He currently focuses on consumer electronics and personal security services for 360 Reviews. News & World Report in 2019, where he was instrumental in launching the company's 360 Reviews vertical. Jeff Kinney began working as an editor for U.S. If you have a question that hasn't been answered in one of our guides, send an email to and we'll do our best to help. Our privacy and technology team has done countless hours of research on all sorts of consumer technology products and services. However, if you use IPVanish in both Windows and macOS, prepare for a steeper learning curve than usual, as you will have to essentially learn two different programs. ![]() It's great to be able to filter servers by latency, which most VPNs don't allow. The server maps provide visual interest, although I usually prefer to choose servers from a list. I also thought the interface was attractive. IPVanish is one of the most configurable VPNs in our rating, which I liked. *Average time it took to download a 115 MB file from a legal torrenting website. See our VPN testing methodology to learn how we calculated speeds. Speeds: The table below shows IPVanish's average upload, download, and torrenting speeds compared to the other VPNs we tested. I experienced no DNS leaks while using IPVanish, meaning the VPN hid my IP address, location, and internet activity from my internet service provider as it should have. I also could connect to Facebook and scroll smoothly through my feed. Streaming, Facebook, and DNS leaks: I could stream a high-definition YouTube video while using IPVanish without buffering or stuttering. I didn't see any reason for this, and it will increase your learning curve if you use the VPN on both platforms. I also noticed that while most VPNs have similar Windows and macOS apps, IPVanish's desktop apps have quite different interfaces. For example, you may want to bypass the VPN for streaming services for a faster connection. Split tunneling is useful for people who want to route only some of their internet traffic through the VPN. ![]() A kill switch provides extra protection by preventing you from connecting to the internet if you lose your VPN connection. One complaint I had is that the iOS app doesn't offer a kill switch or split tunneling. When you connect, the VPN displays information like protocol, server, and data uploaded and downloaded. You can also filter servers by latency in macOS, but only by city and country in the mobile apps. Both of these can affect your speed, so I appreciated having that information. For example, in the Windows app, besides the usual filtering by city or country, servers can be filtered by latency or load percentage (the latter being a measure of how much server capacity is currently being used). Settings and Features: One feature I especially liked is the ability to filter servers in various ways. This provides faster access and is a time-saving feature that many VPNs offer. Once you find a server that works well, you can mark it as a favorite. The default server may or may not actually be the fastest for you, so it's best to test several nearby servers. Once you choose a server and connect, a real-time graph showing upload and download data usage appears and the country where the server is located displays an icon that changes from white to orange.įor consistency, I used a server in New York to test all VPNs. ![]() The large "connect" button is easy to spot, and you can choose a server from a list of countries or choose the "fastest available." Information like your selected VPN protocol and VPN IP address are displayed on the main dashboard. Primary Controls: You can zoom and scroll through a world map that shows all of the VPN's servers. I liked how it displayed a lot of information in a way that was easy to take in at a glance. Look and Feel: IPVanish has a comprehensive yet easy-to-read black, white, and gray dashboard. After entering my previously selected username and password into each app, I was ready to connect. Here are my impressions from using the service.ĭownloading and installing IPVanish's apps for Windows, MacOS, Android, and iOS was fast and easy, and all the apps installed correctly. That said, I understand many people want software, including VPN software, that “just works” without a lot of settings to adjust. I tested each VPN’s apps for Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS.īecause I’m an experienced VPN user and tech-savvy in general, I often prefer software that has multiple settings to tinker with. My evaluations considered ease of use, features, and other criteria important to the overall experience. I evaluated our top 10 VPNs, as well as an additional five VPNs that previously made our ratings. ![]() VPN Expert: Jeff Kinney, Senior Editor, 360 Reviews
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