VyprVPN review: A reliable VPN service with the latest protocols and strong privacy protection
VyprVPN packs in plenty of privacy controls and customisable settings, making it a great option with a very cheap two-year deal
Pros
- Supports latest VPN protocols
- Strong privacy controls
- Good configuration options
Cons
- Not the fastest VPN
- Monthly plan is very expensive
VyprVPN pitches itself as the VPN service that puts you back in control, and it’s not hard to see why. Not only is it a VPN with a focus on protecting privacy and security, but it’s one of the most configurable we’ve seen. The service has an impressive list of supported protocols and a strong set of features, many of which can be tweaked to your specific requirements. Factor in the polished user interface and you have a service that makes a great first impression.
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VyprVPN review: What you need to know
Based in Switzerland, VyprVPN has been around since 2009, making it one of the longest-running VPNs out there. Its biggest strength is a global network of over 700 servers, with clusters spread across Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East and North, Central and South America, giving the service a wider reach than many of its rivals.
While many VPNs rent their servers and supporting networks from third-party datacentres and hosting providers, the company behind VyprVPN – Golden Frog – owns and manages both the servers and the core network infrastructure. In theory, this means that VyprVPN has more control over their network, which should improve reliability, security and performance.
With regard to platforms, Windows, macOS, iOS and Android are supported through the usual apps, while you can also find apps for QNAP NAS devices and routers that match VyprVPN’s hardware requirements. You can also sideload the app onto Amazon Fire TV devices – which might be useful for some Kodi fans – and the Android version will also run on Android TV devices. There’s no native app for Linux, but instructions for using VyprVPN with an OpenVPN client are available and easy to follow.
VyprVPN review: Setup and basic use
You can sign up to VyprVPN from its webpage where you’ll find links to download the apps, and special offers. The Windows app keeps things nice and simple, with a big blue Connect button that connects to the fastest available server by default, a menu button in the top left corner, and buttons for customize and servers down below.
The server list can be sorted by country, region or speed, with the latter using ping times in milliseconds rather than estimated upload or download speeds. There’s no separation of servers by application, such as P2P or streaming, but you can favourite those that you plan to re-use a lot.
All the settings are accessible through the Customize button, and they’re surprisingly extensive. For instance, you can configure the VPN to launch and connect when you hook up to a public Wi-Fi network, but also add networks to a list of trusted networks, so that this doesn’t happen in the home or office.
The killswitch blocks all internet traffic when the VPN suddenly disconnects or isn’t enabled, but you can also configure it to deactivate when the VyprVPN app quits or set it to apply or not apply to local network traffic. It’s a small thing, but the kind of small thing that can stop a lot of furrowed brows and mild annoyance when you’ve forgotten the killswitch was engaged on a previous session and now can’t connect your laptop to the Internet.
VyprVPN’s strongest feature is its protocol support, with support for the advanced WireGuard protocol and the speedy IKEv2 on top of the regular OpenVPN. What’s more, it also has its own proprietary Chameleon protocol, which is designed to bypass location-based blocks and disguise your VPN usage. This is particularly useful in countries where content is blocked or censored, and VPN usage is restricted or even outlawed.
Finally, VyprVPN gives you a choice between its own zero-logging VyprDNS service and a third-party DNS. In our tests it was worth using the former, as we found no speed differences over our usual DNS provider and it gave us peace of mind that no tell-tale DNS conflicts would emerge to show that we weren’t where we claimed to be.
VyprVPN review: Privacy and security
Being based in Switzerland has many advantages when it comes to privacy: all VyprVPN’s customer data is stored in Switzerland and, under Swiss law, Golden Frog can’t directly answer any non-Swiss legal requests. The company doesn’t log any user connection data, which means that any request that comes through the Swiss authorities would only be limited to whether someone was or was not a VyprVPN customer – there’s no other information that can be supplied to authorities.
While many companies claim a “no-logging policy”, Golden Frog has gone a step further and had its entire service independently audited by a third-party consultancy, Leviathan, which picked out some security issues that were subsequently addressed.
You can read the full report on Golden Frog’s website, and the company confirms that it doesn’t log any IP address assigned to the user or any connection start or stop times. Even though some VPN providers that claim to have a no-logs policy hold this stuff for operational or security reasons, this does not apply to Golden Frog. It also scores points for having transparent and easy-to-read privacy policies.
In leak tests, VyprVPN didn’t show up any warnings bar one about browser to location time zone differences. In terms of IP location, DNS calls and even WebRTC leaks, everything was fine.
VyprVPN review: Performance
VyprVPN isn’t slow by any means, but it’s not quite up there with the fastest. On its default, fastest connection (nearest servers) we saw download speeds drop by 5% and upload speeds reduced by 4.1% – we’ve seen other VPNs keep the speed hit to 4% or less on both.
A connection through the Netherlands saw speeds reduce by 7.6% and 5.2%, where Hide.Me VPN and Private Internet Access kept both to under 4%. To be clear, this isn’t the kind of difference you would feel in everyday use, but if performance is your be-all and end-all, then other VPNs certainly appear to be faster.
We had much the same experience with long-haul connections. A connection to a US server saw downstream speeds drop by an average 38%, while connecting to a server in Australia or Singapore saw download speeds reduced by 74% and 79%. Again, there’s still ample bandwidth for HD video streaming or online gaming – though not game streaming – but the likes of ExpressVPN and Private Internet Access retained a little more bandwidth in the same tests.
On the plus side, VyprVPN proved faultless when it came to handling regional contact locks, unblocking US Netflix on a US connection and iPlayer over a UK VPN. This was using the WireGuard protocol as well, so if anything changes there’s still scope to switch to Chameleon and see if that defeats any anti-VPN measures. We couldn’t really check this in our tests, as the standard protocols already worked.
VyprVPN review: Mobile apps
VyprVPN’s mobile apps have a similar interface to the desktop version, but the features vary. The iOS version has the same choice of protocols – a rarity for an iOS VPN – but doesn’t have a killswitch. The Android version, however, has the same protocol options, more controls over automatic connection, a killswitch and even a split tunnel feature, so that you can set which apps do and do not use the VPN.
The good news is that both apps are fast. In fact, we had better results from the iOS and Android clients than we did from the Windows app, with fast connect upload and download speeds reduced by just 4.2% and 3.2% in Android and 4.4% and 5.3% on iOS. Connections to a US server saw drops of 11% for iOS and 15% for Android. All in all, VyprVPN is a good option if you’re looking for a mobile VPN.
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VyprVPN review: Support
Help is there when you need it through a mix of help articles and FAQs, forums, ticketed email support through a Web form and live chat. Live chat support was extremely responsive and pointed us straight to a Web article that discussed our questions in more detail. Email support was a little slower – we waited roughly three hours for a reply – but the answers we got were clear and detailed enough to be useful, again pointing us to further info on protocols and streaming.
Not all VPNs are offering live chat support these days, while even some that do hide it away in the hope that you won’t use it. VyprVPN gives you a link to email support from the main menu, with a button for chat support clearly visible in the bottom-right-hand corner of the support page when you connect through.
VyprVPN review: Price
VyprVPN comes in at a hefty £12.95 per month if you pay monthly, putting it right at the premium end of VPNs. As usual, though, there are some very tempting discounts if you’re prepared to commit to a longer time frame upfront. Right now, you can have two years for £60, working out to just £2.50 per month, or £45 for a year, which amounts to just £3.75 per month. We’d hesitate to pay for VyprVPN at the monthly price, but if you can get it at these rates it’s a competitive option, especially for the two-year deal.
VyprVPN review: Verdict
On some levels, VyprVPN doesn’t stand out of the crowd. It’s not particularly fast, packed with features or cheap. On the other hand, it gives you access to a lot of servers based all around the world, along with more control than many other VPNs when it comes to protocols and options. Other VPNs are generally getting slicker, faster and easier to use, all of which makes it harder for any one VPN to make its pitch. That said, VyprVPN is a solid, well-balanced option with the latest protocols and robust privacy protection.