VyprVPN Review

Privacy and Security

VyprVPN offers a new suite of features to keep their subscribers safe from malicious online attacks. Their proprietary Chameleon VPN protocol improves on the highly encrypted OpenVPN protocol. Chameleon scrambles packet metadata to keep browsing data hidden. This is useful for bypassing VPN blocks like on Netflix or rigid networks like China's "Great Firewall".

On the security front, we love their inclusion of the underutilized NAT Firewall. This feature blocks unrequested inbound traffic to ward off malicious attacks. An optional kill switch drops the internet in case the VPN connection drops. They also use their own DNS servers which limits exposure of your internet activity to potential third parties. (Very few companies host their own servers.) There are no incidences we've experienced or seen reported regarding DNS, IPv6, or WebRTC leaks.

While VyprVPN does not record activity logs, we don't like that they maintain session data for 30 days. This includes connection times, your IP address, and bandwidth used. Furthermore, VyprVPN is based out of Switzerland, which is OK but not great for online privacy protection. Their parent company, Golden Frog, is based out of the USA. That's also not great for privacy protection, especially since they used to record logs for 30 days. In order to alleviate these concerns, VyprVPN became a publicly audited no-log VPN service. No longer are logs of any kind recorded when using their service now. While we don't like that they are beholden to both US and EU jurisdictions, they no longer log connecting IP addresses. Even if the authorities demand the data, there won't be anything to give them.

Speed

When testing VyprVPN, download speeds never dropped below 25Mbps. This included tests run in South America, North America, and Europe. Max download speeds reached as high as 90Mbps. Both the floor and ceiling speeds surpassed our expectations. The connection times and latency increases were within an acceptable range. Overall, VyprVPN might not provide the absolute fastest speed but it's plenty powerful for streaming multiple HD sports games or downloading large files.

Countries

Subscribers to VyprVPN gain access to 700 servers in 70 countries. Another unique offering is VyprVPN's dynamic server switching. This will automatically connect you to a new server in the same location if the current server gets overloaded. This is a welcome change from the majority of VPN providers who put that work on the customer. It's part of the reason why downloads maintain such high minimum speeds. They also boast over 200,000 IP addresses, which is yet another reason why VpyrVPN works so well with streaming services.

Ease and Usability

As mentioned in the Privacy section, there are a lot of options for VyprVPN users to secure their internet usage. While that's certainly a big positive, it also increases the learning curve for VyprVPN. The interface is sleek and modern, but there are a lot of tabs and options to mess with. It all feels a bit cumbersome. That said, the app is logically laid out so that it's a breeze to manage once you get over the short learning curve. One could even argue it's the best interface out there after adjusting.

In the past, VyprVPN completely forbid the use of P2P filesharing and torrenting. That has changed in the past year, which is great for a two reasons. For one, it obviously makes for a better product. Secondly, it shows that they listen and respond to customer demands. However, they are extremely vigilant against the use of torrenting any suspected copyright material. We don't condone the use of a VPN for illicit activities but torrenting of any kind with VyprVPN may result in false positives. They'll keep you legally safe but such activities could result in a suspended or banned account.

VyprVPN is one of the few VPN services that actually work for bypassing blocks on streaming services such as Netflix, Hulu, HBO, and Amazon Prime. For streaming anything, anywhere, VyprVPN is probably the best pick around. Part of this is due to their proprietary Chameleon protocol. Part of it is due to owning their own servers so they can tweak as necessary.

Support

VyprVPN's support is fantastic. 24/7 Live chat gets answered usually in less than a minute, and can be used to answer simpler "how to" questions. More advanced issues will be directed through email. These have always been satisfactorily resolved for us within 24 hours. Golden Frog also maintains an active forum for VyprVPN. This provides yet another avenue for resolving complex issues with little downtime.

Value

VyprVPN offers two plans to their subscribers. The first costs $9.95/mo with a discount down to $3.75/mo when prepaying for a year. This is the basic plan. The premium plan is normally $12.95/mo with a discount down to $5.00/mo when prepaying for a year. Only the premium package includes the Chameleon protocol, VyprVPN Cloud (which protects usage when accessing cloud servers), and an increase from 3 to 5 simultaneous connections. Both packages are solid deals because of the low commitment 1-year plan and the wealth of options not present with other VPN services.

VyprVPN can do it all but it's real strength lies in protecting privacy and bypassing VPN blocks. For P2P and torrenting, we still like other services in our top 10 list. Chameleon isn't necessary for bypassing VPN blocks, but it does help create a hassle-free experience. Otherwise, there is enough in the basic package to still view VyprVPN as a good deal.

Bottom Line

This is a very unique VPN service. Their combination of features and packages places them in the top tier of VPN providers. Chameleon is more than just a marketing ploy and really helps to hide VPN usage to bypass blocks. Rarely seen advanced features like dynamic server switching and the NAT Firewall complement first party DNS servers that negate leak protection. The consistent and excellent speeds continued to wow us during repeated tests. Because of the success rate in unblocking online streams and the fast downloads, VyprVPN ranks as our favorite VPN for watching sports.

It's disappointing to hear that VyprVPN has suspended accounts suspected of torrenting copyright material. It's not so much that they're doing it but that they're able to do it. Maybe it's completely a thing of the past now. The company sure has taken a lot of steps in the right direction - especially the public auditing to prove they don't record logs. We tend to prefer tried and true and view other improvements as a bonus. And the tried and true approach says VyprVPN is best slotted for worldwide streaming use and censorship blocks.