Which product is the best for VPN?

[phenomlab]

@JAC Interesting results. I’m actually finding glitches with NordVPN in the sense that it loses connection, then triggers the kill switch (which isn’t even active)…

[JAC]

@phenomlab said in Which product is the best for VPN?:

@JAC Interesting results. I’m actually finding glitches with NordVPN in the sense that it loses connection, then triggers the kill switch (which isn’t even active)…

That’s very strange mate, theres an option with Surfshark for the kill switch, I’ve tried enabling and disabling the feature no issues at all. Possibly something you’d have to report to Nord, although are you looking to get away from them??

You are more than welcome to use my login mate to test no problem at all, the beauty is ‘unlimited devices’.

[phenomlab]

@JAC I think I’ll take a look at SurfShark myself. I don’t need streaming services - just overall internet security

[JAC]

@phenomlab said in Which product is the best for VPN?:

@JAC I think I’ll take a look at SurfShark myself. I don’t need streaming services - just overall internet security

No problem mate, I think I’m going to get rid of mine anyway. A quick turn around but watching something last night and it kept on buffering, switched to Express VPN and it was absolutely fine. Kept switching and testing both and same result happened each time, I seem to remember that’s why I looked for something else last time.

[phenomlab]

@JAC Thanks for the heads-up. I think I’ll avoid in this case. Perhaps better the devil you know

[JAC]

@phenomlab said in Which product is the best for VPN?:

@JAC Thanks for the heads-up. I think I’ll avoid in this case. Perhaps better the devil you know

Absolutely seems that way Mark.

I’d like to think you would enjoy Express VPN, it’s the best I’ve found, although depends what sort of features you are after.

[phenomlab]

@JAC I’m going to consider it at the very least.

[phenomlab]

@JAC I’m currently looking at PureVPN
https://www.purevpn.com/order-now.php?aff=49866

Reviews seem very positive

https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/purevpn.com

Obviously, this is the most important for me

Good 27 month deal too

Very cheap

[phenomlab]

@JAC Have you seen this ?

https://www.cyberghostvpn.com

Looks quite good for the price. Might give this a spin.

[phenomlab]

@JAC also looking at this
https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/offer/save-now?source=Securitygen&coupon=2Y2M&brand=Securityorg&aff_sub4=3Y3M&aff_sub=Securityorg&aff_id=4943

Great reviews on Trust Pilot also
https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/privateinternetaccess.com

Also seems to be the cheapest annual renewal - NordVPN for example is £30 more expensive !

[JAC]

@phenomlab said in Which product is the best for VPN?:

@JAC also looking at this
https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/offer/save-now?source=Securitygen&coupon=2Y2M&brand=Securityorg&aff_sub4=3Y3M&aff_sub=Securityorg&aff_id=4943

Great reviews on Trust Pilot also
https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/privateinternetaccess.com

Also seems to be the cheapest annual renewal - NordVPN for example is £30 more expensive !

Hi Mark,

I’ve looked at all of them and Surfshark came out on top before all of them.

I am however tempted to give Cyberghost a try myself mate.

[JAC]

@phenomlab said in Which product is the best for VPN?:

@JAC Have you seen this ?

https://www.cyberghostvpn.com

Looks quite good for the price. Might give this a spin.

£1.75pm currently if you choose a 3 year plan it comes with an extra 3 months.

Tempted mate… It’s worth testing and if you don’t like it you can always get a full refund.

[JAC]

@JAC said in Which product is the best for VPN?:

@phenomlab said in Which product is the best for VPN?:

@JAC Have you seen this ?

https://www.cyberghostvpn.com

Looks quite good for the price. Might give this a spin.

£1.75pm currently if you choose a 3 year plan it comes with an extra 3 months.

Tempted mate… It’s worth testing and if you don’t like it you can always get a full refund.

That’s what it comes as mate…

[phenomlab]

@JAC huge discount there. I looked at this, and it’s tempting, but I’m also basing decisions around the renewal cost too. Another potential show stopper for me is the VPN being closed source. Believe it or not, open source VPN code allows the product to be fully audited meaning that the trust level increases as those using the product have the assurance that the product behaves exactly as described and isn’t doing anything nefarious with your data under the hood.

I don’t see any evidence of Cyber Ghost being open source and that worries me somewhat. The heavily discounted price is very appealing though, but on par with Private Internet Access which is open source.

This is interesting. Having checked, Private Internet Access claim to offer a three year deal

However, when you get to the checkout, that drops to two years

As far as see, the Boxcryptor product comes with the other packages also, so I don’t think that’s the “third year”. Hmm - perhaps not. Needs some clarification I think.

The Cyber Ghost deal is time limited with less then there hours remaining before it expires.

[JAC]

@phenomlab said in Which product is the best for VPN?:

@JAC huge discount there. I looked at this, and it’s tempting, but I’m also basing decisions around the renewal cost too. Another potential show stopper for me is the VPN being closed source. Believe it or not, open source VPN code allows the product to be fully audited meaning that the trust level increases as those using the product have the assurance that the product behaves exactly as described and isn’t doing anything nefarious with your data under the hood.

I don’t see any evidence of Cyber Ghost being open source and that worries me somewhat. The heavily discounted price is very appealing though, but on par with Private Internet Access which is open source.

This is interesting. Having checked, Private Internet Access claim to offer a three year deal

However, when you get to the checkout, that drops to two years

As far as see, the Boxcryptor product comes with the other packages also, so I don’t think that’s the “third year”. Hmm - perhaps not. Needs some clarification I think.

The Cyber Ghost deal is time limited with less then there hours remaining before it expires.

Great summary there Mark.

I’ve weighted everything up, looked at many different reviews and the one thing that appears to let IPA & Cyberghost is speeds.

There’s various results out there but none of them stack up against the top two or 3 in Nord, Express VPN & Surfshark and that’s probably why they are throwing long deals around at cheap prices.

An interesting thing just like with Surfshark, the Nord app still appears to say it’s connected even though there was no internet connection as I’d turned the WiFi off purposely to test.

Express VPN does show if it’s not connected straight away and appears to run on their own protocol called ‘Lightway’ instead of the ‘Wireguard’ protocol that all the other companies use, so that may have something to with it.

https://www.expressvpn.com/lightway

For now I will stick with Express VPN, I can say I have never had a problem with them at all, it has always been reliable.

I do need a new VPN as I’m out of licences for Express VPN, and whilst I do still have Nord for another year or so it doesn’t give me the same performance.

For example Express VPN is set to auto connect and does it perfectly, I’ve previously had Nord VPN set to auto connect when I didn’t have Express VPN (so it’s not like the two apps we’re clashing) and it let me down and you wouldn’t be connected despite the option being turned on.

Little things like that are so simple but it does make a great difference to be able to rely on something instead of thinking is it even working.

This is no an Express VPN appreciation post but more stating that it does everything right, for me anyway.

[phenomlab]

@JAC said in Which product is the best for VPN?:

For example Express VPN is set to auto connect and does it perfectly, I’ve previously had Nord VPN set to auto connect when I didn’t have Express VPN (so it’s not like the two apps we’re clashing) and it let me down and you wouldn’t be connected despite the option being turned on.

I too have experienced this exact same issue. Or, it says it’s connected, but then I have no internet access at all unless I pause or disconnect the VPN completely.

[phenomlab]

@JAC said in Which product is the best for VPN?:

This is no an Express VPN appreciation post but more stating that it does everything right, for me anyway.

A great synopsis mate. And very useful.

Thanks

[phenomlab]

@JAC well, this is interesting. A “limited time” deal that appears to have extended itself by 21 hours…

I’m guessing they just keep repeating the same “limited deal”. Something pretty fishy about that.

[phenomlab]

On checking this morning, it would appear that Private Internet Access have rectified the “3 year deal” so it reflects reality

[phenomlab]

Some good information here around Cyber Ghost
https://www.security.org/vpn/cyberghost/#:~:text=How much is CyberGhost VPN,two-year subscription period expires.

And this from the FAQ

Based on the last highlighted section, it appears that Cyberghost do truly respect privacy and full anonimity.

The only thing I’m not keen on in relation to this offering is that it’s closed source in terms of code. And that view is clearly justified here

https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/cyberghost-vpn-review-competitive-features-but-its-parent-company-gives-me-the-creeps/#:~:text=While CyberGhost was given a,any independent audits since 2012

And lastly (there are several other points, but I don’t want this to look like I’m singling out CyberGhost)

That’s enough for me to look elsewhere. Sure, things change, but words like “shady” cut deep into any security organization, and that image is difficult to shake once the rumor spreads. What makes this so much worse is the clear evidence of traffic leak (in the sense that it can be seen by an internet provider) - this isn’t how a real VPN operates.

My verdict ? Avoid this one.