VPNSecure has been in business for almost a decade. It is owned by VPNSecure Pty Ltd and is based in Australia. In this review, we’ll find out if VPNSecure is living up to its claim of providing online privacy and unblocking websites for everyone.
Before we go deeper into the finer details, here’s VPNSecure in a nutshell.
- It has 90+ servers in 48+ countries at the moment of writing.
- VPNSecure supports Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and selected routers.
- Users are allowed to manually chose the encryption method for VPN connections.
You’ll find that VPNSecure has a free VPN that allows you to test out the basic features of the app for 30 days. However, the free version of VPNSecure limits you to only 2GB of Bandwidth and a single server connection in the US.
To get the best of VPNSecure, an upgrade to the premium plans is mandatory. VPNSecure offers 3 different payment plans as follow:
- $6.66 per month for 12 months
- $8.32 per month for 6 months
- $9.95 per month for 1 month
The subscription fees are quite reasonable when compared to some of the top VPNs in the industry. When you sign up for any of the plans, you’ll be backed by a 7-day-money-back guarantee policy.
VPN Secure Review
For a VPN that has been around since 2010, you’ll expect VPNSecure to ace in every aspect that matters. After trying out VPNSecure, we’re left with mixed feelings.
Let’s get started with the plus points of VPNSecure.
Pros
1. Industry Standard Protocol and Encryption
VPNSecure is playing by the book with VPN protocol and encryption. It uses the OpenVPN to tunnel the data over its servers and users are given a choice of 3 types of encryption.
By default, the AES-128 bit is selected in the app but you could opt for the more secure AES-256 encryption. Some would argue that going for the latter may result in a slight latency in connection speed.
The app also features a kill switch, where it will terminate the internet connection if the link to VPNSecure breaks unexpectedly.
VPNSecure seems to get everything right in the security fundamentals. The only thing that’s amiss is that IKEv2, a commonly used protocol is not supported on the app.
2. No Malware Detected
We couldn’t risk our PC being infected with malware or viruses, not even if we’re promised total online privacy.
As usual, we did a quick scan of the Windows installer file of VPNSecure and got a clean result.
3. Strict No Logging Policy
“No Logging, Ever” seems to be the tagline for VPNSecure. But you’ll need to inspect the fine print of the privacy policy to verify if it is holding true to its promise.
Combing through mini-fonts isn’t a fun job, but thankfully, VPNSecure spells out its policy for VPN users in simple, noticeable words.
It’s obvious that critical information that could be tied to the users are not logged on VPNSecure’s servers.
4. Simple App User Interface
Rather than a full-blown Windows application, VPNSecure kept its app simple on the PC. It is designed to resemble a mobile app with a menu icon at the top left corner allowing access to server selection, settings, and support.
You’ll find all the servers available arranged in alphabetical order. A search bar helps in getting the preferred server on the list to show up quickly.
Connecting to a specific server is done by clicking on the Connect button that appears when you hover over the list. The same applies when you want to disconnect from the VPN.
The Android version of VPNSecure also shares an almost similar layout. It helps if the server is accompanied by traffic indicators, but generally, we had no complaints about getting connected to VPNSecure.
5. 24/7 Live Chat
Having a live chat option gives a VPN provider the edge over competitors. We noticed that VPNSecure has a live chat icon on its website and we decided to give it a try.
It took mere seconds before we got a reply from the personnel manning the chatroom. The reply was concise and delivered in a friendly manner.
We couldn’t resist but to ask a couple more questions to have a better insight into VPNSecure.
6. It Works In China
Not all VPN can overcome the great firewall of China. VPNSecure has a special feature called “stealth VPN” in the settings that allow you to bypass internet restriction in the country.
We also confirmed with the customer support that VPNSecure is still working in China at this moment of writing.
But the problem is, the “stealth VPN” option is only available on the Windows app as we couldn’t locate it in the Android version.
7. Torrent-Friendly
Of late, we’re being disappointed with VPNs that are not torrent-friendly, despite claiming to be so.
We noticed that there are no indications on torrenting-optimized servers and we popped the question on the live chat.
Apparently, 90% of the servers are functional for P2P users. It seems that VPN Secure is an ideal VPN for torrenting, but further tests revealed otherwise.
Read on and find out what disappointed us in the following section.
Cons
It seemed to be going well for VPNSecure until we found these issues that deducted massive points from our review.
1. Slow and Inconsistent Speed
All our hopes on VPNSecure were dashed when running the speed test on the VPN connection of several servers.
Here’s what a VPN-less connection looks like in Malaysia.
We tried connecting to Singapore, which is a neighboring country. Theoretically, the proximity should result in a minimal drop in speed.
Imagine our disbelief when the screen displayed these figures.
The result improved when we’re hooked to a VPN server in Australia, where VPNSecure is based.
Connecting to a server in the UK resulted in an almost 50% decrease in download rate.
But things took a turn for the worse when we connected to a random server in the US.
We noticed a “USA TV Stream” server on the app, and we assumed it’s a highly-optimized server. But, it turned out to be the worst.
With such a huge drop in connection speed, particularly for US servers, we doubt VPNSecure will be useful for streaming and P2P downloads.
2. Failed to Unblock Netflix
Netflix has been notoriously blocking VPN providers from accessing its library of content. Some VPNs got the upper hand but unfortunately, VPNSecure is being blocked from the streaming giant.
Here’s a snippet of the conversation we had with the customer support.
We decided to test our luck and hope for a miracle by connecting to a random server in the US. But our effort was greeted by the black screen.
3. Low Server Count
For a VPN that has been operational since 2010, we feel that having 90+ servers puts it behind some of the top competitors in the industry.
Also, the low server count may contribute to the slow speed, if VPNSecure is having a large user base.
Does VPNSecure Have A Lifetime Subscription?
VPN Secure doesn’t have a lifetime subscription. The best savings you’ll get is the 12-months plan, which is priced at $6.66.
If you’re looking for a VPN with a lifetime subscription, check out VPN Unlimited and read the review here.
VPNSecure Android
You can install VPN You can install VPNSecure for your Android device by following these simple steps:
1. Open the Google Play Store and search “VPNSecure.” Select the app under the company VPNSecure Pty Ltd.
2. Select “install” to download VPNSecure for Android.
3. Once installed, tap on the Login button.
4. You’ll need to register an account to try VPNSecure for free. If you already have a premium account, log in with your username and password.
5. Connect to a VPNSecure server. Choose “Always Allow” when prompted by your device to establish a VPN connection.
6. You can now connect to VPNSecure. Server availability depends on whether you’re using the free or paid version.
VPN Secure on Windows
Here’s how to download VPNSecure on Windows for free.
1. Visit the VPNSecure homepage and click TRY FOR FREE.
2. Click on the Activate Account button.
3. Fill in your email address and you’ll be automatically assigned a username and password. You can edit the username and password.
4. Click Activate Now to create your free account.
5. Go to the Download page to get the Windows installer. Choose the right file that works for your Windows.
6. Install VPNSecure for Windows and launch the application. Click Login and key in your credentials.
7. You now have access to VPNSecure.
8. Note that you’ll only have access to the USA server if you’re using the free version.
Is VPN Secure Safe?
There’s no question on whether VPNSecure is safe. It uses the OpenVPN protocol and supports AES-256 encryption.
No hints of DNS or IP leaks were detected during our test.
However, VPNSecure doesn’t make it into our favorite list of VPNs. Its dismal connection speed rules out streaming and file-sharing.
You could still use VPN Secure if you wanted a safe VPN, but it isn’t a good VPN if you’re a Netflix fan.
For an almost similar price, we suggest that you consider NordVPN or any other contenders in our list of top VPNs.