Are you in the market for a good VPN (Virtual Private Network) service to secure your personal information online? If you’re reading this, then you’re probably wondering if TorGuard fits the bill and whether you ought to consider something else. In the TorGuard review, we’ll go over everything that you need to know about it and what to expect out of it. Only then can you decide if it is the right VPN service for your needs.
What is TorGuard VPN?
TorGuard is a premium VPN service comprised of more than 3000 servers and 68 server locations from 55 countries around the world. Despite the name, the TorGuard bears no connection to the TOR project (The Onion Router) — a free and open-source network for facilitating anonymous communication over the Internet.
The “tor” in TorGuard actually refers to torrents or torrenting, which is one of the things that the VPN service specializes in.
Here are some quick facts about TorGuard VPN:
- TorGuard is an American VPN company based in Orlando Florida. Their parent company is situated in Nevis — a small island in the Caribbean.
- They offer a 7-day-money-back guarantee that you can use to fully test whether their VPN service performs to your satisfaction. That said, their pricing structure can be confusing as they are broken down into various categories like Anonymous VPN, Anonymous Proxy, Business VPN and a plethora of add-on services.
- TorGuard uses advanced security features like open VPN and the best-in-business AES-256 encryption.
- Their VPN app works on most operating systems and supports a wide range of Internet devices including Windows, Mac, Android and iOS.
TorGuard claims to have the fastest and most reliable VPN protocol on the Internet. But is that really the case?
TorGuard Review—The Pros
As one of the biggest service providers in the VPN business, TorGuard does a lot of things right. Some of the notable positives that come with using their VPN service include the following:
Strict No-logging policy and secure jurisdiction
Unlike most other VPN services in the market, TorGuard does not store any information on the activities of users. This is important especially if you’re concerned about Internet privacy.
While TorGuard has offices in the United States, their parent company is situated in the Caribbean. This puts their VPN network beyond the reach of international intelligence groups like the “Five Eyes” alliance. Hence, users can be certain that the VPN company is under no pressure to divulge user information to third parties.
Fast Server Speeds
While it’s perfectly normal for users to experience a drop in connection speeds when using a VPN, a good VPN service can optimize their VPN server to make latency a non-issue for users. Fortunately, TorGuard does not disappoint in this regard.
While they are not the fastest VPN we’ve tried so far, TorGuard provides fast and stable server speeds that are more than enough to keep most users happy. In our tests, Internet speeds under optimal settings (closest VPN server from actual location) never dropped beyond 10 to 15 percent.
App-specific Kill Switch
While an Internet kill switch is a fairly standard feature for most VPN services today, TorGuard has implemented theirs remarkably well by making it app-specific. This means that you can specify which applications get closed out should the VPN connection fail.
As you might imagine, an app-specific kill switch is useful for when you want to shut down your torrent program if the VPN fails. That way, you can stay connected to the Internet through your social media or messaging app.
Flexible security options
In addition to the impenetrable AES-256, TorGuard offers just about every encryption protocol in the VPN business including SSTP, IPSec and SOCKS5 Proxy.
The rule of thumb when it comes to VPNs is that the stronger the data encryption, the bigger the impact when it comes to Internet speeds. Having the option to switch among various data encryption protocols enables users to adjust the balance between server speeds and security depending on one’s needs.
Stealth Mode for defeating VPN Blockers
Most governments and companies don’t like it when people try to bypass the censorship and restrictions they’ve put in place through the use of a VPN. As a result, they’ve developed powerful VPN blocking software capable of detecting VPN use by monitoring typical characteristics of VPN traffic such as SSL/TLS headers.
TorGuard is capable of defeating VPN blockers through a feature that they call “Stealth Mode.” This filters the data coming in and out of a device to remove the usual tell-tale signs of VPN use. Data is then rerouted through the typical ports enabling users to circumvent geo-blocking restrictions better than most other VPNs on the market.
Unlimited bandwidth and support for most platforms and operating systems
TorGuard VPN offers unlimited bandwidth and can be used on up to 5 devices running simultaneously. As mentioned earlier, TorGuard’s VPN app supports all popular internet devices and operating systems on the market. This enables users to secure all of their Internet devices with one subscription plan which makes it a good value for your money.
TorGuard—The Cons
Of course, no VPN is perfect and there are a few notable downsides to using TorGuard as a VPN service:
Clunky and outmoded user interface
While this might be purely subjective, one of the things that you’ll likely notice when using TorGuard’s VPN app is how clunky and outdated their user interface looks. Compared to the VPN apps on other popular VPNs on the market, TorGuard’s UI just feels like you’re looking at an app from the early 2000s.
That said, advanced users might actually prefer TorGuard’s UI over its counterparts. For one thing, there is a tonne of options readily accessible from the app. Hence, you should have no problem getting the app to work exactly how you want it to (if you know what you’re doing). If not, then you can just click on the “Connect” button and it’ll automatically connect you to the nearest VPN server.
Not for beginners
If you’ve never used a VPN before, then you might find the use of TorGuard’s VPN app quite intimidating. Their user interface just isn’t as intuitive as other VPNs on the market. Beginners will have to go through a steep learning curve to figure out how the different options work and get the most out of TorGuard’s VPN features.
Complex pricing structure
As you can see above, TorGuard implements one of the most confusing pricing structures we’ve seen in the VPN market. This is unfortunate considering the VPN performance and features that TorGuard has to offer.
In addition to a monthly fee that starts at $9.99 per month, new users are asked to consider the purchase of a dedicated IP and add-ons that increase the monthly fee. As a result. it’s easy to overpay for features that you may not actually need.
How to Install TorGuard VPN
Assuming that you’ve already signed up for an account with TorGuard, the next step is to download the TorGuard VPN app on your device. You can do so from their TorGuard Clients – Download page.
Just download the appropriate client and install it on your device. Similarly, if you’re on Android or iOS, you can find TorGuard’s VPN from the app store (Google Playstore or Apps Store) and install it on your mobile device.
How to Install TorGuard Chrome Extension
If you’re going to use TorGuard solely to secure your browsing activity, then you don’t actually have to install their VPN app on your device. Instead, you can install a browser extension and access the VPN service directly from your browser as needed.
You can download TorGuard’s Chrome Extension from the TorGuard Clients – Download page or download the extension directly from the Chrome Web Store.
Can I Use TorGuard to Watch Netflix?
We would hesitate to say Yes, but only because we believe it’s not cost-effective to use TorGuard Netflix. This is because, to make it happen, you will need to purchase a dedicated IP ($7.99) which TorGuard charges on top of your monthly fee. None of their standard VPN servers will work when trying to unlock geo-blocked content on Netflix.
To make matters worse, the dedicated IP that they sell is specific to a certain region. Hence, you will need to purchase multiple dedicated IPs if you want to access geo-blocked content on Netflix from multiple regions.
In comparison, NordVPN charges $11.95 per month and the majority of their VPN servers do a good job of unblocking Netflix. More importantly, users can freely switch servers from different regions as necessary with no additional cost.
Can I Use TorGuard to Torrent?
Yes, you can, and as the name suggests, TorGuard torrenting is actually the brand’s strongest suit as a VPN service. TorGuard offers P2P file sharing on all of their VPN servers with port forwarding enabled — a feature that greatly improves the file transfer rate for torrents.
If you download a lot of torrents regularly, then it is recommended that you use TorGuard uTorrent to secure such activities online. Of course, TorGuard also supports other popular torrenting software like BitTorrent, Deluge, and Vuze.
Does TorGuard Work with Firestick?
Yes, but only for selected Firestick devices. You can check here to see if your Firestick is on the list of supported devices.
To install and run the TorGuard VPN, search for “TorGuard” on the Amazon App Store and install TorGuard Firestick on your device.
How to Get a TorGuard Trial
New accounts are automatically enrolled to TorGuard’s 7-day trial program. That should be enough time to evaluate the performance of their VPN service and whether it’s suitable for your needs.
If you’re unsatisfied for any reason, you can contact their support staff via chat or email to get a full refund. Unsatisfied customers will be promptly reimbursed as long as it’s within the trial period.
Summary
So there you have it — everything that you must know about TorGuard’s premium VPN service. As you may have already realized, TorGuard is primarily geared towards advanced users that know precisely what they want out of a VPN service and do not mind paying a premium to get it.
If you’re new to VPNs or looking for something that you can use to say, unlock geo-blocked content on Netflix, then we wouldn’t recommend it. Not when there are cheaper and more user-friendly alternatives around.