Golden Frog VyprVPN Review

Golden Frog VyprVPN

We reviewed Golden Frog VyprVPN to see how it compared to other leading personal VPN services and were impressed by a number of features
that set it apart from its competitors.

Golden Frog VyprVPN- No 3^rd party servers

Other VPN services employ hosted server solutions that use third parties. Golden Frog uses their own server clusters that offer greater reliability and performance. For example, if a server has an outage, the user automatically gets connected to another server in the cluster.
Server clusters also make it easier to connect to Golden Frog VyprVPN. Rather than having to scroll through a long list of servers, we were able to simply select a location to establish a connection.
 

VyprVPN’s server clusters ensure that servers are never overloaded or unavailable. Golden Frog writes their code, and their entire VPN server infrastructure is built around state-of-the-art hardware. They have dedicated in-house network engineers available 24x7x365 to ensure Golden Frog’s VyprVPN operates at peak performance.

 

 

Golden Frog VyprVPN- Server locations in strategic locations around the world

At the time of writing this review, Golden Frog VyprVPN listed 712+ servers spread throughout their 17 server country locations in the United States, Europe and Asia. VyprVPN also boasts a staggering 200,000+ IP addresses. There are no restrictions on speed, bandwidth or server switching with Golden Frog’s VyprVPN.

                                                   Golden Frog VyprVPN Server Map

• Asia - Hong Kong
• Canada – Toronto
• Denmark – Copenhagen
• Europe - Luxembourg
• France – Paris
• Germany – Frankfurt
• Ireland – Dublin
• Italy – Rome
• Malaysia – Kuala Lampur
• Netherlands – Amsterdam
• Romania – Bucharest
• Singapore – Singapore
• Russia – Moscow
• Sweden – Stockholm
• Switzerland – Zurich
• U.K. – London
• U.S. – Austin
• U.S. – Los Angeles
• U.S. – Washington, D.C.

Golden Frog has launched many new server locations this year and their website states “We will continue to roll out new servers throughout 2013.”  Don’t forget to check their website for any new servers that have been recently added.

Golden Frog VyprVPN- Multiple VPN Protocols

Golden Frog VyprVPN supports multiple VPN Protocols including PPTP, L2TP/IPsec and OpenVPN. Each protocol supports a different level of encryption so you have complete control over the level of security that you want to use.

Golden Frog VyprVPN- VPN Apps for Every Device

A great feature of the VyprVPN service is that it supports more devices than other VPN providers, offering desktop and mobile apps for Windows, Mac, iOS and Android.  The apps are  simple to use and allow users to easily switch between server locations and protocols with a single click or tap.

 

 

Golden Frog VyprVPN- NAT Firewall

Golden Frog also offers a NAT Firewall option to their users as an additional layer of security when using VyprVPN. The NAT Firewall blocks unrequested inbound traffic when you’re connected to VyprVPN, preventing third parties from exploiting security vulnerabilities. No additional configuration or software is required because the NAT Firewall runs on the VyprVPN servers. NAT Firewall protects any device connected to VyprVPN.

Golden Frog VyprVPN- Bonus Feature: 5 GB of Free Online Secure Storage
Accessing files from wireless hotspots can be dangerous. Golden Frog gives all Golden Frog VyprVPN users 5GB of free secure online storage via Dump Truck (another Golden Frog product) to securely store and share files, photos, documents and videos with other users and devices.

Golden Frog VyprVPN- 24x7x365 Support

Golden Frog VyprVPN has 24x7x365 customer support via live chat and email. Their response time for email support is under 15 minutes. Best

of all, their support representatives are trained to deal with a multitude of issues and can provide you with the assistance necessary to optimize your settings or reroute traffic.

Golden Frog VyprVPN- Plans and Pricing
Golden Frog VyprVPN currently offers two account plans: Their basic account for $9.99/mo. and VyprVPN Pro for $14.99/mo. Both plans allow you to add NAT Firewall for an additional $5/mo. and include a generous 7 day money back guarantee. Payment options include credit cards and PayPal.

Golden Frog VyprVPN- Final thoughts
Golden Frog VyprVPN is a powerful personal VPN with truly unique features and it is easy to see why VyprVPN is a leader in the Personal VPN market. The creators of VyprVPN, Golden Frog, are Internet veterans who have owned and operated Internet businesses since the dawn of the public Internet in 1994. We particularly like that Golden Frog uses their own servers and do not outsource to third parties. In our opinion, VyprVPN is the best approach to protecting your security and privacy online

Golden Frog VyprVPN Review

• Pros
  Decent speeds. Multi-platform, multi-protocol support. Bundled online storage is a nice touch.
  NAT Firewall add-on providers extra security.
  
• Cons No free version available. Does not allow multiple devices to use service at once. Limited features. 
• Bottom Line
  Golden Frog has updated its VyprVPN service to support more platforms without compromising speed and ease-of-use. While extra encryption options are attractive, the price tag feels high for what is essentially a basic VPN service.
  
  
  VyprVPN from Golden Frog easily protects your online activity from digital snoops and hides your geographic location. Your computer and mobile devices communicate with Websites and other systems online by sending and receiving data packets. Anyone with a packet sniffer—your Internet Service Provider, the owner of the WiFi network you are using, or someone up to no good—could intercept that data stream and see what you are up to. Businesses rely on the Virtual Private Network to protect remote employees and their networks; a VPN service such as VyprVPN extends that protection to end-users. VyprVPN supports all major operating systems and provides users with varying degrees of protection.
  

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  When the VPN service is active, all the packets travel through a protected tunnel between the user's computer and Golden Frog servers. The servers handle all communications with the destination site, and responses are sent back to the PC through the same encrypted tunnel. Sites that try to identify you by your IP address see one of Golden Frog's IP addresses instead.
  VyprVPN has servers in the U.S. (Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Austin, TX), Europe (London, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, and Paris), Canada (Toronto), and Asia (Hong Kong).
   
  
  View all 6 photos in gallery 
   

  Pricing Plans

  VyprVPN comes in two flavors, basic and Pro. Plain VyprVPN, at $14.99 a month, is available only for Windows and Mac OS X systems. It uses the PPTP protocol standard 128-bit encryption for its VPN connections. PPTP is widely deployed as it is built into most desktop and mobile operating systems, making it easy to set up. Since it uses basic encryption, it is the fastest among VyprVPN's options.
  
  Users who want to use the VPN service on their iOS and Android devices must sign up for VyprVPN Pro, at $19.99 a month. The Pro version supports PPTP, OpenVPN SSL, and L2TP/IPSec. While PPTP uses 128-bit encryption, L2TP/IPSec uses 256-bit encryption and OpenVPN offers both 160-bit and 256-bit. L2TP/IPSec relies on the highest encryption so it has slower performance. OpenVPN, which relies on digital certificates, is reliable and performs very well. However, OpenVPN is not available for iOS.
  
  Both Pro and basic versions offer users free 5GB online storage on Golden Frog's cloud storage service, Dump Truck. With Dump Truck, users can securely upload and share files with others. Unlike many of its competitors, Golden Frog does not offer free trial or ad-supported versions.
  
  

  Getting Started

  Users sign up for a Golden Frog account after buying either the basic or the pro version. An account confirmation email contains the link to the dashboard and to setup instructions. When I logged into the portal, I saw a well-laid out dashboard with information about VyprVPN on the left side of the screen and the Dump Truck cloud storage service on the right.
  
  While you can use the VyprVPN credentials on multiple devices, only one device can be connected at a time. I can see if a device is currently using the service on this dashboard. Suppose you left your home PC connected and now you want to switch to your tablet. I can just log in to the dashboard and disconnect the PC. It would have been nice to be able to use devices simultaneously, the way Norton Hotspot Privacy does. At least VyprVPN sends a notification to the disconnected PC the connection has been dropped.
  
  Users download the client applications for VyprVPN for Mac and for Windows from the dashboard, or for Pro users, click on links back to Google Play and iTunes for the Android and iOS apps. I can just use the client applications or follow the set up instructions to manually configure the VPN clients that came with my operating system. This means that as long as the device supports VPN, I should be able to configure it with VyprVPN credentials. If my router has DD-WRT firmware, I could just install VyprVPN and protect all users on the network in one step. I like this uncommon feature; I've seen it in only HideIPVPN and PrivateInternetAccess so far.
  
  Installing the client application took only a few moments. Since VyprVPN also supports the OpenVPN protocol, the installer adds the TAP-WIN32 adapter, in the same way as competitors VPN Direct and HideIPVPN.
  
  Starting the software for the first time opens up a settings window where you enter the login credentials and select the connection settings, such as the geographic location of the server and the connection type. By default, the VPN settings are set to PPTP. There are also other settings, such as automatically reconnecting if the connection ever drops and automatically enabling the VPN service whenever the user connects to an unsecured wireless network.
  
  The software is extremely lightweight, so it is easy to forget it is running. Like Private Internet Access, VyprVPN did not have an actual application window when I launched the program. All I got was a tiny lock icon in the system tray, and when I right-clicked on the icon, I saw a menu listing my current network settings and the option to go back into the Settings screen.
  
  Golden Frog offers NAT Firewall as a separate add-on for $5 to block unrequested inbound traffic, such as bots scanning for open ports to exploit. Most wireless routers use Network Address Translation to share the single Internet connection across all connected devices, and when it receives unrequested inbound scans, it doesn't know which device it is for and blocks it automatically. Since VyprVPN bypasses the router and establishes a direct connection with the Golden Frog server, users aren't protected from malicious inbound traffic via the router's NAT. The NAT Firewall add-on protects users from these scans while connected to VyprVPN.