What is the DPI (Deep Packet Inspection)?

Deep packet inspection (DPI) is an advanced technique used to examine and manage network traffic. It employs packet filtering to locate, identify, classify, reroute or block packets with a specific code or data payload. Conventional packet filtering can’t detect DPI, as it only looks at packet headers.

Deep Packet Inspection tools

Network administrators often use DPI as a security tool to detect and intercept viruses and other types of malicious traffic. However, they can also use it for disreputable activities, such as eavesdropping.

Deep Packet Inspection is also used to streamline the flow of network traffic. A message that is, for example, flagged as a high priority can be sent to its destination before low-priority packets or messages. DPI can also be used to improve network performance by throttling data transfer, thereby preventing peer-to-peer abuse.

DPI has sparked concern among proponents of Net Neutrality and privacy advocates, as it is possible to identify both the recipient and originator from content enclosing specific packets.

What is Obfuscation?

Obfuscating means to make something obscure. When applied to Internet traffic, obfuscating implies that you are trying to hide its real purpose, similar to putting on a disguise.

Obfuscation techniques

Obfuscation is often used to hide TOR or VPN traffic (VPN obfuscation). As some governments and ISPs block connections to these services obfuscation prevents anyone from seeing that your internet traffic is encrypted. It is also used to bypass firewalls so that restricted websites can be accessed. While these objectives may be slightly different, the same method is used to achieve both.

When special tools obfuscate Internet traffic, its original form is changed to a discrete structure that makes it look like regular Internet traffic. When users connect to a VPN, encrypted traffic is altered to look like regular, unencrypted internet traffic. However, the encryption will still be present, and your data will not be readable. Thus, it results in undetectable VPN traffic.

Obfuscation and ISP policies

Whether or not obfuscation will help with the loss of net neutrality remains to be seen, as it depends on what ISPs decide to do in the future. If they choose to block VPN and TOR traffic, then obfuscation will be useful, but if they start charging different rates for using specific services, then your options are limited.

In the latter case, all you’ll be able to do is to make it appear as if you’re using a cheaper service than what you are. One example will be if an ISP charges $1.50/Mb for normal browsing and $2.50/Mb for gaming. Internet traffic could be obfuscated to look like regular browsing instead of gaming to pay the lower rate.

What is Stealth VPN?

A Stealth VPN is a VPN protocol that can let VPN traffic appear as if it is regular web traffic, even when a network administrator activates a DPI firewall.

Firewalls are commonly used to block VPNs in countries where Internet access is restricted or censored. Some examples would include China, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, countries where VPN is illegal. Network administrators also often block VPN access for a company or school network to improve monitoring and control of network activity.

A StealthVPN service will allow you to quickly bypass these blocking mechanisms to create VPN tunnels through a firewall, including the Firewall of China.

How Stealth VPNs work

Though people commonly use the term ‘Stealth,’ it would be more accurate to describe the technology as ‘VPN Camouflage.’ A ‘Stealth’ VPN disguises VPN data packets as regular Internet traffic. The most advanced implementations obfuscate the VPN traffic into HTTPS traffic.

What is HTTPS traffic?

HTTPS connections are crucial for secure data transmissions on the Internet where credit card numbers, passwords, etc. are used. That’s why most firewalls, even if they are very restrictive, won’t block HTTPS packets, making stealth VPN technology very efficient.

SSL or TLS encryption secures the HTTPS traffic. Online banking and credit card transactions use it to increase security, as well as sites like Facebook and Google. If you see the ‘lock’ icon in your browser bar and ‘https’ before the ‘www’ in the URL, you know that your browser uses https. Routers and firewalls identify HTTPS traffic because it always uses port #443.

Stealth VPN techniques can efficiently use this characteristic of HTTPS traffic to impersonate HTTPS data and bypass firewalls undetected.

StealthVPN protocols

OpenVPN

OpenVPN has the best combination of cross-platform compatibility, security, and speed. Therefore, most Stealth VPN servers use OpenVPN encryption to reap these benefits. A local stealth proxy (called obfsproxy) modulates and obfuscates the OpenVPN traffic into regular Internet traffic.

SSTP

SSTP (Secure Socket Tunneling Protocol) is another stealth protocol that VPN enthusiasts use. But, this protocol is only available on Windows, and not all VPN providers offer it. As SSTP uses SSL encryption as its primary encryption algorithm natively, it does have a significant advantage.

Softether

The relatively new Softether protocol provides the third approach. Due to its SSL-VPN Tunneling on HTTPS, it can ‘penetrate’ highly-restricted firewalls.

StealthVPN vs. OpenVPN

The most common SteathVPN implementations are using OpenVPN and obfsproxy.

A typical data packet used with OpenVPN consists of a header that contains packet identification and routing information. The payload is the strongly encrypted part of the data packet which is forwarded to the correct web address. The header information is used to identify the source of a package, including the port # and the fact that the container contains OpenVPN data.

A stealth VPN uses obfuscation to strip the metadata that identifies the data as belonging to a VPN protocol from the packet header. The disguised packet looks like regular HTTPS encrypted web traffic by using the fact that https uses SSL/TLS Encryption and port #443.

The obfuscation is done by wrapping the OpenVPN data packet (using the obfsproxy local proxy) in a secondary layer of encryption, and assigning the data to port #443 or any other port.

When stealth technology has these two steps, the data packet can’t be distinguished from regular https data or regular Internet traffic, and it is virtually impossible to block.

When and why do you need StealthVPN?

Avoid VPN blocks, and access blocked websites

For some, a Stealth protocol is an absolute necessity. For people located in countries such as the UAE, China, or Iran, it would be difficult (or virtually impossible) to access specific websites without making use of stealth VPN technology. In some countries like Iran, using a VPN is a crime, so it is critical that you make sure your VPN is undetectable.

Avoid throttling and protect your privacy

There are also those that choose to use Stealth VPNs to protect their privacy or to avoid throttling. Although some firewalls don’t block VPN traffic, they do throttle it, slowing it down dramatically. You should know that even major ISPs like mobile providers do this.

Stealth VPN providers

Several excellent VPN providers offer StealthVPN (secure VPN) connections on their servers (check the list below).

ibVPN

ibVPN is one of my favorite VPN services as it provides a lot of exciting features (take a look at my complete ibVPN review), including a variety of servers or protocols. Regarding StealthVPN, ibVPN includes access to all three implementations (OpenVPN with obfsproxy, SSTP and Softether). The first two options are available within the Windows application, while users may install Softether on Windows, Linux, and Mac OS as a standalone client app.

IPVanish

IPVanish can obfuscate the OpenVPN traffic on two ports: 1194 and 443 (HTTPS). Choose the port and check the Obfuscate OpenVPN traffic option. It is available for the Windows application.

VyprVPN

VyprVPN has developed its proprietary stealth VPN protocol known as ‘Chameleon Protocol.’ The VyprVPN Chameleon uses a 256-bit OpenVPN encryption obfuscated and transmitted via TLS port #443. Thus, Users that live in or travel to countries such as China, Russia, India, Turkey, Iran, and Syria can access the Internet unrestricted. The Chameleon VPN is available for Windows, Mac, Android, and VPN routers.

TorGuard VPN

TorGuard bases its stealth VPN implementation on dedicated ‘Stealth’ VPN servers. Users can access these servers from the Windows, macOS, and Android apps. Also, the Stealth Proxy feature inside the TorGuard VPN apps adds a “second” layer of security that connects your standard VPN connection through an encrypted proxy layer. When enabled, the Stealth Proxy hides the “handshake,” making it impossible for the DPI firewalls to determine if VPN software is being used. A plus for TorGuard is that it offers dedicated IP address options in many locations.

Perfect Privacy

Perfect Privacy uses OpenVPN to implement Stealth VPN technology. You may obfuscate your VPN traffic by tunneling it through stunnel, ssh or obfsproxy2/obfsproxy3. Also, you can choose the connection ports #22 (SSH), #53 (DNS) and #443 (SSL). Perfect Privacy offers the StealthVPN protocol into the Windows client, or you may set up the obfuscation manually with OpenVPN on Linux and Mac.

VPN.ac

The VPN.ac ‘Stealth VPN’ secure protocol applies a technique called XOR obfuscation on the OpenVPN traffic. The OpenVPN XOR is similar to OpenVPN 256-bit regarding key strength. However, the symmetric cipher is different, AES 128-bit being faster and less CPU intensive than AES 256-bit. Running the OpenVPN XOR over port TCP #443 should bypass most firewalls/web-filtering engines. It is available on the Windows application.

Conclusion

Using stealth VPNs will camouflage your VPN and make it appear as regular web traffic. Stealth VPNs are mainly used for privacy purposes, or to bypass firewalls in countries where Internet access is restricted or censored.

ZenMate is a VPN provider well-known for its proxy browser extensions. ZenMate VPN service offers easy-to-use apps and high speed. Keep reading my (ultimate) ZenMate review to find out more about the pros and cons of ZenMate VPN!

ZenMate review 2020 in a nutshell

Headquarters & jurisdiction

ZenMate is a VPN provider based in Berlin, Germany. As a member of the Fourteen Eyes group of countries, Germany shares intelligence to avoid breaking domestic laws. A VPN service provider located in one of these countries might share user data with intelligence services in some instances. You should keep this in mind when using a VPN provider located in Germany.

Update 10/2018: According to recent news, ZenMate was acquired by Kape Technologies, a tech company that also owns CyberGhost.

ZenMate VPN review – Log policy

The ZenMate homepage states that there are no logs kept. However, the Privacy Policy page presents several cases when some data (IP address, aggregated usage) is stored:

In order to prevent attacks against ZenMate your IP address will be saved temporarily on the server without being stored permanently or used for any other purposes. […]

… you may consider which server to choose to use ZenMate and to which country therewith you want your IP address and site request to be transmitted and possibly used and saved temporarily in order to establish a connection. […]

If your account’s data volume is limited we will measure the data you transfer and receive. However, we will not collect or store the content of the data. We will only record the mere volume of the data.

You should take a moment and take a closer look at the privacy policy and decide for yourself if it is convenient for you or not.

GDPR compliance

I have contacted ZenMate support team regarding the GDPR issue. They stated that:

We are GDPR compliant, and as Germany already had one of the strictest laws in regards to data privacy before the GDPR, we did not have to change a lot – all of our processes are in place and all legal requirements are met.

As it is ZenMate’s mission to protect the people online, we are fully welcoming the EU-wide rollout of stricter laws and the global increase of awareness of internet user’s rights.

Servers & locations

ZenMate offers unlimited bandwidth on 300+ servers in 30+ countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Israel, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Luxembourg, Moldova, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States.

Dynamic & static IPs

All ZenMate VPN servers have dynamic IPs. It means that every time you connect, you will get a different IP address. For a specific location, you will get connected to a server from the server pool, which assigns you a random IP address.

ZenMate security review – VPN protocols and security

ZenMate VPN implements the strong AES-encryption with a 256-bit key for its applications. However, the Zen Mate browser extensions use the 128-bit AES encryption.

A shortfall of ZenMate regarding VPN protocols is that it does not implement OpenVPN and does not allow protocol switches. L2TP and IPSec are the protocols used by the Zen Mate applications.

P2P & torrent policy

ZenMate does not seem to be designed for P2P and torrent traffic. Their Terms of Service states that:

(4) You agree not to commit any copyright infringement when using ZenMate, for example by downloading copyright protected files or granting other people access to those. Such use is prohibited.

However, it looks like there are no filters to prevent torrenting on ZenMate servers. My advice is to use ZenMate for P2P traffic only occasionally. There are other VPNs for torrents you may use.

Must read: Learn how to torrent safely!

ZenMate review – VPN applications

ZenMate Windows app

The Windows application (as well as the other ZenMate apps) is straightforward, and it does what is supposed to: connects to a VPN server from the desired location.

After login, choose the desired location (you are only able to select a country) and click on the ZenMate shield to connect. Within seconds you are connected. Nice!

From the My Setting screen you can activate the following options (I was not able to find the presentation of these features on the ZenMate site. Thus, they are presented exclusively from my point of view.):

• EverSecure: It maintains the VPN connection active as long as the ZenMate application is working.
• Run ZenMate on startup: It runs the app on the OS startup.
• Kill Switch: It terminates the Internet access/connection if the VPN connection drops (more details below).
• DNS Leak Protection: It offers protection against DNS leaks.
• Enable locations monitoring: It probably monitors the server/location usage.

The ZenMate Windows app uses the L2TP/IPSec protocol. Unfortunately, OpenVPN or other VPN protocols are not available.

Important! I noticed that the ZenMate VPN connections are using the Google public DNS (8.8.8.8). Not a very good choice, as the Google DNS is known to keep logs. Other public DNS servers that do not keep logs would be better alternatives.

To sum up the ZenMate VPN review regarding the Windows application: very easy to use, it does what is expected to do. However, it lacks OpenVPN and info regarding the available features.

ZenMate MacOS app

The ZenMate Mac OS application is similar to the Windows app, and basically, it does only one thing: connects your Mac to the chosen VPN location. Additionally, you may set up the app to run on startup.

The ZenMate Mac OS app uses the IPSec (IKEv2) protocol to connect to the VPN servers.

ZenMate does not have their VPN app listed to the MacOS App Store. You may only download it from the ZenMate site.

ZenMate iOS app

ZenMate offers great apps for mobile devices. The ZenMate iOS app is again straightforward, but it also provides some advanced features like the AdBlocker, Tracking Protection, Malware Blocking, and EverSecure.

The EverSecure (Always-ON) forces the VPN connection to reconnect on demand, every time the device connects to the Internet.

The ZenMate iOS mobile app uses the IPSec VPN protocol. In-app purchases are available if you don’t already have an account.

ZenMate VPN Review – Android app

The ZenMate Android app uses the L2TP protocol. As expected, it easily connects to the chosen location. Additionally, you may turn ON the EverSecure, Malware Blocking, Tracking Protection functions.

If the Always-on / EverSecure VPN feature is enabled and you close the ZenMate app (swipe it from recently used apps), the VPN disconnects for a few seconds, before being reconnected in the background.

Browser extensions and add-ons

ZenMate started as a proxy service run as browser extensions. With millions of downloads and users, the ZenMate extensions are top-notch! You may install them from the Chrome, Opera, Firefox extensions stores.

If you don’t have an account, you need to create one. Next, you can get started: select the desired location and turn the extension ON. It connects smoothly and provides excellent speed.

The ZenMate extensions also provide access to the following advanced features:

• Smart Locations (-> Features) – you may set up the extension to automatically connect to a particular location/server when the chosen site is visited.
• Malware Blocking (-> Features) – when enabled it blocks malicious sites and code snippets.
• Tracking Protection (-> Features) – when enabled it prevents 3rd party services from tracking you.
• SmartPrice (Settings) – it activates on shopping sites and shows you reviews and alternative offers to the product you’re currently searching for.

Important! The Zenmate extensions are vulnerable to the WebRTC IP leaks. However, you may solve the issue by installing the Zenmate WebRTC Protect Chrome extension or disable WebRTC on the other browsers.

Kill Switch

ZenMate implements Internet KillSwitch (the Internet access is completely cut off in case of VPN disconnect until it is manually restored or the VPN reconnects) only for the Windows application. You may turn it on from My Settings -> Kill Switch.

DNS leak protection

ZenMate provides strong DNS leak protection. It can be enabled and disabled in the Windows application, while it is enabled by default on the other apps.

Simultaneous connections/devices

You may use ZenMate on up to 5 devices simultaneously. It should be enough for a medium-sized family. If you need more than five simultaneous connections, you may create an additional account.

Free trial

ZenMate offers a 7-day free trial, but it is not trivial to get one. Here is how I was able to create a ZenMate free trial account. Firstly, I installed the ZenMate Chrome extension. Next, I clicked the ZenMate icon that loaded an activation page from the ZenMate site. After some search, I noticed the Try ZenMate Limited instead link from the very bottom of the page (take a look at the image below). Clicked the link, waited for 10 seconds and then created the account.

Note: To benefit from the ZenMate premium free trial you need to verify your email address.

You may also use ZenMate VPN for free as long as you want. The free version is limited in speed, platforms, and locations. However, your personal data is always protected.

Business VPN accounts

ZenMate VPN for Business offers a management dashboard that allows you to configure and manage all your VPN accounts. The business accounts can be used to:

• Share confidential business data with coworkers and clients.
• Complete financial transactions online with securely encrypted banking.
• Secure and protect your business data while traveling.
• Test appearance and localization of your business from anywhere in the world.

ZenMate Premium review – Pricing

Although ZenMate can be used for free (limited features on Chrome and Firefox), the ZenMate premium account is the one that offers the most value (good speed, locations, extra protection).

The monthly price is $8.99. If you are happy with the VPN service, you may go for the semi-annual plan ($53.99) or the annual plan ($71.99).

The pricing for the Business accounts is not publicly available. You need to ask for a quote if you are interested.

Promos and discounts

If you know someone that is already using ZenMate you may ask for their Refer-a-Friend code. You will get a 10% discount on all plans.

Also, ZenMate continually runs promotions on their website, like the 44% off from the annual plan that is available at this time.

Are you looking for a VPN deal? Here is a site that lists active VPN promotions. If you know other ZenMate promotions feel free to share them in the comments below.

Payment methods

You may pay for ZenMate services using the followings: PayPal, credit cards, Union Pay, SEPA Bank Transfer, Qiwi Wallet. No Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies accepted.

Moneyback guarantee

When you subscribe to the ZenMate service, you have 30 days to cancel your account (no questions asked). You will be refunded in the same payment method that you initially used to pay for the subscription, at no extra fees. However, the following payment methods are non-refundable: PaysafeCard, UKash, BitCoin.

Support

The ZenMate team offers ticket support, but no live chat. You may contact ZenMate 24/7/365.

ZenMate VPN review – Performance/speed testing

You need to know that there are factors that influence the speed of your Internet connection while connected to VPN, factors that are not related to the VPN service, like: the speed of your regular Internet connection (without VPN), the connection from your location to the VPN server, the load of the VPN server (the number of users on the server), the available bandwidth for the VPN server. This is something you need to take into consideration when measuring the performance of a VPN provider.

To get an idea of the ZenMate connection speed, I performed several tests for different locations.

Firstly, I had tested my regular Internet connection and then compared it with the download speed of the VPN connection when the ZenMate app was connected to a US server (useful for unblocking Netflix streaming). Interestingly, the speed connected to the ZenMate server was superior to my regular Internet connection (no VPN).

Secondly, I have set the ZenMate app to the UK location (for BBC streaming):

Lastly, I tried the connection to the VPN server located in Asia (Japan):

To sum up the ZenMate review speed test, I found the performance/speed of the ZenMate servers excellent. The download speed was higher (for US and UK) than my regular connection. However, the upload speed was significantly lower.

Website

The ZenMate site looks very nice and straightforward. However, the technical information is somehow difficult to find. It took me a while to find information in the knowledge base regarding the implemented VPN protocols, about the EverSecure or the Tracking Protection features. The checkout process is simple, and you instantly get access to the VPN service after payment. You may visit ZenMate here.

User reviews

You may find independent ZenMate users reviews on TrustPilot. The leading causes of client dissatisfaction are the auto-renewal subscriptions that are not canceled and the quality of support. However, some users are thrilled with the service.

ZenMate review – Pros – What I like about ZenMate

ZenMate service is excellent: simple and effective. Here are some of the things I love the most about ZenMate:

• Straightforward applications.
• Exceptional proxy browser extensions.
• Stable and reliable VPN service.
• It seems to work with Netflix and BBC iPlayer.
• Good speed.

ZenMate review – Cons – What could be improved

Several things could be improved:

• Live chat support (at least for several hours) should be implemented. Also, support should be faster and more effective.
• OpenVPN is not available.
• It may not work in China, Iran, Egypt as the L2TP, IPSec protocols are blocked.
• Bitcoin payments not accepted.
• You may not select a server from a particular city or region.

ZenMate review 2020 – Conclusion

To conclude this ZenMate premium review, ZenMate is a top VPN service that I recommend to those interested in a one-click VPN service. The apps and browser extensions are user-friendly, and you may get started in a matter of seconds. However, ZenMate is not suitable for those looking for more control regarding the VPN protocols and other advanced features.

What do you think of ZenMate? Have you tried it? Would you recommend ZenMate? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below.

Cargo VPN is a new VPN service offered by a well-known software producer that you may use on your iOS and MacOS devices. Keep reading the Cargo VPN review to find out what are the pros and cons of CargoVPN.

Cargo VPN review in a nutshell

Headquarters & jurisdiction

The company that offers Cargo VPN, Eltima Software, is based in Germany. As a member of the Fourteen Eyes group of countries, Germany shares intelligence to avoid breaking domestic laws. Thus, a VPN provider located in one of these countries might (not necessarily would) share user data with intelligence services in some instances. You should keep this in mind when using a VPN service located in Germany.

Log policy

According to Eltima Software, Cargo VPN has the following logging policy:

Eltima does NOT collect and log any user activities while using any of their VPN services, except the total amount of web traffic for each session and session dates, for displaying them in the user’s web cabinet and within the VPN client apps. Eltima also stores the encrypted information about the number of connected devices for each account, as the maximum permitted amount is limited. This information can be assessed in the User Office, where any user can delete their devices from their account.

Servers & locations

Cargo VPN offers access to more than 1000+ servers in 52 countries: Australia, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Ireland, Isle of Man, Israel, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, Moldova, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, United Kingdom, Ukraine, United States.

Dynamic & static IPs

Cargo VPN servers have dynamic IPs, meaning that every time you connect, you will (most probably) get a different IP. However, you may get a static IP on a location of your choice by subscribing to a Personal IP package.

Dedicated IPs

A strong point of Cargo VPN is that it offers Personal static IP or Personal Server packages. By subscribing to a Personal IP package, you get access to a dedicated IP from an existing VPN server. However, you can buy your Personal Server with dedicated IPs and resources (CPU, bandwidth, connection port).

VPN protocols and security

The available VPN protocols available in the CargoVPN apps are IPSec, OpenVPN, KeepSolid Wise UDP, and KeepSolid Wise TCP. The KeepSolid Wise (proprietary to KeepSolid) is a Stealth VPN protocol that provides higher anonymity (more difficult to detect and block), but medium performance. 

It uses the TCP 443 and UDP 33434 ports, and with the OpenVPN protocol forming its backbone. The KeepSolid Wise is handy for those living or traveling to China, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Indonesia, India, Turkey, Syria, Iran.

P2P & torrent policy

Downloading torrents is allowed on specific Cargo VPN servers located in Canada, France, Luxembourg, Romania, United States (California 1). Cargo VPN marks these servers with the “torrents” to the right of the server name.

Must read: Learn how to torrent safely!

Cargo VPN review – VPN applications

Cargo VPN MacOS app

The CargoVPN MacOS application (you may download it from Mac App Store) is simple and does what is supposed to do, plus something extra.

To connect to VPN for Mac, you need to select the desired location from the Servers screen. The app shows the workload for every location/server. Also, you may go for the Optimal server that provides the best performance (usually the closest server from your location), Streaming Netflix, Hulu that unblocks the desired US channels or UK-South BBC iPlayer to unblock BBC. A very nice feature is that you may select the servers from the Touch Bar on MacBook Pros!

To use CargoVPN for torrenting, search the servers marked with the torrents text to the right of server location.

The Cargo VPN MacOS app uses the IPSec VPN protocol by default, but you may switch it to OpenVPN or Stealth VPN (KeepSolid UDP or TCP)  from Account -> Network Settings. Be aware that, by using the KeepSolid protocols, the connection performance may decrease.

Further, to increase the protection while connected to a VPN service, Cargo VPN app offers access to the Eltima/KeepSolid DNS firewall (select Protection from the left menu) with two levels of Internet traffic filtering:

• None – You may access all websites, but the VPN traffic encryption protects you from man-in-the-middle attacks.
• Low – Anti-malware protection: the DNS firewall blocks websites that present Internet security risks.

Also, users can define their black/white lists.

To sum up, the Cargo VPN software works smoothly and offers nice speed. The DNS filtering adds an extra layer of protection.

Cargo VPN iOS app

The Cargo VPN iOS app easily connects to a VPN location seconds after installing the application. The 24-trial is rightly implemented, and it does not require any registration. However, if you already created an account on MacOS, you can sign in with it.

From the home screen, you can turn the VPN on/off and select the desired location. If you choose Optimal the mobile app tries to find the server that provides you the optimal speed. Usually, a server close to your location. Also, you may take a look at the Recommended servers to choose a server that provides a fast connection.

The Cargo VPN mobile app uses the IPSec VPN protocol by default, but OpenVPN and Stealth VPN/KeepSolid are also available. In-app purchases are available if you don’t already have an account.

And … yes, you may control the Cargo VPN iOS app from your Apple Watch. Nice!

Simultaneous connections/devices

The Cargo VPN applications can be used on five devices (iOS and macOS) simultaneously. It should be enough for a medium-sized family, but you may purchase additional slots if you need to.

Free trial

You may try Cargo VPN with a 24-h trial. The trial is beautifully implemented. For the iOS app merely install the app, and you may get connected. For the macOS app, you need to create an account (Eltima ID).

Pricing

Cargo VPN offers the main VPN plans plus additional packages for extra devices, dedicated IPs, and dedicated servers.  Take a look below at the available Cargo VPN packages:

You may subscribe directly from the Cargo VPN iOS and MacOS apps.

Payment methods

As Cargo VPN is only available (at this time) for iOS and macOS, the payments are only accepted through App Store (iOS and macOS).

Moneyback

Cargo VPN is distributed through iOS and Mac AppStore. The AppStore refund policy is applied, and you need to contact the contact Apple Store support directly.

Support

The Cargo VPN team offers 24/7/365 ticket and live chat support. I have tried the live chat, and I received an informative and friendly reply.

Website

The Cargo VPN presentation page (visit site here) looks very nice, and it’s simple and informative.

User reviews

As the service is relatively new, there are not many reviews from the users. Feel free to add your Cargo VPN review to the end of this article.

Cargo VPN review – Pros – What I like about CargoVPN

Cargo VPN looks like a reliable VPN service for the iOS devices and Mac OS. Here are some of the things I love the most about Cargo VPN:

• The apps seem very good;
• It is an excellent VPN for beginners;
• It exposes dedicated servers for unblocking Netflix, Hulu and BBC iPlayer;
• It offers access to dedicated IPs and dedicated VPN servers;
• OpenVPN is available for both iOS and Mac OS apps;
• Good connection speeds.

Cargo VPN review – Cons – What could be improved

Several things could be improved:

• Cargo VPN website does not clearly explain the logging policy;
• KillSwitch for the macOS app is a must;
• There are no Windows and Android apps (yet).

Cargo VPN review – Conclusion

To sum up, Cargo VPN offers very good macOS and iOS VPN apps with a large number of locations and good speed. Further, it can be used to unblock Netflix and BBC iPlayer. Plus, you may get your dedicated IP address or dedicated VPN server.

What do you think of CargoVPN? Have you tried it? What features should Cargo VPN add? Would you recommend it? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below.

Private Internet Access review 2019 in a nutshell

Headquarters & jurisdiction

Private Internet Access VPN is based in the United States. Not the best location for running a VPN service as the United States is a member of the Fourteen Eyes group of countries that share intelligence to avoid breaking domestic laws. Also, the US is the home of NSA, the well-known governmental surveillance agency.

However, PIA has a strict no-logging policy that was recently confirmed by an FBI investigation. The criminal complaint filed by the FBI shows that a subpoena sent to Private Internet Access resulted in no useful data being revealed about a suspected hoaxer.

Log policy

As mentioned above, Private Internet Access is a logless VPN provider. Their privacy policy states that:

PrivateInternetAccess.com does not collect or log any traffic or use of its Virtual Private Network (“VPN”) or Proxy.

You should take a moment and take a closer look at the privacy policy that nicely explains the way all user data (email addresses, payment data, web server logs, cookies) is handled.

GDPR compliance

The response of the PIA support team regarding the GDPR issue:

We are currently compliant with the GDPR guidelines and we are currently working towards finalizing the update of out Terms and Conditions to reflect this on our site.

Servers & locations

Private Internet Access offers access to more than 3000+ servers (impressive!) in 28 countries: United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Switzerland, France, Germany, Belgium, Ireland, Italy, Spain, Romania, Turkey, South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, Israel, Mexico, Brazil, India.

Dynamic & static IPs

All PIA servers have dynamic IPs, meaning that every time you connect you (most probably) get a different IP. For a specific location, you get connected to a server from the server pool, which assigns you a random IP address. However, it is possible to get the same IP using the OpenVPN application instead of the PIA app.

Dedicated IPs

Private Internet Access does not offer dedicated IPs. Here is their explanation:

We do not offer dedicated IP addresses. All of our IP addresses are shared among our users to ensure the maximum level of anonymity possible. It is this feature that allows your internet traffic to be truly untraceable when using our VPN service. If the IP address was yours and yours alone, then it would not be much different than a normal connection.

VPN protocols and security

A strong point of the Private Internet Access service is that it provides a lot of options to increase or decrease the encryption and security of the VPN connection. The available VPN protocols are OpenVPN, IPSec, L2TP, and PPTP. Take a look at the table below to see how you can use them (for the manual setup you may find detailed tutorials on the Private Internet Access site):

OpenVPN connections can be secured with an AES-256 cipher, SHA256 hash authentication, and RSA-4096 handshake encryption. Thus, we can conclude that Private Internet Access uses a powerful encryption suite.

Advanced VPN protocols

Private Internet Access does not implement any of the more advanced VPN protocols like Stealth VPN, Double VPN, Softether, Tor over VPN. However, if you want to get more in terms of anonymity and privacy you use PIA and Tor at the same time.

P2P & torrent policy

Can you use PIA for torrenting? Private Internet Access allows P2P and torrent traffic on all their servers. However, if you connect to servers located in countries that have a strict no P2P/torrent policy the traffic will be routed through other servers via a VPN channel.

Private Internet Access is an excellent choice (not the only one – check other torrent VPN providers) for those interested in downloading torrents as:

• It offers KillSwitch and DNS leak protection.
• Servers provide good speed.
• It offers access to SOCKS5 proxies.
• You may connect to any server even if the location is not torrent-friendly.

Must read: Learn how to torrent safely!

PIA VPN review – VPN applications

Private Internet Access Windows app

Both Windows and macOS apps have similar structure and behavior. The user interface is simple and offers easy access to the available options.

From the main screen, you may log in, choose the desired location and turn on/off the following options: Start application at login, Auto-connect on the launch, Show desktop notifications. Strangely, you can not connect/disconnect from this screen, only by accessing the application menu from the icon tray.

From the Advanced Settings, you may choose the VPN protocol from OpenVPN UDP or OpenVPN TCP. Also, you have the option to select the remote port.

The other advanced settings of the PrivateInternetAccess Windows application are explained below:

• Request port forwarding: The port that is being used is shown when you hover over the PIA icon in the system tray area. It can be useful to set it up in applications.
• PIA MACE: A new feature of Private Internet Access that acts as a blocker for advertisement, malware, trackers, etc.
• VPN Kill Switch: It terminates the Internet connection if the VPN connection drops (more details below).
• IPv6 leak protection: This disables the use of IPv6 while connected to the VPN.
• Use small packets: You may want to use this option in case of often VPN disconnects.

Private Internet Access encryption options

The Windows and macOS apps allow you to choose the following encryption parameters:

• Data Encryption: Change the encryption level: AES-128, AES-256 or None.
• Data Authentication: Select the cryptographic hash: SHA-1, SHA-256 or None.
• Handshake: Encryption used to establish a secure connection with Private Internet Access servers. PIA uses TLS 1.2. The default is RSA-2048.

These options are great, and they offer a lot of alternatives for different usage scenarios. What to select? It depends on what you need.

Do you want maximum protection? Select AES-256, SHA-256, and RSA-4096.

Do you want all speed and no safety at all? Pick None, None and ECC-256k1.

The default recommendation is AES-128, SHA-1, and RSA-2048.

To sum up the PIA review regarding the Windows application: easy to use, nice features, excellent encryption options. However, I would like to see a Connect/Disconnect button in the main window.

Private Internet Access macOS app

The Private Internet Access MacOS application is simple, yet powerful as it exposes some advanced features.

Firstly, after install, you get to the main screen. Your username and password are already filled in. I’m not sure how I should feel about it: it’s a nice touch from the usability point of view, but it was kind of spooky to install the app for the first time and see that the account credentials were already there.

From the Region drop-down, you can select the location to connect to. You are not able to choose the server. The app will connect to the server that offers the best performance for the selected location. The Auto option connects to the closest server/location.

The Private Internet Access MacOS app uses the OpenVPN protocol to connect to the VPN servers. You may choose from the UDP or TCP connection types. Also, you can select the remote port. Thus, you have several alternatives in case some ports are blocked by your ISP or at school.

The other essential features that are present for the Windows application (Request port forwarding, PIA MACE, VPN Kill Switch, IPv6 leak protection, Use small packets, Data Encryption, Data Authentication, Handshake) are also implemented. Take a look above (to the Windows app presentation) for more details regarding each option.

To sum up, the Private Internet Access application works great, connects smoothly and offers excellent speed.

PrivateInternetAccess VPN Review – iOS app

The Private Internet Access iOS app is straightforward, and it does what it is supposed to do: connects your iPhone/iPad to a VPN server from the desired location.

From the home screen, you can turn the VPN on/off and select the desired location. If you choose Automatic, the app tries to find the server that provides you the optimal speed. It does not mean that the server will be from your country.

The Automatically reconnect option will try to get the VPN connection back in case of unwanted disconnects, and PIA MACE (replaced from version 2.5 by the Safari Content Blocker) blocks ads, malware, and other threats.

The Private Internet Access iOS mobile app uses the IPSec VPN and OpenVPN UDP protocols. You may also change the Remote port for OpenVPN to 1194, 8080, 9201 or 53.

In-app purchases are available if you don’t already have an account.

PrivateInternetAccess Review – Android app

The Private Internet Access Android app uses the OpenVPN protocol. It offers the same options explained above for the Windows app. It is important to mention the PIA MACE (blocks ads, trackers, and malware while you are connected to the PIA network) and Internet KillSwitch (ensure your internet always uses our VPN connection).

An exciting feature is an option to select apps that you want to let bypass the private VPN tunnel.

The Private Internet Access Android mobile app can also be downloaded as an apk file from the Private Internet Access Client Area.

PIA Review – Android TV app

The Private Internet Access app for Android TV can be downloaded as an apk file from the PIA site. If you are not able to install the APK, you may try to set up the OpenVPN connect app. Also, the latest updates bring support for FireOS.

Private Internet Access Review – Linux app

For Debian-based Linux (including Ubuntu), PIA recommends that you try running their Linux client software. Once the application is successfully installed, you should see a client icon in your system tray near the clock. The icon will appear to be a small, red robot icon if disconnected, and bright green if connected.

The application uses OpenVPN protocol, and the user interface is similar to those for the Windows and macOS operating systems.

Other devices (manual setup)

Private Internet Access offers access to a lot of tutorials that allow manual VPN setup for:

• Routers – OpenVPN setup on DD-WRT, Tomato, PfSense routers.
• PPTP, L2TP, and SOCKS protocols.
• Different devices like Raspberry PI, NAS Synology, Boxee Box, FreeBox Revolution.
  

Browser extensions and add-ons

By subscribing to the PrivateInternetAccess service you also get access to the PIA Chrome extension, Firefox addon, and Opera extension.

The Chrome extension is one of the best VPN/proxy extensions I used so far. It provides a lot of useful extra features.

The user interface is straightforward: select the desired location and turn the extension ON. The browser sets the proxy and connects to the server.

As mentioned above, the Private Internet Access Chrome extension also provides:

• WebRTC leak protection;
• Privacy options to block camera access, block microphone access, block location access, disable network prediction;
• Anti-tracking options by disabling third-party cookies, website referrer, hyperlink auditing and removing UTM parameters;
• Ad-blocking using PIA MACE module;
• Website bypass list to use the direct connection (no proxy). Thus, you may access your local Netflix channel and still have PIA extension activated for other websites. Import/export feature for the bypass list is available.

The PIA Firefox addon and the PIA Opera extension have been recently launched and have fewer functions, but they are still great to use. They include:

• Easy on/off switch
• WebRTC blocking
• Sort gateways by latency
• Website URL whitelist

Kill Switch

Kill Switch is a fail-safe mechanism that is a must for all VPN services. It cuts off the access of the computer to the Internet when the VPN connection drops accidentally.

Private Internet Access implements Internet KillSwitch (the Internet access is completely cut off in case of VPN disconnect until it is manually restored or the VPN reconnects) for the Windows, macOS, Linux and Android apps.

Unfortunately, the PIA KillSwitch does not work if you are connected to both Ethernet and Wifi:

Users who may be connected to two connections simultaneously (ex.: wired and wireless) should not use this feature, as it will only stop 1 active connection type.

DNS leak protection

Private Internet Access provides strong DNS leak protection. It can be enabled and disabled in the Windows application, while default on the macOS app enables it.

PrivateInternetAccess uses their private DNS servers (209.222.18.222 and 209.222.18.218) for the DNS queries while on the VPN. When using a DNS Leak testing site, you should expect to see your DNS requests originate from the IP of the VPN gateway you are connected to.

If you change your DNS servers manually or if for some other reason they are replaced this does not necessarily mean your DNS is leaking. Even if you use different DNS servers, the queries will still be routed through the VPN connection and will be anonymous.

Generally speaking, it is advisable to use DNS services that do not log your activities.

Proxy & SOCKS5

The Private Internet Access Chrome extension uses HTTP proxies, but they can not be used by manual setup.

The SOCKS5 proxies are extremely useful for those interested in torrenting. Most of the BitTorrent clients can be set up to use SOCKS5 proxies and, the advantage is that the downloads automatically stop if the SOCKS5 connection drops.

Private Internet Access provides SOCKS5 on the following server:

proxy-nl.privateinternetaccess.com port 1080

Simultaneous connections/devices

PIA applications can be installed on unlimited devices, but you may only connect from 5 devices simultaneously. It should be enough for a medium-sized family. If you need simultaneously connection simply create an additional account.

Free trial

Private Internet Access does not offer a free trial. However, you may subscribe to the service, test it for several days and ask for a refund if you are not satisfied. You may benefit from the 7-day money back guaranty.

Pricing

Private Internet Access is one of the most affordable VPN services on the market, and it offers excellent value for the money.

The monthly price is $6.95. If you are happy with the service (and you will probably be), you may go for the annual plan ($39.95) or the recently introduced bi-annual plan ($69.95).

Promos and discounts

Private Internet Access is already at a great price. Thus, there is no room for discounts. However, if you are looking for an exceptional offer go for the 2-year plan at $69.95.

Are you looking for a VPN deal? Here is a site that lists active VPN promotions. If you know other Private Internet Access promotions feel free to share them in the comments below.

Payment methods

You may pay for Private Internet Access services using many ways: credit cards, PayPal, Bitcoin, BitcoinCash, Amazon Pay, CashU, OKPay, Mint, Mobiano (Pay by mobile), Gift cards (including Starbucks, Walmart, Best Buy and over 100 more).

Moneyback

According to the Terms of Service, you may get a full refund during the first 7-day of your subscription:

If you are less than 100% satisfied with the PrivateInternetAccess VPN service, we will gladly refund your payment if the refund is requested within seven (7) days from the date of the purchase.

However, you should carefully read the money-back conditions presented on the page.

Support

The Private Internet Access team offers 24/7/365 ticket support. No live chat. Here is their explanation regarding the absence of live chat support:

We have found throughout our support years that we are able to provide more comprehensive, higher quality and better support through ticketing versus live chat.

Update: Starting from June 15, 2018, the support requests via the PIA forum are no longer available as the forum was discontinued.

PIA review – Performance/speed testing

The speed of your Internet connection while connected to a VPN server depends on factors like: the speed of your regular Internet connection (without VPN), the connection from your location to the VPN server, the load of the VPN server (the number of users on the server), the available bandwidth for the VPN server. Thus, some factors may NOT be related directly to the VPN service. It is something you need to take into consideration when measuring the performance of a VPN service.

To get an idea of the Private Internet Access connection speed, I had performed some tests for several use cases.

Firstly, I had tested my regular Internet connection and then compared it with the speed of the VPN connection when the PIA app was set to the maximum speed (no encryption). I connected to UK London, and the speed results were the followings:

Secondly, I have set the PIA app for the highest encryption (AES-256, SHA256, RSA-4096). Curiously, the speed seemed to be higher than for no encryption settings:

Lastly, I tried the connection to a US server from the East coast with regular encryption:

To sum up, I found the performance/speed of the Private Internet Access servers enjoyable, but not as good as presented in other reviews that I read where PIA is presented as the fastest VPN. However, the provided speed is enough for great browsing and good streaming.

Website

The PrivateInternetAccess site is precisely what should be: simple, informative, no unnecessary design elements. The checkout process is simple, and you instantly get access to the VPN service after payment.

User reviews

Private Internet Access reviews are collected on TrustPilot. The user reviews are mostly positive, and users are impressed with the PIA service. However, if you take a closer look, you may find some complaints about the support. As there is no live chat support, help requests take longer than expected. So, keep this potential problem in mind when you subscribe to PIA VPN.

Private Internet Access review – Pros – What I like about Private Internet Access

Private Internet Access service is excellent: simple and effective. Here are some of the things I love the most about Private Internet Access:

• Excellent price;
• Robust VPN service, excellent security with a lot of options, no logging;
• Friendly and straightforward VPN apps;
• Unlimited bandwidth;
• Good speed.

Private Internet Access VPN review – Cons – What could be improved

Several things could be improved:

• The support could be faster and more effective. You may read complaints about it on different forums;
• KillSwitch cannot be used if you are using both wired and wireless Internet connections;
• More server locations would be excellent;
• It does not work with Netflix.

PrivateInternetAccess review – Conclusion

It is the end of my extensive PIA VPN review. I tried to cover as many aspects as I could to present the Private Internet Access VPN service as accurate as possible. The conclusion is that Private Internet Access offers great value for the money, but you need to take into consideration that the support may be an unpleasant surprise.

What do you think of Private Internet Access? Have you tried it? What features should I add to this Private Internet Access VPN review? Would you recommend it? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below.

Important! ibVPN was acquired by StrongVPN and it has been shut down. We recommend switching to NordVPN.

I am using ibVPN (along with other Virtual Private Network services) for more than five years. There are many things to love about this VPN service that I consider one of the best. It offers excellent features, helpful apps, and fair pricing. Take a look below at my (ultimate) ibVPN review!

ibVPN review 2020 in a nutshell

Headquarters & jurisdiction

As stated on their website, ibVPN (aka InvisibleBrowsingVPN) operates from Romania, an East European country, a member of the European Union. Romania is not a member of the Fourteen Eyes group of nations that share intelligence to avoid breaking domestic laws. Also, it looks to be outside of the influence of NSA and GCHQ. However, as a member of the European Union, some retention laws may be implemented in the future. But, at this time, Romania seems to be the right place for running VPNs with no logs policy.

Log policy

ibVPN (InvisibleBrowsingVPN) is a no-log VPN provider, as stated in their privacy policy:

ibVPN does not collect or log any traffic or use of its Virtual Private Network service. We cannot relate any specific activity with any specific user. If any legal notices are forwarded to our legal department we will comply with that notice. However, we cannot be compelled to hand over information that we do not have.

GDPR compliance

ibVPN is one of the VPN providers that addressed the GDPR issue and communicated the measures taken to comply: Privacy Policy and Terms of Service updated, Data Privacy Notice added to the apps, consent required when a free trial account is created. Here is the Data Privacy Notice that is shown at the start of the ibVPN applications:

ibVPN is committed to respecting your right to personal privacy. The information provided by our users is kept with the utmost care, and would never be used in ways other than the ones permitted by them.

Please take a moment and read our Terms and Conditions and the Privacy Policy. We recently made changes to our service in order to be GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) compliant.

Data usage notice: when you are using this ibVPN application the following data is sent to our servers: your email address and your password in order to authenticate you. The communication with our servers is secured (HTTPS).

We do not collect other information about you or your online activities.

By clicking the Agree & Continue button you confirm that you understand the way this application uses your personal data.

Thank you for using ibVPN!

Servers & locations

ibVPN offers access to over 180 servers in 40+ countries (United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Netherlands, France, Switzerland, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Romania, Hungary, Serbia, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Ireland, Russia, Ukraine, Spain, Italy, Finland, Denmark, Poland, Slovenia, Estonia, Mexico, Brazil, Panama, Colombia, Argentina, Chile, Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand, Japan, South Korea, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, Turkey, India, South Africa, China, Vietnam, Lithuania). They are all available for the UltimateVPN package and lesser to the Standard VPN and Torrent VPN packages.

Dynamic & static IPs

Most of the servers have static IP addresses, only a few have dynamic IPs, namely: USA (Jacksonville), USA (Los Angeles 3), USA (Phoenix), USA (Denver 1), P2P – Netherlands (Utrecht), P2P – Netherlands (Amsterdam 3), P2P – Netherlands (Rotterdam), P2P – Netherlands (Amsterdam 2). You may find the complete list of static and dynamic IPs in the Client Area.

Dedicated IPs

ibVPN does not have dedicated IPs in the standard offer, but you may get a custom offer by opening a support ticket or contacting them on live chat. From my discussion with the customer support team, I understand that you can get the US, UK, or the Netherlands dedicated IP for about $10/month.

VPN protocols and security

A strong point of ibVPN is that it provides access to most of the available protocols: OpenVPN, IPSec, L2TP, PPTP, SSTP, StealthVPN, Softether. Thus, you may choose the one that suits you best. You may either set up the VPN connection manually or use the ibVPN applications. Take a look at the table below to see how you can use it (for the manual setup you may find detailed tutorials on the website site):

OpenVPN connections are secured with an AES-256 cipher, HMAC SHA384 hash authentication, and RSA-2048 handshake encryption. Perfect forward secrecy is provided with Diffie-Hellman Exchange (DHE) keys. Thus, we can conclude that ibVPN now uses a robust encryption suite.

Advanced VPN protocols

DoubleVPN and TorOverVPN are not precisely VPN protocols; they are instead a combination of settings to provide advanced features.

By connecting to DoubleVPN the Internet traffic is sent to the entry server, then sent to the second server (exit node). Thus, the traffic is encrypted and passed through two servers.

TorOverVPN uses VPN servers (Netherlands – tornl.ibvpn.com, Singapore – torsg.ibvpn.com, US – torus.ibvpn.com) to connect to the Tor network. They provide an extra anonymity layer, plus they allow you to access the .onion sites.

Both DoubleVPN and TorOverVPN can be accessed from apps for those subscribed to the Ultimate VPN package.

Update September 2018: ibVPN has released a new version of their Windows All-In-One application that exposes ShadowSocks as an alternative protocol. Specifically, the connection uses ShadowSocks and OpenVPN to bypass very restrictive firewalls.

P2P & torrent policy

Downloading torrents is allowed on specific servers located in the Netherlands, Canada, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Russia, Ukraine, and Hong Kong. They are marked with the “P2P” string in front of the name.

ibVPN is an excellent choice for those interested in torrenting and P2P downloading as:

• It offers KillSwitch and DNS leak protection.
• It provides a particular package (TorrentVPN) that is cheaper, and it gives access only to P2P-friendly servers.
• It offers access to SOCKS5 proxies.
• Fastest P2P server selection helps users to connect to the fastest P2P connections available.

Must read: Learn how to torrent safely! Also, check other torrent-friendly VPN services! Is VPN usage legal for torrenting?

InvisibleBrowsingVPN review – VPN applications

ibVPN Windows app

I already presented the ibVPN Windows app in detail in a previous post, but I will also list here its main features. The All-In-OneVPN application is quite complex, with a lot of options. At the same time, it can easily be used by those using the secure tunnel for the first time.

From the Dashboard, you may easily Connect/Disconnect to a server, turn the KillSwitch on/off or turn ibDNS on/off. Also, you see the latest connection log entries (the status of the connection). The speedometer shows the ibVPN download and the upload speed while connected to the secure tunnel. Thus, there is no need to test the connection speed every time you want to check the quality of the server.

By default, the Location is set to Fastest Server and Protocol to Automatic. To Connect the app tries to find the server that can provide you the fastest VPN connection. It usually selects a server close to your location. The Automatic protocol chooses a VPN protocol appropriate for your connection. As far as I was able to observe, the app goes to IPSec, OpenVPN-UDP, or OpenVPN-TCP.

Connection Wizard

A recently introduced feature of the Windows app is the Connection Wizard. It allows you to select pre-defined settings for specific use-cases. At the time I tested the app, the following options were available:

• Setup the fastest connection
• US streaming
• UK streaming
• Torrenting and P2P File Sharing
• Bypass China Great Firewall

After selecting one of the options, the proposed settings are shown (KillSwitch, Auto-connect, Firewall, FastestServer, Protocol) and you may apply them or continue with your manual settings.

The Windows app has a lot of features for increasing privacy and security:

• IPv6 leak protection
• DNS leak protection
• WebRTC leak protection
• Adblocking
• KillSwitch (Internet / Applications)
• Auto-reconnect on disconnect

To sum up the ibVPN review regarding the Windows application: easy to use, great features, nice privacy options, but it could be more stable.

ibVPN macOS apps

ibVPN has two MacOS applications, one that is listed in MacOS App Store and the other one that can be downloaded from the website. The main difference between the two apps is that the store app does not include the KillSwitch feature (it requires admin rights on your computer).

ibVPN OneClick for MacOS (App Store version) is a straightforward application that connects/disconnects to/from a certain server from the list.

There are several options in the server list that make the selection easier: you may choose from FastestServer, FastestUSServer, FastestUKServer, FastestEUServer, FastestAsianServer, FastestSouthAmericaServer, or FastestP2PServer. Also, you may search for a specific location or a channel you would like to unblock.

A handy feature: you may select several servers as favorites and then use the Fastest Favourite option. The app will connect to the fastest one from your preferences.

The available protocols for the macOS apps are IPSec, IKEv2, and OpenVPN.

Another option available is the VPN OnDemand. When this option is activated, the secure tunnel is turned ON as soon as your device connects to the Internet.

When you firstly download ibVPN OneClick app from the Mac Store, you may create a 24-h trial account. Further, you may subscribe from within the app to UltimateVPN, the full-featured package, for $10.99/month or $59.99/year.

ibVPN All-In-One for macOS (it can be downloaded from the Client Area) looks very similar to the OneClick app. The only extra feature is the Application Kill Switch. It automatically closes selected apps in the case of disconnects.

ibVPN iOS app

The ibVPN iOS app exposes the same easy to use interface as the macOS apps: select the desired location and connect/disconnect.

The FastestServer, FastestUSServer, FastestUKServer, FastestEUServer, FastestAsianServer, FastestSouthAmericaServer are available. Also, you may select several servers as favorites and then use the Fastest Favourite option. The app will connect to the fastest one from your preferences.

The available protocols for the iOS app are IKEv2, IPSec, and OpenVPN.

An interesting and useful option is the Auto-secure Connection. It automatically turns on the secure tunnel when the device connects to untrusted Wifi networks. The list of Trusted Networks needs to be defined. You may enter your home and your office networks, for example.

When you firstly download the ibVPN iOS app, you may create a 24-h trial account. Further, you may subscribe to premium packages directly from the app. A special package (iOS VPN) is available for $1.99/month or $14.99/year. Also, you may subscribe to the full-featured package for $10.99/month or $59.99/year.

ibVPN Android app

The ibVPN Android app (it requires Android 4.0.3 or up) uses the OpenVPN protocol, and you may switch between OpenVPN-TCP (default) and OpenVPN-UDP. The default port is 1197, but you may choose another one from the 55,000-65,000 range.

When selecting a location, you may choose a specific server or go for the Fastest options: FastestServer, Fastest US Server, FastestUKServer, FastestEUServer, FastestAsianServer, FastestSouthAmericaServer or Fastest Favourite (you need to first choose several servers as favorites).

The Android can also be downloaded as an apk file from the Client Area.

ibVPN Android TV app

The Android app also works on Android TV devices. The simple user interface is a perfect match for the TVs running Android. You may download it directly on your TV from the Android Play Store.

Other devices (manual setup)

The service offers access to a lot of tutorials that allow manual VPN setup (PPTP, L2TP, OpenVPN, SoftetherVPN) on different devices like DD-WRT routers, Sabai routers, Tomato USB routers, Raspberry PI, NAS Synology, Boxee Box, FreeBox Revolution.

Browser extensions and add-ons

If you use ibVPN only for changing your IP address for your browser (unblock sites, access forums, bypass Chatroulette ban) then you may use the browser extensions. It is essential to understand that a browser extension does not set up a Virtual Private Network connection, it sets up a proxy.

ibVPN provides access to browser extensions for Chrome, Opera, and Firefox (it works for Firefox 57+ as well).

Again, the user interface is straightforward: select the desired location and turn the extension “ON.” The browser sets the proxy and connects it to the server. Also, you may switch to the Country tab and select a country for your location. It will connect to a proxy located in the desired country.

The latest versions of ibVPN extensions (v2.2.0+) provide WebRTC leak protection (you may enable/disable WebRTC functions) and the Bypass list. Requests made to websites found on the Bypass list use a direct connection that is not protected by the Virtual Private Network.

An exciting feature of the extensions (that I discovered recently) is the Guest Mode. You may use the extensions without login and access servers located in the Netherlands, United States, United Kingdom, and Singapore. It is free to use, but it disconnects every 10 minutes, probably to prevents abuses.

Recently, I have discovered that the ibVPN extensions cab be turned on and off using keyboard shortcuts. It is convenient when you need to change the IP address for specific sites.

Kill Switch

Kill Switch is a fail-safe mechanism that is a must for all VPNs. It cuts off the access of the computer to the Internet when the connection drops accidentally.

Generally speaking, there are two Kill Switch implementations possible: application KillSwitch (selected applications, like BitTorrent clients, are closed in case of disconnect) and Internet KillSwitch (the Internet access is completely cut off in case of disconnect until it is manually restored or the VPN reconnects). Application KillSwitch may be more convenient as it does not completely close the access to the Internet, but Internet KillSwitch is safer.

InvisibleBrowsingVPN implements the KillSwitch feature for the All-In-One Windows and macOS apps. The All-In-One Windows app offers both Internet and application KillSwitch, while the All-In-One macOS app-only Application KillSwitch. As far as I was able to test they work well.

DNS leak protection

ibVPN provides strong DNS leak protection with the following options: use their DNS servers while connected to the VPN and filter the DNS requests using the firewall, to avoid DNS leaks while connected to the encrypted tunnel.

Generally speaking, it is advisable to use DNS services that do not log your activities.

Automatically change IP

A useful feature for those obsessed with online anonymity or for online marketers is the automatic shift IP feature: go to Servers, select the desired server locations as Favourites and click on Rotating Favourites. Next, click Connect. The app will change your IP every several minutes (you may choose the time interval from the Settings tab from predefined values: 5, 10, 15, 30, 60 minutes).

I recommend you also to turn KillSwitch (Internet KillSwitch) ON, as the IP switch requires 5-30 seconds to complete.

Proxy & SOCKS5

ibVPN is more than a VPN provider as it also offers other anonymizing services. By subscribing to the UltimateVPN plan, you even get access to proxies that you can use to manually set up your browsers (Chrome proxy, Opera proxy, Firefox proxy, Edge proxy) or you may use in proxy in proxy switcher apps, like EliteProxySwitcher. The browser extensions use the same proxies.

SOCKS5 is extremely useful for those interested in torrenting. Most of the BitTorrent clients can be set up to use SOCKS5 proxies and, the advantage is that the downloads automatically stop if the SOCKS5 connection drops. InvisibleBrowsingVPN provides SOCKS5 proxies on the P2P servers and locations.

ibVPN review – SmartDNS

ibDNS is the SmartDNS solution from ibVPN. It is essential to understand that Smart DNS is not a VPN. It only can be used to access/unblock specific online streaming channels. SmartDNS does NOT change your IP address, nor does it provide any security or anonymity.

The Smart DNS solution unblocks over 300 channels from all over the World (United States, Canada, Australia, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Netherlands, Spain, Ireland, Denmark, Switzerland, Finland, Sweden, Italy, Romania, Poland, Egypt, India, Brazil). A complete list can be found in the Client Area.

ibDNS/SmartDNS is available for the UltimateVPN and ibDNS packages (see the Pricing).

ibDNS can be set up automatically from the Windows app or manually on the following devices and operating systems: Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7/Vista, Windows XP, macOS, Linux, iPhone/iPad, Android, Kindle Fire, DD-WRT, Boxee Box, Chrome cast, Apple TV, LG Smart TV, Sony Smart TV, Samsung Smart TV, LG WebOS Smart TV, PS 4, PlayStation 3, PS Vita, Xbox 360, Xbox One. On iOS, ibVPN provides a helper app to set up the ibDNS servers.

Simultaneous connections/devices

The UltimateVPN package (see Pricing) offers access to 5 simultaneous connections, meaning that you can connect from 5 different devices at the same time. You may install InvisibleBrowsingVPN on how many devices you want, but you can only connect to their apps from 5 devices.

The Standard VPN and Torrent VPN have only one concurrent connection. If you need more, you may opt-in for the Family VPN packages (7 devices) or the Small Business packages (up to 200 connections).

Free trial

The VPN free trial is available for those interested in testing the service before subscribing. The available trial is for 24 hours from the time the account is created. It is full-featured (equivalent to the Ultimate VPN package). If you need more time to test, you may contact the customer service, and they will extend it manually.

Pricing

ibVPN is one of the few top VPN providers that still promote a pricing structure based on packages. Every package encloses a set of features suitable for specific scenarios. Take a look below at the available packages and the pricing:

What package to choose? For using a VPN on one device at a time (one connection), go for the StandardVPN. It is a good deal. If you need it for downloading torrents, choose the TorrentVPN package. For online streaming go for the ibDNS package. The UltimateVPN is the most complete and, probably, the best pick.

Promos and discounts

I am an ibVPN client for more than five years, and I noticed some patterns in their marketing strategy. Thus, if you are waiting for a good deal for the packages listed below here are the main discount campaigns:

• Anniversary Promo – the end of January – 50% off everything.
• Summer Promo – during the Summer months – 50% off to the StandardVPN.
• Black Friday/Cyber Monday – last Friday from November – various discounts.
• Winter promo – from the middle of December to the beginning of January – different discounts and multi-annual plans.

Are you looking for a VPN deal? Here is a site that lists active promotions. If you know other promotions feel free to share them in the comments below.

Payment methods

You may pay for ibVPN services using many ways: credit cards, PayPal, Bitcoin, other cryptocurrencies (Litecoin, Blackcoin, Dogecoin, Ripple), Perfect Money, OKPay, OOOPay, Payza, Webmoney, Credit cards, SMS, iDeal, AliPay, Qiwi Wallet, Openbucks, MOL.

Moneyback

15 days money back plus the 24-hour trial shows that ibVPN is confident in the quality of their service. Even if you have tried the service, you may ask for a refund after subscribing.

Support

ibVPN offers 24/7 live chat and ticket support. My experience with customer service was always excellent, both on sales and tech issues. They are very friendly and try to find solutions for every reported problem. The only point I noted is that the chat support is not live 24/7. Sometimes it goes offline for several hours.

Invisible Browsing VPN review – Performance/speed testing

It is essential to understand that the speed of your Internet connection while connected to a server depends on factors like the speed of your regular Internet connection (without VPN), the connection from your location to the VPN server, the policy of your ISP (some may block or slow down VPN connections), the load of the VPN server (the number of users sharing the location), the available bandwidth. Thus, some factors may NOT be related directly to the service.

Back to my study: I have performed some speed tests to see how the service behaves for some specific settings.

Firstly, I have tested my regular Internet connection and then compared it with the speed of the connection (the test was performed using the Windows app, Setting the fastest connection from the Connection Wizard). I got connected to the Czech Republic, and the speed results were the followings:

Secondly, I selected a US server (for streaming). It worth mentioning that I am located in Europe.

Thirdly, I was curious to see the speed for the recommended P2P server and settings:

To sum up, I found the performance/speed of the ibVPN servers enjoyable, but it depends on the servers, locations, and chosen settings.

Website

The ibVPN site looks fresh and provides a lot of information and tutorials.

User reviews

Before subscribing to any VPN service, it is advisable to look for real user reviews. ibVPN has a lot of such reviews on their site. As far as I can tell, they look real, but you could never know. They may be filtered and the “bad ones” may not be shown. You may also find several ibVPN user reviews on TrustPilot and other ibVPN review sites.

ibVPN Pros – What I like about ibVPN

I have to say that I am a fan of the ibVPN service and I am recommending it when I have the chance. Here are some of the things I like the most about ibVPN:

• Robust VPN service, good security, no logging
• Fair pricing, great discounts during promotions.
• Great VPN apps.
• Lots of great features like Fastest server option, Double VPN, Tor Over VPN, SOCKS5, etc.
• It includes access to ibDNS / SmartDNS.
• The support team is excellent. Every time the ibVPN team made me feel like an important client and I wrote the InvisibleBrowsingVPN review having this in mind.
• It works with Netflix and BBC iPlayer.

ibVPN Cons – What could be improved

There is not much I can say bad about ibVPN. I would like to see more servers (including backups) in specific locations like the East European countries and Asia. Also, it would be nice to see a page with the live server status.

ibVPN review 2020 – Conclusion

This is my extensive ibVPN review. It is long, but not exhaustive, and, there is probably more to say about ibVPN. The conclusion is that ibVPN is a top VPN provider and you should consider it as your VPN solution.

What do you think of ibVPN? Have you tried it? What features should I add to this ibVPN Ultimate VPN review? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below.

You probably heard about Firefox 57, the complete rebuilt version of the popular browser. Some of the existing VPN and proxy add-ons are no longer available. This post lists 3 (I wish I could find more) free Firefox VPN/proxy addons that still work on Firefox 57 (and newer versions).

How is Firefox 57 different?

Firefox 57 (aka Quantum) was launched on the 14th of November 2017, and it was presented to be twice faster and more memory efficient. It represents the result of years of development from the Mozilla team that tried to fix most of Firefox’s previous problems, such as speed and frequent crashes.

Unfortunately,  the new Firefox architecture comes with a price. The WebExtensions API that is now the backbone for all Firefox addons is not backward compatible. Thus, some of the older addons for Firefox no longer work on Firefox 57.

What is a Firefox VPN addon?

A VPN (Virtual Private Network) or a proxy is a solution that changes your public/visible IP address while browsing the Internet. Thus, your browsing data is secured, you are protected against some types of cyberattacks, you are able to safely access the Internet, and you can access blocked websites.

As we explained in another post, the term VPN is not accurate for browser add-ons or extensions. But, as it is largely used I will continue calling them Mozilla Firefox VPN/Proxy add-ons.

Free Firefox VPN/Proxy add-ons for Firefox 57 

During the last days, I have tested several Firefox VPN/proxy add-ons to identify those that are compatible with Firefox 57. Unfortunately, I was only able to identify three such add-ons that are free or at least expose an open mode, without signup. Read my findings below.

Hotspot Shield VPN Free Proxy

Hotspot Shield Firefox VPN addon is precisely the same as the Chrome extension, and it works like a charm on Firefox 57. It comes with unlimited bandwidth, a lot of extra, security and privacy-related options, like ad-blocker, tracker blocker, and cookies blocker. The default server selection is “Optimal,” but you may switch to manual and pick one of the following countries: Canada, Chile, Sweden, Netherlands, Spain, Czech Republic, Turkey, Russia, India, Germany, and Singapore. Click to connect in seconds.

ibVPN – Best VPN & Proxy

ibVPN Firefox VPN extension is a pleasant surprise. I use their Windows app on a regular basis and I find it extraordinary useful, even though the user interface is not as lovely as it could be. The so-called Guest Mode of the add-on allows you to enter without signup and connect to servers located in the United States, Netherlands, Germany, and Singapore.

Browsec VPN

Similarly to the ibVPN addon, Browsec has a free mode and a premium model. The free mode offers access to four locations: Netherlands, Singapore, the United States, and the United Kingdom. The interface is nice and friendly!

Which free Firefox VPN addon should you use?

It depends on what you need.

• If you are concerned about your private data, I recommend using ibVPN or Browsec. There were some privacy concerns about Hotspot Shield in the past.
• If you need to unblock Netflix or other online streaming channels try HotspotShield.
• If you need to change your IP to multiple locations, then install HotspotShield or subscribe to the premium ibVPN or Browsec services.

Premium Firefox proxy extensions

Are you not happy with the free browser extensions? You may go to their premium plans or choose others like Private Internet Access or ZenMate. They all offer primarily the same functionality. However, the locations may differ and also the connection speed.

Bonus: Tips to browse anonymously on Firefox

What exactly browse anonymously means? The term refers to the fact that visited sites cannot identify you using your IP address or by using other tracking methods (like cookies).

Thus, here is what you need to do for anonymously browsing:

• hide your IP address.
• regularly delete cookies, cache and browsing history.
• block ads.

What do you think?

What do you think of Firefox 57? Do you use free Firefox VPN addons? Which one is your favorite? Are they still available for Firefox 57? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Raspberry PI is a wonderful device: so simple, yet so powerful and useful. As a regular VPN user, you will probably want to set up a VPN connection on your Rasp as well. The process is not trivial, but it can be done without much hassle. Learn how to set up a Raspberry PI VPN.

What is Raspberry Pi?

As you probably know, the Raspberry Pi is a tiny computer that was built to promote the teaching of basic computer science in schools and developing countries. Since its launch in 2015, it becomes very popular (more than 12M units sold so far) due to its cost (between $5 and $35), its simplicity and versatility. Raspberry Pi is now the preferred tool for hobbyists, students, and even hackers.

What can you do with a Raspberry Pi?

Well, you may use it in any project that involves a small computational unit. You may even use it as a desktop PC.

Are you new to Raspberry Pi? Here are two articles that may give you an idea of what to do next: MakeUseOf – Raspberry Pi Projects for Beginners and LifeHacker – Top 10 Raspberry PI Projects for Beginners.

What is RaspberryPI VPN and why would you need one?

If you are using your Raspberry PI as a desktop computer, then you may need VPNs (Virtual Private Networks) to: secure your Internet connection, protect yourself from hackers or unblock restricted websites.

As expected, due to hardware and software restrictions, you may NOT use a Raspberry Pi VPN in the same way you use a VPN on a regular desktop or laptop.

How to configure the VPN on Raspberry Pi?

This article covers the way you set up a VPN connection on a RaspberryPI, not the way you install a VPN server on your Raspberry PI device. If you are interested in using your device as a VPN server here are some useful article:

• How to install a PPTP VPN server on a Raspberry Pi
• How to set up an L2TP/IPsec VPN with SoftEther VPN on a Raspberry Pi

Configure OpenVPN

This tutorial will show you how you can set up a VPN secure connection from your Raspberry PI using OpenVPN, assuming that you run Raspbian O/S on it. Before you begin, you need to get an OpenVPN config file from your VPN provider (if you don’t have a subscription yet, take a look at the bottom of the article).

STEP 1. Get your current package list updated:

sudo apt-get update

STEP 2. Install the OpenVPN package:

sudo apt-get install openvpn

STEP 3. Download the OpenVPN config files and then copy them to the pi (via scp or FTP), then unzip them into /etc/openvpn

sudo mv ####_linux.tar.gz /etc/openvpn

sudo tar -xf ####_linux.tar.gz

cd /etc/openvpn

STEP 4. Make the script executable

sudo chmod +x /etc/openvpn/update-resolv-conf

STEP 5. Use the following command to get connected (replace config file – ovpn file – with one of the VPN server you want to connect to). Depending on the config files, you may be asked for the credentials (username/password).

sudo openvpn –daemon –cd /etc/openvpn –config openvpn_config_file.ovpn

STEP 6. To disconnect run:

killall -9 openvpn

Raspberry PI VPN providers

To set up a Raspberry PI VPN connection, you need an active subscription to a VPN service (if you don’t have a VPN server of your own). Most of the top VPN providers offer access to OpenVPN server configs that you may use with the above set of instructions. Some of them also expose batch files that can be quickly executed. Take a look below at the recommended VPN services to be used on your RaspberryPI and their RaspberryPI VPN tutorials.

After you set up the VPN, don’t forget to check your visible IP address on XMyIP or other IP locator website.

Conclusion

To sum up, you may set up a VPN connection on your Raspberry PI without much hassle. You may go either with OpenVPN step-by-step setup or use the following the tutorials of the above-listed VPN providers. Enjoy!

Did you set up your Rasberry PI VPN? What do you use it for? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Important! ibVPN was acquired by StrongVPN and it has been shut down. We recommend switching to NordVPN.

This post presents seven ibVPN alternatives for accessing the Internet in privacy and anonymity. If you know other good VPN providers, please share them in the comments.

ibVPN is one of the top VPN providers available on the market (make sure you read my complete ibVPN review). It offers a lot of nice features for an accessible price. Here is what I appreciate the most to ibVPN:

• The Windows app that is not the most beautiful, but well organized and includes useful features like Kill Switch, ibDNS (ideal for unblocking restricted websites) and DNS leak protection / WebRTC leak protection.
• The Mac OS app is simple, straightforward and available in the App Store.
• The DoubleVPN that provides double encryption.
• The TorOverVPN that can be used to access .onion sites.
• The Stealth VPN protocol and SoftEther VPN protocol to bypass advanced filters.
• The SOCKS5 for easy P2P/torrent downloads. Also, the Torrent VPN package offers access to exclusive VPN servers.
• The Chrome, Firefox and Opera browser extensions.
• The price. It is an affordable VPN service, with several VPN plans: Ultimate VPN, Standard VPN, Torrent VPN, SmartDNS packages.

Why would you look for alternatives to ibVPN?

You may have your reasons to leave ibVPN or look for VPN (Virtual Private Networks) alternatives. For example, you may not be happy with the connection speed while using the ibVPN servers or you need specific locations that are not offered by ibVPN.

How to look for alternatives?

Firstly, you should analyze your experience with ibVPN and make your mind on what you need. Do you need faster connection speed? Is the price an issue? If so, you may try other VPN providers.

Secondly, take a look at the list below or search Google. You will find plenty of ibVPN alternatives. Do not jump to the first one that looks good! Take your time and look for user reviews and reviews written by bloggers. These will help you make an informed choice.

7 ibVPN alternatives – Top VPN providers

If you are looking for ibVPN alternatives to protect your online activities, take a look at the ones I have selected below. They all offer an extended number of server locations, excellent support, money back guarantee, fast servers, unlimited bandwidth, strong encryption, more than 5 simultaneous connections, and good connection speed. 

Additional tips

ibVPN provides a friendly service for a reasonable price. When switching to an alternative provider, it may happen that you are not happy. Or maybe, you are not pleased with the support or connection speed.

To prevent any hassle, my advice is to create a subscription for the smallest period available (one or 3 months). Thus, you will be able to thoroughly test the alternative service before committing to a more extended billing agreement.

Please share your experience ibVPN and its alternatives in the comments below. What service do you use to hide your IP address?

What is Ripple?

Ripple (XRP) is a payment system that can be easily used to transfer any currency around the world. Created by Ripple Labs Inc, Ripple network consists of payment nodes on a distributed global network, and gateways operated by websites or stores. Payments are made using IOUs based relationships.

Released in 2012, Ripple is seen as a Bitcoin alternative as it provides secure and instant transactions of any size with no chargebacks. The Ripple protocol has been increasingly adopted by banks (UniCredit, UBS or Santander) and payment networks as settlement infrastructure technology.

You may find more info about Ripple by watching the video presentation on the Ripple site.

What are the most important features of Ripple?

Ripple payments are secure and instant, but there are a lot of other exciting features you should know about:

• It uses no blockchain technology and no mining.
• It has no hard limit on the number of transactions per second.
• The transactions can be completely confirmed within seconds rather than hours.
• It is a “greener” cryptocurrency as no computational need for transaction confirmations.
• It works for any currency, including Bitcoin, USD, and EUR.

But Ripple’s major disadvantage to Bitcoin is that all the Ripple credits were held by their originator, OpenCoin Inc. In contrast, bitcoins were all originally hidden and they are discovered regularly by mining, a process open to anyone interested.

How to get Ripple (XRP)?

According to the Ripple docs, there are two ways to get XRP:

• Receive XRP to your XRP wallet from an exiting Ripple user.
• Use a gateway to exchange your non-XRP digital currency into XRP or your may buy Ripple. Some of the most popular portals are Bitstamp, Ripple Fox, and Gatehub.

And, if you want to create your own funded Ripple account, follow these steps described here.

How to pay a VPN with Ripple?

The payment with Riddle is similar to Bitcoin payments. You need to either send a payment directly to certain Ripple address or use a wallet application. Further, the transactions are instantly confirmed and the VPN account is activated.

Ripple VPN providers

At this time there are only a few VPN providers that accept Ripple VPN payments.

PrivateInternetAccess is a top VPN provider (read our complete PIA review). You need to simply go to PIA site, select the billing plan (monthly, semi-annually, annually) and select Ripple option. The email address is mandatory for the account creation. Next, a window with a Ripple address is shown. You may now proceed with the payment. Finally, as the payments are confirmed within seconds, your new VPN account is instantly activated.

Another excellent VPN service that accepts Ripple coins is PureVPN. The orders can be placed via CoinPayment.net platform. You may opt-in for other crypto-currencies as well, like Bitcoin, LiteCoin, BlackCoin and many more.

ibVPN (read our review here) offers a similar way to pay with Ripple, via CoinPayments. The VPN accounts are instantly activated.

Conclusion

Therefore, Ripple looks like an interesting alternative to Bitcoin as an online currency. The main advantage that I see is that the transactions are instantly confirmed. However, Ripple is still not widely accepted by VPN providers. Hopefully, this will change in the future.

Do you know other VPN providers that accept Ripple? Let us know in the comments below.

This post briefly explains what WebRTC is and why you should be aware of the WebRTC leak. Also, it presents how to fix the problem.

What is WebRTC?

WebRTC (Web Real-Time Communication) provides RTC (Real-Time Communications) capabilities to browsers and mobile applications. WebRTC APIs use Javascript to enable peer-to-peer audio, video, and data sharing web applications, running in browsers without any external plugins.

At this time, WebRTC is supported by the following browsers, and it is enabled by default:

• Desktop PC – Google Chrome 23+, Mozilla Firefox 22+. Opera 18+, Microsoft Edge 12+.
• Android – Google Chrome 28+, Mozilla Firefox 24+. Opera Mobile 12+.
• Chrome OS.
• Firefox OS.

What is WebRTC leak?

In January 2015, TorrentFreak reported that users were facing a massive security flaw as websites can easily see their real and local IP-addresses through WebRTC.

More than that WebRTC can be tricked into revealing your real IP address, even if you are connected to VPN! It is called WebRTC leak (a.k.a. WebRTC IP leak, WebRTC flaw, or WebRTC vulnerability), and it is seen as a critical security hole.

If you are interested in more technical details, here is how WebRTC may reveal your IP address. WebRTC relies on Javascript, and a website can insert some Javascript code to send a UDP packet to a STUN Server (Session Traversal Utilities for NAT). That server sends merely back a package containing the IP address from which the request originated. It is simple to implement as Firefox provides a default STUN server that can also be used with Google Chrome.

How to check if you are exposed: WebRTC leak test

Don’t panic! It is simple to detect if your browser may leak your IP address through WebRTC and it is also simple to fix the problem.

Go to a leak checker or IP checker site that performs a WebRTC leak test, like IPLeak.net (it also performs a DNS leak test) or XMyIP WebRTC test.

• If you are not connected to VPN, and you see your local IP and the visible IP then the WebRTC is enabled and you may be exposed to the WebRTC leak.
• Are you connected to a VPN? If you see your public IP address (provided by the ISP), it means that your VPN does not correctly handle the leak. If you see the IP of the VPN server, then you are safe.

How to block WebRTC leaks

The simplest way to fix the WebRTC leak is by disabling WebRTC from Firefox and Chrome and prevent IP from being seen. Thus, you will not rely on your VPN to handle the WebRTC leak.

Disable WebRTC in Mozilla Firefox:

In Firefox you may stop WebRTC by changing the browser settings. In the address bar enter about:config. Next, find media.peerconnection.enabled. Set the value to false and check again!

Further, according to this Reddit thread, there are additional settings you may set:

• media.peerconnection.enabled;false // VPN cannot bypassed anymore
• media.peerconnection.turn.disable;true // makes sure WebRTC is really disabled
• media.peerconnection.use_document_iceservers;false // makes sure WebRTC is disabled
• media.peerconnection.video.enabled;false // makes sure WebRTC is really disabled
• media.peerconnection.identity.timeout;1 // makes sure WebRTC is disabled

Disable WebRTC in Google Chrome:

In Google Chrome, for blocking WebRTC you need to install the WebRTC Network Limiter Chrome extension and select the Disable non-proxied UDP (force proxy) option.

Disable WebRTC in Opera:

In Opera, to implement the WebRTC block you need to install the WebRTC Network Limiter Opera extension and select the Disable non-proxied UDP (force proxy) option. It will prevent the WebRTC IP leaking problem.

Disable WebRTC on Android for Chrome users:

In the address bar, enter the Chrome browser: chrome://flags/#disable-webrtc. It sets the value of enable.

After you disable the WebRTC and reload IPLeak.net you should see the “No leak” message:

Are there VPN services that offer protection against WebRTC leaks?

Yes, there are. Such VPN providers route the WebRTC STUN requests through their servers. Thus, even though the WebRTC is enabled in the browsers, the security flaw is handled by the VPN server.

Here are several VPN services that I have tested and seemed to handle the leak properly (including other possible leaks like DNS leak or IPv6 leak):

• ibVPN – According to the latest ibVPN news, it prevents WebRTC leaks for all VPN apps (Windows, Mac OS, Android, iOS) and web browser extensions.
• HideMyAss
• NordVPN
• ExpressVPN

Conclusion

To sum up, WebRTC is a great tool that enriches web applications, but it encapsulates a security flaw that may expose your real IP address (resulting in IP address leaks) even when connected to a VPN.

The fix for the WebRTC vulnerability is simple, and you should use it if you are concerned about your online privacy and security. Also, check the list of VPNs that correctly handle the leak.

What do you think about WebRTC leak? Do you disable WebRTC while connected to a VPN? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below.

Recommended read: How to check if your VPN is working and how to test it for data leaks.