One of the big names in the virtual private network world, Surfshark, has slashed its prices. You can now pick up a two-year Surfshark One subscription for only $75.33, knocking the price down by a whopping $436.32 compared to a monthly sub over the same period, and you're getting an extra three months included for free, too.

● Check out this deal at Surfshark

That's a huge discount on a VPN service that provides you with quality online protection. VPN services like Surfshark mean that you gain extra anonymity while you're browsing the web, keeping your IP address (and location) a secret from nosy retailers or, worse, malicious actors. Your money is protected, too, by a 30-day money-back guarantee for new customers, so you can try the service out and request a refund if it isn't working out.

Surfshark One is more than just a VPN, however. This is a full suite of tools that you can use to stay protected while you're online. That said, the VPN element is one of the biggest features here. It supports unlimited connections and offers over 4,500 servers to connect to, hosted in 100 different countries.

That means you'll have the option to connect your devices from one location, but pretend you're elsewhere. As far as the website you're visiting is concerned, you're really in London, even if you're sipping a coffee in LA while you do it. This kind of protection is really important in the modern world, as it makes it harder to track and trace what you're doing online. Another benefit, one that isn't as widely promoted, is the ability to view streaming services abroad, although your mileage may vary with this, depending on the server you're using.

256-bit encryption is included as standard, tunneling your connection to Surfshark's servers to prevent any eavesdroppers. Other common features, like a kill switch to halt internet traffic immediately if you disconnect to stop any leakage, are available, as is multi-hop, which routes your data through more than one server, just in case. Surfshark is a no-logs provider, too, and was independently audited last year, so even if law enforcement agencies ask for your data, Surfshark isn't going to be able to provide it.

Surfshark One's other features, meanwhile, provide you with antivirus protection, using antivirus company Avira's protection engine. The service also includes baked-in ad blocking, along with cookie consent pop-up blocks. Further online protection is provided with Surfshark's Alternative ID system, which lets you generate fake personal details for online websites, along with masked email aliases. Email scam protection, along with data leak alerts, is also available.

There's a lot of value included in this two-year Surfshark One subscription, especially at the $75.33 sale price. With a saving of $436 here, you can rest easy that you'll be safer online for at least two years, plus the three extra months Surfshark is throwing in for free, than you would be without it. You can try for 30 days and request a refund if you change your mind, so it really is risk-free.

If you're looking for more savings, check out our Best PC Hardware deals for a range of products, or dive deeper into our specialized SSD and Storage Deals, Hard Drive Deals, Gaming Monitor Deals, Graphics Card Deals, Gaming Chair, Best Wi-Fi Routers, Best Motherboard, or CPU Deals pages.

It's finally arrived: after a four-year wait, the FIFA World Cup 2026 kicks off a month-long soccer (football) tournament with teams from around the world. If you plan on watching any of the games whilst not at home, or while travelling (especially if you're a travelling supporting fan), you could be using a vulnerable open WiFi connection in a mall, hotel, or stadium ground. Whatever the scenario, you should prioritise your personal data safety and use a VPN to protect against personal data and identity theft.

● Check out this deal at Norton VPN
● Check out this deal at Express VPN
● Check out this deal at Nord VPN

There are a few good deals currently available from multiple VPN providers, all offering very similar services. If you're a UK resident travelling in the US, Canada, or Mexico, for example, and want to watch the games, you can use a VPN to watch the matches for free, as the games are not behind a paywall like in the host countries.

Firstly, we have Norton VPN. At just $49.99 for the 12-month Norton VPN Plus subscription, you are saving 55% of the usual $109.99 annual fee, making the monthly cost work out as just $4.17. That's less than a cup of coffee, and offers that essential protection while you're connecting your devices online.

Next up is one of the biggest VPN providers around. ExpressVPN has you covered for the World Cup and beyond with a massive 70% discount on this 15-month plan, where the price has been slashed to only $74.85, saving you $135, plus three months of extra VPN coverage added for free. Also, as ExpressVPN is an official sponsor of the FIFA World Cup 2026, you're gifted five raffle entries to win tickets to World Cup matches.

NordVPN is the final recommendation on our list. As one of the most well-known VPN services on the internet, it is an easy recommendation for those seeking out an effective and affordable, privacy-focused virtual private network for this year's World Cup.

Currently, you can pick up 12 months of NordVPN Complete for just $77.88, a massive 64% reduction in price from the original $219.48 cost.

These popular VPNs can be used on multiple devices at once, including your phones, laptops, and tablets. All you need to do is install the apps on your Android or iOS device and sign in. Once you're connected, you can feel secure online when you connect to unfamiliar networks. Fast VPN connections, no-logs privacy promises, kill switches, ad and tracking blocking, plus anti-virus protection are covered by all of these top-tier VPN services.

All offer dedicated server locations across the globe, with varying numbers of physical servers located in multiple countries. This means that you get the best connection speeds possible, with the minimum amount of latency.

There are individual differences between the services, too. Norton VPN, for example, offers a large 10GB of cloud storage, while Express VPN gives 3GB of eSIM data. Make sure to shop around for the provider that fits your personal needs the most.

If you're looking for more savings, check out our Best PC Hardware deals for a range of products, or dive deeper into our specialized SSD and Storage Deals, Hard Drive Deals, Gaming Monitor Deals, Graphics Card Deals, Gaming Chair, Best Wi-Fi Routers, Best Motherboard, or CPU Deals pages.

If you're looking for one upgrade that will instantly improve your online safety and give your privacy a boost, a virtual private network subscription is the one to choose. One of the biggest providers, ExpressVPN, has slashed the cost of its two-year Advanced plan to only $83.72, saving you $308 in total, with four months extra added for free.

● Check out this deal at ExpressVPN

That $83.72 price gives you 28 months of coverage, the equivalent to just $2.99 a month, compared to ExpressVPN's usual $13.99 a month cost for the same plan. It comes risk-free, too, as it's covered by the company's 30-day money-back guarantee. If you're a first-time subscriber and you're not happy, you can ask for a full refund at any point within the first 30 days, giving you plenty of time to push this VPN to its limits to see how it performs.

The internet is a hotbed of miscreants and misdeeds galore, and it's always worth looking at how you can boost your privacy and security online. Even when you're casually browsing the web and dreaming about products you'd like to buy, the websites you visit are tracking your every move, from the pages you view to the places you click on-site.

A VPN service like ExpressVPN can help to protect you from a lot of the snooping. It'll hide your IP address when you're browsing online, so your location is kept hidden, letting you disguise where you are by connecting to any of ExpressVPN's services in 105 different countries, along with 24 different locations in the U.S. If you're regularly on the move, too, you can take advantage of the VPN service to encrypt your data on unsafe connections, like widely-used WiFi networks in malls and hotels. That's helped by ExpressVPN using industry-standard AES-265 encryption for your connections, the same standard used by government agencies, with post-quantum encryption techniques used during the handshake process as you begin connecting to its servers.

ExpressVPN makes a big deal about keeping your data secure, too. It has a strict no-logs policy in force, which means that it doesn't track or store any data about its users' connections. The company regularly audits this policy using external firms, with the last audit in 2025 by KMPG offering "reasonable assurance" of its systems and policies as a result.

Expect a whole host of quality-of-life features here, too. It uses a kill switch to automatically block any data leakage if the VPN connection drops at random. Meanwhile, this Advanced sub comes with a whole host of added features for your protection. A private email relay, supporting up to 100 email addresses, means you can keep your identity safe when you're sending emails. Identity defender tools are included, too, with ID alerts and automated data removal in the event of a known data breach, along with ExpressVPN's password manager, which supports an unlimited number of accounts.

One of the really nice features, though, is ExpressVPN's baked-in Advanced protection for this sub-level. It'll automatically block ads and tracking scripts on pages, so websites can't build a profile of who you are and what you're viewing. Malicious sites are blocked, too, and if you want, adult sites are blocked, so you can keep your kids safe online.

With support for connections from 12 simultaneous devices at once, you can keep the whole family protected online with this ExpressVPN Advanced plan. The $83.72 price on offer here will cover you for 28 full months, and you can put that $308 saving to better use elsewhere. It's risk-free, thanks to that 30-day money-back guarantee for new customers, so if you've been thinking about a VPN plan for you and your family, this Advanced deal is one you won't want to miss.

If you're looking for more savings, check out our Best PC Hardware deals for a range of products, or dive deeper into our specialized SSD and Storage Deals, Hard Drive Deals, Gaming Monitor Deals, Graphics Card Deals, Gaming Chair, Best Wi-Fi Routers, Best Motherboard, or CPU Deals pages.

The soccer World Cup is upon us, with teams from around the globe ready to compete in the world's biggest sporting tournament. If you're planning to stream your favorite team's games while travelling or from a non-secure location, having a fast and reliable VPN is a must-have. Norton VPN offers coverage for up to 5 devices, plus online protection against viruses, malware injection, and malicious advertising, without logging or storing information about your browsing history. If you act now, you can save 55% on a 12-month Norton VPN Plus subscription, previously $109.99, you can get yours for $49.99 in today's deal. That's an incredible $60 saving.

● Check out this deal at Norton VPN

At just $49.99 for the 12-month Norton VPN Plus subscription, the monthly cost works out as $4.17 per month. Less than a cup of coffee, and essential protection is what you want to use free WiFi when you're out and about, or even frequenting a coffeehouse. Don't make it easy for criminals to get hold of your personal details and information.

Norton VPN can be used on up to 5 devices at once. So you can have the app installed on your PC, laptop, tablet, or smartphone, working seamlessly on Android or iOS devices. Helping to offer a sense of security whilst you're online. Norton VPN's Plus package offers you a fast VPN connection, a no-logs privacy promise, a kill switch, ad and tracker blocking, anti-virus protection, and AI-powered scam detection. Norton VPN Plus will also monitor the dark web and let you know if any of your details show up.

As a Norton VPN Plus subscriber, you also get access to 10GB of cloud backup storage for storing your most valuable files and data. You can also securely create, store, and manage your passwords, keeping them safe and in one place. Norton also takes pride in its virus protection and touts a 100% virus protection promise (if they can't remove a virus, they'll refund you). Norton also uses the latest AI-powered scam detection and real-time protection against malware and ransomware on the web.

With over 100 server locations across the globe, and actual physical servers in over 65 countries, there's plenty of global coverage. In just the U.S., there are servers in 25 cities in 18 states, with 5 cities covered in the UK. The reason physical servers are so important is that a physical server is located in the actual country or city you're trying to connect to, often giving you faster speeds and lower lag due to nearby, dedicated hardware.

This deal price is for Norton VPN's Plus plan, which offers a few more advanced protections over the standard package. Features like scam and malware, ad, and tracking protection, along with a password manager and cloud storage, are included in this package, and all this for $49.99 for 12-months of full Norton VPN Plus coverage.

If you're looking for more savings, check out our Best PC Hardware deals for a range of products, or dive deeper into our specialized SSD and Storage Deals, Hard Drive Deals, Gaming Monitor Deals, Graphics Card Deals, Gaming Chair, Best Wi-Fi Routers, Best Motherboard, or CPU Deals pages.

PrivadoVPN might not yet have the brand recognition that the big names like Nord and Express have, but this upstart is here to stay, and it's rolled out an epic discount for new members. Right now, a two-year PrivadoVPN sub can be yours for just $30, down from $296.73, saving you a whopping 90% in total with three additional months thrown in for free.

● Check out this deal at PrivadoVPN

That $30 price is short, sweet, and makes PrivadoVPN one of the most affordable options for protecting your online privacy that you can buy right now. This is a company that takes its privacy claims seriously, even going as far as moving its headquarters to Iceland from Switzerland to protect its strict no-logs policy.

The best part? Like its bigger rivals, PrivadoVPN lets you try out its services, risk-free, for 30 days. If you decide you're not happy, you can ask for a full refund.

PrivadoVPN isn't here to wow you with all the bells and whistles. Affordability and simplicity are the aim of the game here, and its core offering is its virtual private network solution. You've got options to connect to servers in 67 different cities around the globe at the moment, with no cap on data, although you can only have 10 connections running at once.

The name might give you a clue already, but PrivadoVPN is very serious about its privacy. We've already mentioned its no-log policy, which means your connection data isn't saved, while moving its HQ is a pretty sure sign of its intent. However, there's been no independent auditing of this policy so far, so its claims haven't yet been independently verified.

Connecting to a VPN service like this is like a cloak for your browser. Switching on PrivadoVPN, which provides apps for all the major desktop and mobile operating systems, lets you switch your IP address to make you appear like you're browsing from any of those 67 cities worldwide.

Don't underestimate how important that cloak can be. It can keep you safe while you're visiting important websites or checking private data while you're in an insecure location, especially on public WiFi networks. It can also help you to obfuscate your history from nosey websites looking to sell you ads for products you've visited. You can also use it to hide where you're from to access the streaming services of another country.

Industry-grade AES-256 encryption means that your connection can't be eavesdropped on while you're browsing, too. The service also provides you with ad blocking to stop those intrusive ads and tracking scripts from slowing down your browser and revealing your secrets, too. Some of the core features we'd expect in a VPN service, like a kill switch to stop data leakage if your connection is dropped, are included here too.

A free tier, with 10GB of monthly data, can let you 'try before you buy' before committing, but the 30-day money-back guarantee means that your money is protected either way.

You will struggle to find a better price than the $30 cost for this 2-year PrivadoVPN subscription right now. The three extra months on top are an even bigger bonus, making the equivalent cost just $1.11 a month. Take advantage of this sale cost while you can, especially if your privacy and security online are something you want to protect.

If you're looking for more savings, check out our Best PC Hardware deals for a range of products, or dive deeper into our specialized SSD and Storage Deals, Hard Drive Deals, Gaming Monitor Deals, Graphics Card Deals, Gaming Chair, Best Wi-Fi Routers, Best Motherboard, or CPU Deals pages.

NordVPN is probably one of the better-known VPN service providers, thanks to its ever-present advertising campaigns and sponsorships of popular YouTube videos. Regardless of its advertising strategy, NordVPN is actually one of the best VPN services on the market, and it is an easy recommendation for those seeking out an affordable, privacy-focused virtual private network. Currently, you can pick up 27 months of NordVPN Complete for just $107.73, a massive 78% reduction in price from the original $493.83 cost.

● Check out this deal at NordVPN

NordVPN offers a 30-day money-back guarantee on subscriptions, so you can try out the service first before committing to a long-term subscription. But at the equivalent of just $3.99 a month, you're getting outstanding internet protection and online privacy.

If you already use a VPN, you will know the advantages and disadvantages of using the internet via a VPN. NordVPN's Complete package offers you a fast VPN connection, next-gen anti-virus protection, dark web monitoring, ad and tracker blocking, scam call protection, and a password manager. All of these services work together seamlessly to offer you the safest experience online, without too much intrusion on your standard activity. It is interesting to see how much of your online actions are tracked and monitored, and how websites access your devices. NordVPN highlights, and then lets you decide on how to proceed.

VPNs let you hide your IP address while you're browsing, and in doing so, hide your location. NordVPN has over 7,400 servers to connect to, across 118 countries, so if you're travelling, but still want to access your streaming account from home, for example, you can.

Online privacy is paramount, with your personal data constantly under threat. NordVPN is security-focused, with built-in anti-virus protection on its connections. There are also no logs made of your browsing and internet activity, with independent auditing from Deloitte in 2026, confirming that the company doesn't track, collect, or store data about its users.

NordVPN can be used on up to 10 devices at once. So you can have the app installed on your PC, tablet, smartphone, or even as an extension in your browser. Helping to offer a sense of security whilst you're online. You can use the app to view your current usage, the number of threats detected and blocked, plus get warnings of any potential data leaks.

This deal price is for NordVPN's Complete plan, which offers a few more advanced protections over the more basic packages. Features like malware, ad, and tracking protection, along with access to NordPass password manager, are included in this package, and all this for $107.73 for 27-months of full NordVPN coverage.

If you're looking for more savings, check out our Best PC Hardware deals for a range of products, or dive deeper into our specialized SSD and Storage Deals, Hard Drive Deals, Gaming Monitor Deals, Graphics Card Deals, Gaming Chair, Best Wi-Fi Routers, Best Motherboard, or CPU Deals pages.

PIA, or Private Internet Access, is back on sale for anybody looking to bump up their online security. This popular VPN provider has dropped the price of its two-year subscription to just $34.58, saving you a whopping $252.22 compared to a monthly subscription over the same period, with an additional two months thrown in for free on top.

● Check out this deal at PIA

This is a brilliant and very affordable price for a service that can help you to maintain anonymity while you're browsing the web. A VPN is a good way to shield your real IP address and location from malicious (or just plain nosy) actors. It's risk-free, too, as PIA offers a 30-day money-back guarantee for new subscribers. If you're not happy, you can request a refund, giving you enough time to see if the service works for you.

There's a big and important reason why a VPN like this one is essential for modern internet users: snoopers. Every website you visit, every online service you use, can track where you're from and what you're looking at. A VPN is one of the best ways to offset against that by obfuscating who you are and where you're from.

For instance, PIA claims to have servers in 90 different countries for you to choose from. This gives you options to connect from a laptop in London and pretend you're browsing from New York. While it isn't a benefit that is widely promoted, this could allow you to connect to streaming services from abroad, although your success might vary, depending on the server you connect to.

Hiding your IP address is a great tactic for privacy online, but a VPN like PIA allows you to encrypt your data, too. If you're using public WiFi networks, a VPN can instantly protect your actions online by tunneling your data using industry-grade AES-256 encryption. PIA doesn't keep any logs, either, with independent auditors confirming that, even if law enforcement asked for it, PIA couldn't track your actions online.

You can take advantage of PIA's full set of features, too. It comes with a kill switch mode to stop your connection from accidentally leaking out if the VPN connection drops, and it supports unlimited simultaneous connections, so you could set up every device in your home to use it at once. Advanced features like split tunneling, to allow only certain apps to use the VPN, along with a whole host of app support for all the major mobile and desktop operating systems, make PIA easy enough for beginners to use, too.

While this will cost you extra, you can also request a dedicated IP address through PIA. This will mean you aren't sharing your IP with other VPN users, and can help you to avoid CAPTCHAs and other VPN-blocking mechanisms online, especially if you're hitting those Cloudflare blocks a bit too often.

All in all, the $34.58 sale price for this 2-year Private Internet Access subscription is an affordable option for anyone looking to stay protected online. The two months extra on top is a nice bonus, but ultimately, that 88% discount (or 89%, if you count the two freebie months) is a big enough sway for anyone. If you're without a VPN at the moment, the 30-day risk-free period is a good way to give PIA a go, so jump on this deal while you can.

If you're looking for more savings, check out our Best PC Hardware deals for a range of products, or dive deeper into our specialized SSD and Storage Deals, Hard Drive Deals, Gaming Monitor Deals, Graphics Card Deals, Gaming Chair, Best Wi-Fi Routers, Best Motherboard, or CPU Deals pages.

Being online today means a daily risk of falling victim to scams, identity theft, and many other unforeseen dangers. Unfortunately, a VPN can't completely mitigate all the dangers, but it can significantly reduce your chances of getting caught off guard. Surfshark offers not only a speedy VPN service when using their servers, but also added features such as unlimited devices on one account, ad and tracker blocking, a complete antivirus solution, and even dark web monitoring. Today's deal is on Surfshark's middle package (Surfshark One), which includes all of the above features for just $67.23 for 27-months of coverage, and with this middle tier, you also unlock a free $20 Amazon gift card once you complete your trial period. So effectively, only $47.23 for 27-months, that's amazing value for some peace of mind. You'll have to decide quickly, though, as the free Amazon gift card offer expires on June 2, 2026.

● Check out this deal at Surfshark

The list price for this plan is $404.65, with the monthly deal price being $2.49 per month for 24 months, plus 3 extra months at the same monthly rate. That's a massive saving of 83% ($337.42).

Included in the Surfshark One package are the following benefits:

● Unlimited simultaneous connections

● Surfshark Antivirus

● Alternative ID (email and identity aliasing)

● Alert (personal data, credit card, and ID leak alerts)

● Web content blocking

● Email scam protection

● Secure search engine

To qualify for the Amazon gift card, you must purchase one of Surfshark's two-year plans. The monetary value of the gift cards also changes depending on the tier of the package you choose. For the Starter tier, it's $10, then $20 for the One, and $30 for One+. Then you must use Surfshark for at least 31 days (trial period), and then you get a voucher in your Surfshark Account overview once this has been completed.

Common with the top VPN providers, Surfshark operates a strict no-logs policy, meaning it doesn't store any data about your connection or your activity online when you're using it. Paired with over 4500+ RAM-only servers in over 100 countries, it doesn't matter where you want to browse, or if you're travelling, you'll have a more secure connection to your personal accounts back home.

If you're looking for more savings, check out our Best PC Hardware deals for a range of products, or dive deeper into our specialized SSD and Storage Deals, Hard Drive Deals, Gaming Monitor Deals, Graphics Card Deals, Gaming Chair, Best Wi-Fi Routers, Best Motherboard, or CPU Deals pages.

If you're looking for a privacy-focused VPN service, along with a password manager, email service, cloud storage, and more all rolled into one, then this Proton deal will knock your socks off. For a limited time, you can score a 12-month Proton Unlimited subscription for just $109.12, equivalent to just $9.09 a month.

● Check out this deal at Proton

That's a big 30% drop in price compared to the usual cost, and one that will save you $47 over the course of the sub. You do have to pay upfront for the 12 months, but it's totally risk-free, as you've got 30 days to change your mind and will receive a full refund if the service isn't working for you.

This is a really good price for a whole suite of tools that will help keep your privacy safe online. A Proton Unlimited subscription comes with 'Plus' access to the majority of its services, so it's a good all-rounder for total online protection.

First and foremost, however, is access to ProtonVPN. This is a service with over 20,000 servers in over 145 different countries around the planet. Using it gives you the means to hide yourself online as you browse the web, a level of privacy that is undeniably essential in the modern world, where the pages you visit (and the products you buy) are routinely tracked.

Like plenty of the big players, ProtonVPN has a strict no-logs policy in place, meaning it doesn't store any data about your connection or your activity online when you're using it. I use a VPN like this to stay safe when I'm connecting to unsecure hotel WiFi networks, but I also like to use them to access streaming services abroad when I'm away from home.

Expect all of the usual goodies here, including a kill switch and DNS leak prevention to stop any data leaking if you lose connection. It has split tunneling support to route only certain apps through the service, as well as NetShield ad-blocking to stop ads from appearing online.

ProtonVPN is a fast, top-tier provider, but you're not just getting the VPN here. Proton Unlimited also comes with a secure email service through Proton Mail, with support for three custom domains and up to 15 email addresses, encrypted and based in Switzerland, along with 500GB of cloud storage through Proton Drive.

Proton Calendar access, meanwhile, unlocks 25 different personal calendars per user, while Proton Pass support gives you a password manager with support for 50 vaults. Proton Wallet support is included, too, for Bitcoin holders who need an encrypted wallet for their crypto.

This 30% off deal for Proton Unlimited which knocks the price down to $109.12 is a seriously impressive one. A full suite of privacy-protecting tools with a 30-day money back guarantee at this price point is a good one. If you need to protect your data and identity online, jump on a deal like this one while you can.

If you're looking for more savings, check out our Best PC Hardware deals for a range of products, or dive deeper into our specialized SSD and Storage Deals, Hard Drive Deals, Gaming Monitor Deals, Graphics Card Deals, Gaming Chair, Best Wi-Fi Routers, Best Motherboard, or CPU Deals pages.

One of the best investments that you can make to protect your privacy and data security on the go is a virtual private network subscription from a top-end service like ExpressVPN. The company has just dropped a big discount on its two-year plan that knocks almost $300 off and nets you an extra four months on top, too, all for just $64.12 right now.

● Check out this deal at ExpressVPN

Less than $65 is a stonkingly good deal for 28 months of coverage, and one that means you'll be securing VPN access for the equivalent of just $2.29 a month. That's not a bad offer for a solution that will keep you and your identity safe while you browse the web, but this 82% deal is cee, so if you decide the service isn't for you, you can secure a full refund. That's a good, completely risk-free. If you're a first-time user, you've got a 30 day money-back guarant amount of time for you to put this VPN through its paces to see if it works for you.

Owning a VPN subscription is a must-have for users who shop and use the web on a regular basis. The first big advantage is privacy: ExpressVPN lets you hide your IP address when you're visiting any site online. As a result, your location is kept hidden, meaning you can browse the web as if you're from one of 105 different countries that the company has servers, along with 24 different locations in the U.S. alone.

Privacy like that is becoming more and more essential in a world where everything we do can be monitored. Every page you visit can leave behind a trace that can be followed. It's also a great and useful idea if you want to become a pretend traveller from another country, as it'll allow you to start streaming content from streaming services unavailable at home. You're also able to take advantage of the protection ExpressVPN can offer when you're browsing on an insecure WiFi network, especially at public locations like hotels and malls, where a malicious actor could be trying to sniff out your data without you realising.

There's no need to worry about ExpressVPN giving up your data, too. Like many of the big players, ExpressVPN has a no-logs policy, which means that it doesn't track or store any data about its users' connections. This is regularly audited, with the last audit in 2025 by KMPG confirming "reasonable assurance" of its systems and policies.

From a technical standpoint, ExpressVPN ensures that your connection between your devices and its servers is encrypted. It supports all the major operating systems for mobile and desktop, providing industry-standard AES-256 encryption for protection, the same standard used by government agencies. It also supports post-quantum encryption techniques during the handshake process for added protection for your devices when they begin connecting to its servers.

ExpressVPN also offers a huge host of quality-of-life features and tools for protecting you while you remain connected. Some of the common features include a kill switch, which will block your data as soon as your VPN connection drops out to stop any data (and identity) leakage. More advanced features, from a private email relay to a dedicated IP address, are available at extra cost, with discounts of between 75% to 78% on its Advanced and Express Pro plans.

That said, the ExpressVPN Basic plan on offer here for $64.12, saving you nearly $300, is an absolute steal. That price unlocks a significant amount of online protection, with the added four months on top, a bonus you can't ignore. If you've never used ExpressVPN (or, indeed, any VPN service) before, the 30-day guarantee will let you use this service risk-free. Don't stay unprotected online: if you're worried about your privacy, dive in with a plan like this with this hard-to-beat offer.

If you're looking for more savings, check out our Best PC Hardware deals for a range of products, or dive deeper into our specialized SSD and Storage Deals, Hard Drive Deals, Gaming Monitor Deals, Graphics Card Deals, Gaming Chair, Best Wi-Fi Routers, Best Motherboard, or CPU Deals pages.

NordVPN has been a popular recommendation for those seeking out an affordable, privacy-focused virtual private network for years. There's a reason for that. It's good, fast, and more importantly, cheap, but this two-year deal makes it an even better proposition for internet users that knocks down the price of a NordVPN subscription by a whopping 73%, turning it from $312.93 to just $83.43, with three months extra added in for free.

● Check out this deal at NordVPN

Not only is this a fantastic price for a service that helps to protect your privacy and security online, making it the equivalent of paying just $3.09 a month, but it's risk free. NordVPN offers a 30-day money-back guarantee on subscriptions. If you try it, and don't like it, you can get a refund. 30 days is a decent chunk of time to put NordVPN's huge server base to the test, after all.

Do you need a VPN? Personally, I think everyone should take advantage of one. Think of it as an all-in-one privacy service for using the web.

First, NordVPN itself lets you hide your IP address while you're browsing, and in doing so, hide your location. You can be sipping a coffee in LA while you're browsing the web as if you're in London. Right now, NordVPN has over 7,400 servers to connect to, across 118 countries.

That privacy is a must-have online, especially in an era where every page we visit and every product we look at can be recorded. It's also a useful must-have for users who want to take advantage of being a temporary internet resident of another country, especially if you want to watch otherwise-inaccessible streaming services. A service like NordVPN is also a no-brainer if you're regularly connecting to online hotspots at hotels, malls, or restaurants, where your data security could be under serious threat.

NordVPN is a security-focused provider, too. Its no-log policy sees independent auditing, with the most recent check by Deloitte in February 2026 confirming that the company doesn't track, collect, or in any way store data about its users' connections.

Connections are encrypted across a range of supported apps, including mobile and PC, across all the major operating systems, with the service even offering post-quantum encryption as a way to keep ahead of any attempts to break encryption with future quantum computing efforts. NordVPN also supports some of the common features we'd expect to see in a provider these days, including kill switch support for blocking any data leakage if your VPN connection goes down at any point.

NordVPN's sub price is on its cheapest Basic plan, but a similar discount is available across its more-expensive Plus, Complete, and Prime packages, which offer more advanced malware, ad, and tracking protection, along with access to NordPass password manager. Even on its basic plan, however, you get the full VPN protection and speeds, supporting up to 10 devices at once.

The $83.43 sale price for this 2-year NordVPN subscription is a huge bargain compared to its usual $312.93 sale price, especially as it adds three extra months on top for free. If you're worried about your internet privacy, either at home or on the go, take advantage of this VPN deal while you can.

If you're looking for more savings, check out our Best PC Hardware deals for a range of products, or dive deeper into our specialized SSD and Storage Deals, Hard Drive Deals, Gaming Monitor Deals, Graphics Card Deals, Gaming Chair, Best Wi-Fi Routers, Best Motherboard, or CPU Deals pages.

The European Parliamentary Research Service (EPRS) published a briefing paper this week describing VPN use as "a loophole in the legislation that needs closing," as governments across Europe and the U.S. expand laws requiring platforms to verify users' ages before granting access to adult content.

The paper noted that VPN downloads spiked after enforcement began in the UK and several U.S. states, with one app developer reporting an 1,800% increase in downloads in the first month following the UK's Online Safety Act taking effect last year. Some policymakers, including England's Children's Commissioner, have called for VPN services to be restricted to adults only.

The EPRS paper acknowledges that current age-assurance methods are "relatively easy for minors to bypass," but offers no technical workaround to prevent VPN circumvention. In March, Utah became the first U.S. state to target VPN use in its age-verification law when Governor Spencer Cox signed Senate Bill 73. However, such efforts are technically flawed because the only reliable method for identifying VPN protocol signatures is deep packet inspection at the network level, which the EPRS paper doesn’t mention.

VPN demand in Florida surged 1,150% within hours of Pornhub blocking access in that state, and Utah saw a 967% increase after a similar withdrawal. Mozilla, Mullvad, and Proton, among others, sent a joint letter opposing the UK's proposals to mandate age verification for VPN access on May 5th, urging officials “not to undermine the open internet.”

The EPRS research paper comes less than a month after the EU’s own age verification technology, which European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen described as being built to respect “the highest privacy standards in the world — failed a basic security test.

Security consultant Paul Moore found in April that the European Commission's official age verification app stored facial images from identity documents as unencrypted files and allowed its biometric authentication to be bypassed by toggling a single boolean value in a config file. Moore demonstrated a full bypass in under two minutes.

The EPRS paper also highlights France's "double-blind" verification model, in which the adult platform learns only whether a user meets the age threshold, while the verification provider doesn’t see which sites the user visits. California has taken a separate approach, requiring operating systems to collect age data at device setup. GrapheneOS has refused to comply with such laws.

Utah's law took effect on May 6th, defining a user's location as their physical presence, regardless of VPN use. The UK House of Lords voted 207-159 in January to ban VPN services for under-18s, while the EU Parliament adopted a resolution last November supporting a digital age of majority of 16 for social media.

To date, the only governments that have made meaningful progress blocking VPN traffic are authoritarian regimes with ISP-level surveillance infrastructure.

Utah's Online Age Verification Amendments, formally Senate Bill 73, take effect on May 6, making the state the first in the U.S. to explicitly target VPN use as part of age verification legislation.

Signed by Governor Spencer Cox on March 19, the controversial law establishes that a user is considered to be accessing a website from Utah if they are physically located there, regardless of whether they use a VPN or proxy to mask their IP address. It also prohibits covered websites from sharing instructions on how to use a VPN to bypass age checks.

NordVPN has called the law an "unresolvable compliance paradox" and a "liability trap," arguing that it holds websites responsible for identifying users whose tools are specifically designed to be unidentifiable. The EFF warned that the legal risk could push sites to either ban all known VPN IPs or mandate age verification for every visitor globally.

The law is also technically flawed, given that it assumes that a web provider can reliably detect VPN traffic and determine a user’s true physical location — they can’t. IP reputation databases such as MaxMind and IP2Proxy can flag traffic from known datacenter IP ranges, but commercial VPN providers rotate addresses constantly, and residential VPN endpoints are largely indistinguishable from standard home connections. Autonomous System Number analysis can catch traffic originating from datacenter networks, but can’t identify a personal WireGuard tunnel running on a cloud VPS, for example, which routes through the same infrastructure as ordinary web hosting.

The only detection method that reliably identifies VPN protocol signatures is deep packet inspection, which analyzes traffic at the network level, not system- or app-level. China's Great Firewall and Russia's TSPU system deploy DPI via ISPs, but a website operator can’t because it requires access to network infrastructure that sits between the user and the server, not on the server itself.

Meanwhile, setting up a personal WireGuard instance on any major cloud provider takes minutes, meaning the law will be more likely to negatively impact non-technical users who rely on commercial VPN services for legitimate privacy: journalists, people living under authoritarian regimes, political dissidents, and abuse survivors, among others.

Utah isn’t alone in trying to legislate the impossible into being. In the UK, the House of Lords — Parliament’s secondary chamber — voted 207-159 in January to ban VPN services for under 18s, with those amendments now due to be debated in the House of Commons. VPN use jumped by more than 1,400% on the first day of age verification enforcement in July last year. Meanwhile, France’s digital affairs minister, Anne Le Hénanff, has said that VPNs are “next on my list.” Wisconsin considered similar VPN provisions earlier this year but scrapped them due to heavy backlash.

To date, the only countries that have made progress in blocking VPN traffic with some success are authoritarian regimes with ISP-level surveillance.

Canada-based Windscribe, a VPN provider, just said that one of its European servers has been allegedly seized by Dutch authorities without a warrant. According to the company’s post on X, law enforcement said that they will return it to the service provider after they “fully analyze it.” It’s unclear why law enforcement impounded just a single rack from Windscribe’s cabinet, but the VPN provider said that it only uses RAM disk servers, meaning anyone who would look through the installed SSDs would only find a stock Ubuntu install on it, so the servers shouldn't hold any trackable data.

“THIS IS NOT A DRILL: The Dutch authorities, without a warrant, just seized one of our VPN servers saying they’ll give it back after they ‘fully analyze it’,” the company said in its social media post. “Windscribe uses RAM disk servers so that only thing the authorities will find is a stock Ubuntu install.”

The company maintains on its website that it doesn’t keep personal data about the activity of its users. Aside from that, it also says, “Our Transparency Report tracks real-time data requests from copyright and law enforcement agencies. To date, we have complied with zero requests, due to lack of relevant data.”

It’s unclear what the Dutch authorities seek from Windscribe’s server, but the company said in a subsequent X post that it gets “a handful of law enforcement requests every month” and that it always responds with “we have no logs.” However, the company claims that the authorities didn’t ask this time, saying that “they just snatched the server from the rack to look for the logs themselves.”

RAM cannot retain data after it loses power, which is why security-conscious companies use it over traditional SSDs and hard drives. But other X users were quick to point out that “it is standard practice to keep a seized server powered on or otherwise technically accessible until investigators can perform a live memory (RAM) capture in a forensic lab.”

We do not know what the Dutch authorities want to get from Windscribe’s servers, but this event will test the extent of the protections that it offers to its users. But no matter how great a VPN service is, it still cannot offer complete anonymity unless the user takes specific actions on their end to completely protect their identity. We reached out to Windscribe for comment and will update if they respond.

Kaspersky, which is prohibited from selling its products in the United States due to national security concerns, has expanded into the Linux market. The Russian cybersecurity firm has ported its flagship antivirus software for Linux at an initial price of $53.99 for the first year, rising to $89.99 thereafter. With this new offering, Kaspersky is targeting Linux home users outside the United States.

It is widely recognized that Microsoft Windows constitutes the most predominant operating system targeted by infiltrators. Conversely, Linux and macOS are comparatively less susceptible, yet not entirely invulnerable. Nevertheless, Linux has been a frequent target for malicious actors, primarily because most servers and cloud providers worldwide run Linux. Given this trend, there exists an opportunity for cybersecurity firms to capitalize and offer antivirus protection to consumers. Kaspersky is consequently leveraging its reputation to introduce its antivirus software to the Linux market.

Kaspersky, like many other providers, offers tiered plans. Kaspersky Standard is the regular antivirus software; meanwhile, Kaspersky Plus and Kaspersky Premium are comprehensive internet security and total security solutions, respectively, with additional features such as a VPN, password manager, wallet protection, and more.

Regarding pricing for a single device, Kaspersky Standard starts at $59.99, while Kaspersky Plus and Kaspersky Premium cost $79.99 and $89.99, respectively. First-time Linux users are eligible for a discount of up to 40% for the first year.

Kaspersky Antivirus For Linux Pricing

Kaspersky for Linux supports 64-bit Linux distributions, including Ubuntu 24.04, ALT Linux 10, Uncom 2.3.5, and RED OS 7. The company provides its installer in DEB and RPM package formats. The minimum system requirements will be a joke to some. It asks for a Core 2 Duo 1.86 GHz processor, 2GB of memory, 1GB of swap space, and 4GB of available disk space.

Kaspersky emphasizes that the Linux version does not meet GDPR compliance standards. Like competitors, the company offers a 30-day free trial of Kaspersky for Linux, allowing you to evaluate the software before committing. At an annual cost of $59.99, Kaspersky for Linux presents a challenging proposition, particularly within a community where antivirus software is not a priority and political opinions are divided. Additionally, ClamAV—a widely-used, free, and open-source antivirus solution—remains prevalent within the Linux community.

With Windows 11 22H2, Microsoft introduced a new component to its security suite, aiming to prevent malicious applications, dubbed Smart App Control (SAC). This feature complements Microsoft Defender, blocking untrusted or unknown code from executing on a proactive basis. Now, in an updated blog post pushing the feature, Microsoft claims a performance boost compared to traditional AV solutions, though small print indicates you will require a fresh Windows installation to use this feature.

Traditional antivirus software, such as Microsoft Defender, adopts an "Innocent until proven guilty" approach. These solutions are largely reactive, trusting programs until their behavior triggers an alert. Microsoft Defender employs signature-based detection, behavioral checks (heuristics), and cloud protection to prevent malicious software on your system. When faced with novel (zero-day) malware or polymorphic threats, which can bypass signature checks, Defender falls back to heuristics, observing the malware's actions until it detects suspicious behavior.

Here's where Smart App Control enters the fray, employing a proactive methodology, operating on the principle of "Guilty until proven innocent." It assesses the application's security by vetting it against Microsoft's Intelligence Security Graph (a cloud-based reputation service). If this test is inconclusive, it attempts to validate the application's digital signature, to ensure its origin from a trusted developer. The application is blocked by Windows Security if it is predicted to be malicious in the first check or unsigned in the second check.

Following Pornhub's decision to block access in Florida due to new age-verification laws, the state has experienced a significant surge in demand for VPNs (Virtual Private Networks). Data from vpnMentor indicates an astonishing 1,150% increase in VPN interest within the first few hours of the site's withdrawal on January 1, 2025.

This spike is attributed to Florida's implementation of House Bill 3 (HB3), which Governor Ron DeSantis signed into law. The legislation mandates that websites hosting adult content verify users' ages through official identification, aiming to prevent minors from accessing explicit material. Non-compliant platforms face fines of up to $50,000 per violation.

In response, Pornhub's parent company, Aylo, has restricted access to users in Florida, as it has in other states with similar laws, including Kentucky, Indiana, Idaho, Kansas, Nebraska, Texas, North Carolina, Montana, Mississippi, Virginia, Arkansas, and Utah. Aylo criticized the age-verification methods as "ineffective, haphazard, and dangerous," expressing concerns over collecting sensitive personal information and potential risks to user safety.

The surge in VPN demand suggests that many Floridians seek ways to bypass these restrictions. Using a VPN, users can mask their IP addresses and appear to be accessing the Internet from different locations, thereby circumventing regional blocks. This trend mirrors similar increases observed in other states following the implementation of comparable laws. For instance, Utah experienced a 967% rise in VPN demand after Pornhub's exit, and Texas saw a 234.8% uptick.

Critics of the age-verification laws argue that such measures may inadvertently drive users toward less regulated and potentially unsafe websites that do not enforce age checks, thereby increasing risks for adults and minors. Aylo noted that in Louisiana, where age verification was implemented earlier, their traffic dropped by approximately 80%, indicating that users migrated to other platforms that may not prioritize user safety or content moderation.

The debate over age verification for adult content continues to evolve, with legal challenges pending in various jurisdictions. The U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear a case challenging the legality of Texas's age verification law, which could set a precedent affecting similar legislation nationwide. As the situation develops, the balance between protecting minors from explicit content and ensuring user privacy and safety remains a contentious issue, prompting ongoing discussions about the most effective and secure methods to regulate access to adult material online.

Yesterday, Microsoft published an official blog post detailing its changes to Microsoft Defender for Individuals. The post focused on improving public Wi-Fi security and functionality through its mobile app's VPN (Virtual Private Network) functionality. The "Privacy protection" functionality in Microsoft Defender now reflects whether your Wi-Fi is considered secure and enables a helpful "VPN on" toggle for when you are on public or unsecured Wi-Fi and wish to anonymize your traffic.

For those unfamiliar with VPNs, here's what you need to know. VPNs anonymize your browsing traffic, or at least obfuscate precisely what's happening between your PC, access point, and the Internet before you do whatever identifiable actions you are doing online. Paid VPN plans are a top choice among privacy enthusiasts, but options like the Tor Browser, specific extensions, and/or better browsing habits can also help you stay secure online.

So, what's the catch of the Microsoft Defender VPN functionality? Well, there are a few catches. For one, while Defender itself, with its Privacy protection VPN, is available on Windows, Mac OS, Android, and iOS, it isn't on Linux. The insecure Wi-Fi detection feature also doesn't yet work on Mac OS but does work on the rest of the targeted platforms. The "suspicious Wi-Fi detection" feature is also exclusive to the two mobile platforms. Additionally, only Germans, Canadians, US users, and UK users get access to the VPN functionality— and anyone who does use it long-term will need to pay for a Microsoft 365 subscription.

Regarding what's new, Microsoft announced that Microsoft Defender's VPN features will soon be available in ten additional countries in Europe, Asia, and Latin America. Additionally, the ability to automatically enable a VPN on public (and presumably unsecured) Wi-Fi will be "coming soon" to the Defender app across platforms. At the same time, the enhanced suspicious Wi-Fi detection is also listed as "coming soon" to the desktop versions of the Defender App.

Hopefully, Microsoft can iron out these last few compatibility hiccups to provide a more definitive security solution for its users. For now, a Microsoft 365 subscription will at least earn most Defender users 50 GB a month from Microsoft's VPN server before throttling occurs.

Kaspersky, a Russian cybersecurity firm, ceased its U.S. operations but has automatically replaced its antivirus software on American computers with UltraAV. No warning was given that the switch would occur on the day, reports Bleeping Computer. This decision follows the U.S. government's ban on Kaspersky software updates and sales, which takes effect on September 29, 2024, over national security concerns. 

Earlier this year Kaspersky was added to the U.S. Entity List due to national security concerns and had to halt business in the U.S. In July, Kaspersky began laying off U.S. employees and preparing to close operations. In September the company notified its customers that they would be transitioned to UltraAV, an antivirus from Pango Group. However, the abrupt transition occurred without warning via an automatic update a few days ago.

"Following the recent decision by the U.S. Department of Commerce that prohibits Kaspersky from selling or updating certain antivirus products in the United States, Kaspersky partnered with antivirus provider UltraAV to ensure continued protection for US-based customers that will no longer have access to Kaspersky’s protections," a statement by Kaspersky reads. "Kaspersky and UltraAV worked closely to ensure customers would maintain the standards of security and privacy users have come to expect from their service." 

Many users were surprised to find that Kaspersky software was abruptly removed from their devices and UltraAV installed instead. This occurred through an automatic update on September 19, 2024, and was intended to avoid any disruption in protection. Customers reported confusion and concerns, some even feared that malware had infiltrated their systems due to the unannounced switch. Those previously subscribed to Kaspersky's VPN services also found that UltraVPN was installed, unexpectedly. 

Additionally, some users had difficulty uninstalling UltraAV, which reappeared after rebooting their devices.  

Kaspersky defended its decision, explaining that the transition was made to ensure continued protection for U.S. customers after the company's departure from the market. The company assured users that UltraAV offers a similar set of features to Kaspersky's previous software. Meanwhile, UltraAV claims that its services are even better than Kaspersky's as it offers $1 million identity theft compensation.  

"If you are a paying Kaspersky customer, when the transition is complete UltraAV protection will be active on your device and you will be able to leverage all of the additional premium features," a statement by UltraAV reads. "Your billing schedule with UltraAV will be the same as your Kaspersky account. Annual and monthly billing will remain the same."

Kaspersky Lab, a Russian cybersecurity and antivirus software company, announced it will start shutting down all of its operations in the U.S. on July 20. The departure was inevitable after 12 of the company’s executives were hit with sanctions, and the company’s products were banned from sale in the U.S.

Kaspersky Lab told BleepingComputer of the pending closure and confirmed it would lay off all of its U.S.-based employees. Reportedly, the shutdown affects less than 50 employees in the U.S. The impact on cybersecurity could be much greater since the company’s researchers have been responsible for stopping or slowing countless major security exploits.

The United States government has claimed that Kaspersky’s continued operations in the U.S. posed a significant privacy risk. Since Kaspersky is based in Russia, officials worry the Russian government could exploit the cybersecurity firm to collect and weaponize sensitive U.S. information.

In June, the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry & Security (BIS) issued sanctions on Kaspersky. A Final Determination hearing resulted in Kaspersky being banned from providing any antivirus or cybersecurity solutions to anyone in the United States. Kaspersky’s customers in the U.S. have until September 29, 2024, to find alternative security and antivirus software.

Kaspersky told BleepingComputer that it had “carefully examined and evaluated the impact of the U.S. legal requirements and made this sad and difficult decision as business opportunities in the country are no longer viable.” After all, it’s hard to run a business that provides cybersecurity and antivirus solutions when you’re banned from doing so.

The BIS placed Kaspersky Lab and its U.K. holding company on the U.S. government’s Entity List because of their ties to Russia. This prevented Kaspersky from conducting business in the U.S. At the same time, a dozen members of Kaspersky’s board of executives and leadership were individually sanctioned.

These sanctions froze the executives’ U.S. assets and prevented access to them until the sanctions were lifted. While Kaspersky insisted the ban was based on theoretical concerns rather than evidence of wrongdoing, sources close to the matter have said otherwise. Russian backdoors into Kaspersky’s software are an “open secret,” they said, and a Commerce Department official stated the department believes it is more than just a theoretical threat.

Microsoft Defender, Windows’ built-in antivirus tool, is widely considered robust enough to mean that an average user no longer needs a third-party antivirus or security suite. However, a bug brought to light by Twitter/X user yappy shows that there are times when Microsoft Defender can be extremely overzealous in its attempts to defend your computer.

A false positive can be observed when you type ‘This content is no longer available.’ or ‘This content is no longer available!’ in Notepad and save it as a text file on your PC. When you do so, Microsoft Defender will instantly flag it as a Trojan file and delete it from your system - no matter what file name you use, ostensibly protecting you from a potential 'severe threat.'

Upon first investigation, yappy and some other Tweet/Xers concluded that the cause of the false positive was an SHA-256 collision. However, the astronomical odds against such a clash rung true, as most commenters now agree the headlining text string was used in several previous threats, and thus raises a red flag in the Windows Defender detection engine.

This head-scratching bug isn’t the first time Microsoft has had issues with its Defender antivirus. Microsoft actually broke it in 2020 with a faulty update, while it patched a serious bug in 2019 that prevented the antivirus app from operating properly. But aside from these missteps, we still consider Microsoft Defender as a pretty good antivirus.

Thankfully, this bug isn’t as serious as those issues, as the text line doesn’t pose any actual threat to Windows 11. Furthermore, if you add other text to it (like changing punctuation or adding an extra space at the end), the false detection goes away. However, in the unlikely event that you must have this exact text string saved on a text file on your computer, you need to exclude the folder where you’re saving it from scans, otherwise, it’ll be gone the moment you hit Ctrl + S.

Hopefully, Microsoft can fix this silly bug soon. This isn’t a threat to the security of Windows 11 and we don't think anyone will want to temporarily disable Microsoft Defender and install another antivirus program waiting for a fix. Meanwhile, Kaspersky has recently become even less attractive as an alternative, as Washington has just sanctioned it.

Microsoft Defender is an essential security tool preinstalled on the Windows 11 operating system. The security suite is fully baked into the operating system to protect your system from malware, but not everyone likes it. Would you prefer to install an alternative antivirus/antispyware to kick Microsoft Defender to the curb? We have two options: temporarily disable the real-time scanning component of the security suite or disable the entire suite long-term in favor of a competing app.

Temporarily Disable Microsoft Defender Real-time Antivirus Protection

If you want a relatively easy way to disable Microsoft Defender’s real-time scanning engine, we have you covered with the following steps:

1. Click on the Start menu and search for the Windows Security app.

2. Once in the Windows Security app, click on Virus & threat protection.

3. Select Manage settings under Virus & threat and protection settings.

4. You'll see a button for Real-time protection; turn it off.

5. Turning off Real-time protection will present a red X and a warning message about your computer being vulnerable to attacks.

Remember, this only temporarily disables real-time antivirus protection. Microsoft warns that potentially harmful apps and files downloaded from the Internet are not scanned when real-time protection is disabled. However, scans already scheduled for your system will continue unabated.

Disable Microsoft Defender by Installing Another Antivirus Program

There's another way to disable Microsoft Defender once and for all, and not just the real-time antivirus function. Installing a third-party antivirus security suite will automatically put Microsoft Defender on the back burner.

Let’s use AVG Antivirus Free as an example. It’s a free, no-frills Microsoft Defender alternative that has been around for two decades. Although our example uses AVG Antivirus Free, installing any credible antivirus program will have the same effect in disabling Microsoft Defender.

1. Install your preferred antivirus software (in this case, AVG Antivirus Free). This action will automatically disable Microsoft Defender.

2. Once your software is installed, open the Windows Security app.

You should now see that Windows 11 now recognizes AVG Antivirus (or your preferred antivirus app) protecting your computer.

At this point, your installed antivirus software has complete control over real-time scanning and manual scans of your computer with no intervention from Microsoft Defender. However, if you want increased protection, you can click on Microsoft Defender Antivirus options.

Here, you can turn on Periodic scanning to have the software occasionally scan for threats in the background.

We should caution that, while it is possible to disable Microsoft Defender in varying degrees, it is not advisable (in most instances) to run without real-time protection on an internet-connected computer for an extended period. 

One of the world’s most popular free antivirus applications, Avira, now includes a cryptocurrency mining tool embedded in its software solutions, joining Norton 360 in embedding Ethereum mining code. The module is present in Avira’s entire product stack, from its free antivirus through paid security solutions. Avira also notes that usage of the mining module is completely opt-in. And according to the company, it will only take advantage of unused processing cycles on user machines that satisfy the module’s system requirements. 

Once enabled, the “Avira Crypto” module in Avira’s free antivirus suite connects the user with an Ethereum mining pool, where they can contribute to distributed PoW (Proof of Work) workloads while receiving Ethereum rewards that are proportional to their computing power. The cryptocurrency mining module was first detected through Virus-Total as early as September 2021, after being flagged by other cybersecurity solutions as containing cryptocurrency mining trojans (there’s some measure of irony there). 

The move may seem surprising, but it seems like it’s part of an additional monetization effort from Avira and Norton360 parent-company: Tempe, Arizona-based NortonLifeLock Inc. The company announced the acquisition of Avira for $360 million back in January 2021, creating an $8-billion (at the time) cybersecurity juggernaut and bringing Avira’s users into its ecosystem. In August 2021, NortonLifeLock announced it had reached yet another acquisition deal with wildly popular cybersecurity software company Avast.

That particular business deal, valued between $8.1 billion and $8.6 billion – and the third most expensive acquisition in cybersecurity history at the time – added an extremely significant 435 million users to NortonLifeLock. The company has made it clear that these acquisitions pave the way towards reaching a worldwide install base of 500 million users for its cybersecurity products. But considering this cryptocurrency mining integration, it seems NortonLifeLock is also looking to achieve a 500 million cryptocurrency miner install figure. Both Avira and Norton 360 apply a 15% fee on all Ethereum rewards generated by their respective “Avira Crypto” and “Norton Crypto” modules.

The inclusion of mining software in cybersecurity solutions is a particularly complex affair, considering how cryptocurrencies demand specific cybersecurity measures from their users. Avira does provide a FAQ on the matter covering the most basic elements of crypto and blockchain technology, but mostly it describes and asserts limited liability, as well as warning users that their mining efforts may result in utility costs that surpass the possible Ethereum earnings. And right now is a particularly bad moment for any such efforts, considering how the cryptocurrency market has been bleeding value of late. Of course, Avira and Norton’s own 15% share of the profits will always be there, so long as there are profits to be had. And since the company is using users’ hardware and utilities, its profits happen irrespective of mining efficiency.

If you’re wondering why an “Avast Mining” module still isn’t present on the Avast antivirus suite (and its much more significant 435 million user install base), you can count timing as one of the reasons: The deal isn't expected to be complete until mid-2022. The fact that NortonLifeLock is keeping a clear branding scheme with its “antivirus + Crypto” naming does seem to point toward a unified cryptocurrency mining vision for its cybersecurity products. That's one way to fill the company’s coffers after its recent buying spree. Only time will tell exactly how much this strategy pays off.

If you aren't already using a VPN, you should be. 

Between ad networks keen on tracking our every move, traffic-snooping Internet Service Providers, and unsecured wireless networks, the state of digital privacy has never been more dire. A VPN doesn't prevent all forms of tracking, mind you. You'll need to pair it with an ad blocker and tweak your settings on social media for that. 

But it does still make you significantly harder to track. 

Let's say, for the sake of argument, that you don't really care about your digital privacy. It doesn't bother you that people can see what you're doing online. You've got nothing to hide, so why should you care about using a VPN? 

Three words: region locked content. 

If you're paying the same amount of money as everyone else for a Netflix subscription, you should have access to the same content as everyone else. Unfortunately, this is not the case. This is largely because, to be blunt, international copyright law is an unmitigated disaster. 

Every country has its own rules and regulations, and streaming services must strike a delicate balance between all of them. Frequently, this means a series of intricate contracts and agreements with content providers. As you might expect, said providers are the real beneficiaries here — and it's the end user that suffers. 

A VPN provides you with a means of getting around these region locks, much to the chagrin of both content providers and streaming platforms. Typically, this comes with a few trade-offs, like traffic slowdown and having your IP address flagged by certain sites. Ivacy suffers from neither of these issues. 

Consistently rated as the fastest VPN on the market, Ivacy is also a pioneer in Split Tunneling Technology. This innovation, exclusive to Ivacy, allows you to configure which traffic is routed through the VPN and which goes through your regular connection. Paired with Ivacy's P2P optimized secure downloading technology, this allows you to connect, download, and browse the way you want on up to ten devices.  

With over 3500 servers in more than one hundred locations, Ivacy also directly unblocks seven major Netflix regions:  

• France
• US
• Japan
• UK
• Australia
• Germany
• Canada

The best part, however, is the price. For a limited time only, Ivacy is on sale for 90% off. That means getting five years of service for just $0.99 a month. 

Get Ivacy VPN

Although far from being one of the best SSDs, the Viper VPN100 is a solid SSD for the money. Unfortunately, the drive recently made the Reddit headlines because a consumer discovered that it arrived with different components than originally advertised. Patriot has provided an official statement to Tom's Hardware explaining the reason behind the component swap.

One Redditor recently purchased one of Patriot's Viper VPN100 2TB SSDs, and much to his surprise, the drive arrived with Phison's E12S SSD controller and 512MB of DRAM. This certainly raised the alarm since the SSD not only utilizes a different SSD controller but also came with 1/4 the DRAM. For comparison, the original Viper VPN100 2TB used the Phison E12 SSD controller and had 2GB of DRAM.

Like many vendors, including Adata and PNY, Patriot also fell victim to the global semiconductor shortage, so the company explored other options for its VPN100. Unfortunately, the majority of SSD manufacturers don't produce their own components and have to buy them elsewhere. The thing here is transparency, and if there is a substantial change to a product, then it's the vendor's responsibility to communicate the change to the consumer in a timely matter. That didn't happen in this situation, though. 

Despite the drastic difference in components, Patriot guarantees that both configurations offer the same performance in sequential and random workloads. The brand advertises the VPN100 with sequential read and write speeds up to 3,400 MBps and 3,200 MBps, respectively, depending on the capacity. Random performance is rated for 700,000 IOPS reads and writes.

In its statement, Patriot claims that the new E12S setup features the same endurance limits as the original E12 configuration "sans Chia mining." However, that doesn't seem to be the case. The original specification sheet had the VPN100 2TB at 3,115 TBW, while the new specification sheet reveals an endurance level of 900 TBW. We're following up for clarification. 

Although it's now public that there are two versions of the VPN100 on the market, consumers still have no way to really differentiate one from the other. Patriot seems to be using the same part number for both variations, turning the purchasing process into a lottery.

You can find Patriot's full statement below.

Patriot's statement:

We at Patriot would like to address the current situation surrounding our Viper VPN100 M.2 solid state drive. We have become aware that some customers have noted the reduction in cache on the VPN100 SSD. Over the past few days we have taken time to investigate this matter thoroughly internally and listen to the feedback generated online.

Due to the ongoing fab shortages affecting the global IC supply chain, in 2020 Patriot opted to utilize the Phison E12S controller in addition to the Phison E12 for the full VPN100 series (256GB/512GB/1TB/2TB). We confirm this is the only Viper SSD series affected. The E12S uses less cache but offers the same performance as the E12 controller because it is produced using the latest fab process and innovative firmware development. As an advanced version of the E12 controller, Patriot still guarantees that the VPN100 using the E12S will hit the same performance specs in sequential read/write, and random IOPS, and same endurance limits (sans Chia mining) as the VPN100 using the original E12 controller. Please see the comparison of performances below:

However, we do not deny that when doing so, we have failed to update our information sheets that are available online for public viewing and reference respectively, this should have been performed immediately. For this we apologize and take responsibility for any inconveniences caused to all partners and customers. Any consumer that has any questions or concerns regarding their VPN100 solution with E12S controller is free to get in touch with our Customer Service department at:

support@patriotmem.com

Going forward, we commit to our information sheets and website reflecting the actual available product specifications at all times.

We are excited to be introducing a new Viper Gen3 x4 m.2 SSD solution launching in Q4 2021 that will replace the VPN100 and hope it will continue to please hardware enthusiasts worldwide and meet their standards.

It has been a pleasure being a part of the IT hardware community for the past 35 years and we hope to continuously bring out ground-breaking products in a time where technology is ever-evolving.

Sincerely,

Patriot Memory, Inc.

We’re now well into the third month of the COVID-19 pandemic, with no clear end in sight. Isolation is starting to take its toll, as more and more businesses shift to remote work and more and more governments issue mandatory quarantine and shelter-in-place notices. Unsurprisingly, this atmosphere of anxiety and uncertainty represents a perfect target for cybercriminals.

Thus far, hackers have targeted interactive Coronavirus maps, registered numerous false domains, and significantly ramped up their phishing attempts. Awareness of these attacks is an important first step. Mindfulness of the tactics criminals are using to play on everyone’s fear goes a long way towards seeing through them. 

Conscientiousness only goes so far, though. Even if you know about what hackers are doing, everyone makes mistakes — and it only takes one slip-up for an infection. That’s why, in addition to staying savvy on the web, it’s also important that you install the right security software.

To that end, you should check out online marketplace BZfuture. They’re currently offering huge deals on some of the leading antivirus and security software on the market.  For a limited time, you can get the following at half-price from anywhere in the world - better yet, each deal comes with a free copy of Windows 10 Professional.

• McAfee Antivirus (1 Year, 1 PC): $16
• Kaspersky Internet Security (6 Months, 1 PC): $16
• Kaspersky Antivirus (1 Year, 1 PC): $22
• Avira Antivirus Pro (1 Year, 1 PC): $18
• Bitdefender Antivirus Plus (1 Year, 1 PC): $24

All of the above software also comes with a free Windows 10 Professional Key, complete with BitLocker file encryption, remote desktop software, virtualization, and greater overall control of your PC. Speaking of control antivirus software isn’t the only thing that’s on offer, either. BZfuture is also offering a huge discount on AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional Edition 8.6, currently retailing at $20.32 with a free copy of Windows 10 Professional.

With Partition Assistant, you can easily create, resize, merge, move, and split partitions without losing or corrupting data. This allows you to readily maximize disk space, with added features like migration between operating systems. Combined with Windows 10 Professional, this enables better data management than ever before, right at the time when we all need it most. 

For each of the above deals, after payment, you’ll be provided with two keys: one for your selected antivirus software, and the other for a copy of Windows 10 Professional. If you already have a copy of Windows 10 Home, you can use the key to upgrade. Simply open your System Settings, Select About System, then click on Change Product Key or Update Windows Version. BZFuture also provides support on its website, so if you’ve any questions, you can contact them via chat or email service@bzfuture.com.

Particularly in light of current events, mindfulness on the web is absolutely essential. In part, that’s maintaining awareness of the common tactics criminals are using to target people online. But it’s also important that you install the right software to keep yourself safe, secure, and in control. 

According to research by Sophos, a leading software security firm, a ransomware called "RobbinHood" has been making use of legitimate, but vulnerable, Gigabyte drivers to infect computer systems and take them over. 

The attack works on Windows 7 and newer operating systems (OSes). Gigabyte had previously dismissed the claims that its driver was vulnerable to the flaw that the ransomware group is now exploiting, according to Sophos.

Gigabyte shares part of the blame for initially dismissing the vulnerability in 2018, when security researchers first reported it to the company. The public eventually put enough pressure on Gigabyte that it acknowledged the flaw. 

However, instead of releasing a patch to fix the vulnerability for its older motherboards, the company discontinued support for that driver. This poor judgement on Gigatebyte’s part has now allowed attackers to weaponize its unpatched driver. 

Another party responsible, Sophos said, is Verisign. Two years after Gigabyte discontinued its driver, it's still “trusted” by the Windows OS and many antivirus programs by default due to Verisign  failing to revoke its signing certificate. This has allowed attackers to take advantage of the trusted driver to install another unsigned driver on the victims' machines. 

After, the attackers would use this new driver first patch the Windows kernel in-memory and kill antivirus programs and other endpoint security solutions that would prevent the ransomware from taking over the machine.

One-of-a-Kind Ransomware

Sophos researchers said that even though they’ve seen other ransomware try to kill antivirus programs before, they’ve never seen one where the ransomware uses a trusted third-party driver to achieve that. 

Most security solutions have some kind of “trusted programs” list enabled by default on all installations. This is a compromise security companies have made in order to end a large amount of false positives and avoid having too many users block programs because they didn’t understand what the antivirus was asking them to do.

However, chances are that as other avenues to exploit the Windows OS close, malware makers will start to explore additional ways to use that trusted programs list in their favor. If they can trick antivirus programs to believe that their malware is one of the trusted programs in that list, then they later can get almost free reign on a user’s machine.Mitigation Against This Attack

Mitigation

As the RobbinHood ransomware has shown us, even if your OS is fully patched, a hacker can still leverage other techniques to bring vulnerabilities to your computer. 

Sophos recommends not relying on a single program to keep you safe, while also adopting other security best practice,  such as using OS accounts with limited access rights by default, making regular backups, using multi-factor authentication. 

According an AV-Test report shared Tuesday, most antivirus vendors have not announced an official end-date for their support for Windows 7, which hit end of life (EoL) on January 14. However, many will support the operating system (OS) for at least another two years.

Google was one of the first to announce that its Chrome browser will support Windows 7 at least until July 2021. Now antivirus vendors are promising even longer support timeframes with no official end date in sight. That means that two years could very well turn into three or four, depending how popular Windows 7 remains.

It’s not too out of the ordinary for antivirus vendors to support a dated OS for this long because the more time passes, the more vulnerable Windows 7 will be. 

If you want to find out how long your antivirus will support Windows 7, see the full list here.

Many Users Are Still on Windows 7

Businesses and personal users, (including overclockers) that have stuck to using Windows 7 make up a quarter of the total Windows installed base, even after Microsoft announced that it officially ended support for the OS. The Windows XP situation seems to be repeating itself. Back when Microsoft officially ended support for that OS, about a quarter of Windows users kept the OS for a few more years. 

Microsoft is also going to continue to support service systems that use Windows 7 until 2023. 

That said, it’s possible Microsoft will still provide an update to Windows 7 if there are serious vulnerabilities. It has already done this for Windows 7 and also did so with Windows XP. 

Should You Use Windows 7 for Another Two Years?

Windows 10 has been long criticized for some of its UX issues and the seemingly bad quality and assurance that ends in a stream of bugs accompanying major updates. Another issue has been Windows 10's pervasive tracking, including some enabled by default and others you can't even disable. As such, it's understandable why some people may not be in a hurry to switch to Microsoft's latest OS. 

However, unless you've implemented a bunch of additional protections on Windows 7 that you're confident can generally keep you just as safe as software patches would (browsing in a Linux virtual machine, for instance), then relying on antivirus software won't be enough.

Antivirus programs will mainly protect you against malware that's already been in the wild for some time and discovered by antivirus companies. However, even then malicious actors could exploit OS/kernel-level bugs to cripple antivirus protection. 

Therefore, most people should consider switching either to the latest Windows 10, which you can still get for free by upgrading from a Windows 7 license, or switch to a different OS from another vendor (Linux distros, macOS, Chrome OS, et cetera). 

Avast is well-known for its free-to-use antivirus software. Yesterday, reports from Motherboard and PCMag provided more details on something the vendor is less known for: selling browsing data of its antivirus' users via a subsidiary called Jumpshot.

The reports indicated that Jumpshot sold information about Avast users to a number of companies, including IBM, Intuit, L'Oréal and Home Depot; however, several of those companies, along with others named in documents shared with Motherboard and PCMag, denied working with Jumpshot. 

According to Motherboard, the shared information included "Google searches, lookups of locations and GPS coordinates on Google Maps, people visiting companies' LinkedIn pages, particular YouTube videos and people visiting porn websites."

"It is possible to determine from the collected data what date and time the anonymized user visited YouPorn and PornHub, and in some cases what search term they entered into the porn site and which specific video they watched," Motherboard said. 

The information was said to have been stripped of personally identifiable information, such as users' names, but experts fear certain activities could be de-anonymized by combining the data sold by Jumpshot with other datasets. This could violate the privacy of people who might not have realized their data was being sold.

De-anonymizing that data would be difficult, experts said, but not impossible. Jumpshot is said to offer multiple feeds, with an "All Clicks Feed" offering detailed information about the websites Avast users visited, when they visited them and on what device they viewed them. Companies could potentially use these detailed records alongside their own datasets to identify supposedly anonymous individuals.

However, in a statement sent to Tom's Hardware, an Avast spokesperson insisted that Jumpshot doesn't gather "personal identification information, including name, email address or contact details."

"Users have always had the ability to opt out of sharing data with Jumpshot. As of July 2019, we had already begun implementing an explicit opt-in choice for all new downloads of our AV, and we are now also prompting our existing free users to make an opt-in or opt-out choice, a process which will be completed in February 2020," the spokesperson the spokesperson continued.

"We have a long track record of protecting users’ devices and data against malware, and we understand and take seriously the responsibility to balance user privacy with the necessary use of data for our core security products."

This data collection wasn't exactly hidden from Avast users, however, because the company disclosed the fact that its Jumpshot subsidiary uses some of its user data in a 2015 blog post.  

The Avast rep also told us that as of December, Avast is "compliant with browser extension requirements for our online security extensions" and doesn't use any data from browser extensions "for any other purpose than the core security engine, including sharing with our subsidiary Jumpshot."

Yet, the practice hasn't been perfectly transparent. The amount of information gathered by Avast for Jumpshot was previously unknown, for example, as was the list of companies looking to purchase that much data about consumers.

Avast did start offering more information about the data it collects when people install its antivirus solution recently, though. A dialogue box currently says that "If you allow it, we'll provide our subsidiary Jumpshot Inc. with a stripped and de-identified data set derived from your browsing history for the purposes of enabling Jumpshot to analyze markets and business trends and gather other valuable insights."

But it's not hard to imagine people agreeing to that request without understanding what it means. Who hasn't clicked "OK" or "Yes" in response to a dialogue box they haven't read or don't fully understand? We suspect many people don't correlate "a stripped and de-identified data set derived from your browsing history" with the "search term they entered into the porn site and which specific video they watched."

And this opt-in data sharing isn't the only way Avast provided information to Jumpshot. The company saw criticism in October 2019 for collecting user data via browser extensions; those extensions were removed from the add-on stores operated by Google, Mozilla and Opera for their respective browsers in response.

More than 435 million people a month reportedly use Avast's antivirus software, and Jumpshot claims to have access to information from 100 million devices, according to Motherboard. 

The problem here wasn't the lack of disclosure on Avast's parts, with the exception of the data collected by its browser extensions, because it did say in 2015 that it would collect that data. It also informed users their information could be collected, and gave them a chance to opt out. The problem is that many people looking for a free antivirus solution probably don't understand exactly what they're sharing. 

This criticism applies to many companies. People have become increasingly aware of the tech industry's reliance on near-constant surveillance of their users, but it's still a subject about which few people are adequately educated. Avast isn't much different from many other companies--but does that mean the status quo is acceptable? Or that a blog post from half a decade ago and some corporate speak is enough info?

That's something people will have to decide for themselves. In the meantime, Avast users should double-check their settings in the interim.

NordVPN, one of the most popular VPN services, confirmed today that it experienced a data breach in 2018, which it only learned about itself a few months ago. The data breach's primary target was apparently NordVPN's hosting provider, with NordVPN customers being caught in the crosshairs.

NordVPN released a statement today confirming the data breach and also stating that its network is now secure against the leaked TLS keys. 

According to NordVPN, one of its hosting providers had been using a remote management system without NordVPN's knowledge. Malicious parties were able to exploit this system and gain access to the hosting providers’ customer data, including encryption keys used by NordVPN’s servers. 

NordVPN said its unnamed hosting provider launched the remote management system on January 31, 2018 and closed it by March 20, 2018, when the hosting provider discovered its tool had been compromised. However, NordVPN claimed that it wasn’t notified about the security issue at the time.

After learning about this incident only a few months ago, NordVPN fixed the issue and then double-checked that its network was no longer vulnerable to abuse of the leaked data. NordVPN also said that since then it has increased the security requirements it requests of its hosting providers. 

NordVPN has also started the process of moving its server operations completely to RAM. This would keep users’ logs from being stored on a hosting providers’ disks. If the company would choose hosting providers that take advantage of AMD Epyc’s Secure Encrypted Virtualization or Intel’s yet-to-be-released Multi-Key Total Memory Encryption, it could also further protect users’ data being used in RAM.

The VPN company took partial blame for the breach for choosing an "unreliable" hosting provider and not doing more to ensure customer security. However, it also noted that only one out of its 3,000 servers should have been affected by this data breach.

NordVPN said  it is working on a second no-logs audit of its infrastructure and preparing a bug bounty program. It also committed to launching an external third-party audit of its service next year.

NordVPN’s Compromised TLS Keys

Twitter user @hexdefined first revealed on Twitter yesterday that NordVPN’s expired TLS keys had been compromised. This would have potentially allowed malicious parties to run execute man-in-the-middle attacks against its customers using VPN servers that looked like they belonged to NordVPN. 

NordVPN claims a “no-log” policy, meaning that the company doesn’t track, collect or share private data. However, this wouldn’t have had any impact on the customers who got lured into using the fake servers, as those malicious servers would be able to collect the users’ data at will. 

The source for the initial rumor about the data breach was an anonymous 8chan user who linked to a Ghostbin page that seemingly contained encryption keys of NordVPN servers. Hexdefined was able to confirm that the keys worked to create a local NordVPN lookalike server.

TorGuard, a competing service that also seems to have had some its Certificate Authority (CA) keys leaked in the past few years, took the opportunity to point out that its customers’ data couldn’t have been impacted because it uses a secure public key infrastructure management. This means that its encryption keys are never stored on the VPN servers themselves, and, therefore, no one can decrypt its users’ VPN connections.

Microsoft patched a serious flaw in the Windows Defender security utility today. The issue resulted in certain malware scans failing after just a few minutes, per ZDNet, which found reports of this issue across social platforms like Reddit as well as tech support websites. Those failed scans could have left Windows users vulnerable to attack even though the operating system has a built-in antivirus solution that's supposed to keep them safe.

The issue followed an all-too-familiar pattern: there was a System File Checker bug in Windows that Microsoft attempted to fix with the release of Windows Defender version 4.18.1908.7 earlier this week. Instead of fixing the problem, however, the update reportedly messed up the process that allows Windows to scan files. An update released to fix one problem accidentally resulted in critical parts of Windows Defender malfunctioning.

This has become a trend with Microsoft. An update meant to improve wireless connectivity on Surface devices actually prevented them from connecting to some networks. A fix to a "SearchUI.exe" bug that resulted in high CPU usage broke Windows Desktop Search, and the update meant to fix search failed spectacularly, with users reporting that the update led to further issues with core parts of the Windows 10 experience such as Action Center.

At this point we're hoping this problem is limited to the Windows team, because if it extends to any of Microsoft's on-campus medical staff, employees might want to keep any health problems to themselves. Sore elbow? Maybe a broken arm will help. Runny nose? Well, noses are overrated, right? At least then Windows systems wouldn't be the only things exposed to infection because someone tried to keep up with important updates.

The good news is that Microsoft said it fixed this issue with the Security Intelligence Update for Windows Defender Antivirus – KB2267602 (Version 1.301.1684.0) release from this morning. But to be honest, by now we're just waiting for someone else to find out that something worse has happened as a result of this update. Things like this can only happen so many times before Windows users start to seriously doubt any software updates.

APT5, which is believed to be a state-sponsored Chinese hacking group, has been targeting the enterprise VPN servers sold by Fortinet and Pulse Secure, two enterprise cybersecurity companies. Some of these two companies’ customers failed to update their VPN servers in time, leaving them exposed to multiple security vulnerabilities that were disclosed at the Black Hat conference in August.

Unpatched Fortinet, Pulse Secure VPN Servers Affected

As reported by ZDNet this week, researchers from the security consulting firm Devcore unveiled multiple vulnerabilities found in VPN services, such as Palo Alto Networks GlobalProtect, Fortinet FortiGate (FortiOS) and Pulse Secure’s Pulse Connect Secure (PCS) and Pulse Policy Secure (PPS). The vulnerabilities included authentication bypasses, command injection, session hijacking and cross-site scripting.

The researchers told the vendors about the bugs ahead of time, so Pulse Security started sending patches to its customers in April, while Fortinet sent the patches in May. 

However, as it happens with most software updates, not everyone updated their application clients immediately. This allowed the Chinese group to scan the Internet for the VPN servers that remained vulnerable and hack them. 

Some of Fortinet’s customers said on social media that they weren’t even aware that the patches were available, pointing to a potential lack of communication on Fortinet’s part. 

Pulse Security seems to have been much more active in trying to contact its customers about the vulnerability. A scan done in mid-August for the vulnerable servers revealed that about one-third (14,500 out of 42,000) of the Pulse Security VPN servers were still vulnerable. Two weeks later, 10,500 were still vulnerable.

Scott Gordon, Chief Marketing Officer at Pulse Secure, told ZDNet about the vendor's attempts to contact all of its customers:

"We not only issued a public Security Advisory - SA44101, but commencing that day in April, we actively informed our customers, partners and service providers of the availability and need for the patch via email, in-product alerts, on our community site, within our partner portal and our customer support web site.”

In addition, Pulse Security said that its support engineers have been available 24/7 to help customers apply the patches. Those who refused to update will now likely be at risk of having their intellectual property stolen and then handed over to Chinese competitors. 

Who Is APT5?

According to FireEye, another cybersecurity company, APT5 has been active online since 2007. It’s believed that the group actually consists of several sub-groups, each with their own tools and tactics. 

The group has been targeting primarily telecommunications and technology companies, as well as companies that do high-tech manufacturing and create military application technology. According to FireEye, APT5 uses malware with keylogging capabilities to target telecommunication companies' corporate networks, employees and executives.

Kaspersky Lab, with over two decades of experience, is a household name in cybersecurity. Its current anti-malware suite, Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2019 brings plenty of features for keeping users safe while on the Internet.

The key to Kaspersky Anti-Virus is its intelligent behavioral model, which uses machine learning to identify malware through its behavior without the requirement of a prewritten virus signature. This suite assimilates nicely with Windows 10, working harmoniously with the operating system’s (OS’) included security tools to provide additional protection against the full spectrum of malware threats. Recently added detection capabilities also shut down outgoing requests to malicious servers.

Price

Kaspersky Anti-Virus is priced to be competitive, starting at $29.99 (£23) for a 3 PC, 1-year license. You can lower the annual price per device by adding PCs and extending the subscription to up to three years.

Kaspersky’s pricing scheme differs from competitors like ESET NOD32 or Norton AntiVirus with starting prices ($39.99) for protecting just 1 PC.

To protect PC, Mac and mobile device, Kaspersky offers two pricer options:

• Kaspersky Internet Security: starts at $39.99 (3 devices, 1 year)
• Kaspersky Total Security: starts at $49.99 (5 devices, 1 year, 2 user accounts)

All Kaspersky consumer products offer a full 30-day trial. It is a 100% free download, and you can try it on your PC without entering payment information.

Setup and User Interface

The Kaspersky Anti-Virus installation process is easy, streamlined and quick. To start, sign up for a free trial via Kaspersky’s website, where you’ll get a small download file. After accepting the license agreement, the installation package automatically downloads. We were able to complete installation without a license or putting in an email address. We did use the “Activate Trial License” link to complete setup.

However, there was an additional step. Kapersky’s dashboard next updated the signatures and program files. Most other antivirus software automatically does this quietly in the background during the installation. On the other hand, being able to manage the update will be an asset for some users.

Kaspersky Anti-Virus took up about 275MB of space on our hard drive, with just two core processes, requiring a comparatively low 90MB RAM, running in the background. It’s safe to say that this program is light on system resources.

Kaspersky Anti-Virus uses a simple interface to disclose the current protection status through a clean visual display with green indicators. Four main buttons cover all the essential tasks: launching a scan, updating a database, viewing a report and accessing the on-screen keyboard.

Antivirus Scans

The Scan panel is used to initiate a quick or full system scan and can completely disinfect the entire storage drive or hone in on specific files and folders. The downside is that you have to do more navigation than is required of competitors. For example, three clicks are inputted into the console to set off a Quick Scan--not so quick, ultimately.

Our testing confirmed that this version of antivirus software is Kaspersky’s fastest to date. The Quick and Full scans both finished faster than the average for an antivirus suite when we benchmarked the software on our review system.

We appreciate the simple scheduler that runs various scan types on an automated basis, which specifies scans for a daily, weekly or monthly interval. The custom configuration option is useful for scheduling a scan on the next day when the system is powered off, which will have less impact on your PC’s performance, and to limit scans to a locked or sleeping computer.

Kaspersky Anti-Virus has choices for finely tuning each scan type, down to the details of the zone to be scrubbed, the type of file to be examined, a selection of the detection engine and the plan for detected threats (disinfecting the file, deleting it, or asking what’s next). The options are aplenty. You can speed up Quick Scans by configuring Kaspersky to skip old files, only sanitize new and modified files. Or maybe you only want to use Full System Scans to scrub specific network folders. Just remember that granular control does have its compromises, as speeding up scans can reduce your level of malware protection.

The Vulnerability Scan gives an assessment of how secure your system is, looking for expired security patches, vulnerable Windows settings and more. When we ran the scan on our test PC, we were informed that autorun for removable drives is enabled by default and were able to address it with a few clicks. This was a helpful alert, considering that having this feature enabled makes the system vulnerable to USB key-based malware.

Even with all the different scan types, we still yearn for the ability to implement true custom scan types. The option to create an 'Ultra Quick Scan' with just a few clicks would be welcome and also retain the option for the original Quick Scan. Major competitors, including Avast and Avira, offer these options to appease their expert users, who many find Kaspersky’s limitation of existing scan types only too, well, limiting.

Antivirus Testing and Performance

We pit Kaspersky Anti-Virus against our homebrew ransomware simulator. Although it is fairly simple, there is no chance of it being a known threat to Kaspersky, which means the software would need to identify it from its behavior, not from virus signatures.

Our ransomware got running, and the Kaspersky System Watcher module monitored the simulated ransomware’s behavior. First, there was a quick notification that this ransomware indeed was a threat, before the software neutralized the process. Next, the antivirus deleted the ransomware file from the PC. The ransomware did manage to encrypt a handful of document files before Kaspersky could neutralize it. But this turned out to be no problem, as Kaspersky Anti-Virus easily decrypted and restored the original files, so nothing was lost. An impressive performance, this validates that Kaspersky safeguards against even yet-to-be-discovered threats with ease.

An antivirus program has to make sure that it is safe from malware in general, so we put it through some simple tests that attempted a modification or deletion of the Kaspersky files. After this testing, we can conclude that this package can certainly protect itself, with none of our attacks causing any harm to the antivirus program.

Other Security Features

Kaspersky Anti-Virus’ most critical element is the core antivirus engine, which blocks malware prior to it threatening your PC. But there’s also the System Watcher, which uses behavior monitoring technology to find undiscovered threats. It has multiple protection layers, which work on a full array of threats, from network attacks, to malicious email objects and phishing attacks.

Kaspersky Anti-Virus also has anti-adware capability. Plus, there’s Kaspersky Secure Connection, a rather rudimentary VPN (from the folks at Hotspot Shield). Sure, we can find a use for a VPN that doesn’t require registration, but its low 200BMB daily data allotment makes  it less than useful for daily usage. The option to upgrade it to unlimited traffic for $4.99 (£3.80) monthly isn’t a huge bargain, since there are a lot of other VPNs (particularly with long-term subscriptions) available for that price or less.

Kaspersky Anti-Virus has a few more tricks up its sleeve. For example, there is the simple on-screen keyboard for entering protected logins of user credentials, account numbers and other private details that demand higher security. We ran it against a number of commercial keylogger software solutions and happily report that none captured our keystrokes.

The Windows Troubleshooting Wizard allows you to search your Windows OS for any damage from malware or revert changes applied to earlier issues. While potentially useful, we don’t know the true breadth of issues examined. With our review PC, the Windows Troubleshooting Wizard did not encounter any new issues, (except for the aforementioned autorun that we already knew about).

Another overpromise is the Browser Configuration Wizard, as this module confines itself to configuring a single browser, Microsoft Edge, not even the browser of choice for many users. At least this browser engine gets utilized by some other applications, so even for alternative browser aficionados, addressing these Edge issues can help secure their system.

The Privacy Cleaner searches for and deletes Windows and activity records from your browsing history, along with cookie lists of Recent Documents, recently run programs, recent folders used and more. While nothing is seriously wrong with this feature, like others in this suite, it’s simply not exceptional, and there is no shortage of dedicated freeware software available that is just as functional.

Another marginal bonus element is Kaspersky Rescue Disk. This bootable environment detects and deletes deeply embedded threats, which can corrupt Windows and prevent booting. While a welcome useful feature, experts will note that this feature is entirely free for all to download from the Kaspersky website; Kaspersky Anti-Virus is merely providing the download link.

Overall, Kaspersky is weak when it comes to bonus features and lags the competition. By way of comparison, Avast Free Antivirus includes a Wi-Fi Inspector that locates wireless vulnerabilities, weak passwords and needed software patches, and Bitdefender Antivirus Plus has a password manager, online banking protection and bootable rescue mode. Most users do not choose an antivirus program based upon bonus elements, but that being said, we would encourage Kaspersky to include additional features in a future edition.

Bottom Line

Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2019 may be missing the full set of bonus features of its competition, but this you may be able to overlook this for a software that excels at accurate anti-malware protection.

Power users will lament the lack of a customizable scan. If that’s important to you, you may want to consider other antivirus solutions, like ESET NOD32 or Norton AntiVirus.

But with its reliable ransomware and general malware protection, coverage of 3 PCs for less than what others change to protect one PC and a free trial that doesn’t require entering your contact info, Kaspersky Anti-Virus is a safe bet.

Image Credits: Kaspersky

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Performance issues, privacy concerns and other problems make it harder than ever to recommend third-party antivirus solutions on Windows. Now it's about to become even more difficult: TechSpot reported that AV-Test, an independent organization that evaluates security products, gave Windows Defender perfect scores across its three evaluation categories after testing 20 antivirus products made for Windows 10 throughout May and June.

AV-Test rated each security offering based on its protection, performance and usability. The highest possible score in each category was six (the organization's use of half-point values results in a 12-point scale). Windows Defender 4.18, F-Secure SAFE 17, Kaspersky Internet Security 19 and Norton Security 22.17 were the only services to receive perfect scores in all three categories. Many others stumbled in several important areas.

This doesn't mean systems running these solutions are impervious to attack. That level of perfection--despite what some may claim--isn't feasible. Instead, these perfect scores means the offerings defended against known threats with a minimal impact on performance and without undue frustration. (More information about how AV-Test evaluates protection, performance and usability is on its website.) Nothing's truly perfect.

These findings show that Windows Defender is just as good as leading third-party antivirus solutions. It's almost enough to make us feel bad for these other companies; it's hard to compete with a well-performing solution that comes bundled with Windows 10 and is made by Microsoft. Just ask Netscape. The main difference is that people can actually benefit from Microsoft's efforts rather than suffering because of its monopolistic impulses.

Antivirus solutions can sometimes create more problems than they solve. Installing them gives another company nearly complete access to a system, and that access can be abused, as "cleaner" utilities have demonstrated. Antivirus solutions can also have their own vulnerabilities for attackers to exploit. Many also prey on non-savvy users to push other services, too, or constantly attempt to get the user's attention for practically no reason.

Windows Defender is supposed to--and according to AV-Test's findings actually does--offer many of the benefits of third-party antivirus solutions without as many of the drawbacks. Microsoft went a bit too far to push Windows Defender a few years ago, which is why it ultimately capitulated to Kaspersky's complaints about anti-competitive practices, but it's hard to argue against good cyber security

Like we said: Windows Defender isn't perfect. It has its own vulnerabilities, and we're sure that some Windows 10 users have been annoyed by the utility, too. But at least people who don't want or can't afford other antivirus solutions have a built-in utility that bests other free options.

Norton AntiVirus has been around since 1991, making it one of the oldest antivirus software solutions.

For this review, we used Norton AntiVirus Basic. However, Norton has since discontinued Basic and replaced it with Norton Antivirus Plus. The two are virtually the same with the same core security features, such as an underlying malware engine and associated services. However, Plus comes with bonus features in 2GB of cloud backup, a web management portal and a two-way firewall.

Norton AntiVirus users also get threat detection of previously identified malware, intelligent behavior monitoring, a file reputation service that spots new hazards and powerful anti-phishing technology. It also includes Norton Identity Safe, which is a password manager but has less features than some competitors.

There are a lot of features, but we found some flaws in the software’s ability to detect new ransomware threats.

Price

The initial annual subscription costs $39.99 for a one-computer, one-year license, with renewals costing $59.99 (about £45) per subsequent year.

First-year rates are equal to Bitdefender but pricier than other competitors. Plus some alternatives offer multiple devices and multi-year license options. For example, Bitdefender offers a three-device, three-year license for $83.99 total. Norton falls short by not offering discounts for additional devices.

Unfortunately, there’s no free trial for Norton AntiVirus. A Norton rep told us there is a 60-day money-back guarantee. However, you’ll still have to pay upfront and having to request the refund is less preferred than a simpler free trial offer.

If you’re willing to pay more, note Norton also offers other antivirus packages:
●    Norton 360 Standard: $8/month, $80/year, one device
●    Norton 360 Deluxe: $10/month, $100/yearr, five devices
●    Norton 360 with LifeLock Select: $15/month, $150/year, five devices
●    Norton 360 with LifeLock Advantage: $25/month, $250/year, 10 devices
●    Norton 360 with LifeLock Ultimate Plus: $35/month, $350/year, unlimited devices

Setup and User Interface

The install process is really easy. However, during our setup process, the software identified another antivirus software which was already installed, Bitdefender, and asked to uninstall it. Although, there was an option to keep it, which we appreciate. We also like that we were warned about a potential issue, and that the user gets to be the final arbitrator of which software goes on their system.

During setup, Norton offers to install some browser extensions. One is Norton Safe Web, which warns users of dangerous websites. The other extension, Norton Identity Safe, gives the functions of a password manager. We consider them both valuable extras, but such software can be found as freeware, so Norton is only adding minimal value.

With the suite fully installed, it occupied 1.6GB of disk space, more than many competitors. Thankfully, with the larger C: drives these days, this shouldn’t be an issue. And Norton did not negatively impact our system resources otherwise. Plus, this software comes with 2GB of free online storage; although that is a very small amount of space.

Examining our test PC’s background processes we found only three, including the Chrome extension host, consuming less than 50MB of RAM, and they ran perfectly fine with no system slow downs.

Norton AntiVirus offers plenty of options and controls. The complete details of your PC’s protection status are cleanly displayed, which includes the timing for your last update and scan with buttons that get grouped into functional groups, including Security, Online Safety and Backup. Clicking on the buttons displays additional options, with total control of all the antivirus settings.

Antivirus Scans

We found Norton’s scan tool simultaneously comprehensive and easy to use. Checking your system is as easy as clicking Security -> Scans, to start a scan immediately. There’s a choice of available modes: Quick or Full. plus a Custom Scan option to focus the scan on specific drives, folders or files to clear out malware.

Norton missed the mark by lacking options for lower level scans, like Avast or Avira. These competing programs offer more than just an archives scan, also allowing the user to specify the types of archives and the depth of nesting to support them (i.e., how many open archives). Still, the average user will be okay with what Norton offers.

For example, you can create a custom scan, such as one that checks D:Files and E:More and skip certain scan types, like rootkits or tracking cookies, to save time. Running can be automated with specific parameters, like when the system is idle and on AC power, for example.
You can also control what happens upon scan completion, including turning off the PC or putting it into sleep mode. While power users may find additional options elsewhere, mainstream users will be able to easily comprehend and use these custom features.

Performance-wise, scans use multiple CPU threads; however Norton is not overly grabby of system resources and will give back those threads when needed for another demanding application to optimize system performance.

Antivirus Testing and Performance

Overall, Norton’s speeds were quite excellent. It also detected all of our test threats, without any false alarms -- a powerful combination for an antivirus software package.

Our own custom ransomware-like program works through a tree of test folders, opening and encrypting common images, videos and other documents. Since we created it and it’s a novel threat, Norton has not encountered it before, making it an excellent test of the software’s ability to detect and block ransomware by behavior only and without relying on the database of virus signatures for malware identification.

Norton fizzled when it came to handling our custom ransomware. With the executable test, the ransomware rapidly ground to a stop, which seemed encouraging. However, as we delved deeper, we found that the ransomware had encrypted some files. We were even more frustrated when we figured out that Norton provided neither an alert nor a pathway to recover the files.

We tempted fate and reran our custom ransomware. That resulted in identical performance, with the encryption of a few files before the ransomware went away with zero warnings.

After the third time running our ransomware, Norton shut it down and displayed an alert with information that a threat was neutralized.

On one hand, Norton detected and blocked the solitary ransomware. But on the other hand, this occurred with no warning, and there was potential for data loss with the time that elapsed before the detection and deletion of our ransomware. On our PC, the ransomware we ran successfully encrypted 454 files before Norton neutralized it. Competitor Kaspersky showed better performance, stopping our ransomware after the encryption of a handful of files and recovering the originals without loss of any data.

With testing finished, we assessed Norton’s impact on our system’s performance, with quite favorable results. Looking at the 2018 Consumer Security Products Performance benchmarks with PassMark Software, Norton’s impact on system performance was the lowest among the 15 contenders and performed superior to the minimal-impact Windows Defender. Therefore, while performance of a given software on any PC can be difficult to predict, Norton runs better than most, making this a strong contender for an older system.

Other Security Features

Norton Antivirus also includes the Norton Power Eraser feature. It’s an effective tool for more complicated problems that would elude a standard scan. The algorithm dives deep to seek out stealthier threats.

If you’re unsure of where to look to locate a possible threat, there’s Norton Insight, a tool that scans processes to quickly highlight any possible malware, at least worth a closer look.

The browser extension protection from malware is more clunky compared to the sleek software solution. However, Norton still excels at URL blocking, making this extension well worth installation if your browser doesn’t don’t already have this type of software.

Additionally, you’ll find bonus tools that are useful for junk files deletion, hard drive defragging and startup program management. These programs are hardly an afterthought and can go toe-to toe with their competitors. For example, the Startup Manager can not only list the startup programs, but also display the number of other Norton users using them. Furthermore, it allows the user to specify a delay in startup to smooth out the boot process and also gives the option to turn them off. Still, power users will point out that freeware tools, including CCleaner, provide plenty of PC maintenance functionality.

Bottom Line

Norton AntiVirus has inherent advantages, such as being accurate, low on system resources, quick and flexible.

However, alternative antivirus solutions Bitdefender and Kaspersky demonstrated better performance on the critical tasks of ransomware and file recovery.

But if you’re looking for an antivirus software with minimal impact on your PC, Norton still has quite a high virus detection rate in general.

Image Credits: Norton

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CyberGhost is a VPN provider founded in 2011 in Bucharest, Romania. Its team, catering to more than 30 million users worldwide, consists of professionals based in Romania and Germany.

With a three-year plan it offers some of the best pricing in the market. But its sometimes slow connection times may have you looking elsewhere.

CyberGhost VPN Specs

Pricing

CyberGhost has one four pricing plans. They begin with the monthly plan that costs $12.99, continue with the 1-year plan at $5.99 per month and the 2-year subscription at $3.29 per month. Finally, the best value option is the 3-year subscription that costs $2.75 a month. An additional dedicated IP is available for $5.00 a month.

You can pay for your subscription using major credit cards, PayPal and Bitcoin.

If you’re disappointed with any element of CyberGhost’s services, you can ask for a refund within 45 days of payment. Obviously, this generous 45-day money-back guarantee isn’t available if you choose the monthly option, which instead has a 14-day money-back guarantee.

There’s a one-day free trial when signing up via Windows and a 7-day free trial if you do so via an iOS platform. Android users are also eligible for a 7-day free trial and don’t even have to sign up; just download and install the app.

Features

CyberGhost has more than 3,600 servers in over 60 countries across the world. It also comes with a long list of features focused on user anonymization. These include a data compression option on Android devices, torrent filtering according to the purpose (streaming, torrenting, et cetera), as well as a solution that blocks ads, trackers and malicious websites from hampering your online experience.

The provider’s services can be installed and used on a wide array of platforms, including Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, Fire OS, Linux, Raspberry Pi, VU+ Solo 2, Chrome OS, routers and more. CyberGhost also has browser extensions for Firefox and Chrome. Clients for the major platforms can be downloaded from the website, which also has a large collection of guides, troubleshooting articles and FAQ if you need help with installation or usage.

CyberGhost facilitates access to services and websites restricted in certain regions, including streaming platforms like Netflix, BBC iPlayer, VUDU, Hulu and Amazon Prime. Although not all of the provider's servers are capable of streaming Netflix content, finding those that are is a piece of cake, thanks to the list of streaming-optimized servers for Netflix U.S. and certain localized versions.

CyberGhost also supports torrenting and even has a list of the most suitable servers for torrenting in its apps.

The provider enables simultaneous connections on up to 7 devices, which is a generous amount among VPN providers; although, some, like Surfshark, let you connect an unlimited number of devices. What’s more, if you install CyberGhost on your router, then you can connect as many devices as you want. However, make sure that your router supports this provider before making a commitment. You can’t access the same server at the same time with different devices - you have to choose a different server for each device. This rule doesn’t apply to routers as they count as one device.

In addition to a large library of product guides, troubleshooting articles, answers to FAQs and service updates, CyberGhost has a team of experts available to you 24/7. You can contact the customer support using live chat on the website or by sending an email.

Privacy

In terms of security, this VPN vendor applies the usual 256-bit AES encryption algorithm, as well as OpenVPN, IKEv2, PPTP, IPSec and L2TP transfer protocols. An essential part of every VPN service is a kill switch, and CyberGhost is no different. When activated, it blocks all internet traffic on your device if the VPN connection unexpectedly drops. This safeguards your private data from all prying eyes. Unfortunately, this mechanism isn’t available on Android or iOS; although, Android phones now come equipped with their own kill switch that you can enable with some tinkering in your device’s settings.

Android devices also have the benefit of the split tunneling option, which allows you to choose which of your apps you want to run under VPN and which you want to leave on your regular Internet connection.

CyberGhost has a special category of servers called NoSpy servers. The NoSpy system is located in Romania, a country that isn’t part of any intelligence-sharing agreements or alliances. In addition to added security, this system promises better performance in terms of speed and bandwidth, and it has backup generators that ensure it will never go down, not even if there’s a power shortage.

Your sensitive information is also protected by the company’s no logs policy. The policy states that CyberGhost has no intention to monitor or store any kind of traffic data, connection logs, or IP addresses when using its platform.

Every year since 2011 the company publishes a transparency report, which lists its qualities, all the DMCA complaints, malicious activity flags and police requests for data it gets that it cannot comply with as there are no logs to deliver.

Performance

CyberGhost delivers very good performance, although not as great as some of the other VPN services out there.

Download speeds were excellent, though sometimes they suffered some latencies for servers further away from your device’s location.

Connection times were also a bit longer than with some competitors. It could take up to 30 seconds while, for example NordVPN, usually takes around 15 seconds. But this didn't affect the overall experience terribly.

Bottom Line

CyberGhost is an affordable VPN service that offers all the qualities that most users demand. It enables access to many geo-limited services, allows torrenting and effectively hides your identity and protects your data with premium privacy mechanisms. Furthermore, its 7-device per account limit is generous one.

As disadvantages are concerned, we only had slight issues with the platform’s performance and short free trial periods.

Image Credits: CyberGhost

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VyprVPN is a VPN platform developed by Golden Frog, a security software company founded in Switzerland. It was made in response to Room 641a, an infamous room in San Francisco, California where the NSA conducted surveillance on AT&T’s networks in the early 2000s.

With such roots, VyprVPN continues to maintain a strong reputation for privacy. But there are some drawbacks when it comes to options available for different accounts.

VyprVPN Specs

Pricing

VyprVPN offers two pricing plans: Standard and Premium.

The Standard account provides basic features, supports three simultaneous connections and is available as a monthly and a yearly plan at the price of $9.95 and $5 per month, respectively.

The Premium account supports up to 5 devices at the same time, the proprietary Chameleon protocol and VyprVPN Cloud (we’ll get to these in the Features and Privacy sections). Its monthly option is $12.95, while the annual plan costs $6.67 per month.

VyprVPN also has a Refer a Friend program. Subscribers can refer new users by sending them their personal referral link. You’ll receive a credit equal to the monthly value of the your current account level when a new user signs up with your link.

If you’d rather test the service out to see if it’s the right match, you can do so during a risk-free 3-day free trial. You still have to sign up for a subscription, but you won’t be billed until after the 3-day trial expires, which means if you want to cancel without any loss, you’ll have to do so during that period.

VyprVPN accepts major credit cards and PayPal. The website also states Alipay is accepted but the pricing page doesn’t show this option.

The VPN service doesn’t have a money-back guarantee. Its Terms of Service states that “no refunds will be considered for accounts deleted for violation of our Terms of Service.” There is some evidence of users being issued a refund on the company’s forum under special circumstances. We suggest contacting the staff if you want a refund for any reason, but know that it’s not guaranteed.

Features

VyprVPN offers access to 200,000 IP addresses and more than 700 servers in over 70 locations. All the servers are owned and managed by the company itself, making it a tier-1 VPN provider. In theory, this means better performance in terms of speed and bandwidth.

The Premium account comes with a VyprVPN Cloud, a user-friendly, highly secure VPN server deployment solution that allows users to use an additional layer of security when accessing public or private cloud servers. VyprVPN Cloud is currently available for DigitalOcean, Amazon Web Service (AWS) and VirtualBox.

The software can be installed and used on a wide array of platforms. You can download clients for Windows, Mac, Android and iOS, while the manual installation is possible on a long list of other platforms, including Linux, Blackphone, smart TVs, routers and more.

The provider unblocks the most popular streaming and other geographically restricted services, including Netflix, BBC iPlayer, Hulu, Amazon Prime, HBO, Sky Go and more. It also supports unlimited torrenting.

Installing the service on a supported router allows unlimited simultaneous connections as the router counts as only one device.

If you encounter problems while installing or using the service, you can consult the website’s large searchable support section. If you still can’t find your answer, VyprVPN’s staff can jump in if you contact them via live chat or submit a request for email support. They are available 24/7.

Privacy

Along with the 256-bit AES encryption algorithm, VyprVPN employs OpenVPN, PPTP and L2TP/IPSec transfer protocols.

In addition, Premium plan subscribers get usage of VyprVPN’s proprietary Chameleon protocol. It scrambles OpenVPN traffic metadata, thus protecting it from ISP deep packet inspection, connection throttling and VPN blocking.

An industry standard kill switch is used on VyprVPN clients (except iOS) to block all internet traffic on your device if the VPN connection malfunctions. This protects your sensitive information from leaking into the wrong hands.

The Connection Per App feature lets you select which apps you want to use with the VPN and which you want to leave on the regular internet connection, as well as select which apps will connect only if the VPN connection is on.

VyprVPN’s zero-knowledge DNS service hinders DNS filtering and other attempts to gain access to your online activities and private information.

VyprVPN has a zero logs policy, which means it doesn’t record or retain any data when you use its service. That data includes the user’s source IP address, the IP assigned when using VyprVPN, connection timestamps, the user’s traffic, or the content of any communications. This policy was tried and tested in an independent audit conducted by the Leviathan Security Group.

Switzerland, where Golden Frog is incorporated, has favorable privacy laws, like the Article 13 of the Swiss Federal Constitution, the Swiss Federal Data Protection Act (DPA) and Swiss Federal Data Protection Ordinance (DPO) that protect both personal data pertaining to natural persons and legal entities. On top of that, the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland ruled in 2010 that IP addresses are personal information and therefore cannot be used to track internet usage without the knowledge of the individuals involved.

Performance

VyprVPN delivers excellent performance in terms of speed and connection stability.

In our testing, we found that latencies can occur for some servers depending on how far away they are. But this didn't affect the general experience.

Bottom Line

VyprVPN offers all the features one would expect of a good VPN provider. It allows unlimited torrenting and access to popular geo-blocked streaming services, all accompanied by high speeds, sturdy security mechanisms and confirmed dedication to your privacy.

Our main issues with VyprVPN were the lack of a clear money-back guarantee, short free trial period and a somewhat limited standard plan.

If that doesn’t bother you, VyprVPN is a solid VPN choice with comforting Swiss roots.

Image Credits: VyprVPN

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TunnelBear is a VPN provider based in Toronto, Canada and owned by cybersecurity giant McAfee, which acquired it in March 2018. The provider was established over seven years ago and has over 25 million users worldwide.

The VPN employs all the classic industry mechanisms aimed at protecting its users anonymity, in addition to proving its qualities through independent audits. But streamers and those with a lot of devices should look elsewhere.

TunnelBear Specs

Pricing

TunnelBear has a very limited free account that allows only 500MB of Internet traffic per month. For comparison, consider that Windscribe’s free plan offers 10GB.

As far as premium options go, there are only two: the 1-month or 1-year option for $9.99 and $4.99 per month, respectively.

*Free and Build A Plan (Windscribe only) options not shown

For payment, the provider accepts three major credit cards (MasterCard, Visa and American Express) and Bitcoin, although the latter is only accepted for the 1-year plan.

If you are not satisfied with the service for any reason, you can claim a refund within 30 days of your initial purchase. There’s no free trial for the paid version.

Features

TunnelBear has servers in about 20 locations around the world.

Clients are available for Windows, Mac, iOS and Android, in addition to limited support and instructions for Linux. That’s as far as device support goes. The service cannot be installed on any routers, e-readers, Windows mobile devices, gaming consoles, smart TVs or Raspberry Pi. Chrome, Firefox, and Opera web browsers, however, can be secured with TunnelBear browser extensions.

The provider doesn’t unblock Netflix and BBC iPlayer, but it facilitates access to geo-restricted content on YouTube.

All of TunnelBear’s servers are P2P-friendly, meaning you can share large files via torrenting clients without any limitations. However, some servers are better suited for such purposes than others, which is something the TunnelBear can help with.

This VPN service allows you to connect up to 5 devices at the same time. Most other VPN platforms can be enabled on certain routers, which then act as only one device and therefore enable unlimited connections. This is not the case with TunnelBear.

Support for any aspect of the service is available on the website’s help section, where you can find articles that cover the basics, troubleshooting, announcements and more, albeit with somewhat modest content. If you still have unresolved issues, you can contact customer service for assistance. They cannot be reached via live chat, but there’s an option that lets you to describe your issue, upload a screenshot and leave your email address. Someone from the team will respond via email.

Privacy

This VPN vendor offers security that’s as strong as a bear, thanks to the OpenVPN and IKEv2 protocols used randomly in Windows and Mac clients. If you’re connected via the OpenVPN transfer protocol, you can choose whether you want a TCP or UDP connection.

Encryption is provided using the 256-bit AES algorithm, in addition to SHA1-HMAC with 160-bit Secure Hash Algorithm data authentication. Another privacy mechanism employed by TunnelBear is the 2048 Diffie-Hellman ephemeral key exchange and 2048-bit RSA certificate.

It doesn’t have plenty of features, save for the standard kill switch and an Android-only split tunneling feature. The kill switch, called VigilantBear, shuts down all the Internet traffic on your device in the event of a sudden VPN connection termination, protecting your data from becoming exposed. Split tunneling, dubbed SplitBear, allows you to select which apps you want to run on the VPN and which you want to leave on the regular connection.

There’s also the optional GhostBear feature, which makes your VPN traffic less detectable on your network.

TunnelBear does not collect, store, or log any of sensitive data -- like IP addresses, DNS queries  or any information about the applications, services, or websites its users use -- while connected to the VPN. The company also doesn’t disclose any personal data to other commercial parties under any circumstance.

If words aren’t enough to prove to you that security is a top priority, TunnelBear is also among the first in the VPN industry to regularly publish independent audits.

Performance

In terms of performance, TunnelBear delivers pretty solid results.

We didn’t experience any significant delays in connection times, and the connection itself was stable and reliable. Download speeds occasionally suffered from some latency, depending on the server location; although this is expected.

Bottom Line

TunnelBear is a modest VPN provider with the standard VPN features, meager server coverage and limited platform support and pricing options.

It doesn’t unblock the popular streaming services but supports unlimited torrenting, and regular torrenters will appreciate the solid performance. Another positive is that the company publishes regular independent audits.

TunnelBear offers basic VPN capabilities that are sufficient for those who don’t care about streaming or connecting more than 5 devices and are more interested in keeping their online activities private.

Image Credits: TunnelBear

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Windscribe is based in Ontario and was founded in March 2016. It’s available as both a free and a paid platform that blocks ads and trackers, restores access to blocked content and helps you protect your privacy, plus unlimited streaming and torrenting on a wide range of devices.

However, performance struggles if you don’t use the OpenVPN transfer protocol. Plus, paid users have a limited amount of time to decide if they like the VPN service before missing out on any potential refund.

Windscribe Specs

Pricing

The provider’s free plan offers a generous 10GB of monthly data traffic. You only need to sign up and download the app to use it. If you don’t provide your email address, you’re limited to 2GB. The free version also has 48 fewer server locations available than the pro version.

For the full service, there are two pricing options. You can either choose the 1-month billing option for $9 or the 1-year subscription that costs $4.08 per month.

*Free and Build A Plan options not shown

Windscribe also allows customization of subscription plans under the Build A Plan scheme. This system gives you the freedom to select only those locations you want for $1 a month per location. You need to choose at least two locations, and each selected location comes with an additional bonus 10GB of bandwidth.

The money-back guarantee is a lot shorter than what most other providers offer. Refunds are only issued up to three commercial days after payment and if you haven’t surpassed 10GB of traffic.

You can pay via American Express, Mastercard, Visa, Paypal, Paymentwall and Bitcoin.

Features

Windscribe currently offers servers in 110 cities across over 60 countries, 10 of which are available to free users.

The service has apps for Windows, iOS, Mac and Android devices, in addition to browser extensions covering Firefox, Chrome and Opera. It can be installed on a range of additional platforms, like Linux, Windows Phone, Kodi, Amazon Fire and routers. You don’t need to be an expert to do this; the website offers installation guides and all the necessary configuration files.

Interestingly, the desktop clients allow importing of custom OpenVPN configuration files from other providers, displaying those servers next to its own.

The provider’s browser extensions let you change your time zone to match that of your selected VPN location. It also allows for random rotation of the browser user agent to circumvent fingerprinting.

You can easily reach Netflix, thanks to Windscribe’s servers that are oriented to specific localized versions of Netflix (U.S., Canada, UK and Japan). Windscribe facilitates access to other similar streaming services and other kinds of geo-restricted content as well, except for the BBC iPlayer.

Torrenting is another service you’ll have unlimited access to, but only if you opt for a pro subscription.

Windscribe allows for an unlimited number of simultaneous connections per account.

The Windscribe website offers plenty of help if you get stuck with the platform. You can check out the support section or blog for guides, troubleshooting or FAQs, as well as for service updates and explanations.

If you can’t find the information needed in the online materials, you can reach out to the company’s customer support staff. They are available through the ticket filing system, live chat  and a subreddit. However, given the sheer volume of their user base and lack of team members, you might need to arm yourself with a little patience.

Privacy

Windscribe offers military-grade privacy protection with the help of multiple mechanisms. In its desktop apps, it utilizes AES-256 cipher with SHA512 authentication and a 4096-bit RSA key. The provider’s browser extensions use TLS 1.2, ECDHE-RSA with P-256 key exchange and AES-128-GCM algorithm.

The provider has its own version of a kill switch called a firewall. In the event of a sudden VPN connection termination, Windscribe’s firewall jumps in and shuts down the entire Internet connection on your device, keeping your sensitive data safe beyond the reach of prying eyes. The firewall mechanism then immediately reestablishes the VPN connection.

In a mission to protect your privacy, Windsribe employs two connection protocols - OpenVPN and IKEv2. The provider also limits IPv6 traffic and blocks ads, trackers, malware and any other web content you might want to block, like gambling and fake news. The blocker option is called R.O.B.E.R.T. (Remote Omnidirectional Badware Eliminating Robotic Tool) and is Windscribe’s proprietary DNS-based mechanism that can be customized to block specific content.

The company takes your privacy seriously, as confirmed in its privacy policy and no-logging explanation, which clearly state it won’t store any connection logs, session logs, IP timestamps, or monitor any kind of online activities. The provider has to have a system to limit free account usage and prevent abuse, which is why it keeps track of when you last used the service and how much data was transferred on a monthly basis.

Windscribe is also devoted to proving its privacy policy isn’t just a bunch of empty words. Once a year, it publishes a Transparency Report listing all the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act, a U.S. copyright law) and law enforcement data requests it received but couldn’t fulfill because it had no recorded data to give.

Performance

Windscribe’s performance can be less than ideal if you’re using the OpenVPN transfer protocol instead of the company’s default and recommended IKEv2. Our testing found the connection times here are a bit longer, and the download speeds can be slower than what is seen in some other VPN platforms. However, when you switch to IKEv2, the performance gets better and more on par with competing VPN services.

Bottom Line

Considering all it has to offer and its price, Windscribe is a top-notch VPN provider. It ticks all the boxes - Netflix and torrenting support, bullet-proof encryption, wide platform support and plenty of payment options.

The only issues are with the very short money-back guarantee and poor performance with OpenVPN protocol, but these are not things that the typical VPN user will find devastating.

Image Credits: Windscribe

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StrongVPN launched in 1994 as a small PC retailer in South Lake Tahoe, California. Quickly enough, it switched to offering dial-up Internet services and then to providing dedicated servers and colocation services. Since then, it has expanded its network to more than 650 servers worldwide.

But while we saw good performance with StrongVPN, it lacks the variety of features and pricing options of other VPN services.

StrongVPN Specs

Pricing

Strong VPN doesn’t give you a lot of wiggle room when picking a subscription. There are only two plans: monthly and annual. The 1-month plan is $10, while the annual subscription price drops to $5.83 per month. If that’s too pricey for you, you can check the StrongVPN website for coupons.

*Free and Build A Plan options not shown

There are no free trials, but both plans are covered by an “unconditional” and “risk-free” 30-day money-back guarantee, which allows you to fully test the service and receive a refund if you request it within this period.

You can pay via major credit cards, as well as PayPal or AliPay.

Features

StrongVPN’s server coverage includes over 650 servers in 46 cities across the world, providing as many as 59,500 VPN IPs. The provider supports VPN connections on up to 12 devices at the same time, which is more than enough for a typical household or even a small office. There is even a possibility to gain unlimited connections by installing the service on select routers that support VPN.

Most VPN users want access to geo-restricted services and platforms, like Netflix, HBO and Pandora. However, StrongVPN doesn’t claim to unblock BBC iPlayer and trying to unblock it yields inconsistent results. Nevertheless, the VPN supports an extensive list of streaming services inaccessible in certain regions.

Additionally, StrongVPN offers fast and unlimited file sharing via torrenting clients.

The list of platforms supporting the installation and use of StrongVPN is lengthy. You can download the clients for Windows and Mac OS directly from the website. Downloading the Android, iOS, or Fire TV apps, takes you to their respective app stores. The manual setup guides are available for all of the above, as well as for specific routers and other platforms, including Linux, Windows Mobile, Kodi, Amazon Kindle and Chromium. If you want the service on your router but don’t want to go through the hassle of installing the software yourself, then buying a preloaded router might be a better option.

StrongVPN’s website offers in-depth articles on various topics concerning its services as well as industry updates on its blog. The help section is divided into three categories - setup guides, troubleshooting and FAQ. If the site fails to address your concerns, then the company’s customer support team is at your disposal 24/7 via live chat on the website or through email. To send them an email, you can either use your preferred email platform or fill out the contact form on the website. The provider also has phone support available Monday-Friday (9 a.m. - 5 p.m. CT, UTC-6).

Privacy

StrongVPN has all the typical VPN privacy features but not many extras. There’s the usual kill switch, an essential mechanism which activates in the event of a sudden VPN connection interruption, safeguarding your sensitive data from leaking, the standard list of connection protocols -- OpenVPN, IPSec, IKEv2, L2TP and SSTP -- as well as the strong AES-256-CBC encryption algorithm.

The company also has its own secure DNS system to which you can sign up separately from the entire VPN service if you only want a way to unblock geographically restricted media. While VPN encrypts all of your traffic, StrongDNS doesn’t re-route it through the company’s servers or change your IP address. Instead, it connects you directly to the streaming server, ensuring the best possible speed.

StrongVPN is a zero-logging provider, which means it doesn’t monitor or keep any logs about your online activities. However, there aren’t any more specific details about the no-logs policy readily available. It would be helpful if StrongVPN followed in the footsteps of some other providers, like TunnelBear, that open their proverbial doors to independent auditors and publish the results.

StrongVPN is also under the jurisdiction of the U.S., a country with a history of pushing tech companies to share user data. If you’re privacy-obsessed, take this into account.

Performance

StrongVPN’s performance justifies its name.

During our testing, we reached the highest speeds when connecting to the U.S. servers. However, other locations yielded results that were almost as good.

Bottom Line

Although it doesn’t have as many features as some of its competitors, StrongVPN still offers above-average performance for the most typical VPN use cases. It unblocks Netflix and some other geo-restricted services, and also allows torrenting with no bandwidth limitations. The company also allows simultaneous connections on an unusually high number of devices.

There are some privacy concerns related to the company’s location and lack of details on the no-logs policy, but considering all the positives, it’s worth checking out. Just don’t bank on streaming BBC iPlayer.

Image Credits: StrongVPN

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Using a VPN is the best way to safeguard your sensitive data from nosy nellies and regimes, as well as to access services unavailable at your current location for whatever reason. This is why it is important to choose a service that will not only do this diligently but at an acceptable price as well. One such VPN provider is U.S.-based IPVanish.

Specifications

Pricing

IPVanish has three subscription options. The 1-month plan costs $10, the 3-month plan $8.99 per month, while the best deal is the 1-year plan with a price tag of $6.49 per month. The website has a page where you can find coupons to reduce the price by up to 57%, so make sure to check that out first.

If you are not yet ready to commit, there is a 7-day free trial, but only for Apple users on the iOS app.

For others who sign up via its website, IPVanish offers a 7-day, money-back guarantee instead. If you choose to cancel your subscription before the end of its seventh day and have used a refundable payment method, you are eligible for an automatic refund.

There aren’t many payment options. You can only choose between the major credit and debit cards and PayPal. No gift cards or digital currencies are accepted.

Features

IPVanish has over 40,000 shared IPs and more than 1,300 VPN servers scattered across more than 75 countries. It also owns and manages all of its servers, giving it better control over how those servers are run. However, if you wanted to access servers in Russia, Turkey, Indonesia, Argentina, Thailand, or China, you’re out of luck.

IPVanish’s intuitive apps can be installed on a wide array of devices and platforms. These include Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, iOS, as well as Fire TV, Windows Phone, Chromebook, and routers. If you get stuck with the installation, check out IPVanish’s setup guides page for help. IPVanish does not have browser extensions.

The Android and FireOS clients have a split-tunneling feature that lets you choose which apps you don’t want to use with IPVanish.

Although Netflix had previously blocked most of IPVanish’s servers, there is a strong possibility you would now be able to access this service, at least when it comes to U.S. Netflix. The availability changes all the time, but IPVanish staff can assist you by providing information on servers that currently support Netflix.

You can also try accessing many other streaming services, like BBC iPlayer, or even switch to torrenting, without any download restrictions on all servers. The website has tutorials on accessing both. IPVanish also unblocks Kodi content.

This VPN provider supports a large number of simultaneous connections - up to 10. This can cover your entire household, which is rather cost-effective.It’s also more than rivals like ExpressVPN and NordVPN offer (three and six, respectively).

If you need help navigating all these features, IPVanish not only has a comprehensive help section, but also a solid customer service system that you can access via email or live chat 24/7.

Privacy

IPVanish guarantees privacy and prevents ISP Deep Packet Inspection with the help of standard AES-256 encryption, along with IKEv2, PPTP, L2TP with IPSec, as well as OpenVPN TCP and UDP connection protocols. However, this provider goes beyond just letting you choose between protocols.

Specifically, it gives you more control over your OpenVPN setup by letting you choose your OpenVPN port (1194 or 443). A very detailed visual guide leads you through all the necessary steps. The “Obfuscate OpenVPN Traffic” is an option you can use to further reduce the risk of your VPN tunnel being discovered and/or blocked by governments.

IPVanish also has a SOCKS5 Proxy Server that basically enables an additional protocol that hides your IP address. It does not use the encryption of a regular VPN, guaranteeing higher speeds. This method is suitable for torrenting, as it both masks your identity and provides maximum download speeds.

IPVanish also comes with a kill switch, albeit only on the desktop clients. If you want to use the VPN service on your Android device, it is recommended that you set up your device’s own kill switch (System Settings > Wireless and Networks > More > VPN, choose VPN app, enable “Block connections without VPN”), which is now possible on most Android devices. However, this might not be an easy option for beginners, and there is no kill switch solution for iOS.

Although IPVanish says it sticks to a “strict zero-logs policy,” an incident from 2016 caused concern about these claims. IPVanish provided certain information on a user’s activities to the US Department of Homeland Security. This happened before the 2017 acquisition of Mudhook Media’s parent company by StackPath. Regardless, the fact that IPVanish still belongs to the U.S. jurisdiction is a drawback privacy-wise.

Performance

Upon testing, we discovered that IPVanish’s performance was pretty solid, with only one failed connection out of 100 connection attempts, which is a superb result.

Connection times and download speeds were also outstanding and among the fastest on the market. That said, some of the non-U.S. locations produced poorer, although still acceptable, results.

Bottom Line

IPVanish has a good deal of high-end features. A relatively high number of servers, wide platform support, strong performance and access to geo-restricted and P2P services make it one of the best VPN services on the market.

But its no-logs policy is rather questionable because it previously shared a user’s log with the U.S. government and the fact that it belongs to the U.S. jurisdiction.

But if you’re looking for a larger number of connections (up to 10 and some low rates, particularly for 1-year plans, IPVanish is worth consideration.

Image Credits: IPVanish

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VPN protects your privacy online, so it’s important to choose a suitable VPN provider for your home or business. Panama-based NordVPN is one of the largest names in the VPN industry. The service features an array of features, as well as a decent number of connection devices and large number of payment options.

Specifications

Pricing

NordVPN is among the most affordable VPN services. It has lower monthly rates than ExpressVPN, but some of its plans are more expensive than IPVanish’s alternatives.

The 1-month plan costs $11.95 (about £9.20), and a 1-year plan is $6.99 (about £5.37) a month. The 2-year plan costs $3.99 (about £3.06) a month, while the 3-year option is the cheapest, at just $2.99 (around £2.30) monthly. All options are fully refundable within the first 30 days if you are not satisfied with the provider’s performance.

NordVPN supports a wide range of payment options, such as major credit cards, debit cards and cryptocurrencies. There’s also a hidden perk -- a 7-day free trial. However, starting the free trial automatically signs you up for a 1-month subscription, which begins after the trial ends. But you can cancel any time during those 7 days without being charged. If you want to switch to a different plan, you can also do so at any time during this period.

Features

NordVPN is envied for its impressive security guaranteed by the AES-256-GCM encryption algorithm, said to be more secure than AES-CBC, and an automatic kill switch that blocks all internet traffic in the event that your VPN connection suddenly drops. This helps prevent your data from leaking into the wrong hands.

In addition, NordVPN has a bushel of extra features that separate it from the crowd. One of them is Double VPN, which ensures your data passes through two separate VPN servers, adding another level of security.

Another valuable feature, CyberSec, blocks all annoying ads and suspicious websites, preventing malware or other cyber threats from infecting your device. CyberSec also protects your device from participation in DDoS attacks if it is already infected.

Onion Over VPN is a special feature that combines all the benefits of The Onion Router (Tor) open source software with the regular VPN tunnel, adding yet another layer of security and anonymity.

NordVPN’s platform supports two protocols: IKEv2/IPsec and OpenVPN. The new WireGuard protocol is in the testing phase. It aims to offer even better performance than the IPSec and OpenVPN tunneling protocols.

NordVPN software is available for Windows, Mac, iOS, Linux, Android and Android TV. You can also secure your browsing with extensions for Chrome and Firefox. Installing the client is very easy, and if you run into any obstacles, there are over 50 tutorials to guide you through manual service setup on all available platforms, which includes Chrome OS, Raspberry Pi, BlackBerry, Windows Phone, routers and more.

If you want to set up NordVPN as a Socks 5 or browser proxy, the company provides tutorials for Chrome, Firefox, Opera, Safari, Internet Explorer, uTorrent, BitTorrent, Vuze, Skype and Deluge.

Accessing geo-restricted services, like Netflix, BBC iPlayer and YouTube, is also a piece of cake for NordVPN and one of its best features. The SmartPlay feature enables safe streaming without the buffering, bandwidth throttling or slow connections.

Those wondering about torrenting will be pleased to know you can count on NordVPN to facilitate that service too. The P2P traffic is, in fact, available on select servers, and the website provides a tutorial on proper server selection.

One NordVPN account supports up to 6 simultaneous VPN connections. That’s better than the 3 ExpressVPN offers but less than IPVanish’s 10.

If that isn’t enough, you can set up your router with NordVPN to connect even more devices.

We had no bones to pick with NordVPN’s customer support either. In addition to the help center and tutorials, the company’s customer support is available 24/7 via live chat and email.

Privacy

NordVPN comes with a standard no-logs policy, promising not to track, collect, or share your private data. This policy was confirmed in a public audit conducted by Price Waterhouse Cooper. Moreover, NordVPN is registered in Panama and owned by a local holding company called Tefincom S.A., which provides legal protection from investigation.

Performance

Although our first tests recorded a number of connection failures, the connection speed itself proved to be consistent with minimal latency. That said, download speeds would sometimes drop for servers in some of the more distant countries.

In addition, the Onion Over VPN feature slowed down the service, but this is the price you pay for additional security.

Bottom Line

Although we suffered some minor issues with connectivity, NordVPN nevertheless outperforms most of the other products on the market in terms of privacy, server count and unlocked services.

It’s also cheaper than competing VPN service ExpressVPN while offering twice as many simultaneous connections, although others, like IPVanish, can support more.

IPVanish also has a pricing advantage if you’re buying a 1-month or 1-year plan. But with its highly respected encryption algorithm and automatic kill switch, NordVPN is a viable option for privacy seekers.

Image Credits: NordVPN

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Hotspot Shield is the flagship product of AnchorFree, an Internet privacy and security company founded in 2005 in the U.S. AnchorFree started out as a free sponsored Wi-Fi hotspot provider before focusing on developing software for a wider audience. This includes Hotspot Shield, a VPN platform with user base of over 650 million in 200 countries.

Hotspot Shield is a good choice for accessing geo-restricted content and sharing large files via P2P and torrenting clients due to its superb performance. Moreover, the clients are simple, clean and easy to use, even for beginners. However, certain privacy-related incidents and the provider’s location make it less than ideal choice if your main concern is anonymity. Also, the lack of router support makes the entire service more limited than other platforms.

Hotspot Shield Specs

Pricing

Hotspot Shield is available in both a free and premium version.

The free version can be installed right from the product’s website, but, as expected, it has some disadvantages that might make you want to sign up for a paid subscription. The free version is ad-sponsored, you can only connect one device at a time and it features a smaller number of servers than the paid one. Furthermore, it has a bandwidth cap of 500MB per day.

The premium version is ad-free, lets you connect up to 5 devices, features more server locations and has no daily bandwidth limitations. It has three pricing options. The 1-month option is $12.99. The more affordable 1-year plan is $5.99 a month, while the 3-year one costs $2.99 per month.

If you would rather test out all the features and perks that the premium version offers before paying, you can do so during a 7-day free trial. You do have to sign up for a subscription, but you can cancel it during the first 7 days without being charged.

If you’re less than satisfied with any part of Hotspot Shield’s service, you can ask for a refund, thanks to a generous 45-day money-back guarantee.

The VPN provider accepts credit cards, PayPal, gift cards, Neosurf, Alipay, Mint and additional options, depending on your location.

Features

Hotspot Shield provides access to more than 2,500 servers in 25 countries, with virtual locations available in as many as 70 countries. That said, this number depends on the platform you’re using. The iOS app boasts the highest server count, which isn’t saying much if you’re a PC user.

The Hotspot Shield apps are very easy to use, but are only compatible with a limited number of platforms. You can only use it with Windows, Mac, iOS and Android devices. Unlike most other VPN services we’ve reviewed, Hotspot Shield doesn’t cover additional devices, like routers, e-readers, smart TVs, game consoles, Fire OS, Linux, Windows Phone, Chromecast or Raspberry Pi. However, browser extensions for Chrome and Firefox are available.

Hotspot Shield enables super fast streaming of some popular geo-restricted services, like Netflix and Hulu, as well as supporting unlimited torrenting on all of its servers.

Hotspot Shield has a large help section on its website with articles about various VPN and internet-related topics that can also be reached via clients. You can reach customer support agents by filing a ticket or through the live chat if you’re a premium user. However, the live chat option is not always available (Hotspot Shield hides the button when no agents are available).

Privacy

Hotspot Shield doesn’t feature the usual list of connection protocols utilized by most VPN providers, like OpenVPN or IKEv2. Instead, it deploys its own technology, Catapult Hydra, which uses AES-128 encryption, 2048-bit RSA certificates, Transport Layer Security 1.2 (TLS), as well as the Elliptic Curve Diffie-Hellman (EDCHE) for exchanging keys, creating new keys with each session.

Your sensitive data is protected in case of a sudden VPN connection breakdown, thanks to a kill switch. It immediately blocks all internet traffic in such an event. The kill switch isn’t available on Hotspot Shield’s mobile apps.

Hotspot Shield’s no logs policy states that the VPN service doesn’t collect any data, including IP addresses and online activities, that can be traced back to you. However, the company and its service providers monitor and store some data before connecting to the VPN, such as your mobile ID, device model, operating system and network information. Your real IP address may be used for analytics and marketing reasons.

That said, Hotspot Shield has been the subject of some controversy regarding the truthfulness of its no logging claims. Specifically, in 2017 Android Authority cited the Center for Democracy & Technology from Washington D.C. as finding that Hotspot Shield had been tracking its users’ behavior and sharing their browsing activity with targeted advertisers.

On top of that, in 2018, a security researcher found a vulnerability that leaked portions of user information, including their Wi-Fi network name and current country of location. Hotspot Shield admitted to the existence of the flaw and said it resolved the issue.

Another fact to bear in mind privacy-wise is the provider’s country of registration. Being in the U.S. carries potential privacy risks considering the federal government’s history of pushing for access to citizen data.

Performance

Hotspot Shield boasts top-notch speeds and performance, making it a great VPN platform for streaming geo-blocked content or torrenting.

During our testing, speeds remain unchanged regardless of the server location or content we tried to reach.

Bottom Line

Hotspot Shield offers a strong platform for torrenting and access to geo-blocked services, but Hotspot Shield is not the ideal VPN provider if your primary concern is privacy and anonymity, due to its past incidents around privacy and security and its U.S.-based location.

On the other hand, Hotspot Shield offers excellent speeds while browsing. Plus, users with minimal requirements can make good use of the free version.

Image Credit: Hotspot Shield

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Based in the British Virgin Islands, the Surfshark VPN service is not as well-known as some of its high-profile rivals. But with an interesting lineup of unique features, it’s worth taking a closer look at, unless you’re looking for something to use on a monthly basis.

Surfshark Specs

Pricing

Surfshark offers three different pricing plans. All plans come with a 30-day money-back guarantee.

The first and the most expensive one is the 1-month plan for $11.95. The second-best is the 1-year subscription, which costs $5.99 per month, while the most cost-effective is the 2-year option at $3.49 monthly. Overall, the service is cheaper than competitor ExpressVPN although IPVanish has the advantage in monthly plans and flexibility.

As of this writing, when visiting the sign-up page for Surfshark for the first time, you’re immediately met with a coupon that reduces the price of the 2-year plan to just $1.99 per month.

In terms of payment methods, Surfshark accepts credit cards, PayPal, Google Pay and even some cryptocurrencies through CoinGate and CoinPayments provider.

To test the service out, you have to sign up for a subscription, since the company doesn’t offer a free trial. However, Surfshark says it can issue a full refund within 30 days of payment, “even if you’re 100% satisfied.”

Features

Surfshark has over 800 servers placed in over 50 countries across the globe. Unlike most other VPN providers, including the more expensive ones, Surfshark puts no limits on the number of devices you can put under its VPN protection simultaneously.

Torrenting and access to geo-restricted services, like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime and BBC iPlayer, are among this VPN’s top qualities. If you also need access to specific services and websites while in countries with strict censorship mechanisms in place, the NoBorders mode makes this easier for you. It provides unlimited access to Facebook, Instagram, VoIP apps and more anywhere in the world.

Surfshark also boasts features most other providers don’t have, such as the MultiHop option, which supports connection to multiple locations at once for additional anonymity.

Another unusual privacy feature is Camouflage mode, used for tricking all potential snoopers and third parties (including even your own ISP) into believing you’re not using a VPN service.

This VPN service can be set up on a wide selection of devices, including Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and even smart TVs and some gaming consoles. Chrome and Firefox are covered with Surfshark browser extensions.

In addition to an outstanding blog and help section offering resources and assistance on a wide range of topics, Surfshark also has an excellent customer support team available 24/7. You can contact them by accessing the live chat option in the lower right corner of the website or by filling in the contact form to reach them via email.

Privacy

Surfshark’s privacy features include all the classics - a kill switch, an AES-256-GCM encryption algorithm, as well as IKEv2/IPSec and OpenVPN protocols.

The kill switch can be activated if there’s an unexpected VPN connection drop, protecting all your sensitive data from outsiders by blocking all internet traffic on your device. It uses two connection protocol combinations: IKEv2/IPSec is available by default, but you can switch to OpenVPN if preferred.

The company also has zero-knowledge DNS on all its servers, which acts as an additional mechanism protecting your privacy. Speaking of DNS, the provider also employs its DNS leak protection technology when using IPv4 stack.

The Whitelister feature basically does what other providers call split-tunneling - it lets you choose which apps and websites can stay on your regular internet connection, while the rest is covered by the VPN.

Surfshark’s no logs policy lists all the usuals - no logging of the IP address, browsing history, connection timestamps, network traffic, session information or the amount of bandwidth used. No one in the company will even know whether you’re using their apps or not. The provider doesn’t hide the fact that it does collect certain, non-sensitive information necessary for the creation of your account, like your email address and encrypted password, basic billing information and order history.

The British Virgin Islands doesn’t have laws requiring organizations to keep any data, which is one less thing to be concerned about with your VPN.

Although Surfshark’s no-logs policy is yet to be fully verified, the security features of Surfshark’s extensions for Chrome and Firefox underwent an audit by Cure53, which it passed with flying colors.

Performance

Surfshark’s performance is in line with most VPN providers on the market.

The connection times, download speeds and latencies are within the standard range. During our testing, we experienced no connection failures whatsoever.

Bottom Line

Surfshark isn’t as flashy as some other VPN providers but offers a robust security and anonymity platform for all your VPN requirements. It supports unlimited torrenting and access to popular geo-limited services, with some interesting privacy features not seen with its competitors.

While its pricing plans are limited, it’s still cheaper than others, including ExpressVPN, while allowing for more simultaneous connections.

If you’re planning on connecting a lot of devices and are looking to save some cash while doing so, Surfshark is a good fit.

Image Credits: Surfshark

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Skylight Cyber researchers from Australia were able to show the first universal method to trick an “artificial intelligence-based antivirus” into thinking that malware is non-harmful software and let it run on supposedly secured machines. 

The AI antivirus in question is called CylancePROTECT, which BlackBerry purchased last year with plans to integrate Cylance’s AI antivirus technology with its Spark communications platform for the Internet of Things (IoT). The recent discovery points to a potential roadbump in Blackberry's pivot from smartphones to IoT security. 

Creating Universal Bypasses for AI Antivirus

The Skylight researchers said that by analyzing Cylance’s engine and neural net model, they were able to see that the AI antivirus made heavy use of string analysis and had a bias for a particular game. 

This allowed the security researchers to use this bias against the antivirus -- they appended a selected list of strings to any malicious file that would normally be detected and avoided detection. They noted that this method worked for 100% of the top 10 malware (for May 2019) and for 90% of the larger sample of 384 malware. 

Malicious hackers create new malware based on code from older malware that is still able to bypass modern antiviruses all the time. However, that requires a significant amount of work for every new piece of malware. The difference here is that by discovering the AI antivirus’ weakness, the bad actors can easily torpedo machines protected by such antivirus with all sorts of slightly modified malware. 

How AI Can Easily Be Fooled

With a single piece of research, the Skylight security experts were able to show just how catastrophically vulnerable AI-based antivirus tools like CylancePROTECT can be before they even had a chance to get popular the cybersecurity industry. 

The researchers offered an easy-to-understand analogy for how AI-based antivirus solutions can be so easy to trick. If the AI would be trained to learn the difference between birds and humans, it would eventually learn that one of the primary differences between a bird and a human is that birds have beaks and humans don’t. 

'Eureka,' the AI vendor might say. Now the vendor can assume that because its AI isn't highly effective at detecting birds but is effective at detecting humans, AI should be able to tell a picture of one from the other. That's the logic behind AI antivirus. If AI antivirus can look at thousands of existing samples of malware and identify the vast majority of them as malware, then the vendor can presume that it’s highly effective at detecting similar malware.

However, according to the Skylight researchers, malware makers are not “wooden dummies” -- they fight back and can come up with clever tricks that are easy to implement and could completely confuse the AI. In the above bird versus human example, if a human would wear a mask with a bird beak, said human could be confused for a bird. 

The AI model could be fixed to take other features into account, but those could similarly be fooled, too, which is why the researchers concluded that AI antivirus is nowhere near being the cybersecurity silver bullet that vendors have promised it would be.

Should We Just Kill the AI Antivirus Hype Now?

We’ve seen in different industries that AI that tends to be highly-optimized (or biased) for a particular set of features based on the data it was given. It also seems to be difficult to give the AI the right balance of data covering all aspects of the problem areas. 

Vendors of future AI technologies will likely continue to struggle to find the right balance for the training of their AI solution potentially in perpetuity. Similarly, security experts will have to keep fighting bad actors and exploits against their system and app protections in perpetuity, too.

For businesses, AI antiviruses seem problematic, not just because they can be universally bypassed by malware once whatever bias they have in their model is found, but also because AI-based security solutions need to be fed virtually all of the data that passes through a company’s network. 

This turns the AI antivirus into yet another potentially enormous liability both in terms of privacy and security. The AI antivirus becomes a single point of failure, so if its servers are hacked, all of that enterprise customer data could then be in the hands of bad actors.

However, as long as adding the buzzword "AI" to a product's description increases the hype around it, security vendors will likely continue to benefit from such marketing tactics, even as integrating such AI solutions could potentially weaken enterprise networks. 

VPN remains the most popular and reliable way for maintaining your privacy online. One of the most popular VPN platforms is ExpressVPN. It’s a strong and nicely designed tool that truly stands out from the crowd with a wide range of features, top-notch security and a large number of servers.

Specifications

Pricing

ExpressVPN offers a 7-day trial period to test its services on mobile apps but does not have a free trial for other devices. However, it does have a no-questions-asked, 30-day money back guarantee.

As for pricing plans, it has three:

These prices are a bit on the high side in comparison to other VPN services. For example, NordVPN’s one-month plan is $11.95, IPVanish’s is $10 and Windscribe’s is $9 a month.

Features

ExpressVPN has over 2,000 servers in 160 cities across 94 countries. Some of the locations covered include countries in South America, Africa and the Middle East that you won't find on the node lists of many other VPN services. ExpressVPN also has effective means of bypassing VPN restrictions in countries such as China and the United Arab Emirates.

You can select your preferred server or opt for the Smart Location feature, which automatically connects you to the server nearest to your current location.

Privacy is guaranteed with a 4096 SHA-512 RSA certificate (for server and client authentication in SSH connections), along with strong AES-256-CBC encryption and HMAC (Hash Message Authentication Code) protection against regular data alteration. Users can select one of the four protocol variations: OpenVPN/UDP, OpenVPN TCP, L2TP-IPSec and PPTP. There is also a default Automatic setting, which allows ExpressVPN to choose the most appropriate protocol for your network.

In addition, ExpressVPN has a few extra features to sweeten the deal. One of them is a Network Lock (essentially a kill switch) that keeps your data secure from leaking by terminating all traffic in case of a sudden VPN connection interruption. The integrated kill switch is also present in ExpressVPN mobile apps.

The second interesting feature is split-tunneling, which allows some of your apps to run on a normal internet connection while maintaining the VPN connection for others.

Furthermore, ExpressVPN provides DNS leak protection and even runs its own 256-bit encrypted DNS on each of its servers for an additional layer of protection.

This robust service supports a comprehensive list of platforms, including Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, Linux and more, accompanied by custom firmware for routers and manual setup walkthroughs for Apple TV, Fire TV Stick, PlayStation and others. It also has a browser extension for Chrome and Firefox.

ExpressVPN is a great choice when trying to access geo-restricted services, such as Netflix, BBC iPlayer, Amazon Prime, Spotify, YouTube and Hulu. Additionally, the provider supports torrents with no limitations on bandwidth or data usage.

Although ExpressVPN allows 5 simultaneous connections per account, this limitation can be bypassed via the router support, which allows you to connect as many devices as you want. Setting up VPN on your router will automatically protect all your devices. You will not be going against any of ExpressVPN’s policies by doing this.

In case you run into any problems when using the service, support is available via 24/7 live chat and email. That is in case the vast troubleshooting section fails to address your issues.

ExpressVPN has a strict no-logs policy. That means it It does not keep any kind of logs that can be used to identify you, such as traffic data, IP address, VPN IP address, connection times and DNS queries.

That said, it does collect information such as dates (but not times) when you connected to the service, the total amount of data transferred per day, which apps were successfully activated and which VPN server locations you used. In ExpressVPN’s Policy Towards Logs page, the company states that it only uses this very limited amount of information to help tweak performance.

“None of the above data enable ExpressVPN or anyone else to match an individual to specific network activity or behavior. We are unable to answer questions related to data that we do not possess, such as how a customer has utilized our VPN service,” the page reads.

Performance

After intensive testing from locations in the U.S. and UK, we were left very satisfied.

Connection times were pretty consistent, with servers connecting within 2 to 5 seconds. As expected, latency depended on the proximity of the server location, as well as the infrastructure that is less than ideal in some places. In general, the latency did not affect our browsing experience, and there were virtually no issues with servers in close locations.

Bottom Line

ExpressVPN continues to uphold its status as a worthy contender for the VPN throne. With a wide range of handy features, including user-friendly software for almost any platform and geo-restricted service, sturdy security, an honest privacy policy and professional assistance available at all times, this provider offers everything you need for safe internet activities.

Of course, ExpressVPN is a paid-for service. If you’re not willing to pay for VPN, Windscribe VPN is currently our favorite free VPN service. However, download times can be slow, and mobile devices will miss their own client software.

But if you can overcome 5-connection limitation (without router support), then ExpressVPN is a splendid choice.

Image Credits: ExpressVPN

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Russia's attempts to censor and surveil its citizens by cracking down on Internet services is extending into the VPN realm. Russian news agency Interfax recently reported that Roskomnadzor, the country's media and communications regulator, plans to block access to nine VPN services "within a month" for failing to comply with its demands.

Roskomnadzor reportedly told 10 popular VPN providers in March that it would block them from Russia unless they started to follow local regulations. That would require the services to prevent their users from accessing the Russian government's list of banned websites, effectively removing one of the easiest ways to bypass the country's internet censorship. Only one of the providers--Kaspersky Secure Connection--agreed to the regulator's demands.

The other providers contacted by Roskomnadzor include popular services like OpenVPN, NordVPN, four others with VPN in their names, IPVanish, TorGuard and Hide My Ass. Most were explicit in their refusal to comply with the regulator's demands, assuring their users that they weren't interested in perpetuating the Russian government's censorship. TorGuard wiped its servers in Moscow and St. Petersburg to reassure its users.

We don't yet know how successful Roskomnadzor will be in blocking access to these services. Most aren't located in Russia, which limits its ability to force the companies to do anything. But that doesn't mean it won't try, as it proved in April 2018, when it banned millions of IP addresses to stop banned services from using "domain fronting" to evade its censors, (which helped lead Google and Amazon to ban domain fronting on their platforms).

Russia has made it clear that it doesn't plan to ease the pressure on tech companies that limit its ability to control what its citizens access online. It asked Apple to block Telegram from the App Store in June 2018, for example, and recently pressured Facebook to store information on Russian users inside the country. Regulators were also believed to be working with Google to remove links to banned websites and services from its search results.

Soon Kaspersky Secure Connection may be the only major VPN service Russians can legally use. That's probably not a good look for the Moscow-headquartered cybersecurity firm, which moved from Russia to Switzerland to ease international concerns about its connections to the Kremlin. Nine of its counterparts refused to compromise their commitment to fighting censorship. What does Kaspersky being the outlier imply about the vendor and how it views its customers?

NordVPN, a highly rated VPN provider known for its privacy features, today launched the NordLocker file encryption tool.

The company's goal with NordLocker was to create a security utility that uses strong and modern encryption while remaining easy and pleasant to use by anyone, regardless of their tech skills.The tool encrypts the user’s files locally, so NordVPN itself can’t view what’s inside them, even as they are stored on the company’s servers.

NordLocker’s encryption algorithms include Advanced Encryption Standard (AES-256) and 4096-bit RSA. The company also claimed to use a “zero-knowledge encryption process” so that there is no revealing or privacy-breaching metadata about the files being encrypted. Users will also be able to share their encrypted files with others while securely managing the access permissions.

Protecting Our Files in the Digital Age

NordVPN seems to believe that the more digital our lives become, the more interested we'll be in better protecting that data. It’s not just photos of ourselves or what we eat that we upload online these days -- it could also be credit card numbers, medical files, sensitive work documents, IDs, and so on.

If we truly care about protecting those files, we’ll also have to try to be more diligent with how we upload our data and who gets to access it. It’s not just about trusting cloud service companies not to sell our data to the highest bidder anymore, but also about trusting them to keep that data secure against hackers. Even the richest or most technologically advanced companies sometimes fail at this.

Encrypting files with our own local tools and encryption keys before they ever touch someone else’s server may be the best way to ensure the files remain both private and secure. Tools such as NordLocker or its competitors Cryptomator, Boxcryptor, Tresorit, Spideroak and others may not serve a huge market yet, but they may pave the way for the future.

Those who are interested in trying out NordLocker can sign up for an early access invitation today. The public beta will be available later this summer.

Time to Get Tactical

Patriot's latest SSD comes with a powerful and proven design from Phison, an impressive heatsink, and write endurance to handle any task. The Viper VPN100 is ready for some of the most intense gaming or work sessions you can throw its way, and the aggressive heatsink keeps the drive cool while it delivers speeds up to 3.45/3.20 GB/s. Better yet, Patriot's pricing still undercuts other top-end competitors to make the Viper VPN100 a sweet value.

The Viper VPN100 is based on Phison’s reference design for SSDs with the E12 NVMe controller. The SSD comes paired with Toshiba’s BiCS3 64L TLC flash, so performance is close to other E12-powered SSDs we’ve taken a look at already, like the BPX Pro and Aorus RGB. Similar to the Aorus RGB, the VPN100 features an impressive heatsink but lacks the RGB shine. Instead, Patriot takes a more tactical approach to the design.

In contrast to the Aorus RGB’s blingy appearance, the VPN100 has a matte black aluminum heatsink with multiple fins and cuts. It’s more about cooling performance than looks here, though it might be attractive to FPS players as it does look strikingly similar to the actual tactical rail on a military weapon. And, if the big heatsink isn’t enough, the Viper VPN100 features an external thermal sensor to provide accurate thermal data to keep it, as the company states, “cool and healthy.”

Specifications

The Viper VPN100 comes in capacities ranging from 256GB to 2TB, but the 2TB variant isn't available yet. The 256GB model retails for $0.21 per GB, and the 512 and 1TB variants are a bit cheaper at $0.17 per GB, which is fairly competitive.

The drive delivers speeds of up to 3.45/3.2 GB/s of read/write throughput. Patriot also lists the Viper VPN100’s random read and write performance as up to 700K IOPS, but that is either based on a test system that isn’t patched with the Spectre and Meltdown mitigations, or just overzealous marketing.

In addition to its blisteringly fast speeds, the drive comes with a plentiful helping of write endurance up to 3.1 petabytes at the 2TB capacity. But while the endurance is class-leading, the warranty is not. While most established SSDs come with lengthy five-year warranties, the VPN100 comes with just a three-year warranty.

The Viper supports standard features like Trim, S.M.A.R.T. data monitoring, and Secure Erase.

Software and Accessories

Patriot enables product monitoring and firmware updates through its SSD Toolbox. Unfortunately, at the time of writing, it’s a bit hard to find on the company's website. In fact, it is actually mislabeled as a firmware download on the product page. If you manage to get the download, the SSD Toolbox will allow you to monitor the device’s S.M.A.R.T. data and update the firmware.

Additionally, you can Secure Erase the SSD even when it is in use as the active operating system drive. Be careful: The software will allow you to execute the command while the OS is running on the device. Once you execute the command, there’s no going back. The system will blue screen once the command goes through, and all the data will be lost forever. That's good for James Bond-type missions, we guess.

A Closer Look

Patriot’s Viper VPN100 comes in an M.2 2280 form factor and uses a PCIe 3.0 x4 link and the NVMe 1.3 protocol to communicate with the host. As we mentioned earlier, the drive features a Phison’s latest E12 NVMe controller and Toshiba BiCS3 64L TLC flash.

Our 1TB sample has four flash packages, two on each side of the PCB, and unlike the BPX Pro, the VPN100 doesn’t have much factory overprovisioning. That leads to an extra ~60GB of storage capacity after you format the drive in Windows. The drive also has two 512GB DDR4 DRAM packages for a total of 1GB for caching the device’s file translation layer.

Measuring in at 12mm at its thickest point, the heatsink is a bit thicker than the Gigabyte Aorus RGB’s and WD Black SN750’s. There are no clearance issues for graphics cards and other AICs when it is plugged into an onboard M.2 slot. The heatsink is bigger, but we found that the heatsink doesn’t fully touch the surface of the NVMe controller on our sample. Instead, the thicker NAND packages created a slight gap between the heatsink and the controller. While it may seem like a crucial mistake, temperatures mostly ranged within the 40’s while using the device, which is more than acceptable. 

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1TB Performance Results

Comparison Products

Our comparison products represent many of the most popular options on the market. For starters, we pit the Viper VPN100 against the all-mighty Samsung 970 Pro and EVO Plus, as well as WD’s newly revised Black SN750. We also threw in the SMI 2262EN-powered HP SSD EX950 and Adata XPG SX8200 Pro. The lineup wouldn’t be complete without MyDigitalSSD’s BPX Pro with updated 12.1 firmware and Intel’s SSD 660p.

Trace Testing – PCMark 8 Storage Test 2.0

PCMark 8 is a trace-based benchmark that uses Microsoft Office, Adobe Creative Suite, World of Warcraft, and Battlefield 3 to measure the performance of storage devices in real-world scenarios.

Samsung’s 970 Pro took the win as the fastest flash-based product on our charts, followed by the Silicon Motion-powered SX8200 Pro and EX950. Patriot’s Viper VPN100 came in behind the 970 EVO Plus, taking sixth place overall.

Game Scene Loading - Final Fantasy XIV

The Final Fantasy XIV StormBlood benchmark is a free real-world game benchmark that easily and accurately compares game load times without the inaccuracy of using a stopwatch.

The Viper's game load times weren’t at the top of our charts. To the contrary, it ranked last in our comparison pool of flash SSDs and was even beat by Intel’s QLC 660p. But, at 22 seconds vs. 20 seconds, the total load time wasn’t far off from some of the best. That’s not to mention it was over 30% faster than an archaic HDD.

Transfer Rates – DiskBench

We use the DiskBench storage benchmarking tool to test file transfer performance with our own custom 50GB block of data. Our data set includes 31,227 files of various types, like pictures, PDFs, and videos. We copy the files to a new folder and then follow up with a read test of a newly-written 6 GB file.

Moving files around on the Viper VPN100 went quickly. While you would think that the extra over-provisioning from the BPX Pro would give it the lead over the Viper VPN100, we can see that wasn't the case without the burdens of a heavy enterprise-class workload. With an average of 292MB/s, it essentially tied the BPX Pro and was significantly faster than a SATA SSD or HDD. The Viper ranked eighth overall during the 50GB copy test, and second in read performance.

SYSmark 2014 SE

Like PCMark, SYSmark uses real applications to measure system performance. SYSmark takes things much further, however. It utilizes fourteen different applications to run real workloads with real data sets to measure how overall system performance impacts the user experience. BAPCo's SYSmark 2014 SE installs a full suite of applications for its tests, which includes Microsoft Office, Google Chrome, Corel WinZip, several Adobe software applications, and GIMP. That also makes it a great test to measure the amount of time it takes to install widely-used programs after you install a fresh operating system.

The Viper installed SYSmark in 14 minutes and 51 seconds, the same as Intel’s Optane 905P, which was quite impressive.

ATTO

ATTO is a simple and free application that SSD vendors commonly use to assign sequential performance specifications to their products. It also gives us insight into how the device handles different file sizes.

The Viper VPN100 delivered impressive results, but it just wasn’t as impressive as some other drives. Following a similar performance result as the BPX Pro, the Viper's read and write performance hit the rated target speeds of 3.45/3.00 GB/s of read/write throughput in ATTO. But it took a hit along the way. At the 128KB file size, write performance dropped before it improved to its rated specification.

CrystalDiskMark

CrystalDiskMark (CDM) is a simple and easy to use file size benchmarking tool.

Sequential performance came in at 3.47/3.05 GB/s read/write at a queue depth (QD) of 32. Scaling our workload down to a more realistic QD1 revealed performance wasn’t quite as good, but competitive nonetheless. At QD1 the Patriot Viper VPN100 delivered ~2.1/2 GB/s of sequential read/write throughput.

At QD1 the Viper delivered over 13,000/43,000 read/write IOPS, but this wasn’t as impressive as some of its competition. Pushing harder to a QD of 64 unlocked 380,000/~500,000 random read/write IOPS. The BPX Pro's overprovisioning seemed to give it a slight advantage in both reads and writes, but overall, the Viper VPN100 is far more capable than any SATA SSD.

Sustained Sequential Write Performance

Official write specifications are only part of the performance picture. Most SSD makers implement an SLC cache buffer, which is a fast area of SLC-programmed flash that absorbs incoming data. Sustained write speeds can suffer tremendously once the workload spills outside of the SLC cache and into the "native" TLC or QLC flash. We hammer the SSDs with sequential writes for 15 minutes to measure both the size of the SLC buffer and performance after the buffer is saturated.

Like all Phison E12-powered SSDs, the Viper VPN100 has an SLC cache that absorbs inbound writes. While the Viper is rated for up to 3 GB/s of write throughput, we found that it is limited to a cache capacity of about 24GB (the same as the BPX Pro). Once the cache is full, the controller pushes any remaining inbound data directly to the die, causing performance to drop to roughly ~1075 MB/s until the drive is completely full.

Power Consumption

We use the Quarch HD Programmable Power Module to gain a deeper understanding of power characteristics. Idle power consumption is a very important aspect to consider, especially if you're looking for a new drive for your laptop. Some SSDs can consume watts of power at idle while better-suited ones sip just milliwatts. Average workload power consumption and max consumption are two other aspects of power consumption, but performance-per-watt is more important. A drive might consume more power during any given workload, but accomplishing a task faster allows the drive to drop into an idle state faster, which ultimately saves power.

At idle the Viper consumed a little under half a watt with ASPM disabled and sipped just 48mW with the feature enabled. The drive maxed out at 5W during our 50GB copy test and averaged 2.66W. Putting that together with our transfer speed data, we see that the Viper VPN100 is fairly efficient–more so than the Samsung 970 series and BPX Pro.

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Conclusion

We were surprised to see the slight mating issue with the Viper's heatsink. With the NAND packages being slightly thicker than the controller package, there was a slight gap left between the controller and the heatsink on our 1TB sample. While not a deal breaker, it isn't optimal because heat still radiates out from the NAND. It also isn't the attention to detail we like to see.

The design actually keeps the NAND cooler than the controller, which is the opposite of what you want to happen: NAND prefers higher temperatures during operation. If anything, the controller should have a thermal pad between it and the heatsink, as this is the most critical component to cool.

Furthermore, unlike the Gigabyte Aorus RGB, the Viper VPN100’s PCB is blue rather than black, and the heatsink isn’t easily removed. Patriot bonded the heatsink to the PCB via a very strong adhesive, so removing it may leave you with a broken SSD. In contrast, the Aorus RGB SSD allows you to swap the heatsink to either side of the PCB by removing and replacing two small screws. That allows the drive to work in M.2 slots on both the left and the right side of the motherboard.

Who wants to buy an item for looks if it is going to sit upside down in the M.2 socket? These are small details, but they are vital to creating a more attractive and user-friendly device.

While the heatsink still looks great on its own, we’re a bit disappointed with the lack of RGB. There was a missed opportunity here to match the Viper RGB RAM and to make the Viper VPN100 an even cooler buy. Sure, many of the anti-RGB union will be delighted with this revelation, but there are many out there who enjoy the accent of a well-made RGB product. An aura of illumination throughout the slits of the heatsink, in my eyes, would have been the cherry on top.

On a more positive note, Patriot’s Viper VPN100 is still a really good value. As an NVMe SSD, it’s classed with many competitors that are priced significantly higher than SATA drives, but the VPN100 is closer to SATA pricing than most of its competition. It isn’t a chart-topper, but it is pretty efficient and can keep up with some of the best NVMe SSDs at times. The Viper certainly has what it takes to put both hard drives and SATA SSDs to shame.

Speaking of best, the Viper VPN100 does feature one of the best endurance ratings for a consumer SSD. With a rating of just over 1.6PB of endurance, our 1TB sample is bound to outlast even some of the most demanding consumer and workstation workloads. Whether you have a content-driven workflow where you are constantly working with large media files or you game at a competitive level, or even if you just sit around and watch cats of the internet all day, the VPN100 will keep on chugging. It really is a good value option.

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The latest Windows update released on April 9 seems to have broken multiple antivirus programs, including Avast, Avira, ArcaBit, McAfee, and Sophos. Computers that are affected by the latest bugs run fine until users attempt to log in. At that point, the operating systems start freezing or just run extremely slowly. Windows 10, as well as Windows 7, 8.1, Server 2008 R2, Server 2012, and Server 2012 R2,  are all affected.

April 9 Windows Patches Cause Systems to Slow Down

After delivering the latest major update to Windows machines, Microsoft has begun adding antivirus clients to its list of programs that are impacted by it. Many users have reported that when running Avast, Avira, ArcaBit, McAfee, and Sophos, their operating systems become highly unresponsive when at the Windows login screen.

Some of the users affected by the latest bugs were able to login into their computers, but it took them ten or more hours. Avast recommended its users to leave systems at the login screen for 15 minutes before attempting to login. Afterward, the Avast update will run in the background. ArcaBit and Avira have published updates that promise to solve the problem for their users.

Users can also boot into safe mode to uninstall their antivirus programs if they want to solve the issue immediately, as the safe mode is not affected by it.

Antivirus Vendors Blame Microsoft For Underlying Change

Avast and McAfee have pointed the finger at Microsoft as the party responsible for all of the recent antivirus issues. Microsoft recently made a change to the client/server runtime subsystem (CSRSS), which is a component of Windows that coordinates and manages Win32 applications. This change has led to the freezing of antivirus clients. The antivirus clients attempt to access a resource, but they are blocked from doing so.

Now that antivirus vendors are more aware of this change (it’s unclear why they weren’t when the change happened in the Insider Preview phase of development), future updates should fix most of the clients.