While conducting out Overplay VPN review we found that they promote their product as being secure, flexible and fast. Also, they are among the most innovative providers on the market right now and their network is growing exponentially fast. Currently, their network covers 48 countries worldwide, each country being the host of a cluster of powerful servers that make the network fast and reliable.
To test their features and strength and find their weaknesses, we took a closer look at their Windows client and compiled a comprehensive review that will show you the real face of the OverplayVPN. Let’s see if they really have what it takes to deliver what they promise in both online security and privacy. But first, let‘s take a look at the company.
About the Company
The Overplay VPN product is produced and distributed by Overplay Inc., a company with their headquarters based in the UK. Their history is a bit agitated as they started as a professional team with the desire to offer high-quality services but, in time, they got focused more on developing their network and somehow seem to ignore the customers. There are many complaints that mention the customer support is unresponsive; however, the company put in a lot of effort to create a comprehensive online database with every type of issue someone could have. So, with a bit of research anything is possible.
In the last few years, Overplay went through some changes and this had a positive spin on the product as well. Keep in mind that the company can’t offer complete anonymity online and they don’t even claim so. However, they are capable of offering security, reliability and speed.
Their network is well-developed and well-designed so you can achieve the maximum connection speed regardless of your location. Also, with such a rich list of servers (48 countries) you can travel around the world and keep your internet connection secure.
The company’s mission is to offer their customers the freedom to access any website from anywhere without worrying about security issues. Also, OverplayVPN as a product won the Best SmartDNS – Best VPN Service Awards | VPNSP two years in a row (2014 and 2015).
OverplayVPN Free trial
Any VPN service should offer the possibility to test the product before you actually submit to a subscription. This way you can test the speed, the quality of the connection and if you are indeed as protected as they say you are.
However, even though many VPN solutions support a free trial, there are some companies that prefer to remove this option from their package because they consider a free trial would load the network with unnecessary traffic. This way they respect their existing paying customers and, if you want to test the solution, you have to subscribe for 1 month of usage. The same is with OverplayVPN. They offer 2 types of services: Smart DNS and Smart DNS with VPN and both are lacking the free trial option.
>> Click HERE to Visit the OverplayVPN Official Site
Interface and Setup – OverplayVPN
Since the OverplayVPN is currently offering 2 services, we are going to review them both. This means that for this OverplayVPN review we tested the SmartDNS + VPN service.
The VPN client is proprietary to OverplayVPN and they recently updated the interface so now you can download the Overplay 3.0.1 version for Windows and Mac computers. The new interface is modern looking and user-friendly. All the tools are quite easy to reach and it’s easy to understand what you have to do. The best part is that you have the chance to fine tune your connection from the first log in by choosing between 3 different protocols:
Fast connection
Balanced connection
Secure connection
Also, you can select the location extremely easy, but you won’t see the entire list of servers immediately in the interface like with the previous client. You have to click on the “Change Your Visible Location” button in order to see the list of available servers.
All-in-all, the client is light, easy to understand and can be minimized so it runs in background. OverplayVPN is supported in the following OS (desktop and mobile):
Windows
Mac OSX
Android
iOS
DD-WRT and Tomato routers
For this OverplayVPN review we used the OpenVPN client for Windows and we installed it on a Windows 7 version.
Installing the OverplayVPN client for Windows
In order to be able to download the client for Windows you will have to create an account on the OverplayVPN website. To download, you can either access their download page or you can simply select the software you want from the big popup that informs you about the new software update. We went with the popup.
The installation process is simple: after the installer is downloaded, you simply have to run it.
You will be asked to select the language and if you want to create a Desktop icon.
Make your choice and click Next. In the following window you will be promoted to click Install if you are happy with your choices. If not, you can click Back or Cancel.
You just have to keep in mind that with the client, there will also be installed a few additional software like .NET Framework 4 and Visual C++ Runtime Libraries. So, when you will be prompted (if these are not installed on your computer), click Install.
After the installation is completed, the main OverplayVPN client window will open and will ask for your account credentials. These are the same username and password you used to create the account on the site.
Once you’re logged in, you will have access to the client’s full interface.
Connecting to the OverplayVPN network
To connect to the OverplayVPN network, simply make sure you are logged in on the client interface. For this, you have to introduce your account’s credentials and click on the Sign In button. Once you introduce them, wait for your credentials to be validated.
Once you are logged in, you will see the main interface.
Here you will have to take 3 steps in order to establish a connection with a server.
Select the protocol you want (Speed, Balance, or Security) – this happens by moving the selector in the Choose your Connection Preference area to the right or to the left. If you live it on the middle, you will be choosing the Balance protocol.
Select a server from the list. This is done by clicking on the pointer-shaped button under the Change Your Visible Location section.
This will open the list of available servers and you will have to select the server you want to connect to. To select the server, click on the name of the server and then choose the OK button in the bottom-right corner.
To actually connect with the server you selected, simply click the Connect
Now, you have to wait for the connection to be established, which could take several seconds. We tested several servers and the connection was established quickly.
Once the connection is established, you get to see the details of your new connection like IP address, Protocol and your visible location. As you can see in the image bellow we were logged on a server in London using the Security Protocol.
Now, to disconnect, all you have to do is click on Disconnect. Just as simple. Also, if you want to sign out of the client interface, simply click the Sign Out button on the upper-right corner.
The improvement towards the previous version of this client is that you don’t have to know about protocols and their names in order to select the type of experience you want. Everything is very simple and even the most non-technical person could set this up. The fact that the interface is simple and easy to understand is definitely a positive aspect for OverplayVPN.
Security – OverplayVPN
To ease the user’s experience, all servers are encrypted with up to 256 bits for connections that are done through OpenVPN. However, if you feel you need a faster, but not so secure connection, you can always choose either PPTP or L2TP encryption. If you want even more speed, you can choose to give up on encryption completely (the Fast Mode connection).
This is feature that you can use often, when you are going about business on darknet markets you should use the maximum encryption of the OpenVPN at 256 bits, but if you want to stream say Netflix you can just back the encryption right off and make the connection faster.
Privacy – OverplayVPN
Privacy is one of the main areas of focus for our OverplayVPN review. Overplay have just moved to a “No Logs” policy which is great, this means there is nothing to give up if requested for by Law enforcement.
They maintain a secure network allowing you to browse in an environment where no one can spy on you. Even more, they used a shared IP for their users so the level of privacy is higher.
Your privacy when using the VPN client is also dependent on the type of connection you choose. For instance, with OpenVPN the connection is most secure. With other protocols, the speed is better, but the encryption is lower. So, if you simply want to watch Netflix speed is good but if you want to have a private conversation choose the OpenVPN protocol.
Terms of use & Privacy Policy: https://www.overplay.net/en/terms
Speed – OverplayVPN
Like any VPN product, OverplayVPN will slow your speed down due to the encryption the traffic has to go through, it is just a matter of how much. To study the difference, we used speedtest.net to test our speed before the VPN, and with the 3 types of VPN connection (Fast, Balanced, and Secure).
We were pretty happy overall in our speed tests for this OverplayVPN Review. When using the OpenVPN protocol the speed drop was not as much as most other VPN providers and we could still stream video with no buffering from all locations we tested. This is a great sign for good speed.
When we tested the other protocols there was even less and less speed loss making OverplayVPN a really good option.
*Keep in mind that these speeds are dependent on the moment of the day, network load, server location and other factors.
Usability – OverplayVPN
This VPN solution is quite easy to use and understand, the brand new software is very simple and functional. The client installation is not complicated and there are plenty of servers you can choose from. Even better, the solution has options for both desktop and mobile OS which makes it quite popular among users.
OverplayVPN can be used for accessing video streaming services like Netflix or Hulu, music streaming services like Pandora, or any other site that has restricted content in your country. It’s great to use when you’re in public and want to connect to a public access point and you can use it all over the world (where VPNs are legal to use) to get online without no one spying on you. This way both your identity and your browsing are protected.
With one account, you can connect two devices simultaneously so, you can be connected on your computer and your phone at the same time. You can also run OverplayVPN through a compatible VPN Router so you can be protected with a VPN on an unlimited number of devices that are connected to that network.
Features – OverplayVPN
The main features supported by OverplayVPN are as follows:
Good Speed – as we already mentioned, you can customize your speed according to the type of encryption you’re using.
Unlimited Bandwidth – nothing limits the bandwidth except the load the server can support.
Allows access to P2P networks.
The client interface is simple and easy to use.
Their network is wide and secure allowing you to connect wherever in the world you want.
No Logs.
Compatibility – OverplayVPN
The VPN solution is compatible with the following OS and devices:
Desktop:
Windows
Mac OSX
Mobile:
iOS
Android
Routers:
Any router that supports either DD-WRT or Tomato software
Other devices (in the SmartDNS version):
XBOX 360 console, PS3 console
Pricing and checkout – OverplayVPN
>> Click HERE to Visit the OverplayVPN Official Site
The pricing plan is simple and is separated in the 2 services they offer: SmartDNS and SmartDNS with VPN. Both are divided in 4 types of subscriptions that are categorized by length of subscription. Thus, there are the 1 month subscriptions for testing, and the 3, 6, and 12 months subscriptions with the respective discounts.
They all cover the same offer and are different by the time you get to use the service.
Checkout process
To start the checkout process, select the monthly plan you are interested in and click on Sign Up Now. Next, fill in the details of your account (username, password, email address) and click Continue.
The second step is dedicated to the billing information. The accepted payment methods are credit card (Visa, MasterCard, and Discovery) and PayPal.
The following step will complete the order and will create an account for the username you chose.
Customer support
In our OverplayVPN review we found their customer support to be of a good standard. They offer many different forms of support from email, chat and an extensive database where you can find answer to almost any question.
Conclusion – OverplayVPN
After a thorough review of OverplayVPN, we can say that they is a reliable service with an act for innovation and online security. They do lack the custom mobile app (can be done via manual configuration), however they allow you to customize your level of security according to your online activities and they stand by their word when they say their product is flexible and fast.
We also liked that the interface on both the client and the site is simple and easy to understand. The new and improved client interface is light and modern allowing anyone, regardless of technical knowledge, to use this VPN solution.
>> Click HERE to Visit the OverplayVPN Official Site
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