PrivateVPN Review – 2017 update

9 minute read

Posted by: DeepDotWeb

November 25, 2015

Due to their increasing popularity and great service, we decided to conduct a comprehensive review on a popular Swedish VPN company called PrivateVPN. Their brand is not as big as some of the other big name VPN’s on the market but what we found surprised us.

>> Click HERE to Visit the PrivateVPN Official Site

To get the ball rolling, here are some useful information and background about their company.

About the Company

PrivateVPN is a Swedish based VPN service provider that offers secured and stable VPN connections to all online users around the globe. Even more, they boast themselves as being capable of offering the highest levels of privacy and security, 24 hours a day, guaranteed. This means a promised 100% uptime, regardless of your location in the world, which is pretty impressive and will be interesting to see if it holds true.

They have 40 VPN servers spread across 29 countries worldwide that allow their subscribers to access multiple encryption protocols that include OpenVPN, PPTP, L2TP, and the modern IKEv2, or Internet Key Exchange version 2.

The company that owns PrivateVPN, formerly known as PrivatVPN, was established in 2009 by Privat Kommunikation Sverige AB and it was created to deliver first rate VPN services to users for a reasonable price. Thus, the company conducts all operations at their head office, which is located at Sollentunavägen 159 191 48 Sollentuna, Sweden.

Today, PrivateVPN is committed to continually provide its users with uninterrupted first class VPN service, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Free Trial and Money Back Guarantee Policy –PrivateVPN

PrivateVPN offers 24 hours free trial through their gift code service. Those who wish to avail of the free trial only need to send an email to support@privatevpn.com and request for a bonus code, in order to receive a gift code that you can use to test their VPN services for 24 hours before you decide to purchase one of their regular subscription plans and packages.

We tried this service and sent a request to the email address that they have provided. We got a response within a few hours and were able to use the gift code that they have sent when we registered for an account on their website. To use the gift code, you need to create an account (described below)

In terms of money back if you are not satisfied, there is a window of 7 days that allows you to test all the features and see if PrivateVPN is a good fit for your needs. However, the seven-day money back guarantee only applies to new customers and you must make sure to cancel your account before the end of the 7th day. Any later and you won’t get your money back.

>> Click HERE to Visit the PrivateVPN Official Site

Interface and Setup – PrivateVPN

For this review, we used a device that runs on windows 7 platform. So, to be able to check their setup process and interface, we had to download a VPN client from their website, after signing up for an account.

The sign-up process

The process is pretty straightforward and doesn’t take more than a few clicks. So, to create an account, click My Account in the upper-right corner. In the window that shows up, click the bottom link to create a new account.

Next, there are 4 steps to follow:

  1. Choose a plan (1, 3, and 12 months)
  2. Add your email address
  3. Select a password
  4. Choose the method of payment (if you have a trial code, choose Trial code)

Downloading the PrivateVPN client

We logged into our newly created account and clicked the Installation Guide tab.

It brought us to a new page that showed the different platforms that PrivateVPN supports. We selected Windows 7 and were automatically given instructions on how to download the client.

After the download was complete, we ran the program to install the client software.

After the Microsoft.NET Framework 4 client Profile was installed, it opened a dialogue box, asking us if we wanted to install TAP-Windows Provider V9 Network adapter.

We clicked on the Install button to continue with the setup process. Once the setup process is complete, the software will ask for a mandatory computer restart.

Connecting to the PrivateVPN network

After restarting our device, we ran the PrivateVPN application to connect to their VPN network. It may take a bit for the first start after install as the app is checking for updates.

Next, we entered our username and password and then clicked on the LOG IN button.We waited for the VPN client to connect and then we clicked on the drop-down box to select a VPN server location.

We opted for the Sweden – Stockholm VPN server and then clicked on the CONNECT button.

It took a little bit of time for the PrivateVPN client to connect, but after a while it gave us our external IP and confirmed that we were safely connected to their VPN service.

We were impressed by PrivateVPN’s interface and setup process. Their website automatically provides the information required to install and setup their VPN service on every device platform that is supported by their network, and their VPN client can allow users to easily modify network settings and setup the connection guard feature that automatically closes a running program whenever a VPN connection is terminated.

For connection settings and connection guard feature, you need to go in Advanced Mode (a button on the lower-right corner of the client interface) and select either Settings or Connection Guard (see the image above).

Security –PrivateVPN

PrivateVPN protects the security of their VPN subscribers with a 2048 bit Diffie-Hellman key, in addition to their default OpenVPN Blowfish cipher tunnel encryption (128 bit CBC for TAP and AES-256 bit for TUN). This extra security ensures that all online activities are kept safe from any third party individuals and groups that attempt to steal data and information from their user’s online connection.

Moreover, they don’t just supply users with access to their VPN networks using multiple protocols (OpenVPN, L2TP and PPTP), but they also provide a connection guard (kill switch) feature that automatically closes selected programs in the event that their VPN connections accidentally gets disconnected.

For us, these amazing security features make PrivateVPN, one of the most secured VPN providers in the market today.

>> Click HERE to Visit the PrivateVPN Official Site

Privacy – PrivateVPN

PrivateVPN does not keep any data traffic records or logs to protect the privacy and anonymity of their users. The only information that they get from their users is the email address, username and password that their subscribers used to register for their account, which can be easily modified or falsified by any person who wishes to keep their identity hidden.

Furthermore, PrivateVPN is based in Sweden, which is not only known for great online protection policies, but is also outside the US jurisdiction, making it safer from any DCMA claims and policies.

Moreover, PrivateVPN accepts payments from Bitcoin, which is a payment provider that is known for anonymous payment transactions.

Privacy Policy: https://privatevpn.com/privacy-policy/

Speed – PrivateVPN

Based on our results, PrivateVPN performed extremely well compared to other VPN providers in the market. The speed drop was very minimal, considering the type of encryption technology that they are using to protect their subscribers online. This really helps when using PrivateVPN along with Tor browser to access the Deep Web, as Tor already slows down your speed considerably so you want a really quick VPN such as PrivateVPN.

PrivateVPN is easy and simple to use. The installation instructions found on their website really help makes the setup process fast and trouble free. All you need to do is select the proper platform for the device that you are going to use to connect to their VPN network, and then follow the instructions that are automatically generated on their website to finish the installation process. It is so simple. Some platforms don’t even require you to download a VPN client that enables you to connect to their VPN network instantly.

Moreover, PrivateVPN allows you to connect up to 6 different devices simultaneously, giving you the freedom to protect all your devices at the same time.

Features

  • Supports Multiple Protocols
  • Torrent/P2P Friendly
  • Unlimited Bandwidth and server switches
  • No Logs
  • Fast Connection that is easy to setup
  • Port Forwarding
  • 1 Day Trial
  • 7-days Money Back Guarantee policy
  • A wide range of locations available all over the world
  • 24/7 full protection and anonymity
  • 6 simultaneous connections
  • Supports all OS platforms

Compatibility- PrivateVPN

PrivateVPN is compatible with the following devices and platforms:

  • Computer
    • Microsoft Windows (XP. 7, 8.1, 10)
    • Apple Mac OS X
    • Linux
  • Mobile
    • Apple iOS
    • Android
  • Routers
    • Tomato
    • DD-WRT

Pricing and Checkout-PrivateVPN

PrivateVPN offers 3 different packages and the only thing that changes from one package to another is the length of time you get to use the service. Of course, you will get a discount directly proportional to the length of time.

Thus, the three packages are:

  • 1 Month ($8.95 per one month)
  • 3 Months ($7.32 per month)
  • 12 Months ($5.95 per month)

Each package offers the same features and there are no limitations from one type of subscription to another. As you can see, the most advantageous plan is the 12 Month offer so, if you like the service, this is the one to choose.

>> Click HERE to Visit the PrivateVPN Official Site

Check out Process-PrivateVPN

We purchased the 30 days package for this review to be able to see how their check out process works. For this, we clicked on the Buy Now button under the 1 MONTH PLAN and entered our email address and our desired password for this account.

We then selected PayPal as our payment option, and because we don’t have any discount code for this purchase, we just clicked on the Proceed to payment page button.

We finished the checkout process by entering the details of our PayPal account.

Payment Method Accepted by PrivateVPN

As stated at the beginning of this PrivateVPN Review, the company accepts a wide range of payment methods, among which, the very notorious Bitcoin for extra anonymity. Thus, the accepted methods are:

  • Credit card
  • PayPal
  • Bitcoin
  • Trial or promotional code (for first-time users)

PrivateVPN customer support can be contacted through live chat and email. They also provide remote assistance support to their subscribers, if you need any help in installing and fixing any configuration and setup for your VPN service.

Conclusion – PrivateVPN

PrivateVPN is a fast and secure VPN service that provides Tor users with the requirements they need. Their state of the art encryption and fast download and upload speed, makes their VPN service attractive to users who want to secure their data and information while conducting their activities online.

Even though they may not offer as many servers as the big name VPN companies, they do provide an excellent service and it appears that they are very focused on privacy.

Coupled with the fact that they are based in Sweden, it is a very good option for those wanting to use PivateVPN along with Tor while browsing around on the Deep Web and checking out darknet markets.

>> Click HERE to Visit the PrivateVPN Official Site

Updated: 2015-11-25

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