Do you want to remain anonymous while surfing the web? If yes, then AirVPN could be the ideal solution for you.
While anybody can declare to be unique nowadays, when it comes to VPN companies, AirVPN reveals that it truly is.
AirVPN stands apart from other VPN services because of its commitment to protecting user privacy. From the start, the AirVPN site begins with an appeal for your trust, stating, “A VPN based on OpenVPN and operated by activists and hacktivists in defence of net neutrality, privacy and against censorship”.While anybody can claim to be special these days, when it comes to VPN service providers, AirVPN reveals that it genuinely is.
They have actually been around a long time, since 2010, when it was started with the help of 2 lawyers and a little group of hackers and activists. The satellite communications provider Iridium formerly ran it, however AirVPN took over in November 2012. According to the owner’s listing, AirVPN, based in Perugia, is currently owned by Paolo Brini (Italy).
Throughout the last years, it hasn’t been dogged by security scandals like some VPNs have. Nor has it been acquired by a bigger business either.
Across their About Us and Mission pages, the business’s history is described and information the personal privacy projects that AirVPN has developed or supported. These consist of an online encryption tool, a net neutrality monitor, and other projects such as Tor, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and WikiLeaks.
AirVPN takes the unconventional route and breaks the mold by supplying a VPN designed by enthusiasts for enthusiasts.
So how does AirVPN stack up against its rivals with such strong privacy qualifications?
AirVPN’s Key Features
Servers
AirVPN’s network is much smaller than most, with only 246 servers spread out across 23 countries.
The majority of servers are in Europe (other than those in the US, Canada, and Hong Kong). A minor issue here is that the lack of diversity of servers lowers the number of global AirVPN users who might access geo-restricted services in their home country while keeping their personal privacy.
That said, Air is well known for its impressive performance across its server network, with many nations having high-performance physical individual servers.
They use transparent bandwidth allocation strategies to offer an accurate assessment of performance, without any overbooking or overselling. Plus, they are completely unlimited, with no speed constraints or time limits.
To establish a connection between your machine and their servers, they utilize OpenVPN and WireGuard (in beta). OpenVPN is the most protected and trusted method to create encrypted tunnels. It offers more security than the military.
Various ports and protocols are offered; they use OpenVPN on the following ports: 80 TCP/UDP, 443 TCP/UDP, and 53 TCP/UDP. Additionally, every Air server directly supports OpenVPN over SSH, OpenVPN over SSL, and OpenVPN over Tor. Forget about PPTP and other unsafe protocols.
No preference is given to any application, protocol, or service when it comes down to it. Net Neutrality is maintained. Notably, you can overcome internet restrictions such as avoiding censorship, geographic constraints, and traffic shaping.
The use is OpenVPN is a big plus as it automatically improves users’ personal privacy and security and is extremely trustworthy. Nevertheless, the lack of WireGuard as standard might show Air isn’t rather staying up to date with its rivals. That stated, AirVPN states it is evaluating WireGuard, but it won’t put the more recent protocol fully in place till some of its technical and personal privacy concerns are addressed.
AirVPN has actually also included a lot for power users and tech-savvy individuals who like to try out things.
Switching is unlimited, so if you do not like one server, you can easily switch servers as frequently as you like.
You can monitor the current load on each server, any existing concerns, and a history of previous issues on AirVPN’s network status page (which opens in a brand-new tab).
There is a detailed specifications page for AirVPN’s servers, with details like the offered ports, protocols, DNS server information (AirVPN has its own DNS server), and the IP addresses of each VPN server’s gain access to points.
All of it is nice, however considering that there is no third-party audit, you need to rely on that what is being provided will work. But taking a look at the active community forum or the in-depth open-source clients puts your mind at ease.
A great thing about this is that you can see what other individuals say about the service prior to signing up. You do not need to take their word for it or the word of an audit.
Just How Private Is AirVPN, & Does It Keep Logs?
The company is very clear when it comes to AirVPN’s no-logging policy. Online privacy and security are the absolute top priority, with protection from snoopers, data miners, and other entities that attack privacy. There is no individual details logged by AirVPN, which has a strong no-logging, tracking, or monitoring policy.
AirVPN does not track what you do when you’re connected to the VPN, date/time stamps, or your IP address. It only collects non-identifiable “technical data” to keep the server running and improve services, but you can request for this details to be erased at any time. This makes it one of the most privacy-friendly VPN services.
As a result, nobody can identify you online; not even your ISP can determine what type of traffic or protocol you’re using.
There’s no listening in, so you can connect to any wireless network without fretting about your computer system and the Wi-Fi hotspot spying on your data.
Even the most ruthless surveillance, censoring, throttling, and traffic shaping techniques will fail versus AirVPN because your ISP and government will only see TCP or UDP communication on a single port.
They likewise state they follow EU privacy regulations which any servers outside the EU will be treated with the exact same or greater levels of personal privacy and information protection as those in the EU.
You can get a new IP address to hide your IP so that no one can use it to discover who you are. You’ll remain safe with the high-level protection provided.
You can still connect to an AirVPN server through OpenVPN over SSH, SSL, or Tor if your ISP or country obstructs OpenVPN.
Open-source clients and a lively community forum enable you to get a sense of what existing users are saying about the service before signing up.
All of AirVPN’s software is open-source, which is a huge plus. This suggests that anybody can check out AirVPN’s security. ProtonVPN, Private Internet Access, and Mullvad VPN have open-source apps, but only ProtonVPN’s apps have been examined by a 3rd party.
Concerning security, AirVPN’s cryptography is arguably the finest readily available. The first exchange utilizes 4096-bit RSA to achieve Perfect Forward Secrecy (PFS) via Diffie-Hellman key exchange.
When creating an account, you are not required to input any personal information, not even your genuine email address. That’s terrific considering that it lets you prevent leaving any sort of digital footprint. However know that you won’t have the ability to alter your account’s password if you do not utilize one.
Italy, where AirVPN is based, belongs to the 5/9/14 Eyes Alliances (a group of countries that share intelligence data). Even if the federal government asked for user information, AirVPN would have nothing to provide them.
Who Or What Is Eddie??
The Eddie UI is the name of AirVPN’s primary open-source application, readily available on all significant platforms and OSes, consisting of Windows, Mac, Linux, and Android. Despite Eddie’s considerable ability with OpenVPN, it does not yet support WireGuard, so performance isn’t quite as excellent as those service providers who utilize it as requirement.
Setting up the app is simple, and it has all the information you need to connect to a VPN.
There are no maps or clearly indicated buttons to assist you. While it’s not tough to get things working, it does not have the most user-friendly user interface, so it might be a more difficult learning curve for inexperienced users.
With Windows, there are a lot of download alternatives. There are builds for various operating systems (from Windows XP to Windows 11), in 32- and 64-bit tastes, and in installable or portable formats. In addition, there’s a changelog to discuss what’s new and an archive of past releases in case the most current doesn’t operate on your setup.
After launching it, choose ‘Connect to a recommended server,’ and the app will connect to your closest place. When you’re completed, you simply click Disconnect. Simple enough for anyone, however Eddie can do a lot more because AirVPN offers more fine-tuned complete control over operations than any other VPN app we have actually seen.
2 essential AirVPN functions through Eddie are its auto-connect and kill switch. AirVPN enables you to connect when your computer system starts up, but you can’t select which VPN server it will connect to; it will always connect to the one you picked last.
Even though it defines “kill switch” throughout the settings, AirVPN has actually a tab called “network lock” that does the same thing. The difference is that AirVPN’s “network lock” stops all traffic that isn’t going through its secure tunnel. A lot of basic kill switches only do this when the VPN is on, however you can set up the “network lock” to filter your traffic at all times.
Eddie’s layout is easy to understand. Along the top, there are six tabs: Overview, Servers, Countries, Speed, Stats, and Logs.
The Overview merely displays the server to which you are connected, the download and upload speeds, the exit IP address, and the connection time. This is where you log into your account.
The Servers page shows all available servers in the network, in addition to in-depth info about each one, such as the server’s label, location, latency in milliseconds from your place, and existing users and server load. Remarkable stuff!
This tab also has an amber/green signal that lets you understand whether a server is suggested for you.
The Countries page displays the number of servers offered in each country at a glance, together with an indicator of server load and user numbers. Similar to the Servers page, the amber/green indicator is also shown. Lots of servers have up to 1000 Mb/s bandwidth, while some smaller ones have a 100 Mb/s connection.
A green checkmark, a red “X,” and a blank box can be discovered on the right rail of the Countries tab. Highlight a nation, click the green checkmark, and the servers for that country will appear on the Servers tab. This whitelist is basically a favorites list; you might select as numerous countries as you like.
If you click the red “x”, that nation will be removed, efficiently making it a blocklist/denylist. To eliminate the green checkmark from a nation, click the empty box.
By choosing a country, you are not right away connected to a VPN server. To do so, return to the Servers page and pick the server you desire in a particular nation. Then, connect to a server by marking it and clicking on the “indication out” icon on the right-hand side (a right-facing arrow pointing into a square bracket). There are likewise a checkmark, “X,” and blank box icons. There’s also a “refresh” button to get updated info on ping times and load times.
The Speed tab displays an easy throughput graph with thin plot lines. Its temporal resolution can be altered, so you can see traffic from the last 10 seconds to one day.
While many apps show your present VPN server location and IP address at most. Eddie’s Stats page also shows fine-grained information, such as the server’s location, load, current user count, protocol, port, encryption algorithm, session start time and length, IPv6 exit address, data uploaded and downloaded, and far more.
Power users, in particular, should value the capability to use a VPN with all the details they might ever desire about the different locations, down to the variety of users on a particular server. It’s a valuable resource.
Logs is an in-depth record of connections, routes, and other data.
This enables you to fine-tune the setup, such as whether it ought to always connect when opened, which protocol to use between UDP and TCP, and which port number. Proxies, Tor support, custom DNS servers, and routes can be modified.
The genuinely skilled user can go into Advanced and Expert Mode settings, which enable, among other things, sending orders to the OpenVPN Management Interface via the Logs pane.
If the large feature list appears scary, even if you are a VPN professional, it might be tough to find out what particular settings do and how to get the desired outcomes. In addition, it differs from any other service in terms of personalization.
Do not dismiss AirVPN’s Eddie just since of its complexity. Keep in mind that the program generally works fine on its own, and you’ll never ever see the settings till you search for them. However, if you sometimes yearn for power or configurability, the app will supply it.
Suppose you do not wish to use Eddie. In that case, you can also set up a router or firewall to send out all traffic through a VPN tunnel. This works with routers running the open-source DD-WRT and Tomato firmware and the FreeBSD-based pfSense firewall.
How Good Is AirVPN’s Mobile App?
There isn’t any VPN software for iOS, you can utilize an extremely feature-rich Android VPN app rather. This software supplies the exact same extensive configuration choices as its desktop sibling and practical status info.
Separate pages for nation and server lists are what the Android app does not have that the desktop versions provides. Instead, you can expand a country and choose a specific city on the same page. Some useful text additions make the info more understandable, but it’s still rather tough to comprehend in some spots.
Android does not have as many settings as Windows. That’s not a significant critique; there are still a lot more than the majority of people will ever need. The software likewise attempts a little bit more to help you, with additional text subtitles to discuss what each choice does.
Speeds/Performance
Utilizing OpenVPN, the Eddie Windows app from AirVPN normally connects quickly and is ready to go in less than 10 seconds.
Online reviewers felt the connection monitoring was excellent, with the app finding when the VPN tunnel drops, alerting us with a desktop notification, and reconnecting us in seconds.
In terms of privacy, leak tests revealed that AirVPN’s Windows client didn’t have any DNS leaks, which reveals that the Network Lock/Kill Switch works well.
Now let’s get to those speeds.
Because AirVPN just supports OpenVPN, it was always going to be slower than the WireGuard-equipped competition.
Reviewers have reported speeds to be outstanding. One stated there wasn’t a single nation where they might complain about the speed. On the contrary, it was truly remarkable overall.
While it wasn’t quite at the top tier for VPNs that utilize WireGuard, it was still more than fast enough for most people, and scenarios like HD gaming, streaming, and video conferencing definitely will not slow you down.
What AirVPN lacks is a broader number of server places. This might limit the ease of access of neighboring servers for some users (which will always lead to much better speeds). As a result, this VPN is an outstanding choice for many people in the United States and Europe, however possibly less so for other regions.
Streaming
Streaming the huge services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, Apple Television, Hulu, HBO, BBC iPlayer, and Discovery+ has been a mixed bag for reviewers. Some report that AirVPN is powerful enough to bypass the VPN blocks utilized by Netflix in the USA, whereas others do not.
Certainly, some report that Air is pretty poor for streaming and doesn’t work with any of the significant streaming services. It appears to work with less-popular streaming apps like Peacock and Sony Crackle.
Another reviewer says services like BBC iPlayer and US Netflix hardly ever work, and when they do, discovering the right server requires lengthy experimentation. This is most likely since, unlike other suppliers, AirVPN does not provide servers that are optimised for accessing streaming sites.
The good news is, on AirVPN’s website, there is a list of ‘blocked websites’ that users can examine to see if the situation with these streaming sites ever changes.
Streaming is certainly not an area in which AirVPN stands out, simply because that’s not what the service is about, as they are more focused on privacy and security.
Does AirVPN Allow P2P?
Air supports P2P file-sharing on all of its servers. Just connect to the VPN server of your option and get going.
Plus, you can use port forwarding to improve your file-sharing performance. Numerous applications, such as BitTorrent and eMule clients, would run badly without it, and your computer system’s shares might be inaccessible from the Internet.
File sharing has good speeds on local servers, allows port forwarding for up to 20 ports at the same time (which lets you connect to more peers for faster speeds), and works with top torrenting clients like qBitTorrent and uTorrent.
AirVPN’s integrated kill switch, triggered by default, will obstruct all traffic from leaving your device if the VPN connection ever drops. That way, you will not be sending unencrypted packets to the Internet. If you are file sharing, a kill switch is very convenient, especially if you need to leave your connection unattended.
Reviewers have actually shown torrenting to be outstanding, smooth running with fast download and upload speeds, and without any problems whatsoever.
AirVPN Plans & Rates
AirVPN offers a broader variety of plans than the majority of VPNs. As standard, each plan lets you connect up to 5 devices concurrently, so you can connect your PC, phone, tablet, and a couple of other devices all at the same time.
This makes it an excellent choice for individuals who reside in a household home or wish to use a VPN on a public network. While five should be enough for many people, other VPN service providers offer 7 or even 10 if you need more.
Pricing differs based upon the subscription length, and each plan consists of the exact same features. A lot of plans use good value; however, longer memberships provide the very best offer.
The standard pricing is in Euros. Nevertheless, they utilize the European Central Bank to provide real-time currency exchange rate for those abroad, so it can be quickly transformed to and paid for in the currency of your choice.
The existing plans offered are:
Three days- EUR2
One month – EUR7
Three months – EUR15 – works out to EUR 5/month
Six months – EUR29 – works out to EUR 4.83/month
One year – EUR49 – works out to EUR 4.08/month
Two years – EUR79 – works out to EUR 3.29/month
Three years – EUR99 – works out to EUR 2.75/month
AirVPN accepts major credit cards, PayPal, Amazon Pay, and a whole load of cryptocurrencies, consisting of Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, and Doge. Lots of global alternatives are likewise accepted, such as Alipay and Giropay.
AirVPN offers a three-day totally free trial, which can be obtained by sending out a message to the support team and utilizing the coupon code they send you.
There’s also a 30-day money-back guarantee, as long as they have not broken the terms of service or used more than 5 GB of data during that time.
AirVPN Customer Support
AirVPN has a different customer assistance offering than many other VPNs. While it does not have live chat, it uses email support and frequently asked questions (FAQs) and has a very active assistance online forum with contributors from both the service itself and the community.
Notably, AirVPN’s e-mail support isn’t outsourced but can be a little irregular with the time it requires to get a response. That stated, the email assistance is high quality, and the representatives are friendly and helpful, however the thorough answers can be pretty technical, which may put off those new to VPNs.
AirVPN’s website has a great deal of details, including a large FAQs area that is broken up by subject.
AirVPN’s community forums cover many different subjects, however novices will have the exact same troubles understanding a great deal of the tech jargon in the posts.
AirVPN Pros & Cons
Pros:
No logging Whatsoever.
Excellent speeds with very little loss.
Unlimited P2P enabled with Port Forwarding.
Strong security on apps and servers alike, with advanced protocols and encryption.
Network Lock/Kill Switch.
Split tunneling.
Supports Windows, Mac, Linux, mobile, and routers.
Supports Tor over VPN.
Easy app setup and usage.
Many, many advanced settings and customization choices in the client app.
Solid Customer Service.
Active Community Online Forums and In-depth Guides.
Excellent prices, especially for longer-term plans.
Optional block lists shield you from advertisements, adware, trackers, and damaging sources.
Cons:
Only fully supports OpenVPN.
Client app isn’t very user-friendly or pretty like other services.
Client app might overwhelm more recent users.
It is very hit and miss with streaming services.
No native iOS or ChromeOS apps.
Perhaps there are a lot of advanced options.
Found in 14-Eyes Country.
Server numbers are relatively low.
Rounding Things Up – Is AirVPN The Very Best Choice?
So the bottom line is that AirVPN is a strong, trustworthy, and safe VPN service with excellent pricing. It’s plainly tailored towards more power and advanced users, so those new to VPNs will be much better served by a less, shall we say, specialized VPN provider. But even brand-new users could do much, much worse.
While it could be challenging to utilize if you’re new to VPNs, you’ll receive much quicker speeds and better results than much of its competing VPN rivals.
When it comes down to it, this VPN service is more focused on securing your personal privacy than unblocking streaming services like Netflix or Hulu.
It might not guarantee the exact same level of personal privacy and anonymity as a service like Mullvad, which assigns you a random account number and permits you to pay in cash, AirVPN is still a great choice for consumers who value their personal privacy.
While it does not hit the speed heights of a WireGuard service, performance-wise, it’s definitely the best purely OpenVPN service out there. In addition to being an exceptional option for online filesharing.
Highly recommended!
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AirVPN Review & Test (2022) – Just How Good Is It In South Africa?
