ProtonVPN

ProtonVPN is a virtual private network (VPN) service provider operated by the Swiss company Proton Technologies AG,[1] the company behind the email service ProtonMail.[1] According to ProtonVPN's official website, ProtonVPN and ProtonMail share the same management team, offices, and technical resources, and is operated from Proton's headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland under the protection of Swiss privacy laws.[1]

ProtonVPN
Developer(s)Proton Technologies AG
Stable release
Android 2.6.4.2

Linux 2.2.6

macOS 2.0.0

Microsoft Windows 1.18.2

iOS 2.3.5

Repository
Operating system
Platform
TypeVirtual private network
Websiteprotonvpn.com

Company

Proton Technologies AG, the company behind ProtonVPN and the email service ProtonMail, is supported by FONGIT (the Fondation Genevoise pour l'Innovation Technologique, a non-profit foundation financed by the Swiss Federal Commission for Technology and Innovation)[1] and the European Commission.[2] Proton has also partnered with Mozilla, the makers of the open source Firefox web browser to offer VPN to Firefox users.[3]

Features

ProtonVPN has (as of 19 January 2021) a total of 1063 servers, sited in 54 different countries.[4] All servers are owned and operated by ProtonVPN through the company's network.[5] Its service is available for Windows, MacOS, Android, and iOS, and also has a command-line tool for Linux.[6]

ProtonVPN utilizes OpenVPN (UDP/TCP) and the IKEv2 protocol, with AES-256 encryption. The company has a strict no-logging policy for user connection data, and also prevents DNS and Web-RTC leaks from exposing users' true IP addresses.[7] ProtonVPN also includes Tor access support and a kill switch to shut off Internet access in the event of a lost VPN connection.[5]

In January 2020, ProtonVPN released its source code on all platforms[8] and had SEC Consult conduct an independent security audit.[9]

Reception

In a September 2019 review by TechRadar, ProtonVPN received four-and-a-half out of five stars; the verdict read, "ProtonVPN's network is small, and we had some performance issues during testing. Still, speeds are generally better than average, the apps are well-designed and we have to applaud any genuine VPN which offers a free, unlimited bandwidth plan."[10] A November 2018 review of the free version by the same TechRadar writer concluded: "If you can live with a choice of only three locations, ProtonVPN's free plan is an excellent choice – there are no bandwidth limits, decent speeds, a privacy policy you can believe (probably) and clients for desktops and mobile devices. It’s well worth checking out, if only as a backup for your existing VPN service."[11]

A February 2019 PC Magazine UK review rated ProtonVPN at 4 out of 5, saying "When we first reviewed ProtonVPN, it was a young service looking to expand. It certainly has done that, and the service is definitely better now. It's still unclear if the company will be able to scale up to match its competitors, given its exacting standards for physical security. But that's a worry for the future. Right now, ProtonVPN is an excellent service at an unbeatable range of prices."[12]

See also

References
  1. ProtonVPN. "About Us". About ProtonVPN.
  2. European Commission. "CORDIS European Commission". ProtonSuite Project H2020.
  3. Mozilla. "Testing new ways to keep you safe online".
  4. "ProtonVPN - About Us". ProtonVPN. Retrieved 2020-02-29.
  5. Williams 2019-04-17T20:03:25ZUtilities, Mike. "ProtonVPN review". TechRadar. Retrieved 2019-07-16.
  6. Freeware, Brian Nadel 2018-11-16T20:00:00Z. "ProtonVPN Free Review". Tom's Guide. Retrieved 2019-07-16.
  7. May 15, Rob Mardisalu · Read user reviews; review, 2019 In this; service, I’ll test out their; short, see how it performs vs other free VPN providers In; All, It’s Not That Bad at. "ProtonVPN Review - Performance Test & Inside Look (2019)". TheBestVPN.com. Retrieved 2019-07-16.
  8. "ProtonVPN goes open-source: What this means for your privacy". tomsguide.com. Retrieved 2020-02-04.
  9. Osborne, Charlie (22 January 2020). "ProtonVPN apps handed to open source community in transparency push". ZDNet Zero Day blog. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
  10. Williams, Mike (17 September 2019). "ProtonVPN review". TechRadar.
  11. Williams, Mike (16 November 2018). "ProtonVPN Free review". TechRadar.
  12. Max Eddy (28 February 2019). "ProtonVPN". PCMag UK. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
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