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| Developer(s) | Proton AG |
|---|---|
| Type | Virtual private network |
| Website | protonvpn |
Proton VPN is a VPN service operated by the Swiss company Proton AG, the company behind the email service Proton Mail.[1] According to its official website, Proton VPN and Proton Mail share the same management team, offices, and technical resources, and are operated from Proton's headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland .
Proton AG, the company behind Proton VPN and the email service Proton Mail, is supported by FONGIT (the Fondation Genevoise pour l'Innovation Technologique, a non-profit foundation financed by the Swiss Federal Commission for Technology and Innovation)[2] and the European Commission.[3]
As of 28 May 2022, Proton VPN has a total of 1,786 servers, sited in 63 different nations.[2]
All servers are owned and operated by Proton VPN through the company's network.[4] Its service is available for Windows, MacOS, Android, and iOS, and also has a command-line tool[5] for Linux and can be implemented using the IPSEC protocol.[6] Proton VPN can also be installed on a Wireless Router.
Proton VPN utilizes OpenVPN (UDP/TCP) and the IKEv2 protocol, with AES-256 encryption. The company claims to not keep logs and claims to protect users from WebRTC and DNS leaks.
In January 2020, Proton VPN released its source code on all platforms[7] and had SEC Consult conduct an independent security audit.[8] In July 2021, Proton VPN added WireGuard protocol as beta version.
In a September 2019 review by TechRadar, Proton VPN received four-and-a-half out of five stars. The review read, "Proton VPN's network is small, and we had some performance issues during testing. Still, speeds are generally better than average, the apps are well-designed and we have to applaud any genuine VPN which offers a free, unlimited bandwidth plan."[4] A November 2018 review of the free version by the same TechRadar writer concluded: "If you can live with a choice of only three locations, Proton VPN's free plan is an excellent choice – there are no bandwidth limits, decent speeds, a privacy policy you can believe (probably) and clients for desktops and mobile devices. It's well worth checking out, if only as a backup for your existing VPN service."[9]
A February 2019 PC Magazine UK review rated Proton VPN at 4 out of 5, saying "When we first reviewed Proton VPN, it was a young service looking to expand. It certainly has done that, and the service is definitely better now. It's still unclear if the company will be able to scale up to match its competitors, given its exacting standards for physical security. But that's a worry for the future. Right now, Proton VPN is an excellent service at an unbeatable range of prices."[10]
The non-profit organization Privacy Guides, formerly called PrivacyTools,[11] has developed a comprehensive list of VPN Provider Criteria in order to objectively recommend VPNs. (As of October 2019), only three VPNs had fulfilled those criteria. Proton VPN is the second of those three recommended VPN services.[12]
Categories: [Internet privacy]
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