proXPN is a VPN service provider that has its headquarters in the Netherlands. It was established in 2009 to provide VPN services for internet users who are looking for a cheap, basic VPN with a solid performance. In this review, we will discuss in detail the different features and services provided by proXPN based on trying out their free account.
Pricing
proXPN offers 2 plans; Basic and Premium. The Basic plan is completely free of charge, however the Premium package costs $6.25 per month. Now, let’s see the difference between the two accounts to help you decide which would be better for you.
1- Basic proXPN Account
*Free.
*Unlimited data transfer & connection time.
*Tunneling protocols: OpenVPN only.
*Number of servers: 1 server (US server).
*Limited speed (300kbps).
*Torrenting is not available.
*Not compatible with iOS and Android (4.0 and higher).
*Customer support is not available.
*Limited number of ports.
2- Premium proXPN Account
*Costs $6.25 a month.
*Unlimited data transfer & connection time.
*Access to all servers.
*Unlimited bandwidth and speed.
*Torrenting is permitted.
*Access to all ports.
*Customer support available.
*Compatible with iOS and Android (4.0 and higher).
Clearly the premium package allows you to make use of all the features provided by proXPN. Meanwhile, if you want very basic, yet secure VPN service at the same time VPN for light browsing, then we suggest subscribing to the free account.
Payments and Refunds
proXPN offers 30-day risk free money-back guarantee. This means that if you subscribe to their premium account and find their VPN services unsatisfactory, you can get your money back within 30 days of purchase.
As for payment methods, proXPN accepts the following payments: PayPal and credit cards. Unfortunately, anonymous payments, like Bitcoins are not accepted. We always prefer anonymous payments to regular payment options for extra security and anonymity.
Privacy Policy
Unlike many big name VPN services, proXPN has a more transparent and clearer privacy policy. It does not keep traffic logs, nor does it keep records of IP address and connection time. However, some records of personal and billing information are kept, including: email, password and payment details.
” Our logging policy is quite simple, we don’t log anything. We don’t log any activity of our users at any time. proXPN = NO LOGS.”
To add more transparency, their Canary policy is also published on their privacy policy section.
The Client
We have subscribed to their basic account and tested their free service. The signing up process is very easy, all you need to do is to provide a valid e-mail address, a password and a mobile number. We did not like the idea of giving out a mobile number since the less personal information given, the better.
We liked their Windows client, it is very basic, simple and user-friendly. You might be prompted by your security program (anti-virus) during the installation process. In this case, you need to confirm that proXPN is safe to use and ignore any threats. The client is about 16MB in size which is larger than many other VPN clients, but it did not cause any hassle or interruptions during the period we were testing it.
As previously mentioned, the basic plan only allows you to use OpenVPN and 1 server location (US) which we were automatically connected to. Moreover, there are options to automatically connect to the VPN upon Windows startup and there is a built-in kill switch that is automatically activated for extra security.
As for the overall performance, we tried media streaming for hours and the connection was very stable and fast. We did not experience any buffering or interruptions. So we can say that proXPN is reliable and gives a solid performance.
proXPN Features
In this section, we will discuss the different features provided by proXPN including security protocols, speed, number of servers, compatibility, support and more.
Security
Even though we are impressed by the transparency of their privacy policy, we are less impressed by the level of security provided by proXPN. High security VPN level has become the key point and main demand by internet users due to the mass crackdown on internet privacy practiced by world governments as well as the alarming growth of cyber criminal activities. That is why most popular VPN services strengthen their levels of security to provide their users with a secure, private and anonymous internet environment. That is sadly not the case with proXPN as they rely on 512-bit encryption to support only three tunelling protocols; OpenVPN, PPTP and IPsec. Not only is the level of encryption weak, but using PPTP and IPsec is shocking. We can only recommend using OpenVPN as it is the most secure, however, some might find it not very easy to configure on several devices as in some cases it requires external setup.
Servers & Bandwidth
proXPN has a small network of servers, but they are stratigically spread across 18 important locations, inclduing: US, UK, GERMANY, SWITZERLAND, NETHERLANDS, HONG KONG and many more.
The company also provides unlimited bandwidth to paid users. However, free subscribers can only enjoy limited speeds at 300kbps.
Compatibility
proXPN support several major platforms, such as: Windows, Mac OS, iOS,Linux, Android (4.0+) and Chromebook. It should be noted that the basic plan does not work with iOS or Android.
VPN Guard
This is one of the features that we really liked about proXPN. The VPN Guard is a built-in kill switch that is active by default to make sure that any applications running are killed when the VPN is disconnected for any reason. It acts as an extra layer of encryption for additional security.
Customer Support
We were generally happy the with the customer support. Although live chat is not an available option, but their ticketing system is very easy and the team behind it is very friendly and responsive. Moreover, you can also contact proXPN support via telephone. Self-assistance is also available as there is a thorough help centre on their website.
Conclusion
We can say that proXPN is a good VPN service. However, there are some things we do not like about the service, such as their level of security, limited number of servers and lack of live chat. We also did not fancy the fact that they keep some personal records or that in order to register for an account, a mobile number needs to be provided.
