Using this VPN almost feels like becoming invisible. People who want to block me from using my favorite sites and services on the internet will have a very hard time …
With VyprVPN I put myself anywhere on the globe. One click to connect, one click to select a location, a ping test to choose the fastest server – and I'm gone.
A YouTube video not accessible in Germany? – Unblocked. A website not reachable behind a company or university firewall in the US or elsewhere? – Reached.
This VPN service works well with Netflix in the US and BBC iPlayer in UK. It streams music, movies, and sports – regardless of location. Worldwide.
Gamers unlock games in their country. Large companies use it in China to access VoIP, Gmail, and SaaS tools that would otherwise be blocked.
As I said before: With VyprVPN, witholding services from you and preventing you from doing what you want on the internet becomes very difficult for the other side.
Can you here me, censor?
No?
Great.
The company Goldenfrog is situated in Switerland. This country has some of the strictest privacy laws in the world. These laws ensure the protection of identities and IP addresses.
Apps are available for Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS. It also supports Chromebook, Linux, DD-WRT, and more via manual setup and offers good setup instructions
There's also Vypr VPN for TV, for example Android TV, OpenELEC, or Apple TV. There's even a command line interface for Linux and a router applet for Tomato routers.
(Tomato is a partially free HyperWRT-based, Linux core firmware distribution for a range of wireless routers with Broadcom chipset.)
Since August 2016 it's available for network attached-storage (NAS) devices as a result of a partnership with device manufacturer QNAP.
Jump over the Great Firewall
While it may not be the best VPN for torrenting due to Golden Frog's tendency to act on DMCA requests, it is definetly a very good choice for streaming video and probably the best VPN for China.
The main reason why I consider it the best VPN for use within mainland China is the fact that they operate their own DNS that is prone to man-in-the-middle attacks.
(An example for a man-in-the-middle attack would be when the user entered facebook.com in the browser and landed on a page with an not-available message (and the attempt gets logged).)
Automatic port selection randomly scans for open ports to defeat intentional port blocking or throttling. Manual port selection allows you to choose the port.
Connection logging is only stored locally and you can clear it at any time. Turn connection log off if you do not want the app to store connection data such as connection time and error codes.
When Kill Switch is enabled, you will only be able to access the internet when VyprVPN is connected.
Block Malicious Sites
This feature is currently only available for the Android app: Websites associated with malware that could be harmful to your device will be blocked. You will have the option to continue to the site.
Each app shows ping information for every location, for example Austria, 41 ms. This makes it a good choice for gamers because they need fast servers for fluent gameplay.
They also write their own code. (It's optimized for broadband connections.) And they own the complete server infrastructure (as compared to other VPN providers who rent their servers).
Is it expensive?
No. A close contender, ExpressVPN, wants $99.95/yr for 3 simultaneous connections, VYPR costs $99.99/yr for the same number of connections, but has an additional NAT firewall.
What else?
As I've said: Golden Frog's network engineers build and manage their own global VPN network. Is it fast? Yes. Need numbers? See the speed test on my website
Using the Android app, users can customize the VPN connection behavior on a per-app basis thus gaining more control over their online privacy. They can, for example, only activate it for browsing.
Configurable desktop notifications, for example, on connect and disconnect, or only connection failures.
No bandwidth restrictions or download caps. No throttling. Unlimited server switching. Connects with OpenVPN take about 8 seconds (a bit faster than other VPNs I've tested).
Best of all: The unique Chameleon protocol. It scrambles OpenVPN packet metadata to ensure it's not recognizable via deep packet inspection (DPI), while still keeping it fast and lightweight.
The result is that VyprVPN users are able to bypass restrictive networks put in place by governments, corporations, and ISPs.
This is great for VPN users being blocked in countries such as China, Russia, Iran, Thailand, and Syria, or in countries where users are slow internet speed due to bandwidth throttling.
A small disadvantage:
The NAT firewall cannot be enabled or disabled inside the app, only in the Golden Frog Control Panel on the website. I recommend leaving it always on.
Another:
The Chameleon protocol is not included in the iOS app because Apple has not yet accepted Golden Frog's requests to include it. (Apple controls what goes on the App Store.)
Summary
The censorship methods of the Chinese government are becoming more refined every year. For Chinese people, with Vypr VPN, Facebook and thousands of other sites would become accessible.
And with each new VPN user in China, the Great Firewall might come a step closer to crushing down as in the famous Pink Floyd song "Another Brick in the Wall".
(The website Great Firewall of China helps you to determine whether a website is blocked or accessible from within mainland China.)
VyprVPN is my privacy enabler of choice.
It's the only VPN I'd use in China because Golden Frog uses their own equipment, making it safe against any backdoors. Enabling me to:
- Access geo-blocked content
- Improve streaming speeds
- Maintain security while streaming online
It offers a high level of security. It has a transparent privacy policy. It's not the best choice for downloaders, not the cheapest – but without doubt one of the best choices for any privacy-concerned user. I give it four of five stars