As one of the longer running companies in the field of virtual private networking, IPVanish has been able to keep up with competition from all sides over many generations of Internet business. However, the latest iteration seems to have stepped it up a bit more, and you can definitely tell in the quality of service that you receive.
Features, Not Price Points
This has definitely never been the cheapest option for a virtual private network on the market. However, the company has always been able to quantify the price point with more advanced features and more dedicated security than its competition. Fortunately, this generation is no different. IPVanish has finally come to the point of a true “zero logs” policy, meaning that anyone who is looking for you online will have an incredibly hard time finding any trail.
The Major Features of the IPVanish Service
Doing business with the IPVanish service means that you have access to true Tier 1 VPN networks with servers in almost 60 countries including the UK and the US. If you would rather work with IPs in more remote countries such as Egypt, you can do this easily as well.
As stated before, one of the major upgrades that the IPVanish team has implemented is a true zero logs policy. This means that even your connection logs are protected.
IPVanish software can currently be installed on an unlimited amount of computers. Mobile devices are included with this unlimited install policy as well. Different types of connections can also be used simultaneously – for instance, an OpenVPN connection can be used at the same time that you are also on a PPTP connection.
Safety and Privacy
You get additional security features if you pay for your IPVanish account with BitCoin (along with the built-in security that you received from not using government currency, which can be easily tracked from your bank accounts). If you pay with BitCoin, the only information that you have to give away in order to sign up with IPVanish is an email address and a password. Make sure that your email address is an anonymous one and you have 100% protection from the very beginning.
In past iterations of the program, IPVanish torrenting did not adhere to a strict zero logs policy. They have been able to fix this little bug in the current version, meaning that you no longer have to worry about being tracked if you are torrenting a great deal.
The company now provides PPTP, open VPN and L2TP connection types. Each of the connection types goes up to 256 bits except for the PPTP connection which maxes out at 128 bits. The privacy policy as well of the terms of service have been updated to be very transparent as well. In order to increase your privacy to the utmost, IPVanish uses shared IPs. Along with not logging any of your information, this creates a physical impossibility to identify you among all of the data streams that are coming through the IP. Even if the company is requested to find your information, they are not able to do so, protecting you from any government queries and laws that may attempt to enforce data aggregation from a service provider.
Customer Service and User Friendliness
The company has definitely updated its website. It is now incredibly easy to follow, and you can find any information that you are looking for from the home page.
Once you sign-up, you will have a personal control center that has a server information list built-in to the front landing page. This is definitely a positive, especially because the company does not yet have 24 hour a day, seven day a week live support. When they do provide live support, it is knowledgeable and dedicated, however. You should be able to find all the information you need on the support FAQ on the website. This features some of the best setup guides that any VPN service has ever created for itself. Even if you are a relatively new user to this technology, you will be able to set up your own connections without having to call for professional technical assistance.
If you do need help setting yourself up and you cannot get direct technical support, the website also has a support forum filled with people who are looking to help. You may be able to find your topic in the forum history with your question already answered.
The Windows VPN Client
When it comes to Windows, IPVanish is on iteration 2.0, and it is definitely a huge improvement over the previous version. You now have complete control over your location and connection types using an intuitive looking atlas. If you need to change your digital ID on a consistent basis, you can also do this very easily. There is an account and a support tab down the left-hand side of the window, easily connecting you to all of the important features that you will need in order to set yourself up.
The VPN Client on Other Platforms
Although the company took special pains to ensure that its Windows version was an easy plug and play, feature laden system, it also has very good systems for all major devices and operating systems. You can even get great service on mobile devices.
On an Android OS, you can use open VPN connections. The iOS app allows you to use L2TP in PPTP connections. You also have manual configuration for all protocols that are not utilized by default on all operating systems.
The Final Verdict
Overall, IPVanish has improved its service so much that it can now easily be counted as one of the most effective VPN services around the world. No matter where you access your program from, you will be protected on all sides. Performance is fast and support is there for you as much as it can be. You have choices to create connections for yourself using IPs across the globe, and no one has access to your data, even by accident. This is definitely a program that we can recommend using over the long term, especially if the company continues to keep up with technological advancements like it has in its past iterations.
I am a user of IPVANISH and it used to be very good until two months ago after their latest version. After having updated to windows 10 and re installed to a new version of their windows software all the problems started.
I upgraded to a newer version of their software. It stopped due to a faulty reference to a folder path that does not exist. As I am an “old” hacker I tried to fix it throug hte registry and also copy files back and forth during the installation, but this is clearly IPVANISH messy compilation of their IP client.
I contacted IPVanish support and they referred me to OpenVPN after they had understood the problem. Then I installed OpenVPN and it worked until two weeks ago and then stopped hiding my IP address, now I can skip the OpenVPN as it is like sending from the IP address I want to hide. I then contacted the support that referred me back to the faulty software and then when that didn’t work I was referred to OpenVPN again… And then using the L2TP an PPTP connections.
The PPTP connections does not work at all when I connected to them via the built in VPN functionality in Windows 10.
I then did the L2TP with the Windows 10 VPN interface. It turns out that I cannot trust what server is allocated to the IPVANISH VPN connection.
When I connect to Toronto I can get Amsterdam and the same with Brussels which also become Amsterdam.
I have spent an enormous amount of hours to sort out this problem and IPVANISh alsways refers to something else.
They tried to correct the software, but it still has the same path error which should make the connection possible through their software.
The amount of hours spent on this is not acceptable. They should have sorted out the problems and the worst is that they then refer to services that does not even exist or work properly.
The way around this for me is to always send an email to myself to see if it even works.
I have now cancelled my subscription. I am fed up after two months of bullshitting from them. And no, it is clearly not my fault. I have tried other clients and they work perfectly well with my new Windows10 OS.
I cannot find any pros. System will not connect and it keeps telling me to contact IPVanish support but they do not contact me.
I find it perfect. I have had no issues what-so-ever using their program or services; be it pc or mobile. It just works, and it works every time! It’s fast and secure and cheap! I pay maybe $80 a year, and it is money well spent. Online anonymity is a must for anybody and IPVanish does a fantastic job! As far as support, I have had zero reason for support so I can’t comment in that regard. Great product that I’ll be using for a long time…
They renewed my account after I canceled! They are a ripoff! Do not use these criminals! Still no refund! Still no reply from support!