IPVanish VPN Review

IPVanish VPN Review

IPVanish is a company in the United States which offers subscribers the service of browsing the internet with anonymity. It has servers in dozens of countries, including North Africa, India, and the Far East. As we tested IPVanish software, we concluded that it does its job very well, giving us an experience that left us impressed at the company’s professionalism and ease of use.

The only caveat we could find was that the company retains its subscribers’ email addresses, in order to market to them. Though this is not unusual, it is still disconcerting, considering IPVanish is supposed to protect us from things like marketers. However, they do not sell addresses, and the emails are only used to promote the company.

Tiers of Pricing

IPVanish offers several different payment tiers and options, as many VPN providers do, because they understand that not everyone can afford a high one-time purchase, or even a higher monthly payment. The subscriber will notice that they can get the best value if they subscribe for a longer period of time. IPVanish also offers separate deals and savings every so often, for which interested buyers should definitely be on the lookout. Here is a list of what the current IPVanish prices are:

• Monthly – $10.00
• Tri-Monthly– $26.99 ($8.99 per month)
• Yearly – $77.99 ($6.49 per month)

This package, with its three options, includes the subscriber’s choice of L2TP, PPTP, and OpenVPN protocols. These protocols conduct your encryption so that you can browse safely. The subscriber also receives unlimited bandwidth, their choice of over 90 servers in over 40 different countries, 3,500 or more IP addresses to keep you anonymous, and both TCP and UDP versions of OpenVPN. IPVanish does not currently offer a free trial, unfortunately, but there is a standing money-back guarantee within 7 days of purchase.

Decent, but not Optimal, Customer Support

At this time, IPVanish does not offer ‘round-the-clock customer support, which can definitely be a reason that some people will not want to purchase this software. Customer support operates on Eastern Standard Time, and subscribers can contact them at any time during normal business hours. They accept inquiries via chat and email. When we contacted customer support to test its efficacy, we were sent back a professional and amicable response within a moderate and reasonable amount of time

Evaluation of Security and Privacy

IPVanish does not track its users activity. The US does not require this of VPN providers, and the company has made it their policy not to do so. This is a big plus for many users wanting complete anonymity while browsing securely. The user can feel safe knowing that big brother is not watching.

The only information that the company retains regarding your activity is a virtual timestamp, logging the time you started browsing using the VPN, the amount of bytes transferred to and from your computer, and the specific IP address you used when you were browsing. These IP addresses, however, are shared by all users, making it impossible for any hackers to retrieve your personal information and identity.

Subscribers receive the added perk of OpenVPN encryption, which is the most secure route of encryption available. And, of course, the other encryption options are available to anyone for whom OpenVPN is impractical or unusable. Because of this excellent encryption, and the fact that IPVanish does not keep user information logs, we believe that this company provides some of the most secure browsing services available.

IPVanish – The Website

At first glance, the IPVanish website is clean, professional-looking, and very user-friendly. It is simple to find any information you want or need to know, and the prices are clearly labeled and straightforward.

Activating Your Service

The only information you need to give to IPVanish to sign up for their services are a valid email address, and your payment information. You will receive a confirmation via email, which includes an activation link. IPVanish has the added benefit of accepting many different forms of payment, which include all major credit and debit cards, PayPal, and giropay. The only form that we believe is missing from the site is Bitcoin.

After downloading the software, the user just needs to follow a series of prompts within the Installation Wizard. Easy as pie. The software is very simple to use, which is great for those who have just been introduced to the world of Virtual Private Networks. The user selects the server and protocol they wish to use, and Ping times allow them to select the optimal server for their needs. The software can be customized in several ways, and you can even seen your false location.

One note: there is a System Tray icon on the left side of the task bar that remains perpetually green. We found that this icon remains green whether the user is connected or not, which can be disconcerting, but does not actually mean anything.

Platforms Supported by IPVanish

IPVanish provides dedicated clints for OSX and Windows. The user can also refer to setup guides to allow them to configure files for L2TP, PPTP, and OpenVPN in Windows, OSX, iOS, DD-WRT, and Ubuntu routers. If the user is technologically savvy, they can follow fast bullets. If the user is less familiar with VPN software, they can use the more detailed visual guides that IPVanish provides.

Conclusion

There were several things we liked about IPVanish:

• They do not track or log your information or activity
• There is a large selection of shared IP addresses
• Their security makes it impossible for anyone to identify individual users
• They provide both UDP and TCP OpenVPN encryption
• The software is user-friendly

There were a couple of things we didn’t like, as well:

• There was no OpenVPN guide for Android
• The company retains email addresses for marketers

As you can see, there are more pros than cons in these lists. That’s because we had very little to complain about regarding IPVanish. The company offers a high-quality and much-needed service, and they are clearly committed to their subscribers’ privacy and security. The bottom line? We definitely, heartily recommend IPVanish to those in need of a secure browsing experience.