StrongVPN Review: A Fast And Simple VPN Service For A Better Browsing Experience
For a truly fast and easy VPN service that would help users to navigate through the world of internet, StrongVPN is the way to go. Unlike most other service providers that sell on the basis of high-end feature overload or schemes the service is a far simpler one with strong emphasis put on basics like safety and privacy. Given the need for online security, VPN service ensures that users are redirected through a very secure and encrypted tunnel to help them avail an overall better browsing experience.
StrongVPN sees to users’ accessibility in multiple websites in an unrestricted manner, without having to forsake on the privacy part. The website connects users to one of their safe, secure and remote servers keeping the physical location and IP address totally concealed. After that, the use becomes simple, regardless of someone being a beginner or an advanced user.
Features of StrongVPN service
StrongVPN has taken the market by storm after its launch and is now accessible in a number of servers of several countries worldwide. Customers can choose either of the two subscription plans that offer the same services and they can be availed with a 30-day money back guarantee. Besides, there’s an automatic setup for almost all the major operating systems, including Android, Windows, iOS and Mac.
Protocol Support: For technical users, the service stands out on grounds of wide protocol support (IPSec, SSTP, L2TP, PPTP, IKEv2 and OpenVPN), till 2048-bit encryption and the company’s personal free StrongDNS service (risks of DNS leaks absent). The fact it rendered support for PPTP was a good one indeed, since the latter is known for its simple start, but inherent insecure nature. It’s usually recommended to use IKEv2 or OpenVPN for security and speed concerns.
Servers: There’s a great degree of control of StrongVPN on server speed testing. Some very detailed tests can be run on servers selected, which would aid in locating the fastest connection. One important thing to note here is that StrongVPN is blocked in China, which means it’s better to sign up and download apps prior to the visit. But the good news is it actually works in China! It will unblock many censored sites like YouTube, Facebook, other news sources and video streaming sites.
Performance: Clients using the four most popular platforms- Mac, iOS, PCs and Android are likely to benefit the most with StrongVPN service. However, the website also contains detailed instructions for manual setup for other operators like Chrome OS, Windows Mobile, Linux, Amazon Kindle Fire, routers and so on. Over the passage of time, there were few tests conducted to see how the services fared and it was observed that users felt faster connection, and over short distances – the latency, download and upload speeds were a little bad than usual. The latency improved significantly on long-distance tests, whereas upload remained the same and downloads became 50% faster than regular connection. Check the best VPN services 2018 features comparison table here.
Privacy: The Terms of Service page containing close to 3500 words citing contracts and policies in all is more of a read befitting the requirements of lawyers and not regular users. But the core terms as mentioned in the service delivers exactly what’s expected of it, without having to log in to understand how to use VPN. The lack of detail is the only issue here.
Pricing: Customers can choose either of the two plans – monthly and yearly, based on their need and can also benefit with the 30-day money back guarantee that comes with both. If it’s the monthly option, customers will be billed $10.00 every month, while the 12 month plan has a billing of $69.99. We recommend you to check for StrongVPN coupons to save a little extra on your purchase.
Advanced Features: As regards to advanced features, StrongVPN is replete with a number of them that one would surely expect of a proper VPN tool. Some reasons that make the service a real favorite among several subscribers are Protection by Virtual Firewall, Encrypted traffic, availability of the guides for every protocol and also the fact that the IP is not the actual IP address. Aside these, there’s the Kill Switch feature to automatically shut off every internet connectivity after it detects that the VPN connection is no longer capable to offer any accidental data leak. Besides, there’s this much improved server network for high-end performance. Also, the anonymous browsing efficiently masks the IP address so that all activities are untraceable online with the virtual IP.
Alongside anonymity, speed is another major factor in selecting a VPN service. With StrongVPN , there’s hardly any parallel. A number of speed tests have been done and the service has emerged to be one of the bests when talking about the network performance. Using the Bypass Censorship, you can watch your favorite content on popular streaming services like Netflix, which perhaps would have been censored. This is inclusive of websites and portals that remain blocked or inaccessible without VPN. The VPN has an easy-to-use, hassle-free and extremely minimalistic interface that can you can navigate with and also find your way through. The main controls lie at the dashboard and the options button organizes almost all the settings and configuration controls. With this, you should be comfortable with all the controls as listed on UI.
Support: With the use of Team View remote setup, the StrongVPN customer service staff will be present to install the VPN client to the device. You can also find that the customer support is available in multiple languages; so benefiting with the tutorials and a comprehensive FAQ on the official website is likely.
How to use StrongVPN for Torrents?
Unfortunately, Torrent download speeds were not the best, regardless of having a significantly fast connection. However, few factors are to be noted here, including ISP bandwidth caps and changes in healthy peers. But this was the downloading without enabling VPN. The moment StrongVPN connection was enabled and the same download was re-tested, a noteworthy increase has been detected in the download speed. Going by the rule of thumb, a VPN must be used when downloading via torrent so that the download speeds are not capped by ISP. Also, StrongVPN’s no-log policy checks to see that no user data is tracked or logged.
How to install StrongVPN for Windows?
Installing StrongVPN on a number of operating devices is possible, for it is compatible with most. After opening the executable, you might be asked for allowing the app in making changes to the device. Click ‘Yes’ and continue with the installation process. Select your preferred language and click ‘next’. Don’t forget to accept the license agreement. Choose the location for shortcuts on Start menu and move to ‘next’. Finally, you will get to see a summary of the configuration of your installation, so ‘install’ only after you have checked everything. Once the dialog pops up that the installation process is complete, launch it and click on ‘finish’.
How to install StrongVPN for Android?
You can directly download the app from Google Play or try visiting the site first and then go ahead with the installing process. In much the same way as Windows, click on ‘Setup’ from site main menu and select the button called ‘StrongVPN for Android’. The client setup page shows manual setup guides for configuring multiple Android versions (compatible with Android 6 and below) to use their services with OpenVPN, PPTP and L2TP. Click on ‘install’ button at the Play Store and move over to the next stages after tapping ‘accept’ button. Once the installation is over, tap on ‘open’ and find the client authentication screen.
How to install StrongVPN on iOS?
You can go directly to iTunes or visit the site to find the latest release of the iOS app for StrongVPN. In the site, click on ‘setup’ in the main menu and find the button for ‘StrongVPN for iOS’. The moment you reach the Apple iTunes store, download the app and install. You can check the tutorial for step-by-step instruction and follow the same. This app is compatible with iOS 8.4. Also, the client setup page has manual setup guides for configuration of multiple iOS versions from 5 to 9 and using the services with OpenVPN, PPTP, L2TP and IPSec.
Pros and Cons of StrongVPN
Pros
- Strong AES-256 Encryption and strong DNS
- 5 Tunneling Protocols available, including L2TP, PPTP, IPSec and OpenVPN
- More than 500 servers across 23 nations
- 5 day money-back guarantee
- Wide range of payment options including Bitcoin
Cons
- Slow speed on most servers
- Minimalist and simple design might be limiting to some users
- No free trial
- US-based VPN provider; issues mostly with Chinese users
A Detailed Comparison of StrongVPN vs PureVPN
Much like StrongVPN, another called PureVPN has also garnered rave reviews with time. While the former offers VPN services to customers using multiple protocols, the latter is a platform focused on providing VPN solutions. However, dilemma occurs when it comes to choosing the best out of both. So here’s taking a look at the comparative chart.
Features | StrongVPN | PureVPN
|
Apps | StrongVPN is compatible with most operating systems like Windows, iOS, Mac and Android | Pure VPN is known for its compatibility with numerous operating systems like Windows, Android and iOS. |
Customer Support | While there’s no dedicated chat facility available 24/7 or remote support, phone and the like; the email facility, knowledge base and help desk can always be resorted to | PureVPN stuns most customers with every possible way of extending customer support, including email, phone, help desk, knowledge base, instructional videos, tickets and remote support |
IP | StrongVPN has no add-on like IP, DDos Protection and Nat Firewall | PureVPN has it all- NAT Firewall, DDOS Payment and dedicated IP |
Subscription | Monthly subscription rate of StrongVPN is $10.00, while the annual one is $5.83. There are no more subscription packages offered | PureVPN has its monthly subscription rate at $10.95 while the yearly costs $4.91 and there’s another for 2 years, priced at $2.87. Check PureVPN coupon codes and discounts |
Performance | Unlimited speed is possible at StrongVPN, but no simultaneous connections are present. There’s unlimited bandwidth and server switching, which depends largely on the chosen package plan. Also, it works on protocols like OpenVPN, L2Tp, PPTP and SSTP | PureVPN allows 5 simultaneous connections per account. One can enjoy unlimited speed and server switching throughout network and unlimited bandwidth with this. The protocols that work here are OpenVPN, IKEv2. L2TP/IPSec and SSTP |
The Final Verdict
Strong VPN is one of the most potent VPN service providers at present, especially if you use OpenVPN server. With endless possibilities and feasible pricing, this is truly great when unblocking content like Netflix or Hulu or evading censorship like China’s Great Firewall. Though there are shortcomings, yet it’s recommended by most users who have benefited in several ways with Strong VPN.