IVPN Review: Privacy-First VPN With Strong Security But…

IVPN is one. VPN solution For consumers and businesses, Teams also offers solutions if you’re looking for an option for your business. Its main features include kill switch, multi-hop, ad and website blocking, and schedule for IP address rotation. IVPN is a good choice for users who need basic VPN features, especially those looking for an open source solution. It’s also available as a mobile app if that’s a preference for you.

IVPN Pricing

IVPN offers two VPN plans, Standard and Pro. IVPN does not offer a Free trial For any of its plans, however, if you’re not happy with the solution, it offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.

The IVPN standard

The standard plan starts at $6 per user per month but costs $5 when billed annually. It protects up to two devices. If you want to choose bi-annual or quarterly billing, there are discounts for the latter. If you just want to buy IVPN Standard by the month or week, you can do that too, but it’s more expensive. I recommend the annual billing option.

See: Everything you need to know about the malvertising cybersecurity threat. (TechRepublic Premium)

Standard plan supports all VPN protocols. Its main additional feature is anti-tracking. If you only use a few devices and want the simplest VPN, IVPN Standard is a good choice.

IVPN Pro

The Pro plan costs $8.33 per user per month when billed annually and protects up to seven devices. Like the standard plan, the two- and three-year plans bring the price down further.

IVPN Pro also supports all VPN protocols, and its features include anti-tracking and multi-hop. I recommend the Pro plan if you’re a home office user or a freelancer with more than two devices.

Key Features of IVPN

I looked at five of IVPN’s most useful features, including a kill switch, anti-tracking technology, Wireguard IP address rotation schedule, multihop, and a mobile application for phone users.

See: How much does a VPN cost? + Saving tips (Tech Republic)

Killswitch

IVPN’s kill switch is available for macOS, Windows, Linux, Android and iOS if you use the built-in on-demand feature. A kill switch shuts down your Internet connection if the VPN connection drops. This helps protect against DNS and IPv6 leaks so that your data is not exposed if the VPN momentarily fails. Killswitches are an essential VPN feature, one of the most basic capabilities you need to protect your internet sessions.

See: 6 Best Anonymous (No-Log) VPNs for 2024 (Tech Republic)

Anti tracker

IVPN’s anti-tracking feature blocks advertisements and adware on customer devices. It also blocks data loggers and malicious websites. Anti-tracking is a useful feature often found in top antivirus tools and VPNs, and is one of IVPN’s key capabilities. In addition to the added privacy of anti-tracking, I recommend IVPN for users who generally do extensive Internet research and want to avoid ad clutter.

See: Does VPN slow down your internet speed? (Tech Republic)

Wire Guard Controls

IVPN allows users to create custom schedules for rotating keys and IP addresses. They can define the frequency of IP address change based on their security needs. I find this especially useful if you are a contractor or home office worker in the security industry and need frequent key and IP address changes.

Multi-hop VPN

Multi-hop VPN allows users to connect to servers at different locations sequentially. A VPN is “hopping” from one server to another, which increases privacy — if someone manages to trace your Internet activity despite the VPN, they have a very limited time to snoop. Will be.

Mobile app

IVPN’s mobile app for Android supports Android operating systems 7.1 and higher. The iOS app supports iOS and iPadOS 15.0 and higher. The source code for both apps is available on GitHub, if you’re a developer and want to check out the app’s programming. Both mobile apps provide multi-hop VPN routes, WireGuard privacy controls, and anti-tracking technology. If you use your phone frequently for work or sensitive online connections, I recommend IVPN’s mobile app.

IVPN Pros

IVPN has a few advantages for potential buyers:

• It has anti-tracking and ad-blocking features.
• Applications are open source on all platforms.
• IVPN does not store logs of customer browsing data.

I suggest you try IVPN if you want to avoid being tracked by online services. Also, if you’re a developer or just interested in checking out the source code, IVPN makes the code available.

See: Can a VPN be hacked? (Tech Republic)

IVPN Disadvantages

IVPN also has some disadvantages:

• It has email support but no phone or live chat.
• No integration with password managers is available.
• Lack of training videos.

If you’re new to VPNs and looking for service setup videos, IVPN doesn’t offer much. While email support may be sufficient for many users, I would recommend looking elsewhere if you want chat or phone options.

Alternatives to IVPN

Surfshark VPN

Surfshark VPN is one of the best consumer private networking products on the market today. Its features include IP address rotation, unlimited VPN connections, and camouflage mode, which helps you hide that you’re using a VPN by obfuscating any VPN connection. Surfshark offers more features than IVPN and is less expensive. I highly recommend it to anyone looking to buy a VPN. This is an exceptional product.

See: Is VPN really worth it in 2024? (Tech Republic)

Surfshark Starter, the basic plan, starts at $2.99 ​​per user when billed annually. Surfshark One+, which offers the most features, costs $5.99 per user with annual billing. Surfshark also offers the Teams plan, which starts at $5.90 per user per month.

NordVPN

NordVPN is a popular VPN and Internet security solution for both individual users and users. Small business. Its features include ad and domain blocking, browsing protection and dark web monitoring. NordVPN also has an app for Android TV and tvOS, which is especially helpful if you plan to use your TV for work anyway. VPN is available for up to 10 devices.

At $4.59 per user per month for the Basic plan, it’s more expensive than Surfshark Starter but comparable to IVPN’s prices. The Ultimate plan, also comparable to IVPN at $7.49 per user per month, adds features like identity theft recovery and cyber extortion protection.

Hotspot Shield

Hotspot Shield is a VPN solution for consumers that can protect up to 10 devices. Its features include IP leak protection, VPN traffic blocking, and DNS filtering. However, Hotspot Shield does not offer the multi-hop functionality or ad blocking, which IVPN offers.

Hotspot Shield’s basic plan is free and comes with anti-phishing protection, a kill switch, and DNS leak protection for one device. Premium subscription, at $6.66 per month when billed annually, includes gaming and Streaming capabilities and supports up to 10 devices. If you want to try premium first, Hotspot Shield offers a free 45-day trial.

Procedure

To score IVPN, I created a rubric with five major categories that VPN buyers commonly look for. Each category represented one main quality, such as pricing or customer support, and each included several sub-criteria: specific features, pricing plans, or support channels. The main criteria and sub-criteria all got a specific weightage based on their importance. IVPN’s final score was based on how well it met the sub-criteria I set.

The five criteria I selected were pricing, features, usability and administration, security and privacy, and customer support.

• Pricing (20%): I looked at both IVPN’s pricing plans and the availability of a free trial.
• Features (25%): This category includes the most important VPN features, like kill switch and IP address shuffle, and goodies like NAS support.
• Use and Administration (20%): I looked at factors that make the product easy to use, such as documentation and OS support.
• Security and privacy (20%): I evaluated IVPN based on its encryption and logging policies, as well as possible membership in Nine or Forty Eyes.
• Customer Support (15%): I looked at the availability of support channels like phone and email, as well as the available customer support hours.

Frequently Asked Questions

What encryption does IVPN use?

IVPN uses AES-256-GCM for OpenVPN 2.4 or later, and for OpenVPN versions prior to 2.4, IVPN uses AES-256-CBC. You also have the option to use ChaCha20-Poly1305 for version 2.5 and above. If you’re using the WireGuard protocol, according to IVPN, ChaCha20 can encrypt packets.

Can IVPN unblock streaming services?

IVPN’s features don’t include unblocking streaming services like Netflix or Disney+. If you’re looking for more flexibility for your streaming services, check out ExpressVPN, Surfshark VPN, or NordVPN, which all support streaming.

What operating systems does IVPN support?

IVPN supports macOS, Windows and Linux computers. If you’re a mobile user, there are apps for Android and iOS phones, and you can protect your iPads too. Note that only recent iOS versions — 15.0 and up — are supported, so IVPN may not work on all older phones.