TorGuard VPN/Proxy Service Review (2015)

Totally unrelated to the Tor Project, TorGuard is a VPN and proxy service that was founded in 2012 to help internet stay anonymous and secure on the internet by providing a fast, no logs VPN service. In spite of being a fairly young VPN provider, TorGuard has rapidly gained massive popularity among VPN users due to its solid performance, badass features and flexible offers. As the name suggests, TorGuard is largely loved by P2P and torrenting users since it provides ultimate security and anonymity while sharing files using torrent clients like Bittorrent.

TorGuard Features

Though it might be not very wallet-friendly, TorGuard pleases its members with a lot of wonderful features, including: a new OpenVPN Android app, stealth servers that slip through firewalls, SSH tunneling, free Viscosity software, a router store, anonymous proxy, anonymous email, shared IPs, 5 simultaneous connections, DNS leak protection, an App Killswitch, connection Killswitch and accepts bitcoins. Let’s dig deeper into details.

• Pricing and Payment Methods

” The VPN service costs a flat $9.99 per month, although a VPN + anonymous proxy bundle is available for just an extra dollar ($10.99 per month). Given TorGuard’s focus on BitTorrent downloading, this is probably a worthwhile extra investment as it allows users to configure their BitTorrent client to connect over a SOCKS5 proxy. Which will mask their IP address even if/when the VPN connection goes down, although they should be aware that the connection is not encrypted.

As usual, discounts are available for plans purchased on a Quarterly ($19.99), Semi-Annual ($29.99) or Annual ($59.99) basis, with Annual subscribers getting the Private-Email service thrown in for free. A 7-day “no questions asked” money-back-guarantee is available to test the service out with, although it should be noted that this comes with a 10GB maximum data usage limit.”

The Anonymous Proxy costs ($5.95 per month), Private Email ($6.95 per month), and Smart DNS ($5.95 per month).

TorGuard offers a wide array of payment options, including safe payment methods for users to choose what suits them best. They accept major credit cards (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover) and Paypal. However, we were thrilled when we found that they also accept bitcoin as payment options. Bitcoins are ideal for those who value their security as much as they value their cash.

• Customer Service

TorGuard offers 24/7 Live Chat on the website run by a well-trained, professional and friendly team. Users can also use open Support Tickets if they aren’t satisfied. There is an extensive FAQ and knowledge base section for TorGuard users to find answers to their questions. Unsatisfied users can also find elaborate tutorials where they can understand how stuff works on TorGuard.

• Logging and Privacy

TorGuard follows a no logging policy. They don’t keep traffic logs of their users whatsoever, except for billing information. However, it is recommended to use bitcoins as a payment option to avoid spilling out your personal data at any cost. TorGuard takes their users’ privacy serious by using shared IPs which makes it impossible for anyone to track down any user’s online activities and personal data.

TorGuard uses several encryption methods, including: OpenVPN (256-AES or 128-bit Blowfish), PPTP, L2TP/IPSec, SSTP, and Stealth for the VPN connection on Windows, Mac Linux, OS X, iOS, and Android . TorGuard also provides free Viscosity client licenses (normally for $9). This is what they recommend their subscribers to use:

“For best security we advise clients to use OpenVPN connections only and for encryption use AES256 with 2048bit RSA.”

• Kill Switches, DNS Leak Protection and WebRTC Leak Block

TorGuard comes with some sturdy built-in security features, such as: DNS leak protection, an App Kill switch and connection Kill switch. By turning on the Connection Kill Switch feature, it automatically disables the Internet connection if the VPN disconnects for any reason. This is absolutely wonderful for users to stop any potentially sensitive sessions or threats (viruses, malware, etc.), if the connection is lost for any reason, while the App Kill Switch shuts off potentially threatening applications that may harm your machine or compromise your security. Last February, TorGuard published a press release online regarding these new security features, explaining:

” The easiest way to ensure that no program accidentally routes through your personal IP is to use an application specific VPN killswitch. This feature is built into the TorGuard lite VPN app on all platforms, including Windows, Mac and Linux. For our example we will show the Windows client, however the process is very similar for other platforms.”
” Another way to protect against accidental IP leaks is to setup a full web connection VPN killswitch. In the event of an accidental disconnection, the killswitch will automatically disable your entire internet adapter. This is useful if you wish to completely shut off ALL internet access upon disconnection. To access this feature, first click the settings link on the TorGuard lite main screen. Then click the “Scripts” tap. Next, download and save our Internet Connection Killswitch script. Click the select button and locate the newly saved script. Next, click the “Execute Scripts” checkbox and click save to apply your changes.”

On the other hand, when the DNS Leak Protection is turned on, all DNS requests are routed through the VPN. This brilliant feature delivers the highest from of security and privacy and isn’t provided by most VPN services. TorGuard said in an interview with Torrentfreak:

“Our VPN software uses OpenVPN exclusively and features built in DNS leak protection, an App Killswitch, and a connection Killswitch. We have also just released a built in WebRTC leak block feature for Windows Vista/7/8 users.”
“We offer private, no log DNS servers which can be obtained by contacting our support desk. By default we also use Google DNS and OpenDNS for performance reasons on select servers.”

• Stealth VPN

Stealth VPN is an exclusive security feature that distinguishes TorGuard from its competitors. The Stealth feature allows users to slip through any website’s firewall no matter how strong or advanced that firewall is without being detected by its filtering systems. This also includes filtering systems using DPI (Deep Packet Inspection) filtering, such as: the Great Firewall of China, making TorGuard an ideal VPN tool for users in China and Iran for example.

” “Stealth” protection against DPI (Deep Packet Inspection) interference from a nosey ISP so you can access the open web freely even from behind the Great Firewall of China. These options are available on select locations and offer excellent security due to the cryptography techniques used to obfuscate traffic. ” said TorGuard in an interview with TorrentFreak.

• TorGuard Speed

Since TorGuard targets mostly P2P and live region-optimized streaming services enthusiasts, speed is a crucial factor to ensure a smooth, buffer-free streaming and fast torrenting experiences. TorrentGuard boasts 1000+ servers in over 44 countries around the world, including: the U.S., U.K., Netherlands, Russia, Romania, Brazil and Singapore.

We tested torrenting using TorGuard on different servers and we found that speed on Netherlands servers ranged between 700KB/sec and 1MB/sec, which is not bad, but not so hot either. Canadian servers were faster than their Dutch sisters, ranging between 1MB/sec and 1.5MB/sec, and reaching a maximum speed of 2MB/sec. n the other hand, Romanian servers were generally the fastest in our tests, with an average speed of 2.5MB/sec, spiking up to 3.5MB/sec every now and then.

• DD-WRT and Tomato Router Store

” One of the most convenient ways to use VPN is to configure a router so that all devices connected to it do so using VPN. This means that even devices (such as games consoles and smart TVs) which cannot normally connect using VPN can gain the privacy, security and geolocation spoofing benefits that VPN brings. The problem is that to do this you have to ‘flash’ a router with new firmware (either the DD-WRT or Tomato firmware), which is not a job for the faint hearted as it requires considerable technical expertise, and can result in ‘bricking’ the router.”

In order to overcome problems like that, TorGuard sells DD-WRT or Tomato pre-flashed routers that are already configured to TorGuard VPN service, making it extremely easy and comfortable for users who are looking for hassle free VPN configurations.

Conclusion

TorGuard is a wonderful VPN service with a corporate style, making definitely one of the best virtual private networks in the market today. With all the fantastic features they provide, peerless privacy and security protection, TorGuard is a relaiable service that we can confidently recommend.