Do you want to remain anonymous while surfing the web? If yes, then AirVPN could be the ideal solution for you.
While anybody can claim to be distinct these days, when it concerns VPN service providers, AirVPN shows that it genuinely is.
AirVPN sticks out from other VPN services because of its commitment to securing user privacy. Right from the start, the AirVPN site starts 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 anyone can claim to be unique these days, when it concerns VPN companies, AirVPN reveals that it really is.
They’ve been around a long period of time, since 2010, when it was started with the help of 2 lawyers and a small group of hackers and activists. The satellite communications service provider Iridium formerly ran it, but AirVPN took control of in November 2012. According to the owner’s listing, AirVPN, based in Perugia, is presently owned by Paolo Brini (Italy).
During the last decade, it hasn’t been dogged by security scandals like some VPNs have. Nor has it been acquired by a larger company either.
Across their About Us and Mission pages, the company’s history is explained and details the privacy projects that AirVPN has established 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 non-traditional route and breaks the mold by providing a VPN created by enthusiasts for enthusiasts.
How does AirVPN stack up against its competitors with such strong privacy qualifications?
AirVPN’s Key Features
Servers
AirVPN’s network is much smaller sized than a lot of, with only 246 servers spread throughout 23 nations.
A lot of servers are in Europe (aside from those in the United States, Canada, and Hong Kong). A minor issue here is that the absence of diversity of servers decreases the number of worldwide AirVPN users who may access geo-restricted services in their home nation while maintaining their privacy.
That said, Air is popular for its outstanding performance throughout its server network, with numerous nations having high-performance physical individual servers.
They use transparent bandwidth allocation techniques to supply a precise evaluation of performance, with no overbooking or overselling. Plus, they are entirely unlimited, without any 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 reliable way to create encrypted tunnels. It offers more security than the military.
Many ports and protocols are offered; they use OpenVPN on the following ports: 80 TCP/UDP, 443 TCP/UDP, and 53 TCP/UDP. In addition, 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 service, protocol, or application when it comes down to it. Net Neutrality is upheld. Notably, you can get rid of internet restrictions such as avoiding censorship, geographic limitations, and traffic shaping.
The use is OpenVPN is a big plus as it automatically enhances users’ privacy and security and is extremely trustworthy. The absence of WireGuard as standard might show Air isn’t rather keeping up with its rivals. That stated, AirVPN says it is evaluating WireGuard, however it won’t put the newer protocol fully in place until some of its technical and privacy concerns are resolved.
AirVPN has likewise added a lot for power users and tech-savvy individuals who like to try out things.
Switching is limitless, so if you don’t like one server, you can easily switch servers as often as you like.
You can keep an eye on the current load on each server, any existing issues, and a history of previous problems on AirVPN’s network status page (which opens in a brand-new tab).
There is a detailed specs page for AirVPN’s servers, with info like the available 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, but given that there is no third-party audit, you have to trust that what is being provided will work. Looking at the active community online forum or the detailed open-source clients puts your mind at ease.
A great thing about this is that you can see what other people state about the service before 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 business is extremely clear when it comes to AirVPN’s no-logging policy. Online privacy and security are the outright priority, with security from snoopers, data miners, and other entities that attack personal privacy. There is no individual details logged by AirVPN, which has a strong no-logging, tracking, or monitoring policy.
AirVPN doesn’t track what you do when you’re connected to the VPN, date/time stamps, or your IP address. It only collects non-identifiable “technical information” to keep the server running and enhance services, but you can request for this info to be deleted 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 figure out what type of traffic or protocol you’re utilizing.
There’s no listening in, so you can connect to any wireless network without stressing over your computer and the Wi-Fi hotspot spying on your information.
Even the most ruthless surveillance, censoring, throttling, and traffic shaping methods will fail against AirVPN due to the fact that your ISP and government will only see TCP or UDP communication on a single port.
They also state they comply with EU privacy policies and that any servers outside the EU will be treated with the exact same or higher levels of personal privacy and data protection as those in the EU.
You can get a new IP address to conceal your IP so that nobody can use it to discover who you are. You’ll remain safe with the high-level security offered.
You can still connect to an AirVPN server through OpenVPN over SSH, SSL, or Tor if your ISP or nation obstructs OpenVPN.
Open-source clients and a lively community forum enable you to get a sense of what current users are saying about the service before signing up.
All of AirVPN’s software is open-source, which is a big plus. This means that anyone can look into AirVPN’s security. ProtonVPN, Private Internet Access, and Mullvad VPN have open-source apps, but only ProtonVPN’s apps have been checked by a 3rd party.
Concerning security, AirVPN’s cryptography is arguably the best offered. It’s similar to that of some other companies, however still worth mentioning. The first exchange utilizes 4096-bit RSA to accomplish Perfect Forward Secrecy (PFS) by means of Diffie-Hellman key exchange. Following the first key negotiation, re-keying takes place every 60 minutes, and the user can lower this value. The main data channel employs AES-256-CBC encryption.
When creating an account, you are not required to input any personal info, not even your genuine e-mail address. That’s fantastic since it lets you avoid leaving any sort of digital footprint. Be mindful that you won’t be able to change your account’s password if you do not use one.
Italy, where AirVPN is based, is a member of the 5/9/14 Eyes Alliances (a group of nations that share intelligence information). However even if the federal government requested for user details, AirVPN would have nothing to give them.
Who Or What Is Eddie??
The Eddie UI is the name of AirVPN’s primary open-source application, readily available on all major platforms and OSes, consisting of Windows, Mac, Linux, and Android. Despite Eddie’s substantial capability with OpenVPN, it does not yet support WireGuard, so performance isn’t rather as great as those suppliers who use it as requirement.
Establishing the app is easy, and it has all the details you need to connect to a VPN.
Sadly, there are no maps or clearly indicated buttons to guide you. While it’s not difficult to get things working, it doesn’t have the most user-friendly user interface, so it may be a more tough learning curve for unskilled users.
With Windows, there are a load of download options. There are builds for various operating systems (from Windows XP to Windows 11), in 32- and 64-bit flavors, and in installable or portable formats. In addition, there’s a changelog to explain what’s new and an archive of past releases in case the most existing doesn’t operate on your setup.
After launching it, choose ‘Connect to a recommended server,’ and the app will connect to your closest area. You just click Disconnect when you’re finished. Simple enough for anybody, but Eddie can do a lot more because AirVPN uses more fine-tuned complete control over operations than any other VPN app we’ve seen.
Two key AirVPN features through Eddie are its auto-connect and kill switch. AirVPN permits you to connect when your computer launches, but you can’t select which VPN server it will connect to; it will always connect to the one you selected last.
Even though it defines “kill switch” anywhere in the settings, AirVPN has actually a tab called “network lock” that does the exact same thing. The difference is that AirVPN’s “network lock” stops all traffic that isn’t going through its protected tunnel. Most basic kill switches just do this when the VPN is on, but 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 6 tabs: Overview, Servers, Countries, Speed, Stats, and Logs.
The Overview just shows 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, together with detailed information about each one, such as the server’s label, place, latency in milliseconds from your area, and present users and server load. Remarkable stuff!
This tab likewise has an amber/green signal that lets you know whether a server is suggested for you.
The Countries page shows the number of servers readily available in each nation at a glance, together with a sign of server load and user numbers. Just like the Servers page, the amber/green indicator is also shown. Many 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 may select as numerous countries as you like.
If you click the red “x”, that nation will be eliminated, efficiently making it a blocklist/denylist. To eliminate the green checkmark from a nation, click the empty box.
By choosing a nation, you are not immediately connected to a VPN server. To do so, go back to the Servers page and pick the server you desire in a particular country. Connect to a server by marking it and clicking on the “sign 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 likewise a “refresh” button to get updated information on ping times and load times.
The Speed tab displays an easy throughput graph with thin plot lines. Its temporal resolution can be changed, so you can see traffic from the last 10 seconds to one day.
While most apps display your existing 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, information downloaded and uploaded, and far more.
Power users, in particular, should value the ability to utilize a VPN with all the information they might ever want about the numerous locations, down to the number of users on a particular server. It’s a valuable resource.
Finally, Logs is a detailed record of connections, routes, and other data.
This enables you to tweak the setup, such as whether it ought to always connect when opened, which protocol to utilize between UDP and TCP, and which port number. Proxies, Tor assistance, custom DNS servers, and routes can be modified.
The really experienced user can enter into Advanced and Expert Mode settings, which allow, to name a few things, sending orders to the OpenVPN Management Interface by means of the Logs pane.
If the huge feature list appears frightening, even if you are a VPN expert, it might be hard to figure out what specific settings do and how to get the preferred results. In addition, it differs from any other service in terms of personalization.
Do not dismiss AirVPN’s Eddie just because of its intricacy. Remember that the program generally works fine by itself, and you’ll never ever see the settings up until you search for them. If you sometimes crave power or configurability, the app will provide it.
Suppose you don’t want to utilize 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?
Although there isn’t any VPN software for iOS, you can use a very feature-rich Android VPN app rather. This software application provides the exact same extensive configuration choices as its desktop sibling and useful status information.
Separate pages for country and server lists are what the Android app lacks that the desktop versions provides. Rather, you can expand a nation and pick a particular city on the same page. Some useful text additions make the info more understandable, but it’s still quite difficult to understand in some spots.
Android does not have as lots of settings as Windows. That’s not a significant critique; there are still a lot more than most people will ever need. The software application also attempts a little bit more to help you, with additional text subtitles to discuss what each choice does.
Speeds/Performance
Using OpenVPN, the Eddie Windows app from AirVPN generally connects quickly and is ready to enter less than 10 seconds.
Online reviewers felt the connection monitoring was great, with the app spotting when the VPN tunnel drops, notifying us with a desktop notice, and reconnecting us in seconds.
In regards to 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.
Due to the fact that AirVPN only supports OpenVPN, it was always going to be slower than the WireGuard-equipped competitors.
Nevertheless, reviewers have reported speeds to be exceptional. Indeed, one said there wasn’t a single nation where they could complain about the speed. On the contrary, it was actually impressive overall.
While it wasn’t rather at the top tier for VPNs that utilize WireGuard, it was still more than fast enough for the majority of people, and scenarios like HD video gaming, streaming, and video conferencing absolutely will not slow you down.
What AirVPN does not have is a more comprehensive variety of server locations. This may limit the accessibility of nearby servers for some users (which will constantly result in much better speeds). As a result, this VPN is an excellent choice for most people in the United States and Europe, however possibly less so for other areas.
Streaming
Streaming the huge services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, Apple TV, Hulu, HBO, BBC iPlayer, and Discovery+ has actually been a mixed bag for reviewers. Some report that AirVPN is effective enough to bypass the VPN blocks utilized by Netflix in the USA, whereas others do not.
Some report that Air is pretty poor for streaming and does not work with any of the major streaming services. However, it appears to deal with less-popular streaming apps like Peacock and Sony Crackle.
Another reviewer says services like BBC iPlayer and United States Netflix hardly ever work, and when they do, discovering the best server needs prolonged trial and error. This is most likely since, unlike other companies, AirVPN does not use servers that are optimised for accessing streaming sites.
Thankfully, on AirVPN’s website, there is a list of ‘blocked websites’ that users can inspect to see if the situation with these streaming websites ever changes.
Nevertheless, streaming is certainly not an area in which AirVPN excels, simply because that’s not what the service is about, as they are more focused on personal privacy and security.
Does AirVPN Allow P2P?
Yes, it does; every web protocol, including peer-to-peer, is welcome. Indeed, Air supports P2P file-sharing on all of its servers. There’s nothing to configure, no hoops to leap through. Just connect to the VPN server of your choice and start.
Plus, you can utilize port forwarding to enhance your file-sharing performance. Several applications, such as BitTorrent and eMule clients, would run poorly without it, and your computer system’s shares might be inaccessible from the Internet.
File sharing has decent speeds on regional servers, enables port forwarding for as much as 20 ports simultaneously (which lets you connect to more peers for faster speeds), and deals with top torrenting clients like qBitTorrent and uTorrent.
AirVPN’s built-in kill switch, activated by default, will block all traffic from leaving your gadget if the VPN connection ever drops. That way, you will not be sending out unencrypted packets to the Internet. If you are file sharing, a kill switch is really practical, especially if you need to leave your connection unattended.
Reviewers have shown torrenting to be impressive, smooth running with fast download and upload speeds, and without any problems whatsoever.
AirVPN Plans & Rates
AirVPN provides a broader range of plans than a lot of VPNs. As standard, each plan lets you connect as much as 5 devices at the same time, so you can connect your PC, phone, tablet, and a couple of other devices all at the same time.
This makes it an outstanding option for people who live in a family home or want to utilize a VPN on a public network. While 5 should suffice for many people, other VPN suppliers offer 7 or even 10 if you require more.
Prices differs based on the membership length, and each plan includes the exact same features. Many plans offer good value; nevertheless, longer subscriptions provide the very best deal.
The standard pricing is in Euros. They use the European Central Bank to offer real-time exchange rates for those abroad, so it can be easily transformed to and paid for in the currency of your choice.
The present plans readily available 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 choices are also accepted, such as Alipay and Giropay.
AirVPN offers a three-day free trial, which can be obtained by sending out a message to the support team and using the discount coupon code they send you.
There’s also a 30-day money-back guarantee, as long as they haven’t broken the terms of service or utilized more than 5 GB of data throughout that time.
AirVPN Customer Assistance
AirVPN has a different customer support offering than numerous other VPNs. While it does not have live chat, it uses e-mail support and frequently asked questions (FAQs) and has a really active assistance forum with contributors from both the service itself and the community.
Notably, AirVPN’s email support isn’t outsourced however can be a little inconsistent with the time it takes to get a response. That stated, the email support is high quality, and the agents are valuable and friendly, however the comprehensive responses can be quite technical, which may put off those brand-new to VPNs.
AirVPN’s site has a lot of details, consisting of a big Frequently asked questions area that is separated by topic.
AirVPN’s community forums cover several topics, but beginners will have the very same troubles comprehending a great deal of the tech jargon in the posts.
AirVPN Pros & Cons
Pros:
No logging Whatsoever.
Exceptional speeds with very little loss.
Unrestricted 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 Support.
Active Community Forums and In-depth Guides.
Good costs, especially for longer-term plans.
Optional block lists protect you from advertisements, adware, trackers, and damaging sources.
Cons:
Only fully supports OpenVPN.
Client app isn’t extremely user-friendly or pretty like other services.
Client app may 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 choices.
Located in 14-Eyes Nation.
Server numbers are fairly low.
Rounding Things Up – Is AirVPN The Best Choice?
The bottom line is that AirVPN is a strong, reputable, and safe VPN service with excellent pricing. It’s plainly geared towards more power and advanced users, so those new to VPNs will be better served by a less, shall we say, specialized VPN service provider. But even new users could do much, much worse.
While it could be challenging to utilize if you’re brand-new to VPNs, you’ll receive much quicker speeds and much better results than much of its rival VPN rivals.
When it boils down to it, this VPN service is more focused on protecting your privacy than unblocking streaming services like Netflix or Hulu.
It may not guarantee the exact same level of personal privacy and anonymity as a service like Mullvad, which designates you a random account number and allows you to pay in cash, AirVPN is still an excellent alternative for customers who value their privacy.
While it doesn’t hit the speed heights of a WireGuard service, performance-wise, it’s absolutely the best purely OpenVPN service out there. In addition to being an exceptional option for online filesharing.
Highly recommended!
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AirVPN: Is It Actually Worth It? (Up-Dated 2022)
