“A very secure and privacy-focused VPN service that offers a strict no-logs policy, advanced encryption, and a global server network. It can unblock popular streaming services and supports P2P/BitTorrent traffic. The free VPN is probably the best in the industry.”
A VPN, or virtual private network, is a secure network connection that is used to encrypt and tunnel your internet traffic through a server in another location. This means that your IP address is masked and your online activity is hidden from your ISP and other third parties.
ProtonVPN is a leading virtual private network (VPN) service that prioritizes the fundamental values of online security, privacy, and anonymity. Developed by Proton AG, the same organization behind the secure email service ProtonMail, Proton VPN offers users a robust solution to safeguard their internet activities. One of its standout features is its unyielding commitment to privacy; the service adheres to a strict no-logs policy, ensuring that user data remains confidential and never shared with third parties.
With a global network of servers spanning various countries, ProtonVPN empowers users to access content from around the world while concealing their true IP addresses. The VPN service is known for its strong encryption protocols, including AES-256 bit encryption, guaranteeing data protection. Proton VPN also offers essential features such as a kill switch, DNS leak protection, and Secure Core, which routes traffic through privacy-friendly locations. Whether you’re looking to secure your connection, access geo-restricted content, or maintain your online privacy, ProtonVPN is a reliable choice for all your VPN needs.
In this Proton VPN review, we will look into the strengths and potential limitations of ProtonVPN, shedding light on its suitability for tasks such as streaming, torrenting, and bolstering online privacy. Whether you’re a privacy-conscious individual or simply looking to enhance your online security, this ProtonVPN review will provide valuable insights into its capabilities and performance.
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| Bottom Line Proton VPN is a good choice for users who are looking for a secure and privacy-focused VPN service. It is also a good choice for users who need to unblock streaming services or who want to use P2P file sharing. The best thing about Proton VPN (apart from its features and all) is its free VPN offering. Users can use Proton VPN for free without any data or time limitations (although you will have very limited number of servers and several features off). |
IN THIS ARTICLE
- Initial Setup
- Safety and Privacy
- Other Features
- Servers and Speed
- Free VPN
- Specifications
- Price
- Final Verdict
Initial Setup
Proton VPN is available for multiple platforms including Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, iOS, ChromeOS, Android TV, Browser Extensions (Chrome, Firefox), and Routers. Setting up ProtonVPN is a simple process. Begin by visiting their website and signing up for an account, where you can choose between a free plan or a paid subscription. Upon registration, you’ll receive login credentials via email. Next, download the appropriate ProtonVPN app for your device, whether it’s running on Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, or iOS. Install the app, launch it, and use the login credentials to sign in.
Inside the ProtonVPN app, you’ll find a list of available servers. Here, you can select the server location that best suits your needs, whether you want to optimize for speed, access geo-restricted content, or enhance your privacy. After choosing your desired server, simply click the “Connect” button to initiate the VPN connection. ProtonVPN will encrypt your internet traffic, effectively concealing your true IP address. Once connected, you can enjoy secure and private browsing, knowing that your online activities are shielded from prying eyes and your data is routed through the selected server location.
While ProtonVPN does provide a free plan, opting for a paid subscription offers more server choices, faster connection speeds, and additional features for an improved VPN experience. ProtonVPN also offers a number of advanced features, such as Kill Switch, Split Tunneling, DNS Leak Protection, Secure Core, and Port Forwarding for added security. If you are using a free ProtonVPN account, you will be limited to one VPN connection at a time. To connect multiple devices to the VPN at the same time, you will need to upgrade to a paid plan.
Safety and Privacy
ProtonVPN is a robust virtual private network (VPN) service that offers a range of features to enhance your online privacy and security. One of its core functions is to hide your IP address, which is a crucial aspect of maintaining anonymity online. Your IP address serves as a digital fingerprint, allowing websites, advertisers, hackers, and government agencies to track your online activities. By using ProtonVPN, you can shield your IP address, preventing it from being exposed to these entities.
Online trackers often leverage your IP address to deliver personalized advertisements, and this can result in invasive and intrusive advertising practices. ProtonVPN acts as a shield, providing you with privacy and preventing advertisers from monitoring your online behavior. Additionally, your internet service provider (ISP) possesses knowledge of your device’s IP address and can monitor your web browsing activities. When you utilize a VPN like ProtonVPN, your ISP can only see the IP address of the VPN server to which you are connected, thereby allowing you to browse securely and privately without prying eyes watching your every move.
ProtonVPN is equipped with strong encryption protocols, an essential feature for ensuring the security of your data and online communications. It employs AES-256 and ChaCha20, both recognized as highly secure encryption methods. The VPN connections that use the OpenVPN or IKEv2 VPN protocols are secured with AES-256. Even though no encryption is entirely unbreakable, it would take an incredibly advanced computer billions of years to crack AES-256 through a brute-force attack. If you opt for the WireGuard VPN protocol, your connection will be encrypted with ChaCha20, an advanced encryption cipher that is as secure as AES-256 and slightly faster. Notably, ProtonVPN only employs encryption ciphers and VPN protocols that support perfect forward secrecy. With this feature, every time you connect to the VPN, a unique set of encryption keys is generated. This means that even if a future VPN session is compromised, your previous sessions will remain secure. ProtonVPN uses the Diffie-Hellman key exchange method to securely generate session keys, ensuring that the server and client can agree on a key without directly communicating it.
The VPN service exclusively utilizes secure VPN protocols, including WireGuard, OpenVPN, and IKEv2, known for their reliability and robust security features. ProtonVPN deliberately avoids servers that support less secure PPTP and L2TP/IPSec protocols, despite their lower operational costs.
OpenVPN is a well-established open-source VPN protocol with a reputation for security in the cybersecurity community. ProtonVPN employs OpenVPN at its most robust encryption settings, utilizing forward secrecy to generate new keys for each session. A significant advantage of OpenVPN is its flexibility in working with both UDP and TCP transmission protocols. UDP is generally faster, but TCP allows OpenVPN to function on the same port as HTTPS, the protocol that secures sensitive internet communications. This capability makes OpenVPN highly effective at circumventing most forms of online censorship.
IKEv2 is another modern, swift, and secure VPN protocol that ProtonVPN supports with its strongest encryption settings. It utilizes the Diffie-Hellman process for key exchange, which inherently implements forward secrecy. WireGuard, an open-source and lightweight VPN protocol, is also available as an option. It is faster than traditional VPN protocols and employs the advanced ChaCha20 encryption cipher to safeguard your VPN connection.
In regions with internet censorship and VPN blocks, ProtonVPN offers a custom VPN protocol called Stealth. This protocol enables users to bypass such restrictions by disguising their VPN connection. With Stealth, you can access censored websites and engage in social media interactions, even in regions where governments attempt to limit online access. This feature is available with all ProtonVPN plans, including the Free plan, providing added versatility and freedom for users seeking to maintain their online privacy and access unrestricted internet content.
Other Features
ProtonVPN offers an array of powerful features to enhance your online experience. One of these features is NetShield, an ad-blocker designed to boost your privacy and security. NetShield operates by scrutinizing the domain requests made by websites and apps you use against a database of known domains that host malware, ads, or trackers. When a match is detected, ProtonVPN’s DNS server intervenes, automatically blocking the flagged resource from loading. This not only keeps your device secure but also enhances your browsing privacy by preventing the loading of unwanted content like ads and trackers. This reduction in unnecessary content loading speeds up your browsing experience. With NetShield, you have the flexibility to choose your level of protection, from blocking only malware to blocking malware, ads, and trackers, or even turning NetShield off entirely, offering a customizable browsing experience.
ProtonVPN also incorporates a VPN Accelerator into all its apps, ensuring you receive the fastest speeds possible no matter which VPN server you connect to. This feature can deliver speeds that are up to 400% faster, making it particularly useful over less reliable internet connections. With VPN Accelerator, you can enjoy a smooth and efficient online experience, even when connecting to distant servers.
Protecting your online privacy is a core focus of ProtonVPN, and their strict no-logs policy ensures that your browsing history remains private and secure. This policy means that ProtonVPN does not store, collect, or track any information related to your online activity, including connection logs, IP addresses, session lengths, or location. ProtonVPN is headquartered in Switzerland, known for having some of the world’s strongest data protection and privacy laws. Under Swiss law, they are not obligated to retain data logs, providing an added layer of privacy protection. When you connect to ProtonVPN, websites can only see the IP address of the VPN server you are connected to, and your DNS queries are routed through encrypted VPN tunnels and resolved on ProtonVPN’s servers, reinforcing your online anonymity.
The Secure Core feature takes your security to the next level. ProtonVPN operates its Secure Core servers, eliminating the risk of tampering and ensuring data privacy. These servers are situated in countries with robust data privacy laws. Secure Core acts by routing your internet traffic through these fortified servers before connecting you to a secondary VPN server. This double layer of protection means that even if the second VPN server were to be compromised, your online traffic and IP address remain secure. These Secure Core servers are equipped with full-disk encryption, safeguarding all software and certificates within an exit server. Even if an attacker gained physical access to a server, they would be unable to access its encryption keys. ProtonVPN’s Secure Core servers are owned and operated by the company and are housed in high-security data centers that adhere to strict security protocols, reducing the risk of tampering or compromise.
ProtonVPN also offers Tor integration, eliminating the need for a separate Tor browser to access hidden services. Users can employ their regular web browser to connect to the Tor network via their ProtonVPN Plus account. The server network includes nodes that reroute your internet traffic through the Tor network, and ProtonVPN maintains Tor servers in various countries. These servers are easily identified by the “TOR” label. This integration allows you to access hidden services and onion sites directly through your ProtonVPN app, rendering the process simple and convenient. You can connect to the Tor network with a single tap, enhancing your online privacy and granting access to the depths of the internet via the Tor network.
Servers and Speed
ProtonVPN boasts one of the world’s most extensive and high-speed server networks, delivering truly global connectivity with servers located on every continent. This comprehensive network comprises 3,034 servers across 69 countries, capable of handling a remarkable 3,550 Gbps of data traffic. This expansive reach ensures that users can connect to ProtonVPN from virtually anywhere around the globe.
The Plus plan further extends its offerings with 2,714 Plus servers spread across the same 69 countries. These fully-featured Plus servers are exclusively accessible to Plus plan subscribers. Utilizing Plus servers comes with several advantages, including:
- Streaming Access: Allows users to access popular streaming services like Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video, and many others, regardless of their location.
- NetShield: This feature enhances device security and accelerates browsing by blocking ads, trackers, and malware.
- File Sharing Support: Plus servers support file sharing protocols, making it suitable for BitTorrent and other P2P activities.
- Tor Network Integration: With a single click, users can route their internet traffic through the Tor network, offering an added layer of privacy.
- High-Speed Connectivity: Plus servers deliver the highest VPN speeds, providing users with up to 10 Gbps connectivity in most locations.
For users who prioritize privacy and security, ProtonVPN offers a unique feature known as Secure Core. There are 101 Secure Core servers spread across 66 countries, exclusively available to Plus plan subscribers. Secure Core operates by routing network traffic through servers situated in privacy-friendly countries such as Switzerland and Iceland. This double-hop approach enhances user privacy and security, ensuring that even if a VPN server were to be compromised, the user’s online activity and IP address remain safeguarded. All Secure Core servers and networks are owned and operated by ProtonVPN, providing an additional layer of control and safety.
For individuals who prefer a free VPN option, ProtonVPN offers a free plan with 93 servers available in three countries: Japan, the Netherlands, and the United States. This free plan is designed with a commitment to online privacy for all, making it accessible to those who cannot afford a paid subscription. ProtonVPN’s free plan does not have a set duration limit, allowing users to use it for as long as they desire, and, notably, it doesn’t compromise user data like some other free VPN services. While the free servers offer reasonable speeds, they do not support advanced features that are available with the paid plans.
In our testing with a 300Mbps ISP Plan, we got around 292.85Mbps download and 290.23Mbps upload speeds connecting a particular server in our local city without turning the VPN on. After turning the Proton VPN on and setting the location as our local city, we got speeds around 280.14Mbps download and 276.57 upload speeds. This is very good.
Free VPN
Do you really get free VPN with Proton VPN? The answer is, yes. You get free Proton VPN. There is no time limitation or data limitation with the free version. You just have to register with Proton VPN and start using their VPN service for as long as you want with data or time restrictions. This is an excellent way to introduce VPN to folks who are new to the world of VPN as they can just try VPN without giving their credit card details.
However, the free version does have some limitations. First of all, you cannot choose the server you like. Proton VPN will automatically connect you to one of the several free servers at random. You will also miss on several features such as Secure Core, NetShield, Split Tunnelling, VPN Accelerator, Custom DNS, etc.
But for a free VPN service, the Proton VPN is one of the best offerings in the market. There is no competition for this.
Specifications
| Name | Proton VPN |
| Encryption | AES-256 |
| VPN Protocols | WireGuard, OpenVPN, IKEv2 |
| Servers | 3000+ |
| Countries | 69 |
| Infrastructure | Mostly 10Gbps Servers |
| Free Trial | Proper Free-to-use version is available |
| Money-Back Guarantee | 30-Days |
| No. of Devices | 10 |
| Supported Devices | Windows, MacOS, Linux, Android, iOS |
| Features | No Log Policy, Kill Switch, Malware Protection, Ad Blocker, Tracker Blocker, Split Tunneling (not on iOS) |
Price
We already mentioned the free version of Proton VPN. You can use the ProtonVPN for free without any data limits, speed limits, compromises on your privacy and security. But to explore the full potential of the Proton VPN, you have to subscribe to the Plus Plan. The monthly plan is $9.99. If you go for the 1-year plan, then it costs $5.99 per month. There is also a 2-year plan that costs $4.99 per month. All the plans have a 30-day money back guarantee.
Final Verdict
Overall, ProtonVPN is a great choice for users who are looking for a secure and reliable VPN service. It offers a variety of features and benefits at a competitive price. It is a good choice for users of all levels, from beginners to experienced VPN users. Setting up and using Proton VPN is very easy. It also offers a number of advanced features for users who need them.
If you are on a budget, the free ProtonVPN plan is a good option. It doesn’t have any data, speed, or time limitations. However, if you need more features or connections, you will need to upgrade to a paid plan. Additionally, if privacy and security are paramount to your VPN needs, ProtonVPN is an appealing option. Its robust focus on privacy and encryption ensures that your online activities remain protected. The service is also a valuable choice for unblocking streaming content, meeting the needs of entertainment enthusiasts.
