Which product is the best for VPN?

[JAC]

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

@JAC yes, I read about that acquisition. Personally, I don’t think it’ll be long before surfshark gets consumed

Definitely, there are infact already many similarities between the two, some that are so alike I think you’re right.

[JAC]

Looking further into it, Nord Security also purchased Atlas VPN in 2021 - https://atlasvpn.com/blog/press-release-nord-security-extends-its-portfolio-of-cybersecurity-brands-with-atlas-vpn

[JAC]

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

Looking further into it, Nord Security also purchased Atlas VPN in 2021

https://atlasvpn.com/blog/press-release-nord-security-extends-its-portfolio-of-cybersecurity-brands-with-atlas-vpn

Strangely enough one I was looking into a few months back.

[phenomlab]

@JAC I think the only two worth looking at in my experience are either ExpressVPN or NordVPN. Whilst they are generally more expensive, performance, whilst important, isn’t the only factor to be considered when choosing a suitable product.

Admittedly, ProtonVPN has a strict no logs policy, but the performance is hugely disappointing with servers appearing to be overloaded or oversubscribed. Its a very brave decision from Proton to show the utilisation of each server, and I have to admire their honesty, but this also has the negative effect of consumers thinking twice before taking their services.

Their free offering would be great if it included the UK rather than the Netherlands, US, and Japan.

[JAC]

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

ProtonVPN has a strict no logs policy, but the performance is hugely disappointing with servers appearing to be overloaded or oversubscribed. Its a very brave decision from Proton to show the utilisation of each server, and I have to admire their honesty, but this also has the negative effect of consumers thinking twice before taking their services.

I have to admit on the back of this I’ve been doing some testing tonight with Proton & Surfshark.

Proton is indeed a lot slower, I love their ethos and what they stand for but I’m literally thinking I’ve probably got 20 days left to decide whether I want to keep this or not.

The speed issue which you’ve mentioned too, I’ve not seen properly until tonight, Proton has stood up to the test previously but pretty much every server I’ve tried was way behind Surfsharks results.

I didn’t test against Nord as I keep getting logged out, I’ll keep it for the reminder of my sub but I’m done with them for now.

I do think it’s probably a case of keep an eye on things and re-subscribe in a year or so as far as things go with Proton.

What an eye opener! - this is not to say I won’t go back to them generally, but the fact you’ve tested it and I have now pretty much sums up your findings yesterday, which is a big shame as I thought I was onto a winner

And I do apologise Mark if I lead you down the wrong path yesterday, I was shocked to see your comments but I completely understand them now.

[JAC]

I suppose the question is, is Surfshark or Nord any less secure than Proton who are based in Switzerland with strong privacy laws?

As far as the reviews for these, the majority have passed audits, however the jurisdiction of some may be an issue if they belong to an alliance but that being said I’ve always felt quite safe using Surfshark & Express VPN despite their owners shady past.

[JAC]

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

I suppose the question is, is Surfshark or Nord any less secure than Proton who are based in Switzerland with strong privacy laws?

As far as the reviews for these, the majority have passed audits, however the jurisdiction of some may be an issue if they belong to an alliance but that being said I’ve always felt quite safe using Surfshark & Express VPN despite their owners shady past.

Here’s how I’d rate the VPNs I’ve tried…

1. Express VPN - for simplicity, it just works!

With Kape technologies shady past put aside this is the winner for what I need it for.

2. Surfshark - A great second choice, lots of features to boot, but especially speed!
   Many kill switch issues on Android & Android TV so can be slightly unreliable if plays up.

Owned by Nord can be seen as a plus or minus.

3. Nord - Does everything you want from a VPN but lots of disconnects and app logging out issues with it lately but once these are ironed out it’ll be back to its best.

4. Proton VPN - Very security based, good android mobile app which works as it should but lacks speed compared with the top 3 giants.

[phenomlab]

@JAC I think the real defining property for an individual choice of VPN really depends on your need. Some users need it solely for streaming, whilst others really on it for privacy.

Based on this, there’s no real silver bullet in terms of a software product which is perfectly matched to the specific set of requirements. Nord is without question the most powerful product of them all, but, as you’ve pointed out - and I can attest based on my own experiences - is that the product is nuanced. Or has multiple complexities which when placed together provide a very powerful feature set not found in others, yet it’s clear vulnerability to simple issues like disconnects or random account log out means the overall experience is heavily impacted.

However, Nord has a proven and attestable no logs policy validated by external audit, and operates in Panama - a country with no mandatory privacy law, making it a clear choice in terms of privacy, and more importantly, your browsing history is not being sold to third parties as it would be with “free” offerings.

[JAC]

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

@JAC I think the real defining property for an individual choice of VPN really depends on your need. Some users need it solely for streaming, whilst others really on it for privacy.

Based on this, there’s no real silver bullet in terms of a software product which is perfectly matched to the specific set of requirements. Nord is without question the most powerful product of them all, but, as you’ve pointed out - and I can attest based on my own experiences - is that the product is nuanced. Or has multiple complexities which when placed together provide a very powerful feature set not found in others, yet it’s clear vulnerability to simple issues like disconnects or random account log out means the overall experience is heavily impacted.

However, Nord has a proven and attestable no logs policy validated by external audit, and operates in Panama - a country with no mandatory privacy law, making it a clear choice in terms of privacy, and more importantly, your browsing history is not being sold to third parties as it would be with “free” offerings.

Absolutely, I agree with all of this.
You’re right it completely depends on the users needs and what they are really looking for in a VPN.

I’ve logged out and uninstalled Proton on all devices for now, I will contact them for a refund later.

I just find Surfshark/ Express VPN (when subbed) a step above in terms of speed. The android app is probably the best I’ve used, but as I mainly use it for Privacy and streaming, if I can get better speeds elsewhere with a company that is established then that’s the way for me to go right now. That’s not saying I won’t use Proton again, I’ll probably be back but it’ll take a few years to get up to the level of Nord etc.

Of course you really want to find the best upcoming VPN and run with it, and I did have great hopes for it until I did a lot of speed tests which showed it had some catching up to do with the others unfortunately.

[JAC]

So now I’m testing both Surfshark & Nord.

I may as well use what I have.

So far Surfshark is doing what it previously has done for some time, the kill switch works but every now and again you need to turn off the WiFi and back on again for it to reconnect. This surely is a bug.

Nord seems to be working well so far, I’d say there must have been a reason why I stopped using Nord as being logged out is a fairly new issue for me, so it can’t be that but could have possibly been the 5 connections at one time limit…🤯 , but so far so good. The real test will be testing via Nvidia Shield & Firestick tomorrow night, see how everything plays streaming wise.

Interested to hear how you rate Nord then Mark compared against any other VPN you’ve tried seeing as it’s your go to?

[phenomlab]

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

Interested to hear how you rate Nord then Mark compared against any other VPN you’ve tried seeing as it’s your go to?

I’ve tried most of the VPN’s out there, and none of them come even close to what Nord has to offer. The cheaper ones have obvious drawbacks such as either selling your data to a third party, or being so slow that it’s virtually unusable.

Nord has the distinct advantage in the sense that it has the most servers available to connect to, offers double VPN, plus the ability to use a VPN and still be connected to the TOR network.

There are also very well written additional features such as secure file sharing between VPN endpoints - for example, I can send a file from my desktop pc to my mobile phone through that same secured channel, and it’s instant. They have even made this specific feature completely free, and open source, meaning that anyone can view the code and contribute to it.

On the flip side, Nord is expensive - as are some of the add-ons - for example, the password manager, which in my view is overpriced when you can use BitWarden on a paid plan for $10 per year. The final showpiece is the ability for Nord to scour the dark web looking for data about you that could have been leaked.

Their latest offering is a service that even removes this leaked data. Very cheap as it’s an introductory offer and I may get this to check it out.

[JAC]

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

The final showpiece is the ability for Nord to scour the dark web looking for data about you that could have been leaked.

This is a good feature, it’s one that came in handy really when a forum was attacked.

I think realistically Nord & Surfshark are both up there for me. I have subs with them I’ve been testing them back and forth and overall Nord has been the best as you may expect, although Surfshark isn’t that far behind, maybe not so surprising either considering they are effectively under the same umbrella.

I’d say Nord does the basics well - Auto connect works well, it doesn’t fail to connect sometimes like Surfshark does.

I think this is more to do with the kill switch on Surfshark, as it will always connect once you have turned your WiFi off and on again.

You’re welcome to use my Surfshark to test Mark, I actually get faster speeds than Nord sometimes, that’s why they are don’t fall too short behind in the comparison reviews.

For example:

Image credit: cybernews.com

https://cybernews.com/best-vpn/nordvpn-vs-surfshark

[JAC]

Some useful links

https://surfshark.com/what-is-my-ip

https://ipleak.net/

https://ip.me/

https://nordvpn.com/ip-lookup/

https://www.expressvpn.com/what-is-my-ip

https://atlasvpn.com/what-is-my-ip

https://whatismyipaddress.com/

[JAC]

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

You’re welcome to use my Surfshark to test Mark

Anytime pal

[JAC]

How’s your experience with Nord now? Still experiencing issues?

[phenomlab]

@JAC yes, funny you should mention that. For a while, it was bad. And I mean, bad…

Constant disconnects, crashes, etc. I seriously started looking at alternatives.

Then after what seemed like multiple updates, it’s now solid.

[JAC]

@phenomlab strangely enough I’ve had more trouble the past few months with Nord than I have in all of my time using it - random disconnects has been far the most annoying. Then the product ads and frequent notifications to boot.

It’s the same way that Surfshark (same company effectively) have gone, the VPN has taken a slight backseat for their other newer products I feel.

Glad to hear it’s working for you again though Mark.

[phenomlab]

@JAC In my experience, it can be somewhat flaky - I’ve had instances where the VPN disconnects for no apparent reason, and I can’t reconnect until I change the protocol.

[JAC]

@phenomlab agreed mate.

I’m back with Proton now.

[phenomlab]

@JAC is that for everything, or just the PC etc?