Are You Safe When Using This VPN? Read This IPVanish VPN Review First
From the name alone, it means that your IP address will vanish when you connect to the internet using this VPN. Is that true? That is what we will try to establish in this IPVanish VPN review. Of course, if you look around, you will notice that there are many rave reviews about this VPN provider. Are they all true? Is it a scam? Since the time they have been in business, they have grown to own over 500 servers in more than 60 countries in the world. All things considered, this VPN provider does the job, and they do allow you to make two connections simultaneously, from different devices. However, note that these connections will have to be with different protocols. One connection can be through the OpenVPN encryption while another one can be through the IPSec L2TP and so on. But this is nothing new, because we have seen some VPN providers that provide up to 5 simultaneous connections. While they say that this is a Tier 1 network on the IPVanish VPN official website, well, we might not know exactly what that means, but we did explore the speed, security, protocols and other features. This VPN is compatible with many operating systems. It works on Android, Windows, Mac, iOS, and even Linux.
IPVanish VPN speed
To know the IPVanish VPN speed, you would have to test it, and from different locations. We did carry out a test about that and we found that the speed takes a dip when you connect through the VPN as opposed to when you use a network without VPN. For example, when we tested this network using servers as far away as South Africa, we noted that the download speed was 9.1Mbs per second, the upload speed was 3.15 Mbps when we used the OpenVPN protocol. When we used the PPTP protocol, the download speed was 17.35 Mbps and the upload speed was 7.45 Mbps.
We also found that even when we used servers that are far away from the US, the download and upload speeds took just a slight dip. This did not matter whether we were just browsing the web or we were streaming content from the internet. You will be able to stream HD videos as well as download torrent files without any hitch. Overall, we can give the IPVanish VPN speed a rating of 7.5 on a scale of 10.
There is no free trial, but there is a 7-day money back guarantee, applicable from the first day when you register.
IPVanish Security
It is based in the USA. What does this mean? In the US, there are no data retention laws, unless by court order. Therefore, this is a completely log-less system.
With authentication covered by the SHA-256, AES 256-bit encryption as well as the RSA 2048 for extra security, and all these in the OpenVPN protocol, you know you are well covered. However, security does not stop there. While the OpenVPN protocol is the fastest and most secure connection, it does not mean that the other protocols are bad. It just means that the OpenVPN is the chief consideration for many people. The IPSec, PPTP, L2TP and others are also secure. Remember their log-less policy further enhances this high-level encryption. Once you open your VPN connection and enter the web, all the data that you pass or get from the internet is encrypted. The more than 500 servers that they have in different countries make this possible.
Using the 256-bit AES encryption technology means that a hacker would have to try a lot of different combinations to be able to mete an attack on you. For the more than 15 years that IPVanish VPN has been in operation, there have never been any reports to the negative. Thus, you can be sure that the IPVanish VPN security has you covered and that no one will ever trace your actions on the internet.
And that is not all. You can also use the IPVanish VPN for security when you are using public networks in cafes, airports and other places. Irrespective of what country you come from, you will be able to access censored internet content without worrying about your identity, as it will be kept anonymous. You can use IPVanish VPN security even when you would like to go around government censorship, a good thing with the NSA getting curious about what we do online.
IPVanish VPN pricing
How much will you pay? This is mostly the only thing that most customers care about. Compared to many other services, IPVanish VPN price is quite fair, and like most others, it comes in four packages. The first package is monthly at a price of $3.19 per month. The second package will cost you $2.40per month for a yearly payment. The third and the fourth is with backup. Monthly plan is $3.51/month, Yearly plan is $2.67/month
Customer service
This is a bit of a disappointment since there is no live support. However, there is 24/7 support that is offered through the ticketing system. Well, it means that when you have an issue, you may have to wait in the queue a bit when you file your ticket for you to be attended. We did file a ticket and asked some questions, we got a response same day and the answers we got from the customer support were very satisfactory. There is no phone support, but not to worry because for most of the questions that you would like to ask, there already is information on their website about it. You might never need to contact customer support in the entire time that you use the IPVanish VPN.
Pros
- Kill switch is available. It will kill your internet connection if VPN connection drops for any reason
- You get unlimited bandwidth and Wi-Fi hotspot protection when using the IPVanish VPN
- You can use anonymous payment methods like bitcoin – talk about total anonymity!
- It is compatible with all operating systems
- It is log-less
- 30 day money back guarantee
- Unlimited number of connections at the same time
Cons
- You will not get a free trial
Conclusion
Overall, we can advise you to go for this VPN connection, if only for the IPVanish VPN security which is very tight. However, if you are the kind of person that likes features like instant customer support, a free trial and three or more simultaneous connections, this is not the VPN for you. Price, speed and other features are good though and being many years in the business of protection is assurance enough that this is a good service.