VPN service

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A virtual private network (VPN) service provides a proxy server to help users bypass Internet censorship such as geo-blocking and users who want to protect their communications against data profiling or MitM attacks on hostile networks.

Contents

A wide variety of entities provide VPN services for several purposes. But depending on the provider and the application, they do not always create a true private network. Instead, many providers simply provide an Internet proxy that uses VPN technologies such as OpenVPN or WireGuard. Commercial VPN services are often used by those wishing to disguise or obfuscate their physical location or IP address, typically as a means to evade Internet censorship or geo-blocking.

Providers often market VPN services as privacy-enhancing, citing security features, such as encryption, from the underlying VPN technology. However, users must consider that when the transmitted content is not encrypted before entering the proxy, that content is visible at the receiving endpoint (usually the VPN service provider's site) regardless of whether the VPN tunnel itself is encrypted for the inter-node transport. The only secure VPN is where the participants have oversight at both ends of the entire data path or when the content is encrypted before it enters the tunnel.

On the client side, configurations intended to use VPN services as proxies are not conventional VPN configurations. However, they do typically utilize the operating system's VPN interfaces to capture the user's data to send to the proxy. This includes virtual network adapters on computer OSes and specialized "VPN" interfaces on mobile operating systems. A less common alternative is to provide a SOCKS proxy interface.

In computer magazines, VPN services are typically judged on connection speeds, privacy protection including privacy at signup and grade of encryption, server count and locations, interface usability, and cost. [1] [2] [3] [4] In order to determine the degree of privacy and anonymity, various computer magazines, such as PC World and PC Magazine , also take the provider's own guarantees and its reputation among news items into consideration. [1] [2] Recommendation websites for VPNs tend to be affeliated or even owned by VPN service providers. [5]

VPN Use Cases

Criticism and limitations

Users are commonly exposed to misinformation on the VPN services market, which makes it difficult for them to discern fact from false claims in advertisements. [11] According to Consumer Reports, VPN service providers have poor privacy and security practices and also make hyperbolic claims. [12] The New York Times has advised users to reconsider whether a VPN service is worth their money. [13] VPN services are not sufficient for protection against browser fingerprinting. [14]

Common misconceptions

Legality

In March 2018, the use of unapproved VPN services was banned in China, as they can be used to circumvent the Great Firewall. [18] Operators received prison sentences and were penalized with fines. [19] [20] [21] [22] Russia banned various VPN service providers in 2021. [23]

Comparison of commercial virtual private network services

Privacy

PC Magazine recommends that users consider choosing a provider based in a country with no data retention laws because that makes it easier for the service to keep a promise of no logging. [24] PC Magazine and TechRadar also suggest that users read the provider's logging policy before signing up for the service, [24] [3] because some providers collect information about their customers' VPN usage. [25] [26] PC World recommends that users avoid free services as a rule of thumb and said free services either sell their users' browsing data in aggregated form to researchers and marketers, or only offer a minimal amount of data transfer per month. [25]

ServiceBased in Logging [a] Anonymous payment and communication
TrafficDNS requestsTimestamps Bandwidth IP address
Atlas VPN United States NoNoNoNo (Premium), Yes (Free)NoSome
Avira Phantom VPN Germany No [b] UnknownYes [29] Yes [b] Yes [29] No
ExpressVPN British Virgin Islands [30] [31] [32] No [33] No [33] Yes [34] Yes [35] No [33] Some [32] [36] [31] [37]
Hotspot Shield United States Yes [c] Yes [39] Yes [39] Yes [39] Yes [39] [40] No
IPVanish United States No [41] No [41] No [41] No [41] No [41] No [42]
IVPN Gibraltar No [43] No [43] No [43] No [43] No [43] Some [44] [45]
Mullvad Sweden No [46] No [46] No [46] No [46] No [46] Yes [47] [48]
NordVPN Panama No [49] No [49] No [49] No [49] No [49] Some [50] [51]
PrivadoVPN Switzerland No [52] NoNoNo (Premium), Yes (Free)NoSome
Private Internet Access United States No [53] No [53] No [53] No [53] [54] No [53] Yes [55] [56] [57]
ProtonVPN Switzerland No [58] NoNo [58] NoNoSome
PureVPN Hong Kong No [59] No [60] No [61] Yes [62] No [d] Some [e] [66]
Surfshark Netherlands No [67] NoYesNoNoSome
TunnelBear Canada [68] [69] [70] No [71] No [71] [72] No [73] Yes [70] [73] No [71] Some [68] [74] [69]
Windscribe Canada No [75] NoNoYesNoYes

Notes

  1. ↑ As claimed by provider unless otherwise noted.
  2. 1 2 There is no mention of Avira's VPN logging policy in their privacy policy. However, it is stated in an FAQ section that neither traffic nor IP addresses are logged on their VPN service. [27] It is also stated that bandwidth is logged. [27] When visiting Avira's website, the visitor's IP address is logged by both Google Analytics and the CrazyEgg tool. [28]
  3. ↑ Hotspot Shield claims to collect "anonymous, aggregate data about which websites you visit and which apps you use." [38]
  4. ↑ "We DO NOT keep any record of your browsing activities, connection logs, records of the VPN IPs assigned to you, your original IPs, your connection time, the history of your browsing, the sites you visited, your outgoing traffic, the content or data you accessed, or the DNS queries generated by you." [63] However, in 2017, PureVPN provided connection logs including IP addresses to the FBI for use in a criminal investigation. [64]
  5. ↑ Name and e-mail is required for every payment method. [65]

Technical features

ServiceLeak ProtectionProtocols Obfuscation / Censorship AvoidanceNetwork NeutralityServer
First-party DNS servers IPv6 supported / blocked Offers kill switch Offers OpenVPN Offers WireGuard Supports multihopSupports TCP port 443 Supports Obfsproxy Offers SOCKSLinux supportSupports SSL tunnelSupports SSH tunnelBlocks SMTP (authent.)Blocks P2PDedicated or virtual Diskless
Atlas VPN YesYesYesNoYesYesNoNoNoYesSomeNoDedicatedNo
Avast SecureLine YesYesYesYesNoNoNoNoSome [76] Dedicated [77] No
Avira Phantom VPN YesYesYesYesNoNoYesNoNoNoNo [78] DedicatedNo
ExpressVPN Yes [30] YesYesYes [30] NoNoYes [30] Yes [79] No [31] Both [80] [81] Yes
Hotspot Shield NoNoYesNoNoNoNo?
IPVanish Yes [82] Yes [83] YesYes [42] Yes [84] NoYes [85] Yes [86] Yes [42] Yes [87] NoNoNo [42] No [42] DedicatedNo
IVPN Yes [88] No [89] YesYesBeta [90] Yes; OpenVPNYesYesYes [91] Yes [92] No [93] No [94] Dedicated [95]
Mullvad Yes [96] Yes [96] YesYes [96] Yes [97] Yes; WireGuard [98] and SOCKS5Yes [96] No [99] Yes [100] [96] Yes [101] YesYes [96] No [96] No [96] Dedicated [102] Yes [103]
NordVPN Yes [104] No [105] YesYes [106] Yes; NordLynx based on WireGuard [107] Yes; OpenVPN [108] and SOCKS5Yes [109] Yes [110] Yes [111] YesNo [112] DedicatedYes
PrivadoVPN YesYesYesYesYes [113] YesYesNo
Private Internet Access Yes [114] Yes [115] YesYes [116] Yes [117] Yes [118] Yes [119] NoYes [120] Yes [121] Some [a] No [123] Dedicated [124] Yes [125]
ProtonVPN YesNoYesYesYes [126] YesYesNoNoYes [127] YesYesSome [b] Dedicated
PureVPN YesYesYesYes [129] NoNoOnly through SSTP [130] NoNoYes [131] NoSome [132] Both [133] [81] No
Surfshark YesNoYesYesYesYes (WG, OVPN, IKEv2)YesNoNoYesSomeNoBothYes
TunnelBear Yes [72] YesYesYes [134] [69] NoNoNoYes [135] [70] YesYesNo [136] Some [137]
Windscribe YesYesYesYesYes [138] YesYesNoNo [139] Yes

(via Stealth protocol)

NoNoNoDedicated [c] Yes [141] Yes

Notes

  1. ↑ The support team may be willing to whitelist your email provider's SMTP server upon request. [122]
  2. ↑ Only on free plan. [128]
  3. ↑ With the exception of one virtual server located in Antartica. [140]

Encryption

ServiceData encryptionHandshake encryptionData authentication
Default providedStrongest providedWeakest providedStrongest providedWeakest providedStrongest provided
Atlas VPN ChaCha20-Poly1305 / AES-256 [a] ChaCha20-Poly13052048-bit Diffie-HellmanECP521 SHA-384 SHA-384
Avast SecureLine AES-256 AES-256
Avira Phantom VPN AES-256 AES-256
ExpressVPN AES-256 AES-256 CA-4096
Hotspot Shield AES-128 [142] AES-128 [142] TLS 1.2 ECDHE PFS [142] TLS 1.2 ECDHE PFS [142] HMAC [143] HMAC [143]
IPVanish AES-256 [144] AES-256 [144] RSA-2048 [144] RSA-2048 [144] SHA-256 [144] SHA-256 [144]
IVPN AES-256 [88] AES-256 [88] RSA-4096 [88]
Mullvad AES-256 (GCM) [96] AES-256 [96] RSA-4096 [96] RSA-4096 [96] SHA-512 [96] SHA-512 [96]
NordVPN AES-256 [145] AES-256 (CBC) [145] 2048-bit Diffie-Hellman [145] 2048-bit Diffie-Hellman [145]
Private Internet Access AES-128 (CBC) [146] AES-256 [146] ECC-256k1 [146] RSA-4096 [146] SHA-1 [146] SHA-256 [146]
PrivadoVPN AES-256 AES-256
ProtonVPN AES-256 AES-256 RSA-4096 RSA-4096 HMAC with SHA-384 HMAC with SHA-384
PureVPN AES-256 AES-256
SaferVPN AES-256 [147] AES-256 [147] 2048bit SSL/TLS [147] 2048bit SSL/TLS [147] SHA-256 [147] SHA-256 [147]
TunnelBear AES-128 (CBC) [b] AES-256 (CBC) [134] 1548 bit Diffie-Hellman group [c] 4096 bit Diffie-Hellman group [134] SHA-1 [d] SHA-256 [134]
Surfshark AES-256 AES-256 (CBC)2048-bit Diffie-Hellman2048-bit Diffie-Hellman
Windscribe AES-256 [148] AES-256 [148] RSA-4096 [148] RSA-4096 [148] SHA-512 SHA-512

Notes

  1. ↑ ChaCha20-Poly1305 for all devices except for Windows, which does not support it and therefore uses AES-256
  2. ↑ Only on iOS 8 and earlier. All other supported devices and operating systems use AES-256 (CBC). [134]
  3. ↑ iOS 9 and later use 2048 bit. iOS 8 and earlier use 1548 bit. All other supported devices and operating systems use 4096 bit. [134]
  4. ↑ iOS 8 and earlier use SHA-1. All other supported devices and operating systems use SHA-256. [134]

Definitions

The following definitions clarify the meaning of some of the column headers in the comparison tables above.

Anonymous payment method
Whether the service offers at least one payment method that does not require personal information. Even if a service accepts a cryptocurrency like bitcoin, it might still require that the customer hands over personally identifiable information (PII) like their full name and address.
Bandwidth
Whether the users' bandwidth is logged while using the service, according to the service's privacy policy.
Diskless
Whether the service's server hardware is connected to hard drives, according to the service provider. If the servers are diskless, the service provider should be unable to log any usage data.
First-party DNS servers
Whether the service provides its own domain name system (DNS) servers.
Kill switch
Whether the service has the ability to immediately sever your connection to the Internet in the event that the VPN connection fails. This prevents a user IP address leak. [149]
Logging
Whether the service stores information about their users' connection or activity on the network, according to the service's privacy policy or terms of service. If logging isn't mentioned in those sections but denied somewhere else on the website, the particular table cell will be marked as "No" in yellow and include an explanatory note.
Privacy Impact Score
An indicator of a website's usage of potentially privacy intrusive technologies such as third-party or permanent cookies, canvas trackers etc. [150] The score can be in the range from 0 to 100, where 0 is minimal privacy impact (best) and 100 is the biggest privacy impact (worst) relative to other web sites. [150] The score also has a simplified letter and colour presentation from A to F where A is "No cookies" and F is "Score above three standard deviations from the average". [150] The metric is developed by WebCookies.org. [150]
Obfuscation
Whether the service provides a method of obfuscating the VPN traffic so that it's not as easily detected and blocked by national governments or corporations. [151] [152]
Offers WireGuard
Whether the service provider offers the WireGuard tunneling protocol.
SSL rating
The service's website's overall SSL server rating according to Qualys SSL Labs' SSL Server Test tool.
Supports Obfsproxy
Whether the service has an implementation of the Tor subproject Obfsproxy. [151] [152]

Related Research Articles

The Domain Name System (DNS) is a hierarchical and distributed name service that provides a naming system for computers, services, and other resources on the Internet or other Internet Protocol (IP) networks. It associates various information with domain names assigned to each of the associated entities. Most prominently, it translates readily memorized domain names to the numerical IP addresses needed for locating and identifying computer services and devices with the underlying network protocols. The Domain Name System has been an essential component of the functionality of the Internet since 1985.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Proxy server</span> Computer server that makes and receives requests on behalf of a user

In computer networking, a proxy server is a server application that acts as an intermediary between a client requesting a resource and the server providing that resource. It improves privacy, security, and possibly performance in the process.

Virtual private network (VPN) is a network architecture for virtually extending a private network across one or multiple other networks which are either untrusted or need to be isolated.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Open proxy</span> Proxy server accessible to any Internet user

An open proxy is a type of proxy server that is accessible by any Internet user.

In computer networks, a tunneling protocol is a communication protocol which allows for the movement of data from one network to another. It can, for example, allow private network communications to be sent across a public network, or for one network protocol to be carried over an incompatible network, through a process called encapsulation.

DNS hijacking, DNS poisoning, or DNS redirection is the practice of subverting the resolution of Domain Name System (DNS) queries. This can be achieved by malware that overrides a computer's TCP/IP configuration to point at a rogue DNS server under the control of an attacker, or through modifying the behaviour of a trusted DNS server so that it does not comply with internet standards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">VPN blocking</span>

VPN blocking is a technique used to block the encrypted protocol tunneling communications methods used by virtual private network (VPN) systems. Often used by large organizations such as national governments or corporations, it can act as a tool for computer security or Internet censorship by preventing the use of VPNs to bypass network firewall systems.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TunnelBear</span> Virtual private network provider

TunnelBear is a public VPN service based in Toronto, Canada. It was created by Daniel Kaldor and Ryan Dochuk in 2011. In March 2018, TunnelBear was acquired by McAfee.

A public recursive name server is a name server service that networked computers may use to query the Domain Name System (DNS), the decentralized Internet naming system, in place of name servers operated by the local Internet service provider (ISP) to which the devices are connected. Reasons for using these services include:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mullvad</span> Virtual private network provider

Mullvad is a commercial VPN service based in Sweden. Launched in March 2009, Mullvad operates using the WireGuard and OpenVPN protocols. It also supports Shadowsocks as a bridge protocol for censorship circumvention. Mullvad's VPN client software is released under the GPLv3, a free and open-source software license.

ExpressVPN is a company providing online privacy and security solutions, including a virtual private network (VPN) service and a password manager. Since September 2021, ExpressVPN has been a subsidiary of Kape Technologies, a company wholly owned by Israeli billionaire Teddy Sagi.

NordVPN is a Lithuanian VPN service with applications for Microsoft Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, Android TV, and tvOS. Manual setup is available for wireless routers, NAS devices, and other platforms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">IVPN</span> Virtual private network provider

IVPN is a VPN service offered by IVPN Limited based in Gibraltar. Launched in 2009, IVPN operates using the WireGuard, OpenVPN, and IKEv2 protocols.

DNS over TLS (DoT) is a network security protocol for encrypting and wrapping Domain Name System (DNS) queries and answers via the Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocol. The goal of the method is to increase user privacy and security by preventing eavesdropping and manipulation of DNS data via man-in-the-middle attacks. The well-known port number for DoT is 853.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">IPVanish</span> Virtual private network provider

IPVanish VPN is a US-based VPN service owned by Ziff Davis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">HMA (VPN)</span> Virtual private network service founded in 2005

HMA is a VPN service founded in 2005 in the United Kingdom. It has been a subsidiary of the Czech cybersecurity company Avast since 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PureVPN</span> Virtual private network provider

PureVPN is a commercial VPN service owned by GZ Systems Ltd. Founded in 2007, the company is based in the British Virgin Islands.

1.1.1.1 is a free Domain Name System (DNS) service by the American company Cloudflare in partnership with APNIC. The service functions as a recursive name server, providing domain name resolution for any host on the Internet. The service was announced on April 1, 2018. On November 11, 2018, Cloudflare announced a mobile application of their 1.1.1.1 service for Android and iOS. On September 25, 2019, Cloudflare released WARP, an upgraded version of their original 1.1.1.1 mobile application.


Surfshark VPN service is a digital privacy tool provided by the cybersecurity company, Surfshark. It also offers a data leak detection system, a private search tool, an antivirus and an automated personal data removal system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Windscribe</span> Virtual private network provider

Windscribe is a commercial, cross-platform virtual private network (VPN) service provider based in Canada.

References

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  2. 1 2 Eddy, Max (2018-01-15). "The Best VPN Services of 2018". PC Magazine. Archived from the original on 2018-01-18. It's important to keep a few things in mind when evaluating which VPN service is right for you: reputation, performance, type of encryption used, transparency, ease of use, support, and extra features.
  3. 1 2 Athow, Desire (2018-01-13). "The best VPN services for 2018". TechRadar. How to test a VPN. Archived from the original on 2018-01-17. We were looking for features, value, and clear and honest pricing. Free ways to learn more about a service - free plans, trial periods, refund periods - were important, and we also looked for companies which maintained your privacy when you signed up (no email address required, trials available without credit cards, Bitcoin available as a payment option).
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  11. ↑ Perta, Vasile C.; Barbera, Marco V.; Tyson, Gareth; Haddadi, Hamed; Mei, Alessandro (2015-04-01). "A Glance through the VPN Looking Glass: IPv6 Leakage and DNS Hijacking in Commercial VPN clients". Proceedings on Privacy Enhancing Technologies. 2015 (1): 77–91. doi:10.1515/popets-2015-0006. hdl: 10044/1/56834 . ISSN   2299-0984. S2CID   3468680.
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  13. ↑ Chen, Brian X. (2021-10-06). "It's Time to Stop Paying for a VPN". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2021-12-21.
  14. ↑ "You Tossed Your Cookies But They're Still Tracking You; Here's How to Hide Your Browser Fingerprint". PCMAG. Retrieved 2021-12-21.
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  17. ↑ "Techsplanations: Part 5, Virtual Private Networks". 16 October 2018. Archived from the original on 15 October 2022. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
  18. ↑ "Businesses, consumers uncertain ahead of China VPN ban". Reuters. Retrieved 2018-04-03.
  19. ↑ "Man jailed for 5½ years, fined US$76,000 for selling VPN in China". South China Morning Post. 2017-12-21. Retrieved 2020-08-10.
  20. ↑ Cimpanu, Catalin. "Chinese man arrested after making $1.6 million from selling VPN services". ZDNet. Retrieved 2020-08-10.
  21. ↑ "Using a VPN to watch porn gets a man punished in China". South China Morning Post. 2020-07-30. Retrieved 2020-08-10.
  22. ↑ ""翻墙"网民受罚 中国进一步强化网络管控" [Internet User Fined for Scaling Great Firewall - China strengthens Internet Control]. BBC News 中文 (in Simplified Chinese). 2019-01-11. Retrieved 2020-08-10.
  23. ↑ "Russians' demand for VPNs skyrockets after Meta block". Reuters. 2022-03-14. Retrieved 2022-04-07.
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  26. ↑ Krebs, Brian (2017-03-17). "Post-FCC Privacy Rules, Should You VPN?". Krebs on Security. Archived from the original on 2018-01-18.
  27. 1 2 "What, if anything, do you track?". 2022-09-28.
  28. ↑ "Privacy policy". User Experience and Statistics. Archived from the original on 2017-12-31. Information about your use of our website the Cookie generates is usually transferred to a Google server in the USA and saved there. However, before this happens, Google shortens and anonymizes your IP address [...] if located within a member state of the European Union or in other contracting member states to the Agreement on the European Economic Area. The entire IP address is transferred to a Google server in the USA and saved there only in exceptional cases. [...] Information about your use of our website (including your IP address) that Cookies generate is transferred to a CrazyEgg server in the USA and stored there.
  29. 1 2 "Avira Privacy Policy | Account and products". Avira. Retrieved 2023-11-04.
  30. 1 2 3 4 Eddy, Max (2017-05-12). "ExpressVPN". PC Magazine . Archived from the original on 2017-05-14.
  31. 1 2 3 Williams, Mike (2017-10-23). "ExpressVPN review". TechRadar . Archived from the original on 2018-01-04.
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  33. 1 2 3 ExpressVPN. "ExpressVPN Privacy Policy". Archived from the original on 2018-01-04. Retrieved 2018-01-04. We do not collect logs of your activity, including no logging of browsing history, traffic destination, data content, or DNS queries. We also never store connection logs, meaning no logs of your IP address, your outgoing VPN IP address, connection timestamp, or session duration.
  34. ↑ ExpressVPN. "ExpressVPN Privacy Policy". Archived from the original on 2018-01-04. Retrieved 2018-01-04. We collect information about whether you have successfully established a VPN connection on a particular day (but not a specific time of the day).
  35. ↑ ExpressVPN. "ExpressVPN Privacy Policy". Archived from the original on 2018-01-04. Retrieved 2018-01-04. We may know, for example, that our customer John had connected to our New York VPN location on Tuesday and had transferred an aggregate of 823 MB of data across a 24-hour period.
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  38. ↑ "AnchorFree Hotspot Shield Privacy Policy". When you launch Hotspot Shield. 2017-11-29. Archived from the original on 2017-12-28. Retrieved 2017-12-28. When you use Hotspot Shield to access the internet, we collect only anonymous, aggregate data about which websites you visit and which apps you use.
  39. 1 2 3 4 "AnchorFree Hotspot Shield Privacy Policy". When you visit our websites. 2017-11-29. Archived from the original on 2017-12-28. Your IP address may be collected when you visit our websites.
  40. ↑ "AnchorFree Hotspot Shield Privacy Policy". When you launch Hotspot Shield. 2017-11-29. Archived from the original on 2017-12-28. We collect your IP address [...]. We may also use your IP address to derive your approximate location [...]. Your true IP address is stored only for the duration of your VPN session and is cleared after your session is closed.
  41. 1 2 3 4 5 "Privacy Policy - IPVanish VPN". www.ipvanish.com. 27 July 2021.
  42. 1 2 3 4 5 "The Best VPN Service Provider with Fast, Secure VPN Access". www.ipvanish.com.
  43. 1 2 3 4 5 IVPN. "IVPN Privacy Policy". What information is logged when customers connect to our network?. Archived from the original on 2018-03-26. We do not store any connection logs whatsoever. In addition we do not log bandwidth usage, session data or requests to our DNS servers.
  44. ↑ IVPN. "IVPN Pricing". What payment types do you accept?. Archived from the original on 2018-03-26. We accept all major credit cards, Paypal, Bitcoin and cash. However paying with cash is only available when purchasing an annual subscription.
  45. ↑ IVPN. "How do I send a secure PGP encrypted email to IVPN?". Archived from the original on 2018-03-26.
  46. 1 2 3 4 5 "No-logging data policy - Guides / Mullvad". What we don't log. Archived from the original on 2017-12-26. We log nothing whatsoever that can be connected to a numbered account's activity: no logging of traffic; DNS requests; connections, including when one is made, when it disconnects, for how long, or any kind of timestamp; IP addresses; user bandwidth [or] account activity except total simultaneous connections [...] and the payment information detailed in this post.
  47. ↑ "No-logging data policy - Guides / Mullvad". How Mullvad handles payment information. Archived from the original on 2017-12-26. Mullvad accepts Bitcoin, cash, bank wire, credit card, PayPal, and Swish.
  48. ↑ "Mullvad client - Settings - Guides / Mullvad". Archived from the original on 2017-12-26. Retrieved 2017-12-26. You do have the option of sending an encrypted email to us using PGP. Mullvad's PGP key is found on our website.
  49. 1 2 3 4 5 NordVPN (2017-10-28). "Terms of Service". Logging policy.
  50. ↑ NordVPN (2017-10-28). "Terms of Service". Privacy policy.
  51. ↑ "Do you have a PGP key so I could reach you anonymously?". support.nordvpn.com. Retrieved 2018-06-16.
  52. ↑ "Privacy Policy PrivadoVPN". privadovpn.com.
  53. 1 2 3 4 5 "Privacy Policy, VPN Network Services / Private Internet Access". 2016-08-11. Archived from the original on 2017-11-14. Retrieved 2017-12-27. PrivateInternetAccess.com does not collect or log any traffic or use of its Virtual Private Network ("VPN") or Proxy.
  54. ↑ "Do you impose any limitations on usage or bandwidth when using your service? / Private Internet Access". 2017-11-28. Archived from the original on 2017-12-26. Retrieved 2017-12-26. We do not impose any restrictions or limitations on usage and/or bandwidth consumption.
  55. ↑ "We accept all kinds of payment methods... including all major gift cards!".
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  57. ↑ "Private Internet Access Management Team".
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