FULL REVIEW – EXPRESSVPN

OVERVIEW

ExpressVPN is headquartered on the British Virgin Islands and was founded in 2009. Since its founding, the VPN provider has continuously optimized its service; it now offers more than 1700 high-performance servers at 145 locations in 94 countries.

ExpressVPN is definitely the right choice for people who value security and anonymity. The ExpressVPN software uses an AES-256 encryption and only company-own DNS servers. ExpressVPN commits to a “log free” logging policy. In accordance to this policy, no user data traffic is recorded or logged. In addition, the ExpressVPN subscription can be paid with the cryptocurrency Bitcoin. This transaction can only be traced and logged by third parties with extreme effort.

Customers can contact the competent support service per chat or email, 24 hours a day and 7 days a week if they have any problems with or questions about their VPN connection. The provider even offers a 30-day money-back guarantee if customers are unconvinced by the excellent quality of ExpressVPN.

STREAMING

No field of media has grown as exponentially over the course of the last few years as the streaming of series, films, or music. Even large companies and brands, such as Amazon, HBO, Netflix, Hulu, and Sky, are offering more streaming content each day. They produce exclusive films and series for their streaming customers. A lot of content that the viewers can watch are however earlier available in the country of production than in their country. This is due to special country licenses or the delayed synchronization of content.

VPN software offers the perfect solution for those people who enjoy watching films and series in the original language or watching the newest episodes of country-specific content right away. Users can alter their virtual location thanks to an easy IP address change and access films, series, or sports broadcasts in the desired country.

ExpressVPN always offers the right IP address for the desired streaming service, with over 1700 servers at 145 locations in 94 countries across the globe, 15 of those locations in the US alone. Aside from this multitude of IP addresses, ExpressVPN additionally offers high-performance servers that allow for maximum download speeds of up to 59 Mbit/s. This speed fully suffices to watch content in 4K resolution without problems. ExpressVPN additionally offers its users unlimited data volume. Nothing stands in the way of users enjoying the full Ultra HD streaming experience. ExpressVPN also offers the possibility to watch that favorite film, series, or sports broadcast on the go and on the road with the app for mobile devices and tablets.

FILESHARING

Whether films, music, software, games, or pictures – file sharing over the Internet is as popular as it’s ever been. The most well-known sources and providers are websites and services such as BitTorrent, eMule, eDonkey, or uTorrent. File sharing is however not without risk. It happens quite often that users – who illegally upload or download music and films – are caught using the log files of the Internet provider and subsequently sued with high fines by the media companies.

A user can mask his/her IP address with one click using VPN software, making it virtually impossible to trace their Internet activity. Many VPN providers additionally offer further features to increase anonymity when sharing files.

ExpressVPN is headquartered on the British Virgin Islands, known for their lax data storage laws. ExpressVPN therefore offers its service “log free”; no data about the surfing behavior of the user is stored. Moreover, all requests are handled by the company’s own DNS servers that are tested for DNS leaks. This guarantees the user that no third party – who might store and distribute data on Internet behavior – manages to position themselves in between the connection. In addition, the kill switch function automatically blocks data transfer in case of connection loss of the ExpressVPN software. This guarantees that file sharing only takes place using an anonymous and secure connection. Further advantages are the high upload (42 Mbit/s) and download speeds (59 Mbit/s) of ExpressVPN, allowing for fast and uncomplicated data transfer.

CIRCUMVENTING FIREWALLS

In some countries, all web traffic is filtered and censored by a firewall. This makes content and services like Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, or Wikipedia unavailable or only available with strong restrictions in countries such as China, Russia, or Turkey. Objective news sites are usually also affected by such censorship in these countries, making it impossible for people to gain access to independent reporting. However, not just country-specific firewalls filter and censor content and services on the Internet. Universities, school, or employers can all restrict access to certain content.

VPN software makes it possible to switch a user’s virtual location by changing the IP address. This circumvents country or company-specific firewalls. This in turn allows for unrestricted access to all Internet content and services. VPN software does not just make it possible to access these contents and services, it even ensures that no firewall can decrypt and filter your data packets thanks to additional encryption of data transfer.

ExpressVPN offers an extensive choice of possible virtual locations to circumvent firewalls with its over 1700 servers in more than 94 countries. Apart from the large selection of IP addresses, servers, and locations, ExpressVPN also offers an AES-256 data encryption, ensuring that all data securely and untraceably bypass each firewall. Thanks to its easy operation and the right app for smartphones and tablets, ExpressVPN is also perfect for mobile use on business trips as well as in libraries, cafés, or lecture halls.

SECURITY & ANONYMITY

Internet criminality is on the rise; cybercrime and hacker attacks on bank or credit card information? Misuse of personal data for advertising purposes and constant fear for a fine due to downloaded or streamed content? The Internet is riddled with traps, con men, and nosy companies and authorities. Those people who have always assumed that these dangers only loom in public networks at airports or train stations are unfortunately wrong. Each semiskilled hacker only needs a few seconds to hack the private network at home and steal online banking or smart home data.

VPN software can vastly strengthen the security and privacy of users in many areas. IP address and data transfer encryption makes it impossible for companies and authorities to trace individual surfing behavior. The encrypted data tunnel to the VPN provider also makes it impossible for hackers to spy on personal data and use these to cause enormous damage.

ExpressVPN offers its users – aside from a comprehensive server infrastructure – an AES-256 data encryption as well as the kill switch functionality. Both significantly contribute to surfing the Internet as securely as possible. Moreover, ExpressVPN offers various data transfer protocols. Users have the standard option of choosing between OpenVPN protocols such as UDP and TCP. In addition, ExpressVPN also offers further Internet protocols such as L2TP/IPSec, SSTP, and PPTP. All protocols supported by ExpressVPN can be found in the following table.

ExpressVPN does not just offer security features that increase the privacy and anonymity of its users. They also adhere to their own log free policy, ExpressVPN excludes the recording and storage of all Internet behavior of its users. This is additionally reinforced by DNS-server ownership. This means that ExpressVPN owns all network servers they offer and does not need to release user data upon request of third parties such as courts or governments. ExpressVPN also accepts virtual currencies such as Bitcoin or anonymous vouchers. Transactions with these payment options are virtually impossible to trace and as such additionally guarantee user privacy.

PERFORMANCE

ExpressVPN always provides its users a very fast connection and therewith optimal access to various websites and streaming services thanks to the large selection of 1700 global servers at 145 locations.

There is a build-in speed measurement test to get an impression of the speed of a VPN provider. This test provides users with the Speed Index, the latency, and the download speed of the individual locations. Users can additionally mark individual locations as favorites.

ExpressVPN offered a maximum upload speed of up to 42 Mbit/s in our tests, with a maximum download speed of up to 59 Mbit/s. This speed fully suffices to smoothly watch content in 4kresolution (Ultra HD). The ping time is 5 ms, and the average time to connect with the VPN server is very good, only taking 7 seconds. We rate the VPN provider as excellent when it comes to the proven reliability during our long-term testing.

USER-FRIENDLINESS

The simple and intuitive installation of ExpressVPN is done in a heartbeat, on the PC as well as on mobile devices or tablets. The service can be activated with one simple click after successful installation. It is just as easy to manually change to a certain location. ExpressVPN is available on and compatible with the following devices:

BOTTOM LINE

ExpressVPN is a very high-performance VPN provider with 1700 global servers at 145 locations. This always guarantees a fast connection to the desired content or service. Users are sure of anonymity and comprehensive protection thanks to an AES-256 encryption, payment using Bitcoins or anonymous vouchers, as well as the company’s location on the British Virgin Islands paired with their log free policy. The software also stands out with its easy installation.

ExpressVPN’s tariffs place it in the premium segment of VPN providers. However, with such extensive performance and easy operation, the provider is perfect for beginners and experienced VPN users alike. The additional 30-day money-back guarantee offers users the possibility to gain a risk-free first impression of the software’s performance.