left the company with a horrible reputation for privacy.
From a practical point of view, though, Hola shouldn't have much impact on your system. The company points out that it only routes traffic through devices if they're completely idle and not running on battery power, and even then, Hola doesn't use more than 3MB data on mobile devices, 100MB on desktops.
There’s still scope for problems. If your system becomes the exit node for another Hola user who's hacking, sending spam or downloading something illegal, for instance, your IP address may be recorded as the offender.
Fortunately, if you like the concept of Hola, there's a simple way to avoid the risk: switch from a free plan to a paid option and you won't have to share bandwidth.
Hola collects quite a bit of data about its users online activity (Image credit: Hola)
Pricing
Hola is available in a free plan, but this has many issues. It allows others to use your bandwidth, displays regular popups while you're connected, and limits the usage you can make of the service each day.
Uncomfortable with that? Then we'd really recommend you sign up with a real VPN, but if for some reason you're keen on Hola, you can also upgrade to Hola Premium.
The service supports Windows, Mac, iOS and some Android devices, and can be set up to run on routers, gaming consoles, smart TVs and more. Hola Premium allows you to connect up to 10 of these devices simultaneously, and as you're a paying customer, no one else will be able to use your bandwidth.
Prices start high at $14.99 billed monthly, or an equivalent $7.69 on the annual plan. You could sign up with ExpressVPN, a vastly superior service which actually will protect your privacy, for a very similar price ($12.95 monthly, $8.32 on the annual plan.)
Hola's pricing is designed to push you to the three-year plan, though, which is far cheaper at $2.99 a month. That's good value, but again, you can get far better VPNs for much less.
The excellent Private Internet Access gives you three years plus three free months for $2.03 a month, for example. That translates to 39 months of coverage for $79, while Hola offers 36 months for $107.55.
The Hola Ultra plan allows connecting up to 20 devices, and adds support for Smart DNS and 4K streaming. Sounds reasonable, at least until you see the very high prices: $29.99 billed monthly, $19.99 on the annual plan, $7.99 over three years. Private Internet supports unlimited devices, also has smart DNS and should have no difficulty with 4K streaming, all from barely a quarter of the price.
If you do decide to sign up, Hola's payment options include credit card, PayPal, Google Pay and more.
Hola has a money-back guarantee, but beware, this only applies if you've never made a single Hola Premium connection, and you make your claim within 14 days of purchase. Most VPNs allow you to use the service as much as you like for a full 30 days to decide if the service is right for you.
Privacy and logging
In theory, signing up with a VPN can be a great way to shield your browsing from snoopers.
In practice, there's a problem. Sure, using a VPN prevents your ISP from tracking what you're doing, but it also gives your provider a perfect chance to do the same. That's why it's important to check that your chosen VPN doesn't log any of your online activities.
We took a look at Hola's Privacy Policy, and quickly realized this is as far away from a 'no log' VPN as it's possible to get.
When you use the service, for example, the policy says Hola might log your IP address, operating system, browser type, the web pages you visit, when you arrive, and how much time you spend on each one.
If this is a mobile device, Hola also makes a careful note of all your installed apps.
Hola says it doesn't 'rent or sell any Personal Information', but that's not as reassuring as it sounds. The company also says it may share Personal Information with 'subsidiaries' and 'affiliated companies.' Even if Hola doesn't rent or sell your data, that doesn't tell you what these other companies might be doing with it.
There's another potential catch. In data protection terms, "Personal Information" refers to items that identify an individual, so Hola is telling us that it won't sell user contact details. Your browsing history isn’t necessarily 'Personal Information', though, and there's nothing here that says Hola can't sell it, or "share" it with an "affiliated company" for some other purpose.
It gets worse (no, really.) Hola says it may also share your Personal Information and other data to comply with legal requests or to detect fraud or violations of its policies. So not only might the company hand your browsing history over if the authorities ask, but it also reserves the right to analyze it for potential 'violations.'
Still in any doubt? Compare the Chrome Store 'Privacy practices' page for NordVPN and Hola. The NordVPN page says it will not collect or use your data. Hola's says it collects personally identifiable information, financial and payment information, authentication information, personal communications, location, web history, and user activity.
Put it all together, and if you care at all about privacy, Hola is clearly not the service for you. Check out the best free VPNs for far more trustworthy providers who'll genuinely protect your privacy rather than compromise it.
Hola provides its users with a custom version of the Chromium browser (Image credit: Hola)
Security
Hola protects your web traffic using the IKEV2 protocol by default, and the Hola site says apps can also fall back to the older PPTP/L2TP protocols if IKEv2 won't connect.
This gets you AES-256 encryption with relatively basic SHA1 integrity checks. Hola's Windows app allowed us to customize encryption settings, so you can switch to SHA256 or SHA384, for instance. But the app also offers some very poor choices, including MD5 hashing and DES3 encryption, a near 50-year-old protocol which is so vulnerable to attack that NIST says it should no longer be used. (You don't have to select these, but there's always a chance someone might do so by accident, and we're struggling to see why they're on the list at all.)
Although Hola's default encryption settings are enough to, say, shield your web traffic on public Wi-Fi, they can't match the security you'll get with the top VPN competitions. Most providers use leading edge protocols such as OpenVPN or WireGuard, for instance. PPTP and L2TP are so insecure that the bulk of the industry dropped them long, long ago, and although IKEv2 isn't a bad option, it's also on the way out. (NordVPN began removing IKEv2 support in June 2023, for instance, as it doesn't offer the best security.)
Hola apps
Hola has apps for Windows, Mac, and iOS devices, but the Android situation is more uncertain. Hola has apps available on the Samsung Galaxy and Huawei stores, but not Google Play.
Confusingly, we noticed a 'Hola VPN Proxy Unblocker' app on Google Play, which uses an old Hola logo to add a little more legitimacy, but has nothing to do with the real Hola company. We would expect Hola to make more of an effort to detect bogus apps trying to cash in on its name, but in the meantime, download apps directly from the setup links on Hola's website, and if you're using Android, install the Chrome extension instead.
Hola's mobile and desktop apps (stripped-down versions of Chromium) have a plain but very familiar interface: a big On/ Off button, a list of locations underneath, and a handful of icons for tasks such as managing your account or tweaking a few settings. If you've used another VPN app you'll figure it out immediately and even if you're a total VPN newbie, it'll only take a minute or two.
One of the reasons the apps are so straightforward is they have almost no features. The Location menu is a simple list of countries with a search box, for instance: there's no server load information, no ping times, no Recent Locations list, no Sort option, no Favorites system, no 'right-click a Hola icon and choose a country' option, nothing else at all.
Sometimes Windows VPN apps hide useful features away in a Settings box, but Hola's options are relatively basic. There's the usual 'launch with Windows' and "automatically connect" settings; an App Kill Switch to close specific apps if the VPN unexpectedly drops, and (as we discussed above) some largely unnecessary encryption options, but that's about it. If you're hoping for split tunneling, "auto-connect on accessing Wi-Fi", ad blocking, DNS tweaks, or anything similar, then prepare for disappointment.
Simplicity can work if what you get works well, for instance, but that's not the case here. The app took an average of 15 seconds to connect, for instance; that would quickly wear down our patience, especially when ExpressVPN's Windows app took around one second on the same system.
Occasionally the app didn't connect at all, displaying a cryptic "there was an internal authentication error" message, along with what looked like a clickable "try again" link (although clicking this did nothing.) We found a "Fix connection" menu option that fixed these connection issues, which is better than nothing, although we're struggling to see why the app didn't automatically use that when its initial connection failed.
Overall, the apps are both far more basic and far less professional than most of the VPN competition. Even if you just want to connect to your nearest server and do nothing else at all, there are many far better and more reliable options elsewhere in the VPN world.
Hola Chrome extension
The simplest way to sample Hola is via its Chrome, Opera or Edge browser extensions. Hand over your email address to create a free account, and you can begin unblocking sites immediately.
The extension is very easy to use. Tap a shortcut to common destinations such as Netflix, or enter the domain you'd like to unblock, and Hola connects and takes you there immediately.
This worked well for us, and we managed to view exclusive Netflix content in the US, Australia, and Canada from our UK location.
The free version has some annoyances and limitations. It popped up alerts every 10 minutes, for instance. After 30 minutes, we also had to wait for a 60-second countdown. There's also a limit on your usage per day, although this doesn't appear to be fixed. Many reports say you can only use the service for an hour, but Hola doesn't give a figure, and we made it to around 75 minutes before the clock ran out.
Still, if you've a quick and easy task in mind—checking Twitter when it's blocked on your network, say—then Hola is one of the more reliable free ways to make that happen.
DNS leak and kill switch tests
A VPN must shield all your traffic from snoopers, and in part that means directing all your DNS queries (the requests which translate domains like techradar.com to IP addresses) through the VPN's encrypted tunnel.
We checked Hola for problems with DNSLeakTest.com, DNSLeak.com, IPLeak.net, and others, but none of them spotted any DNS, WebRTC or other leaks.
Hola's Windows app includes an application kill switch to close specified apps if it detects the connection has dropped. You could get Hola to close your browser if the VPN failed, for instance, to reduce the chance that your browsing might be unprotected.
Although this approach has some value, we prefer the full system kill switch you'll get with most VPNs. If Surfshark's connection drops, for instance, its kill switch automatically blocks all internet activity on your device, without you having to manually specify every possible process with a network connection (a very good idea, because there are way more than you think).
To test this, we added an app to the kill switch, connected to Hola, and then turned our router off and on to simulate a network failure. The app didn't react for more than a minute, then switched its display to show that the VPN was off. It didn't raise a notification to warn us, though, and the kill switch had no effect, either: our target app continued to run as normal.
We tried manually closing Hola's connection, instead. The app reconnected, but the lengthy connection time meant our traffic could be unprotected for several seconds.
We expect a decent VPN app to at least display a notification when it spots the disconnect, then tell us that it's redialling, and when the connection is established. Hola's Windows app just displayed its status as 'On' at all times, with no alerts or notifications to tell us when we were (or were not) protected. And again, despite the service reconnecting (so it must have known the VPN had dropped), the app kill switch had no effect.
While this doesn't prove the kill switch is entirely useless - maybe it activates in other situations that we didn't test - it's still a very poor performance overall. A simple notification if the connection drops would at least allow the user to stop what they were doing, if necessary, but the app couldn't even manage that.
Hola was able to unblock many popular streaming sites in our tests but you're limited to just an hour per day unless you upgrade to a paid plan (Image credit: Hola)
Netflix and streaming
Hola sells itself mostly on the ability to unblock top websites, especially Netflix and other streaming platforms.
We found Hola's free browser extension successfully unblocked Netflix libraries in the US, UK, Australia, Canada, and Japan.
Hola Premium works a little differently, so we ran some extra tests. It also allowed us to view exclusive Netflix content in the US, UK, Canada, and Japan, and with Australia on its second try (having to retry is a hassle, but as long as a service is unblocked at least once in three connections, we count it as a pass.) The app got us easy access to a couple of other top US platforms in Disney Plus and Amazon Prime Video. It worked with regional sites including Australia's 9Now and 10 Play, and the UK's BBC iPlayer, ITV, and Channel 4.
That's an excellent set of results, but some other services are just as effective. Private Internet Access also unblocked 100% of our test streaming platforms when we last checked, for instance, for a fraction of the cost of Hola Premium.
We replaced our normal speed tests for this review and streamed 4K video from popular streaming sites to determine Hola's performance (Image credit: Hola)
Performance
We measure the top speed of any VPN by running multiple top performance tests (SpeedTest.net, Cloudflare, Measurement Lab, and more) from a UK data center with a 1 Gbps internet connection.
Hola's download speeds averaged around 180 Mbps to 240 Mbps, more or less what we'd expect for an IKEv2 connection.
Providers who support WireGuard or similar protocols can be much faster. For example, NordVPN and Surfshark all reached over 950 Mbps in their most recent tests. But, realistically, Hola's performance is more than enough for browsing, streaming, and most other web tasks.
Support
If Hola doesn't work for you, there are a couple of ways to get some help and advice.
Hola's web-based Help Center is a searchable support site with articles on installation, troubleshooting, billing, and more.
There's a lot of information on offer. The Setup Guide area has sections for 11 platforms, for instance, many with step-by-step advice on how to get Hola running.
But there are also some significant problems. We couldn't find even a mention of Hola's Windows kill switch, for instance, or some of its other more advanced features. And although Google removed Hola from the Play Store long ago, Hola still hasn't removed its "Get Hola for Android" link. Clicking it now leads you to a 'we can't find that page' link; very unprofessional.
There's no live chat, but paying customers can contact Hola's support team via email (free users are stuck with the website, unfortunately).
We fired off a message explaining that our Windows app kill switch didn't work, we'd uninstalled and reinstalled with no change, and asked what to try next.
A reply arrived about 8 hours later. That's a reasonable response time, but the reply wasn't the best. Instead of simply accepting what we said or sounding apologetic, the agent began: "I have tested the app kill switch and it works as it should." Saying to a customer who has a problem, "Well it works for me," is never going to create the best impression.
Still, we were intrigued. we responded "How did you test the kill switch?" hoping to get help improving our own tests. But, for some reason, our agent didn't want to explain exactly what he had done, and four days and no reply later, we finally gave up.
Final verdict
Yes, Hola can unblock most websites, but at what cost? The free version requires you to share your IP address, bandwidth and browsing history with the company (and who knows else), while the paid edition charges 2-3 times as much as some top providers, yet still has more logging than almost anyone else. Run (don't work) to our Best VPN list and choose a provider who will care about your privacy, rather than trash it.
RusVPN is no longer trading under that name and has since rebranded to Planet VPN. This review was accurate at the time of review, but no longer applies to the rebranded service.
RusVPN ('Reliable. Unlimited. Secure') is a small VPN which might look a little ordinary at first glance, but according to the website, performs better than you'd expect in several areas.
The network has a relatively small 338 servers, for instance, but they're well distributed across 37 countries.
There's much better news on the app front, with custom software for Windows, Mac, Android and iOS, Chrome and Firefox browser extensions, direct support for Linux and routers, and OpenVPN compatibility to cover you everywhere else.
Unlike many competitors, RusVPN doesn't just make vague promises about its website unblocking abilities, and instead lists a host of sites where it claims to work: Netflix, Spotify, Facebook, BBC iPlayer, YouTube, Twitter, Wikipedia, Google, Amazon Instant Video, HBO GO, CBC, NBC, LinkedIn, VKontakte, Instagram, Reddit, and more.
Prices are fair, and range from $9.99 billed monthly to $4.99 over one year, $2.99 over three. You can find cheaper deals around - Surfshark's two-year plan is just $1.99 a month - but generally RusVPN looks like good value to us.
Payments are accepted via card, PayPal, Bitcoin and more. There's no general trial, but you do get the usual 7 days to try out the mobile apps. In theory you're also protected by a 30-day money-back guarantee, the small print reveals this is almost worthless, as you won't qualify if you've transferred more than a tiny 500MB of data.
Privacy and logging
RusVPN's logging policy page states emphatically that 'We DO NOT Keep Any Logs of VPN Usage', going to explain:
'RusVPN is based outside 5-eye, 9-eye and 14-eye country list and have no obligation to store user activity logs, connection timestamps, IP-addresses or any other connection data. When you use RusVPN you can be sure that your privacy is 100% protected.'
Well, okay, although having 'no obligation' to log activity isn't an indicator that you're not doing it.
The privacy policy has a little more information in the following paragraph:
'We run a non-permanent connection log to solve technical problems including random name generation and internal IP address assignment (private IP address) which are reliably removed every few hours. We strictly and purposefully do not write down any information to mitigate our legal liability. We do not monitor the activity of your browser and do not record any records. It is simply impossible with our internal interface. All data about the use of the service is anonymous and is not tied to your real, public IP address.'
While this seems to contain some good news (any logs are regularly detailed, actions can't be tied to your real address), it's lacking in technical detail with some odd elements ('we don't write anything down'?), and doesn't leave us feeling we completely understand how RusVPN really works. That might be a translation issue, but whatever the cause, we're like more clarity in RusVPN's descriptions.
The company could also reassure potential customers by following ExpressVPN, NordVPN and others in putting its systems through an independent security or privacy audit, but there's no sign of that happening just yet. Until then, we just have to trust that RusVPN is living up to its promises.
Setup
Setting up a RusVPN account proved trickier than we expected. We paid via PayPal, an email receipt arrived immediately, but no 'welcome' email with details of our account. There was no 'resend confirmation email' button, so we waited several hours, but nothing happened.
RusVPN doesn't have live chat, but we sent a message via a web form asking what was happening. Hours went by without a response. We sent an email, still no response into the next day. RusVPN doesn't send an automatic 'thanks, we'll reply soon' acknowledgement to messages, either, so we couldn't even be sure that our questions had been received.
We tried again, this time paying using an existing account and were able to get access immediately.
Maybe this wasn't entirely RusVPN's fault; maybe there was some temporary email or other issue which prevented it responding to our queries. There's no way we can know for sure.
It certainly is RusVPN's fault that it has no option to resend a confirmation email, though, and that it doesn't offer live chat support, and that its email and web form support system doesn't send any automated reply to reassure customers that their messages have been received.
RusVPN offers native clients for Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iOS (Image credit: RusVPN)
Apps
Once we'd finally got a working account, the RusVPN website redirected us to a download page with links for the Windows, Mac, Linux, Android and iOS apps, along with the Chrome and Firefox extensions.
Windows Defender warned that RusVPN's installer was 'unrecognized', and asked us to confirm we wanted to launch it (Image credit: Microsoft)
We grabbed the Windows build, but were surprised to find Microsoft Defender SmartScreen stepping in to block RusVPN's installer when we launched it, warning that it was an 'unrecognized app.' That doesn't mean it's harmful, SmartScreen just hasn't seen it very often, although users might be less likely to see these warnings if RusVPN digitally signed its installers, like almost everyone else.
RusVPN's Windows client features a simple user interface that is similar to other VPN apps (Image credit: RusVPN)
The Windows client interface has a simple interface, and works much the same as other VPN apps. Your current location and IP address are clearly displayed, alternative locations are available on a list and you can connect with a click.
RusVPN has 338 servers distributed across 37 countries (Image credit: RusVPN)
The client recommended Canada as our default server, maybe not the best choice for a user in the UK. This wasn't quite as bad as it seems - the Recommended list also included servers in the UK and Netherlands, but as it was sorted alphabetically, Canada came top - but we're still struggling to see why Canada was in our list at all.
RusVPN’s Windows client supports OpenVPN, L2TP and even the insecure PPTP, but you can’t choose your preference in the Settings box—the client decides. (Image credit: RusVPN)
Settings are even more basic than we saw in our last review, little more than an autostart option and the ability to enable or disable a kill switch.
The client appears to support OpenVPN, L2TP and PPTP protocols, but it doesn’t allow you to choose your preferred option — it makes that decision itself.
We don’t know how it figures this out, but there doesn’t seem to be much intelligence involved. During our review, it never selected the best protocol, OpenVPN, mostly going for L2TP (still a fair choice), but occasionally picking PPTP, such an outdated and insecure option that the best VPNs dropped it long ago.
That's not the end of the story. We checked the L2TP and PPTP settings, and found even these weren't as secure as they should be.
The first problem is the connection doesn't attempt to replace our existing DNS servers, ensuring we failed our DNS leak tests later.
RusVPN's Windows client doesn't just use the outdated PPTP protocol, it sets it up with encryption as only 'optional' (Image credit: RusVPN)
Even more seriously, our connections had encryption set as 'Optional' - the client should connect even if there's no encryption. That doesn't mean it'll ever happen (it depends on the server) but it's still a concern.
There are some easy ways around this. You could just set up the open source OpenVPN Connect to connect via OpenVPN, for instance, and never have to use PPTP at all. That's not something the average user is likely to think about, though, and 'we know our software is rubbish, but you can always use something else' isn't much of a RusVPN defense.
Moving away from our protocol problems, we ran a final quick test on how the client handled dropped VPN connections, and discovered more issues.
The kill switch was so effective that it even blocked RusVPN's own app (Image credit: RusVPN)
First, if the kill switch is off and the connection drops, the client updates its window but doesn't raise any desktop notification. If it's minimized or covered by another window, there's no way for you to know that your internet access is now unprotected.
Second, when the kill switch does kick in, it affects the client, too. We found our internet access was blocked, closed and restarted the client, and it prompted us to log in. Why? We don't know, but when we tried, it complained 'connection failed - check network connection.'
Our problems continued, as turning the kill switch off didn't restore our internet access, and neither did closing the client, or rebooting the system. We had to use system restore before we could get online again.
Although this was very bad news for us, we've no reason to believe it would ever happen to the vast majority of users, as they almost certainly won't be stress-testing the client by presenting it with some extreme situations.
Most VPN apps handle our tests much better, though, and this is yet another example of how the client isn't working as it should. We're left wondering what other problems might RusVPN have missed.
The Android app is quite similar to its Windows counterpart (Image credit: RusVPN)
Checking the Android app revealed no great surprises: the interface is much the same and there are no extra settings. There's a small bonus in that Android's system kill switch shouldn't disable your device in the same way the Windows client trashed ours, though, and the app is likely to be safer and more reliable than its desktop cousin.
Performance
RusVPN was slow in connecting from our test Windows system, often taking more than 20 seconds to establish the tunnel. The Android app was faster at around 10 seconds, but top VPNs are usually quicker still (some get online within 2-5 seconds.)
Given RusVPN's poor performance so far, we weren't expecting much from our unblocking tests, despite its claims to unblock just about every platform around. But then we tried the service with a few sites, and although it failed to unblock BBC iPlayer, RusVPN successfully unblocked US Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and even Disney+.
We use a number of different speed tests to determine the performance of each VPN we review (Image credit: Ookla)
Our performance checks began on a positive note, too, with UK speeds reaching 62-66Mbps on our 75Mbps test connection. The best of the competition might scrape 2-4Mbps more, but we're not about to complain.
US speeds hit a relatively poor 30-60Mps, but the exact results you'll see will vary depending on your location and preferred server. If you're interested, use the free trial with the mobile apps to see how the RusVPN performs for you.
Final verdict
RusVPN has many of the ingredients of a good VPN - loads of apps, easy to use, excellent website unblocking, fair price - but a host of fundamental issues and problems make it difficult to trust, at least right now.
