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Score: Switzerland based VyprVPN is a well-established VPN provider that has always invested heavily in its technology. From a verified zero logging policy and a friendly, feature rich, multi-platform client to hundreds of speedy self-managed servers and support for many popular streaming services, VyprVPN delivers on just about every front. |
Pros
- Verified no logging for complete privacy
- Excellent selection of protocols and encryption settings
- Hundreds of servers with great location diversity
- Intuitive, easy to use multi-platform client
- Unblocks Netflix, BBC iPlayer, and others
- Allows P2P and torrent traffic
- Hosts own servers (no 3rd parties)
Cons
- No way to pay anonymously
- VPN obfuscation not available on the Basic plan
VyprVPN is an established and well-known provider that has been around since 2009. Many of us would have, however, passed on their service over the years for one simple reason: they kept connection logs.
At the end of last year, VyprVPN announced that they were turning over a new leaf. They were now becoming a no-log VPN.
At the same time, they also started upgrading their infrastructure to improve server performance and introduced what should have been positive changes to customer support.
All three undertakings were big, to say the least, and more than warrant a fresh look at VyprVPN’s offering.
To that end, in this VyprVPN review we’ll dig into how well the service now works, walk over its major features, and, most importantly, decide if it’s worth paying for.
VyprVPN Overview
As mentioned above, VyprVPN has been around for a long time – by VPN industry standards at least. It was established in 2009 by internet privacy firm Golden Frog.
Located in Switzerland, VyprVPN operates out of a very privacy-friendly jurisdiction.
If you combine that with the company’s new no-logging policy and infrastructure upgrades, you have the potential for a secure, private, all-purpose VPN.
So, so far, we’re off to a good start.
Features
When it comes to features, VyprVPN offers a good mix that puts it among the top VPN providers in the industry.
It’s not perfect. No VPN I have ever reviewed has yet to achieve that. But, there aren’t many areas that anyone will find seriously lacking.
Kill Switch
A kill switch is a feature any VPN worth its salt should implement and here, VyprVPN does not disappoint. Mostly.
Why mostly? Because the feature, while available on Windows, macOS, and Android, is a glaring omission on iOS devices.
When the kill switch is enabled – and in this case it is not by default – it cuts off all device internet access if the VPN connection is interrupted. Its purpose is to ensure there are no accidental data or IP address leaks when there’s network trouble.
In the case of iOS, you instead get an auto-reconnect feature, which should theoretically get your VPN back up and running within milliseconds if the connection drops.
But, that still leaves a tiny window for leaks to occur, so a proper kill switch it is not.
DNS Leak Protection
VyprVPN prevents DNS leaks – which could be used to track which websites you visit – by using DNS servers they wholly-own and operate.
This feature is enabled by default.
You have the option of specifying your own DNS servers in the client settings if you so desire. But, in the vast majority of cases, that is not necessary.
For the record, VyprVPN’s DNS servers follow the same strict no-logging policy as their regular servers. That’s a good thing.
No Leased Servers
Very few VPNs own their hardware. Most lease servers from various data centers around the globe.
That is not the case with VyprVPN. They’re one of the rare providers that own their entire network.
Server ownership means no third parties can easily gain access to the infrastructure. That is a major privacy advantage VyprVPN has over most competitors.
Chameleon Protocol
To help you foil network restrictions and government censorship, VyprVPN built a custom VPN protocol called Chameleon.
What sets Chameleon apart from mainstream protocols like OpenVPN is that it scrambles packet metadata.
That means your VPN connection can pass through most firewalls undetected. This includes barriers that utilize deep packet inspection to prevent VPN use.
And it works remarkably well.
Chameleon is available on every platform except for iOS. It also requires a premium subscription to access.
Does VyprVPN Work in China?
When using the Chameleon protocol, VyprVPN works even if you’re behind China’s great firewall. It’s an impressive feat considering the lengths the government there goes to prevent VPN use.
So far, Chameleon has had great success in resisting all efforts to detect, and VyprVPN continues to make changes to it to keep things that way.
Streaming Support
While VyprVPN doesn’t explicitly support getting around geo-blocked content, they’re quite good at it. Customer support has even been known to help you connect if you run into issues.
Popular streaming services like the BBC’s iPlayer and Hulu work well, as do many others around the world.
Does VyprVPN Work With Netflix?
At a time when almost every VPN company has given up on working with Netflix, VyprVPN still gets through.
Several US servers, including New York and Chicago, connect to Netflix with no trouble. Australia, Canada, Japan, and the UK worked fine as well.
VyprVPN does not, of course, guarantee their servers always will work. No provider does. But, as I write this review, they’re without a doubt one of the top Netflix VPNs.
BitTorrent and P2P Support
File sharing is an area where VyprVPN’s new no-logging policy make a real difference.
In the past, VyprVPN would support torrenting and other P2P networks but would use logs to forward any copyright complaints to users of their service.
With logs no longer in the picture, VyprVPN is unable to identify you and, therefore, becomes a black hole for all complaints.
They do still include clauses in their Terms and Conditions about the need to respect copyrights. But, it’s a bit of an empty threat – mostly there for show – since VyprVPN no longer has any way to enforce it.
Multiple Simultaneous Connections
When you subscribe to VyprVPN, you’re allowed to use multiple devices at the same time using just one account.
The device number varies based on your subscription plan.
With the Basic plan, you can connect up to three devices simultaneously. If you opt for the Premium plan, that number jumps up to five.
Other Features Notes
Besides all of the above features, it’s also worth noting that VyprVPN doesn’t block Tor connections. At the same time, though, Tor over the VPN isn’t explicitly supported.
In my tests, using Tor didn’t seem to cause any problem while connected to VyprVPN, but I didn’t check every server either.
The bottom line is that your mileage may vary, but your odds of success are good.
I should also point out that there’s no support for a double VPN connection. That, however, is not that surprising since it’s a bit of a niche feature.
That said, if a double VPN is one of your requirements, VyprVPN isn’t for you. NordVPN, Surfshark, and ProtonVPN all implement the feature and are excellent alternatives.
VyprVPN Privacy and Security
For many of us VPN users, nothing is more important than the privacy and security a VPN gives. This is another area where VyprVPN does not disappoint.
It’s also an area where VyprVPN has made some serious forward progress recently, most notably through their new no-logging policy.
Jurisdiction
As I mentioned earlier, VyprVPN operates out of privacy-friendly Switzerland, as does its parent company, Golden Frog.
Both companies benefit from the country’s strict data privacy laws, which tilt heavily in favor of individual rights.
Critically, Switzerland is also not connected to the notorious 5, 9, or 14 eyes intelligence-sharing agreements. As such, they will never turn over private data to other countries without due process in their court system.
In a world where spying happens everywhere, Switzerland is something of an oasis of privacy rights.
Logging Policy
Since VyprVPN began operations over a decade ago, they have been widely known as a provider that kept connection logs.
They never monitored what users did on their platform. They did, however, keep track of who connected, for how long, and how much data they sent.
Worse, all the stored information included the user’s real IP address. That made it trivial for third parties to tie someone to specific online activity.
In late 2018, however, VyprVPN made the call to transition to a strict no-logging policy. They even submitted their entire infrastructure to an independent third-party audit to prove to us their transformation was complete.
That audit found zero traces of retained user data and VyprVPN officially became a zero-logging provider.
Server Ownership
As I touched on earlier, VyprVPN owns all their servers. This gives them a natural security advantage over most other services who choose to lease their hardware instead.
VyprVPN has tight control over who gets to gain access to their equipment, making the machines physically more secure.
For us users, that translates into less risk of our data falling into the wrong hands.
Protocol and Encryption Standards
While VyprVPN does not let you mix and match protocols and encryption standards any which way, they do offer several excellent combinations.
The availability of some of these pairings is platform-dependent, and I will call it out anytime that’s the case.
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PPTP
PPTP is the oldest and most widely-supported VPN protocol available. It’s also completely insecure, having been compromised as far back as 1998.
VyprVPN offers PPTP with 128-bit encryption purely to support legacy devices and hardware that can’t use OpenVPN, and only on Windows.
To put it differently, it’s there, but should be avoided at all costs.
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L2TP/IPSec
To protect the data it carries, the L2TP/IPSec protocol uses 256-bit AES encryption with double encapsulation.
It’s a highly secure and widely-supported standard that is considered to be unbreakable.
It also has the advantage of using a multi-threaded encryption and decryption engine, so on newer hardware, it might just be the fastest VPN protocol available.
L2TP/IPSec can be used on the Windows, macOS, and iOS clients.
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OpenVPN
OpenVPN is considered the gold standard of VPN protocols. It’s open-source, completely secure, and blazing fast.
You can opt for either 256-bit or 160-bit encryption. The former is more secure, the latter faster (though still plenty secure).
VyprVPN does not, however, let you choose between TCP or UDP. It uses UDP all the time.
Overall, OpenVPN is the best performing protocol of the available options, especially over unstable internet connections.
For most of us, this should be the protocol of choice. VyprVPN agrees and made it the default on all versions of their client app where it’s implemented.
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Chameleon
As already mentioned, Chameleon is VyprVPN’s custom obfuscated VPN protocol. It’s based on OpenVPN and uses 256-bit encryption to protect your data.
The main difference is that the Chameleon protocol also rewrites header information to defeat VPN blocking methods like deep packet inspection.
Functionally, Chameleon is just as secure as OpenVPN. But, because it needs a bit more overhead to pull off the obfuscation, it will be marginally slower.
Chameleon is available on all platforms except for iOS, but only if you subscribe to the Premium plan.
DNS Leaks
To see if VyprVPN is DNS leak-free and does not reveal any private information, I ran my standard battery of tests. I checked the Windows, macOS, and Android clients.
In all cases, VyprVPN passed with flying colors.
There are no IPv4 or IPv6 leaks, including over WebRTC. The clients also never use anything but the private VyprVPN DNS servers.
In other words, VyprVPN is safe and secure and does a great job of protecting and keeping you anonymous online.
Apps and Clients
VyprVPN offers support for many internet-connected devices. They have custom-built apps for Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS. You can also manually configure connections to the service on some routers, smart TVs, and Linux-powered computers.
Put together that means it’s hard to find a device that isn’t compatible with VyprVPN.
The custom apps are quite uniform in their look and feel across all platforms. They are also intuitive and easy to use.
All advanced features are neatly tucked away in the customization menu. They don’t get in the way during day-to-day use but are easy to access to when you need them.
Everything is there, from the connection per app and kill switch options to protocol selection and DNS settings.
Tomato Support
VyprVPN also stands out above most other providers by offering a customized build of the popular Tomato router firmware that has their VPN software built right in.
If you own a supported router, all you need to do is flash it, connect it to the internet, and you automatically get a network-wide VPN.
The firmware even lets you control which devices will use the VPN connection making per-device configuration a snap.
VyprVPN Server Locations
Based purely on numbers – 700+ servers in 73 locations and 63 countries – VyprVPN can be proud of their server network.
But, what impresses even more is the fact that, unlike almost all their competitors, they own their hardware.
From Europe and Asia to the Americas, every location the vast majority of us could ever want is there. You can see the full VyprVPN server list here.
When picking a server to connect to in the client, you can search the list by country or – in case there are multiple locations within one country – city. You can also star your favourite locations for later.
The server list is sortable by region, country, or speed.
Here, the term speed may be a bit of a misnomer and cause some confusion. It actually represents latency.
Latency is not a measure of how quickly you can download data from the server. Instead, it tells you how fast the server responds after you send a request to it.
How Fast is VyprVPN?
VyprVPN is plenty quick. In fact, they even made my fastest VPN list.
Across the board, speeds are more than good enough even for high bandwidth activities like torrenting or streaming 4K video, let alone simple browsing.
Below is a sampling from the eight locations I checked during my comprehensive VyprVPN speed test. The best server was picked by the client app’s “Fastest Server” function.
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United States | |
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Netherlands | |
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You may have noticed the large discrepancy between the VPN and no VPN results. That is because I intentionally speed test with an internet connection much quicker than what any VPN provider can handle.
By using a 500 Mbps down and 150 Mbps up connection, I ensure we see the true speeds a server can offer, not ones capped by my ISP’s limitations.
Customer Service
In the past, VyprVPN used to be known for somewhat lackluster customer support. The good news is they seem to have gotten the message and given their support department a serious upgrade.
To test them, I submitted questions to their support team at three different times of the day. Every time, I had an answer in less than fifteen minutes.
That puts VyprVPN’s response time among the best of any VPN service I’ve reviewed.
Response time is only half of the battle, though. How well support requests are handled matters too.
In my case, I found the answers I got to be useful, though not perfect.
Of course, without sabotaging my VPN connection, it was hard to get a real read on how technically adept VyprVPN’s staff is. But, they are in-house employees and seem to know their software pretty well.
VyprVPN’s website also has a pretty thorough self-help section with more than enough information to solve the most basic issues.
How Much Does VyprVPN Cost?
Similar to most VPN providers VyprVPN offers a single plan with multiple subscription lengths. You can buy a subscription on a bi-monthly, 18-month, or 3-year basis. If you opt for the 3-year plan, you will be saving 87%.
You can pay for a subscription using any major credit card, PayPal, or UnionPay.
Unfortunately, VyprVPN doesn’t take cryptocurrency payments, so the privacy-obsessed among us may not be happy here.
All subscriptions are eligible for an unconditional 30-day money-back guarantee. If for any reason, you’re not happy with the service, simply submit a request to customer support for a refund within 30 days of making your first payment.
All-in-all, VyprVPN offers decent value for what they charge, especially considering the many improvements they have made to address their former weak spots.
VyprVPN Free Trial
Up until recently, VyprVPN used to offer a three-day free trial. That is no longer the case.
When the free trial was around, the money-back guarantee didn’t exist. All we had were those three days to decide if the service was right for us – not necessarily a lot of time.
Based on user feedback, VyprVPN chose to drop the free trial and instead opted for a time-limited refund guarantee, which is the route nearly all providers take.
VyprVPN Review Closing Thoughts
By addressing their two most glaring weaknesses – logging and poor customer service – VyprVPN has become a solid VPN option.
They offer an excellent client app, broad device support, multiple protocols, fast speeds, and even own every part of their server network to enhance physical security. Not many other providers give you all those things.
On top of that, VyprVPN went the extra mile to have their no-logging claims audited by a third-party. That’s also something few providers do.
The only downsides I found during my review are a few missing features on the iOS client and a lack of cryptocurrency payment options. If either of those matter to you, have a look at my list of the best VPNs for possible alternatives.
The bottom line is, while I wasn’t able to do so as little as a year ago, I can now easily recommend VyprVPN.
And kudos to them for making the changes they did. It was not an easy job and one they delivered on exceptionally well.
Score:
8.5/10