This is my review of VyprVPN, a secure personal VPN service launched in 2009 by the global services provider Golden Frog. Golden Frog’s founders have been in the internet services business since 1994 when the public internet was in its infancy. VyprVPN is a fast, secure, privacy oriented personal VPN, as they are a “Tier-1″ provider. This means they have complete control over all aspects of their service.
They own, operate, and engineer all of their own global infrastructure. This includes server clusters, in-house code, and all hosting facilities. This gives them absolute control over your data which allows VyprVPN to provide you total privacy and security end-to-end.
Pricing and Special Offers
Golden Frog provides a number of services including VyprVPN, Dumptruck – a secure cloud storage service, and Cyphr – an encrypted messaging service. Although my review will mainly cover their VPN service, I will briefly discuss the others.
VyprVPN Service
Now, let us review what Golden Frog’s primary service VyprVPN has to offer you. First off, VyprVPN is marketed in basic, pro and premier configurations. They also have a free plan that limits your usage to 500 MB/month. I will cover this plan later in this review. All paid plans include apps for Windows, Mac, iOS and Android. Other features include VyprDNS, 24/7 support, and unlimited data usage of all VPN servers. They are sold using both monthly and yearly plans. They offer discounts to those who sign up for one of their yearly plans.
The vyprvpn basic plan gives you unlimited usage of all VPN servers, one connection per account, and support for the PPTP protocol which is a fast, easy to setup protocol that is supported by most devices. The PPTP protocol is also the least secure of the VPN protocols. The basic account is better suited to those for whom speed is more important than security. For example it would be a good choice for those who want to download streaming media or occasionally need to use a VPN service. This plan also includes a free Dump Truck account with 10 GB of secure storage. It cost $9.99 per month but you can get it for $6.67 per month if you sign up for a year of service.
The vyprvpn pro plan provides unlimited data usage, two simultaneous connections per account, and a Network Address Translation (NAT) firewall when connected to VyprVPN. The addition of a NAT firewall protects you from unrequested inbound traffic when you are connected to their service. This means spam requests, unrequested ads, and other possible sources of malware are blocked from ever reaching your devices. This provides protection for devices like mobile phones which often do not have firewalls, as well as, added protection for PCs and other devices that do. Finally, the plan allows you your choice of OpenVPN, L2TP/IPsec, Chameleon, and PPTP protocols. Giving you a choice between the different protocols lets you tailor the VPN service to your needs. You can choose the protocol you feel comfortable using to balance the service speed and security/privacy for the task at hand. This plan also includes a free Dump Truck account with 25 GB of online storage. It costs $14.99 per month but you can get it from just $8.33 per month if you sign up for a year of service.
The vyprvpn premium plan includes the same benefits as the pro plan. Additionally, it gives you three simultaneous connections instead of two thus allowing you to connect a third device. It also ups the free Dump Truck secure online storage from 25 GB to 50 GB. The premium plan costs $19.99 per month but you can get it from just $10.00 per month if you buy a year of service.
As with many services we have reviewed, the payment is made as a single payment for the entire term length. VyprVPN accepts most credit cards including Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express, JCB, and Diners Club International. You can also pay using PayPal. Paying by Paypal will let you use their service to manage your account payments.
Dump Truck Secure Online Storage
Golden Frog also has a secure online service called Dump Truck. Their service will let you securely store your files, has apps for Windows, Mac, Android, iOS and Web browsers, and automatically syncs all of your files between all of your devices so that they can be accessed from anywhere. The service keeps three copies of all files to ensure that your files will always be there when you need them. It will allow you to share public links with your friends and family through email and social websites. You can use link expiration dates and passwords to protect these links and control who has access to the shared files and how long they can be accessed. Dump truck will also let you collaborate on files by allowing you to share them through email with permissions that you set.
Golden Frog owns all of its infrastructure and the files are uploaded and downloaded to their servers using 256-bit SSL. This ensures that your data is only handled by them and no 3rd party ever has access to it. Additionally, once your data reaches their servers it is stored using 256-bit AES encryption. This ensures that if a 3rd-party were to hijack your data or somehow breach the server, he would not be able to read your encrypted files. This allows their service to provide you with end-to-end data security.
Golden Frog provides all VyprVPN users a free Dump Truck account with varying amounts of storage space based on the account level. Those with a free account get 5 GB of free secure online storage space. The basic account receives a free 10 GB account, the pro account receives 25 GB and the premier account receives 50 GB. The above image shows the pricing for Dump Truck extra storage space. Plans are available for any storage level that you might need.
Cyphr Encrypted Messaging
Golden Frog has developed an encrypted messaging app called Cyphr. The mobile app is available for iOS (iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch) and Android devices. You can use Cyphr to securely send messages to friends and family. Protect your privacy when messaging colleagues at work or school. Cyphr keeps your messages from being hijacked or modified without your knowledge. Since Golden Frog owns their network infrastructure they can offer end to end privacy for Cyphr users. In addition, Golden Frogs hosts the Cyphr servers in Switzerland for a higher level of privacy protection.
While Cyphr is currently only available for iOS and Android, the Golden Frog team is working on apps for Windows, Mac, and web browsers. In the meantime you can download the iOS app directly from the Apple app store. Cyphr supports iOS 7.0 or later and is optimized for iPhone 5. Android uers can download the latest version of the encrypted messaging app from Google Play. It supports Android 4.0.3 or later. Cyphr is a free service. You do not need to be a VyprVPN customer to use the app.
Risk Free Trial Period
Golden Frog offers both a free limited usage account and a free trial account for the VyprVPN service. The vyprvpn free account provides all the benefits of the premier account except that it is limited to 500 MB of usage per month. You still get access to all servers with unlimited switching, two simultaneous connections, NAT firewall support, and access to OpenVPN, L2TP/IPsec, Chameleon, and PPTP protocols. As I previously mentioned in this review, it also gives you 5 GB of free secure online storage on their Dump Truck service. This account could be a good choice for you if you just occasionally use a VPN service. All that is needed to sign up for this account is an email address and a password. It will also introduce you to the features that their service offers but I am not sure if the limited usage will allow you to completely test the service to see if it could suit your needs on a daily basis.
In addition to the limited usage free service, Golden Frog also offers a free 3-day trial of their service so that you can fully evaluate it before you make a decision to purchase it. This trial will allow you to test out whichever plan you have an interest in to see if it is right for you. I recommend that if you really want to test the complete service in an economical manner that you test the pro service as it has access to all the components that you need unless you really need the extra connection. This free trial does require you to enter your payment information and you will be billed for the service at the end of the 3-day trial period if you do not cancel it. If you decide it is not right for your current needs, you cancel the free account by:
Logging into the Golden Frog Control Panel on their website
Selecting Account from the left hand side of the control panel screen as shown in illustration on the below left (1)
On the resultant account page find the Services section and select remove service as shown below right (2)
You will be presented with the option to continue your trial, click Cancel
Select your reason for removing the service from the drop down box on the removal page
Describe your reason for cancelling the service
Click Confirm Service Removal to complete the cancellation
If you decide that you like the service and would like to continue using it after the free trial, then simply do nothing and you will be billed for the account type and term length choice you made when signing up for the free trial account through the payment information supplied.
VyprVPN Network and Server Locations
VyprVPN has a large network with over 700 servers in 47 countries around the world. As I stated previously in this review, they own all of their server infrastructure, write all of their own software, and manage all their own servers and technology so they can provide end-to-end security and privacy for your internet transactions.
Countries
Servers
Protocols
Log Policy
47
700+
OpenVPN, L2TP/IPsec, Chameleon, PPTP
No Usage Logs
A list of the countries and cities that they have VPN servers in includes the following:
Asia
Hong Kong; India – Mumbai; Indonesia – Jakarta; Japan – Tokyo; Malaysia – Kuala Lumpur; Philippines – Manila; Singapore – Singapore; South Korea – Seoul; Taiwan – Taipei; Thailand – Bangkok; Vietnam – Hanoi
Central America
Costa Rica – San José; Panama – Panama City
Europe
Austria – Vienna; Belgium – Brussels; Czech Republic – Prague; Denmark – Copenhagen; Luxembourg; Finland – Helsinki; France – Paris; Germany – Frankfurt; Iceland – Reykjavík; Ireland – Dublin; Italy – Rome; Lithuania -Vilnius; Netherlands – Amsterdam; Norway – Oslo; Poland – Warsaw; Portugal – Lisbon; Romania – Bucharest; Russia – Moscow; Spain – Madrid; Sweden – Stockholm; Switzerland – Zurich; Turkey – Istanbul; United Kingdom – London
Middle East
Bahrain – Manama; Qatar – Doha; Saudi Arabia – Riyadh
North America
Canada – Toronto; Mexico – Mexico City;
United States – Austin – Chicago – Los Angeles – Miami – New York City – San Francisco – Seattle – Washington, D.C
Oceania
Australia – Melbourne – Perth – Sydney; New Zealand – Auckland
South America
Argentina – Buenos Aires; Brazil – São Paulo; Colombia – Bogotá
Privacy and Security
ViprVPN has a no share privacy policy. They do log a minimal amount of session information from their VPN subscribers. They do not share information with third parties about their network or its users unless legally required. Their stand on your personal privacy is summarized by the following excerpts from their privacy policy.
Each time a user connects to VyprVPN, we retain the following data for 30 days: the user’s source IP address, the VyprVPN IP address used by the user, connection start and stop time and total number of bytes used.
We retain VyprVPN session data for 30 days to use with billing issues, troubleshooting, service offering evaluation, TOS issues, AUP issues, and for handling crimes performed over the service.
What Golden Frog Does Not Collect From VyprVPN Sessions:
Does not log a user’s traffic or the content of any communications
Does not perform deep packet inspection of your traffic, except where requested by the customer for firewall purposes.
Does not perform shallow packet inspection of your traffic, except where requested by the customer for firewall purposes.
Does not discriminate against devices, protocols, or applications. Golden Frog is network neutral.
Does not throttle your Internet connection.
Does not rate limit Internet connection
Golden Frog cooperates fully with law enforcement agencies, yet there must still be a subpoena before Golden Frog provides a member’s identifying information – minimal information reasonably calculated to identify and no more.
Golden Frog collects personally identifiable information from end users only through web form submissions, primarily for the purpose of enabling the purchase of services and engaging in support and other conversation. This personally identifiable information is associated with your account and can include information such as your name, email address, phone number, payment information and/or physical address.
I leave it up to each of you to determine if the Golden Frog data log policy is too invasive for your internet persona or not. I will say that they are open about what information they do collect and how it is used and they do not share said information with any third parties except under legal subpoena. Although they have server clusters in North America, South America, Central America, Europe, Oceania, Asia, and the Middle East, Golden Frog is incorporated in Switzerland and thus that is their legal jurisdiction. Switzerland has a long history of respecting privacy and has established a legal framework to protect it. The right to privacy is guaranteed in Article 13 of the Swiss Federal Constitution.
As for the security of your internet information and browsing habits, VyprVPN has that covered. They offer a wide range of protocols including OpenVPN (UDP), L2TP/IPsec, Chameleon, and PPTP to encrypt all of your online traffic and keep all of your online transactions from prying eyes. Their basic service uses PPTP protocol with 128 bit encryption only and is better reserved for less security conscious users. Both their pro and premier severs give the user a choice of the protocols that they want to use to connect to the VyprVPN servers using either 128-bit, 160-bit or 256-bit SSL encryption. This protects the users data and secures it from prying eyes. It lets the user decide for himself the level of encryption his data requires.
OpenVPN is a very secure and versatile protocol which now has support for most types of devices. L2TP/IPsec is an excellent choice for mobile devices because it is secure, most natively support it, and it is easy to configure. Its only con is that it can be a little slower than some other protocols. Their Chameleon protocol is mainly used to bypass firewalls in places like China and Iran. Also, because PPTP has widespread platform support, is easy to set up, and fast because of its low level 128 bit encryption, it is a popular choice for streaming media where security may not be your greatest concern.
Hands-On Testing
No review would be complete without hands on testing. I would like to start by saying that VyprVPN performed well in our speed test. VyprVPN has custom software for Windows and Mac users. Additionally, they have custom apps for iOS, Android, and routers on the Tomato MIPS/ARM Framework. This makes it easy for almost anyone to use their service no matter their OS of choice. You can download the software for Windows and Mac directly from their website. The Vpn Apps page which is accessed by clicking on its link in the site main menu has tabs to the information and install pages for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, and Tomato routers on the. The iOS and Android pages have links to the latest apps on their respective stores.
Connecting from Windows
VyprVPN customers have access to their custom Windows app. You can download it directly from their site. Simply go to the VPN apps page and choose the Windows OS to download the latest version of the client software. Once installed you will be able to connect to any server in their network with just a few simple clicks. They also include a number of advanced features to allow you to customize your speed and security. Let’s take a look at the Windows app in action:
In the screenshots above we have outlined what you can expect to see when connecting and disconnecting from VyprVPN servers. The first image (1) shows the client after you log in. Remember that the available protocols differ based on the plan you choose. The center image (2) shows the app connected to a server in Austin, Texas. As you can see we have an IP address assigned by VyprVPN. You can also view the connection status, time online, protocol & encryption level, and whether or not the NAT firewall is enabled. The final image (3) shows the service disconnecting. It’s that easy to connect and disconnect with their client.
The images above show two different views of the server selection screen inside the Windows app. As you can see VyprVPN makes it easy to connect to the fastest server. They determine this based on ping times from your current location. Lower ping times generally mean a faster connection. You can view the ping times for each server location. The app will let you view servers by region. You can also set favorites and search for a specific location. VyprVPN also offers guides to manually set up OpenVPN, L2TP/IPsec, and PPTP protocols on Windows. You can now manually configure their proprietary Chameleon protocol.
Connect with the Mac Client
The VyprVPN client for Mac OS X is very similar to its Windows counterpart. This makes it quite easy to switch between operating systems without missing a beat. Once again you can download the latest version of the Mac app directly from the VyprVPN website. Mac users will appreciate the attention to detail that the Golden Frog team put into the app. For starters it supports Retina displays. Techies will also like that you can use AppleScripts to customize the service for your style. You also have the option to manually configure your Mac for OpenVPN, L2TP/IPSec, and PPTP with helpful guides from their site. Once again the Chameleon protocol is only available in the app.
Connect from iPhone or iPad
Apple iOS users will be happily surprised with the look and feel of VyprVPN’s app for iPhone and iPad. It has a similar user interface to the Windows and Mac clients without quite as many features. You can connect to any server location from within the app without installing separate profiles. Unlike it’s Mac counterpart, the iOS app only support L2TP/IPSec connections. However, it uses 256-bit encryption so your data is well secured.
The images above show the iOS app running on an iPhone 6 Plus. The screenshot on the left shows the app before you connect to a server. The image in the middle depicts the app in action. As you can see I connected to a server in Austin, Texas. Similarly to the Windows and Mac app, it displays your connection status, IP address received from the server, time connected, and the NAT firewall status. The last image shows the server selection screen.
The VyprVPN iPad app adds a map to the home screen. I liked some of the features in this version. You can single tap any location to see the ping time. Double tap on any location to connect to a server without leaving the home screen. That made the iPad app very easy to use. The VyprVPN mobile app requires iOS 6.0 or later. In addition to the app, you can manually configure iOS for L2TP/IPSec and PPTP protocols.
Connect to Android Devices
Similarly to the Windows and Mac app, the VyprVPN app for Android let’s you select the encryption level and port for OpenVPN. You can easily swipe between screens to see a speed graph, server map, and connection log. You can also customize the connection behavior for individual apps. That means you can choose which apps run through the VPN. This feature is not available to iOS users. You can autoconnect to the VPN when using unknown wifi and cellular networks. VyprVPN for Android supports Android 4.0 or later. In addition to their custom app, you can manually set up OpenVPN, L2TP/IPsec, and PPTP protocols using the configuration guides on the VyprVPN website.
VyprVPN Speed Test
VyprVPN did well in our speed test. The speed of their server in Austin,TX was excellent. You should be happy with the speed of their network based on our testing. This test was run using the VyprVPN client with the OpenVPN (UDP) protocol on a server using 256-bit encryption.
As you can see there was a about 16% difference in speed between the connection directly to my ISP and the connection to a server in Austin, TX. As expected their was some loss in connection speed but for the extra security provided by the 256 bit encryption, it is a more than fair trade-off. With a speed of nearly 49 Mbps, the service should be plenty fast enough for all your internet needs. Their service should allow you to watch your favorite content from anywhere in the world.
VyprVPN Review: Conclusion
VyprVPN has been in the privacy space since 2009 and has built a good reputation for the services they offer. They have a worldwide network which has over 700 servers in 47 countries. They have a no share policy but they do log some general personal information as I explained in the privacy section earlier in this review. Furthermore, they are incorporated in Switzerland whose constitution protects privacy rights. VyprVPN is a tier-1 service which means they operate and engineer all of their own global infrastructure including server clusters, in-house code, and all hosting facilities. They also give their users access to their proprietary zero-knowledge (no log) VyprDNS servers. This gives them absolute control over your data. Their no-share policy ensures that no 3rd party entities have access to any of your information without legal means. This allows them to provide you privacy and security end-to-end.
VyprVPN supports Chameleon, OpenVPN (UDP), L2TP/IPsec, and PPTP protocols which makes their service compatible with most devices. They have custom software for Windows, Mac OS X, iOS, Android, and Tomato routers. They also have numerous step-by-step manual installation guides to help you configure their service with your devices. Golden Frog also provides users access to their encrypted storage and messaging services when you sign up for a VyprVPN account.
What I liked most about the service:
Easy to use custom software for Windows and Mac OS X
Apps for iOS, Android, and Tomato routers
Support for many protocols including Chameleon, OpenVPN(UDP), L2TP/IPsec, PPTP
Chameleon protocol to bypass firewalls
Discounted pricing for term VyprVPN plans
Dump Truck online storage and cyphr secure messaging
Ideas to improve the service:
Implement OpenVPN (TCP) protocol
Provide payment by Bitcoin or other crytocurrency
Log less personal information for billing
VyprVPN will let you enjoy your favorite streaming channels, keep your data safe when using public wi-fi, keep your ISP from monitoring your browser habits, and overcome censorship. They are neutral to applications that you use and support a free and open internet. Give their service a try and see what you think.
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