Pure VPN Review for March 2021 - VPN Service Provider Reviews

Item: Pure VPN Review
Rating: 2

Friday, March 5th

2021 VPN Service Provider Reviews

Pure VPN

Cost: $2.48 per month billed every 2 years
$4.14 per month billed each year
$10.95 per month billed monthly

PureVPN is a private and secure way to browse the Internet without exposing your location and sensitive information to the public. It allows use of peer-to-peer (P2P) networking for freedom in sharing media and other content. PureVPN's support teams are "bot-free", meaning you will always be able to get chat support from a real human being at all hours.

Pricing for PureVPN starts at $2.48 if you choose to pay for two full years. If you go for the yearly plan, the cost is more at $4.14 per month, but still very affordable. The lesser monthly commitment will cost you $10.95 per month. There is a 31-day money-back guarantee if you decide you don't like the service.

PureVPN has over 2,100 server locations with over 300,000 unique IP addresses on all continents with the top three biggest concentrations in Europe, North America, and Asia. Africa has 150 server locations as well. You won't have any limits on how many times you can switch servers. You get unlimited bandwidth on any account plan.

Supported devices include Windows, Mac, iOS, Android and Linux. PureVPN has developed its apps in a proprietary way so as to ensure that your privacy is protected and not subject to the insecurities of open source VPN client software.

Features that PureVPN provides include multiple security protocols (PPTP, L2TP, SSTP, IKEv2, OpenVPN, and Stealth). You can use a single account on up to 5 devices. PureVPN protects your Wi-Fi connection anywhere you roam. Sometimes IP addresses and DNS can leak private information, but with PureVPN you get complete protection against this problem.

ISPs can sometimes detect when you're using a VPN and will try to throttle your bandwidth. PureVPN makes your VPN connection invisible to your ISP so they won't have reason to throttle your connection. And if your connection drops, PureVPN will continue to protect you.

Expert reviewers of PureVPN generally have a low opinion of the service. Complaints included slow download speed, features such as the kill switch not always working consistently, personal information being leaked via DNS and IPv4/IPv6, no Netflix support, and logging of customer activity. There were also complaints that, despite their "no bots" chat policy, certain chat interactions were very bot-like. Furthermore, the money-back guarantee seems to only apply for plans that use fewer than 3 GB of data transfer.

If you're looking for a VPN service that is reliable and does what it promises, we suggest you look somewhere else first.

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What's the Best VPN Service?

VPN stands for Virtual Private Network. It does just what it says. It creates a virtual (as opposed to physical) private network for you by encrypting (or scrambling) each and every piece of data that goes from your computer out onto the Internet as well as any data that comes back to you from the Internet.

So, who needs a VPN? If you're concerned about the rising problem of "hackers" - people who infiltrate computers and networks to steal or misuse information - you should be looking at a VPN service. Or, if you think your Internet Service Provider (ISP) may log, monitor, or analyze what you do online, a VPN is for you.

Continue reading below

VPN Service Provider FAQ

What is a VPN and why do I need it?

A Virtual Private Network is security software that hides your personal identity and information from hackers, businesses, and government agencies. You will want to use a VPN if you're concerned about a person or entity finding out which websites you've visited and when or monitoring your general activities online.

Is a VPN a foolproof way to protect myself online?

Nothing in technology is 100% secure. You should research which VPNs offer the best security and choose from among those options. Every VPN provider is operated by human beings who can make mistakes. But there are several that have strict policies, protocols, processes, and procedures for ensuring that user data is protected.

How does a VPN work?

VPNs give you an alternative IP address to the one your hometown internet service provider will give you. The alternative IP address can be located in another town, region, or a whole other country entirely. It's usually up to you. When you browse with a VPN, it's harder if not impossible for a hacker, business, or government agency to trace your web activity to your precise location. Another thing a VPN does is fully encrypt or scramble your data transfers so that anyone trying to peek at your data stream will not be able to interpret what they see.

How hard is it to use a VPN?

In most cases using a VPN is very simple. You sign up for a pricing plan and then download the VPN software to your computer. Once you install the software, it may ask you for some information so it can configure your services. After it's done, every time you start your computer the VPN software can immediately begin hiding your activity online.

Are VPNs good for reasons other than security?

A VPN can be useful if you want to access websites, watch videos, or transfer file content to or from other countries that ban foreign IP addresses. For example, if you want to watch a streaming movie that is only available in the Netherlands, simply open your VPN software and choose an IP address location in the Netherlands. The VPN will make it appear to the movie streaming service as if you're online in that country. However, be aware that streaming video service providers are becoming increasingly sophisticated at detecting VPN use and blocking you. Be sure to research what you can and cannot do with a specific VPN.

Is my IP address logged by the VPN provider?

It could be, so definitely do your research. With some VPN providers, your IP address is fully logged or tracked. In that case, you are not 100% protected from inquiries by businesses or law enforcement organizations in the event that your connection is compromised or comes under suspicion of illegal activities. Even if a VPN provider says they don't log your IP address, it's not necessarily a good idea to take them at their word. Many VPN companies want to protect themselves first in the case of a court order or law enforcement action against any users on their service.

Is it illegal to have a VPN?

Most democratic countries do not have laws against using a VPN. In some countries, however, it is highly illegal to use a VPN. Be sure to read the terms of service of the VPN provider as well as research the laws in your country before buying, installing, or using a VPN solution.

Should I use a VPN at home?

You don't need to use a VPN at home if your connection is protected from intrusion by a properly-configured router and Wi-Fi access point. VPNs are most useful when you're connecting from a public hotspot such as at a cafe or library. But, home use still has the advantage of helping to further secure your data and hide your location from outside entities that try to watch what you're doing online.

Continued from above...

Millions of credit cards can be exposed online at any given moment as people purchase things from popular ecommerce sites. If the ecommerce site you're buying from doesn't bother to encrypt that information, a hacker can "sniff" that information right out of your connection with the website. Anything you type into a vendor's website form becomes fair game for identity fraudsters and thieves.

Furthermore, ISPs have been known to sell their user's information to marketers and advertisers. Or, they can use it to restrict (throttle) your bandwidth and block access to sites they don't want you to see.

Finally, a VPN is useful for people who live in countries where governments regularly censor information not flattering to the state, or that they deem to be harmful to their citizens. Protests, rallies, and citizen actions that get started online usually don't have a chance of being successful without some type of VPN service protecting the organizers from being spied on.

To choose a VPN service, you need to research their features and compare their costs, reputations, security, performance, and customer service. Some of the factors to use when researching VPN services include:

Features: Which VPN features set one service apart from all the others? Why is it important to have those features?
Cost: Are their free trials and/or money-back guarantees? Is there a way to save more in the long term by paying quarterly or annually, or even longer?
Reputation: How do current and former customers feel about their experience using a particular VPN solution? If they had a bad experience, how long had they been using the VPN?
Security: Are there redundancies and safety nets built into the system in case of failure? Are logs kept of your activities? Are there enough IP addresses and servers scattered throughout the world to more effectively hide every user's activity and location?
Performance: Are VPN connections significantly slower than unsecured connections?
Customer Service: How quickly and easily can you get help from the VPN provider? How is the follow-up done?

TopConsumerReviews.com has reviewed and ranked the best VPN Services available today. We hope these reviews will help you find the right VPN service to make browsing the Web 100% secure!

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Pure VPN Review