ProtonVPN review: Underground data centers, one-click multi-hop, and more make for a great choice

ProtonVPN review: Underground data centers, one-click multi-hop, and more make for a great choice

ProtonVPN in brief:P2P allowed: Yes, on specified servers Business location: Switzerland Number of servers: 249 Number of country locations: 19 Cost:

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ProtonVPN in brief:

  • P2P allowed: Yes, on specified servers
  • Business location: Switzerland
  • Number of servers: 249
  • Number of country locations: 19
  • Cost: Free, $48, $96, or $288 per year
  • VPN protocol (default): OpenVPN
  • Data encryption: AES-256
  • Data authentication: HMAC with SHA-256
  • Handshake encryption: 2048-bit RSA

When you use a third-party VPN there’s always a certain amount of trust you have to have in your service provider. Sometimes companies make that really hard by hiding who they are or basing themselves in exotic locations. Then there are services that make trust easier—like ProtonVPN, from the creator of ProtonMail.

ProtonVPN is a great choice for new users. It offers no guesswork about who’s behind the service and offers helpful articles about what you should, and should not, expect from a VPN. It also posts an annual transparency report (as several other VPNs do), and explains the encryption it uses.

Note: This review is part of our best VPNs roundup. Go there for details about competing products and how we tested them.

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ProtonVPN’s interface.

ProtonVPN for Windows starts by displaying a map of the world with green triangles signifying the countries where ProtonVPN has servers. If you prefer to use the VPN without the map, there’s an arrow button on the top left to collapse it for a more smartphone-like interface.

On the left rail are your connection options. There’s a Quick Connect button at the top if you want ProtonVPN to choose the fastest server based on your current location. Otherwise, you can scroll down the list of countries.

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ProtonVPN’s U.S. server choices.

For a deep dive into the country-specific servers, click on the downward facing arrow to the right of each country in the list. This will show you all the server options for that location. There’s a circle with a green indicator for each server showing its current capacity. You can also hover over the circle to find out the capacity measured as a percentage. If you see a “P” in a square next to a server that means its available only to premium subscribers; there are also TOR servers, and the symbol with two arrows indicates the server supports P2P file sharing.

Once you’ve connected, the map transforms showing a line to your virtual location and the home symbol at the top center of the map. Below the map you’ll see connection information such as session duration, up and down bandwidth volumes and speeds, as well as a bandwidth graph.

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