Tap provider v9 for private tunnel - what is it?

VPN (Virtual Private Network)

— a private network with an encrypted traffic transmission channel. Using a VPN service, no one will know what sites you visit; the traffic is completely protected and confidential. When using public Wi-Fi hotspots, it is recommended to enable traffic encryption to eliminate the risk of identity theft. Another important use of a VPN is bypassing blocks. By changing the location of your IP address, you can easily access sites and applications that for some reason do not work in the country where you are actually located.

Many people are interested in the answer to the question: is it possible to legally use a VPN in Russia? Yes, of course it is possible and necessary! Responsibility for providing access to prohibited resources lies with the “owner of the hardware and software access means,” namely the owners of VPN services. Ordinary users have nothing to fear - the laws of the Russian Federation do not provide for liability for the use of VPN. So, feel free to choose a suitable VPN and install it not only on your smartphone, but also on your laptop/PC with Windows or as an extension for any Internet browser.

We recommend!

NordVPN - the best paid VPN in the world, 10+ million installations (7 days free)

NordVPN is a bestseller, the best VPN service that works stably on different platforms Windows, macOS, iOS, Linux, including as an application for Android and Android TV. Full functionality is available during a 7-day free trial period, which allows you to evaluate the capabilities of the service. The service's subscription-based nature is one sign that it doesn't sell user data to third parties, including advertisers, as some free VPNs have been seen doing.

NordVPN offers users technologies to provide additional security. There is protection against DDoS attacks, and double encryption is used on some servers. If problems arise, you can contact technical support 24/7.

Pros:

• Free trial period for 7 days.
• Different subscription periods - for a month, six months, a year - with an increasing discount.
• Low ping.
• 5000 servers in 60 countries (there are no servers in Russia).
• Built-in ad blocking feature.
• Automatic blocking of dangerous sites, protection against malware.
• P2P technology support.
• Up to 6 simultaneous connections from 1 account.

Minuses:

• Mandatory registration.
• The need to connect a card to access the free trial period.
• High price.

Price:

Free access for seven days for testing. The subscription cost depends on the length of the paid period. 1 month VPN costs 890 rubles per month. A six-month subscription will cost 3,990 rubles - this is already 25% cheaper than paying monthly. If you buy an annual subscription, the savings will be more than 40% - 6190 rubles or 515 rubles per month.

We recommend!

Surfshark - the most secure VPN in the world, 7 days free

TRY SURFSHARK FOR FREE

Surfshark is a reliable VPN provider with a transparent policy and a guarantee of user privacy. You can install an extension for the popular browsers Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox. More than 1,000 servers are available in 61 countries to create secure channels. Physical and virtual servers are used for connection; there is support for P2P networks.

With one subscription you can use the service on other devices: computers with Windows, macOS, Linux, smartphones and tablets on iOS. Surfshark is also available on Smart TV. No additional payment required. You can log in to your account and simultaneously launch secure channels on different devices.

Pros:

• Unlimited number of devices on one account.
• Opting out of collecting user information.
• Ability to add applications to the list whose traffic does not need to be allowed through the VPN.
• Additional camouflage technologies that allow you to hide the fact of using a VPN.
• Encrypted via multiple servers for maximum privacy.
• Automatic disconnection from the network when the secure connection is broken.
• Work in countries where the use of VPN is limited, including China.

Minuses:

• Mandatory connection of a bank card to access the test period.
• A small number of servers compared to other niche leaders.
• The fastest server your device connects to by default isn't always the best. You have to search for other options manually.

Price:

You can use the application for free for 7 days without restrictions on functionality. All locations are available for connection; the speed is not adjusted intentionally. After the trial period ends, you must pay for the subscription. A monthly purchase will cost $11.95. A year of using the application costs $71.88 ($5.99/month), two years costs $47.76 ($1.99/month). There are also additional services for identifying email compromises and clearing search results of advertising and recommendations. Cost: $0.99/month.

Turbo VPN

Install from Google Play

TurboVPN is a completely free application that offers the use of servers in different parts of the world to create a secure channel for traffic. There is a premium tariff that increases the number of available servers and adds new countries, but even without it, the program solves the standard tasks that a VPN faces: bypassing blocks, including those based on geographic boundaries, protecting privacy and confidentiality.

To encrypt data, Turbo VPN uses the OpenVPN and IPsec protocol sets, which you can freely switch between in the settings. There is no technical support, so if problems arise, the only way to solve them is to communicate with the developers through reviews on Google Play. Fortunately, they actually read user messages and respond to them quite quickly.

Pros:

• There is completely free access (with advertising).
• 7 days trial period for the premium plan.
• 6 countries on the free plan and 20 on the premium plan.
• Manually switch between servers when searching for the optimal connection speed.
• Select the connection mode - OpenVPN or IPSec.
• Disable VPN functionality for individual applications.

Minuses:

• A small number of servers available for connection.
• Connect from only one device on a free plan.
• Intrusive banners asking you to upgrade to the paid version.
• Lack of technical support.

Price:

The main features of the application are available for free. There is also a premium tariff, which disables advertising, increases connection speed, removes restrictions on use in different regions of the world, and also makes it possible to connect up to 5 devices simultaneously. Cost: 639 rubles per month. When paying annually, the savings are 73%. To test the capabilities of the premium tariff, there is a demo access for 7 days.

GoVPN

GoVPN is a lightweight, easy-to-configure VPN daemon designed to create encrypted and authenticated communication channels over UDP or TCP. The project's goals include secure code that is easy to read and analyze, security, and DPI/censorship resistance. In fact, GoVPN simply tunnels Ethernet frames - nothing more, nothing less. There are no special tools for managing IP, but you can write scripts for this yourself. Uses TAP network interfaces; you can set its name in the settings. MTUs are configured on a per-client basis. Written in Go and distributed under the GPLv3 license. To agree on keys, a protocol is used with two-way authentication of the parties using a passphrase (PAKE DH A-EKE: Diffie - Hellman Augmented Encrypted Key Exchange). The client enters a passphrase to connect; a verifier is stored on the server side, which cannot be used on the client side, so even if the server is hacked, a hacker cannot impersonate the client.

Three operating modes are implemented:

• normal (used by default), when simply encrypted packets are sent to the network;
• noise, when packets are padded with noise to a constant length;
• CPR (constant rate) - in addition to noise, packets are sent strictly after a certain interval; if there is no useful information, a noise packet is sent.

In the last two modes, thanks to the generation of constant noise traffic, it is possible to hide the length of messages and the very fact of payload transmission. It has the property of zero non-disclosure, in which an offline dictionary attack is impossible, and is resistant to replay attacks through the use of a one-time message authentication code and time synchronization (optional). Session keys are rotated and heartbeats are sent to support operation through NAT or a firewall. Balloon is used for hashing passphrases (in release 6.0). In release 5.0 it was Argon2d, even earlier PBKDF2. Therefore the versions are incompatible.

There is an unencrypted mode that also ensures confidentiality and authenticity of data thanks to chaffing and winnowing technology. It allows you to bypass restrictions on the use of cryptographic tools in some countries. Instead of encryption, authentication algorithms and the transmission of many unnecessary packets are used (the recipient simply selects those that suit him). But this increases each packet by 4128 bytes, so the mode is demanding both on the processor and on unnecessary transmitted traffic.

Compatible with IPv4 and IPv6. It is possible to connect via an external HTTP proxy, and the client also has a built-in HTTP proxy mode that can be used to access the server. To obtain statistics about connected clients in real time in JSON format, the built-in HTTP server is used. Supports work on GNU/Linux and FreeBSD. The server is configured using a YAML file.

The project does not offer ready-made packages, only source codes; for assembly you will need the uml-utilities and golang packages. Although unofficial ports have already appeared in some distributions. The distribution is constantly evolving, and some of the setup instructions are no longer valid.

Setting up a client in GoVPN

SuperVPN

Install from Google Play

SuperVPN is a simple one-click VPN client. Offers servers for building a tunnel in France, USA, Canada, the Netherlands, Great Britain, Germany, Singapore and Japan. By default, the settings automatically select the optimal connection location, but you can refuse this and change the server manually.

For the application to work correctly on Android, you must disable the power saving function for it. Otherwise, the client does not start or crashes when connecting - users also talk about this in reviews. SuperVPN does not have technical support; problems must be resolved through communication with developers on Google Play.

Pros:

• Automatic determination of the optimal server.
• Ability to select a server manually.
• Smart Proxy feature to disable VPN for individual applications.
• No registration is required to get started.
• 9 countries from different regions of the world available for connection.

Minuses:

• Inappropriate request for permissions: for calls, access to memory, shooting photos and videos.
• A huge amount of advertising.
• The interface is not localized into Russian.
• Session limit to 60 minutes after 20 days of free use.

Price:

The application is free to use. The first 20 days are without restrictions, then no longer than 60 minutes within one session, and the number of connections per day is not limited. To remove restrictions and advertising, you need to switch to a paid plan. The cost depends on the length of the subscription:

• 1 month - 5 dollars.
• 3 months - $15 and 1 month free.
• 6 months - $30 and 3 months free.
• 12 months - $60 and 9 months free.

There are no discounts, but additional months can save you up to 75% of the subscription price.

VPN Master

Install from Google Play

VPN Master is another client for connecting via VPN from the creators of Turbo VPN. Offers a similar control interface, but slightly different features. The main difference is the presence of a built-in tool for testing connection speed. With it, you can measure the speed without connecting through a VPN, and then select the most optimal server. At the same time, the number of available options in the free plan is smaller - only 4.

To transfer data, as with Turbo VPN, you can use OpenVPN or IPSec. There is no technical support as such, but the developers offer to write to them by email in response to reviews on Google Play. However, judging by the reviews and our testing, there are no serious problems - the application works without failures.

Pros:

• Completely free access.
• VPN disabling function for individual applications.
• Selecting a set of protocols for the connection: OpenVPN or IPSec.
• Built-in speed test tool that helps you choose the optimal server for your connection.

Minuses:

• Advertising with sound in the free version.
• A small number of servers in the free version - only 4.
• Connect one device using a free plan.
• No technical support.

Price:

The client can be used free of charge without restrictions. There is also VIP access, which removes ads, increases connection speed and expands the number of servers available for connection. The cost per month is 699 rubles. If you pay for a subscription for 12 months, the savings will be 75%, that is, a month will cost 175 rubles. The premium plan can be used free of charge for 7 days.

SoftEther VPN

SoftEther VPN is an academic project of the Japanese University of Tsukuba, distributed under the GPLv2 license. Its main feature is support for several VPN protocols compatible with original clients. This allows you to use one application to connect clients running different OSes instead of a fleet of servers from proprietary and open source solutions. And just choose the right protocol depending on the specific situation. Supported: SSL-VPN (HTTPS), IPsec, L2TP, MS-SSTP, L2TPv3, EtherIP and OpenVPN. SoftEther VPN operates in remote-access and site-to-site modes, at the L2 (Ethernet-bridging) and L3 (IP) levels. If we replace OpenVPN, we get a simpler configuration. There is an ovpn file generator for quickly connecting a VPN client. Replacing SSTP VPN allows you to stop using servers based on Win2k8/2012, which require a license. The proprietary protocol ensures the passage of Ethernet over HTTPS (hence the name of the project - Software Ethernet), and is characterized by good throughput and low latency. Its use makes it possible to transparently connect several Ethernet networks into one, that is, there is no need for additional Ethernet-over-IP solutions.

And most importantly, it is compatible with NAT and works through standard port 443, which is usually not blocked by ISP firewalls. This feature allows you to completely hide the use of a VPN: from the outside, the traffic looks like normal traffic and is not detected by Deep Packet Inspection technologies. This is actually why it has become very popular in China, where it is used to bypass the Great Firewall of China. In this case, a virtual Ethernet network adapter is implemented on the client side, and a virtual switch is implemented on the server. A big plus is the presence of NAT Traversal, enabled by default, that is, you do not need to ask the administrator to open access to the VPN server located on the internal network. But that's not all. In restricted networks where all TCP and UDP packets are blocked (for example, public Wi-Fi), you can use ICMP and DNS protocols, which are not usually blocked by a firewall, to create a VPN. Dynamic DNS is supported, allowing access with a dynamically changing IP address. For this purpose, a VPN Gate service called VPN Azure Cloud Service has been implemented - you can connect to it from the internal network and then, if necessary, freely get inside the network. The client part contains a special VPN Gate plugin that allows you to track IP changes and quickly connect to VPN Gate.

Provides high performance and a connection speed of 1 GB/s without significant restrictions on the amount of RAM and minimal processor load. Therefore, the requirements for the server part are very low. According to tests, SoftEther VPN outperforms original solutions on the same equipment. AES-256 and RSA-4096 encryption, IPv4/IPv6, traffic and event logging are supported. User authentication is local, RADIUS and Windows domain.

Account administration and security settings can be configured remotely using the Server Manager GUI (localized in English, Japanese and Chinese only), which is installed on the administrator's Win or macOS computer or using the vpncmd command line utility. Can be installed on Windows, Linux, macOS, FreeBSD and Solaris. The source code and archive with the compiled application are available. To install, you will need to select the OS, platform and component (server, client, bridge...). Linux kernels 2.4/2.6/3.x are officially supported, but it also works without problems in modern distributions with the 4.x kernel. On Linux, just unpack the archive and run the .install.sh file, then accept the license terms three times and start the server when finished:

$ sudo ./vpnserver start

Next, answering the questions from vpncmd (or using Server Manager), we configure the connection parameters.

You can manage SoftEther VPN using a graphical interface

Other articles in the issue:

Xakep #213. FUCK UAC

• Contents of the issue
• Subscription to "Hacker"

Thunder VPN

Install from Google Play

Thunder VPN is a completely free VPN client with a VIP plan that expands the basic functionality. By default, it offers to connect to the optimal server in terms of your real location, but in the settings you can manually select a country. The number of options depends on the tariff: 6 countries are available for free, 13 for paid ones.

The app has a Feedback section that you can use to submit bug reports. The response from the developers comes to the specified e-mail. There are no additional settings such as choosing a VPN technology - the simplest application for effective connection via an encrypted channel.

Pros:

• Free access without a lot of advertising.
• Connect to the optimal server in one click.
• Manual switching between available servers.
• Option to enable automatic connection to VPN when client starts.
• With the VIP plan, servers are available in 13 countries from various regions of the world - even from Australia.

Minuses:

• Advertising with sound.
• High cost of tariffs.
• There is no free trial period on the premium version.

Price:

Basic Thunder VPN features are available for free. If you want to remove ads, get a faster connection and server locations around the world, then you need to upgrade to the VIP plan. A subscription for a week costs 479 rubles, for a month - 799 rubles, for a year - 4790 rubles. There are no discounts, but it is obvious that it is more profitable to choose to pay for a long-term subscription.

VPN Proxy Master Lite

Install from Google Play

VPN Proxy Master Lite is a simple VPN client with a minimalistic interface. When launched, it automatically determines the optimal server taking into account your real location, and then offers to establish a connection in one click. To change the server and increase the connection speed, you need to upgrade to the paid version of the application. It has servers available in Singapore, Germany, the Netherlands, UK, USA, India and Canada.

There is no technical support, but the Feedback section is available in the menu, through which you can send a letter to the developers. They also monitor reviews on Google Play and really help resolve issues that arise, giving advice and even step-by-step instructions.

Pros:

• A very simple interface - launched and connected to a pre-selected server.
• Responsive developers who help solve emerging problems.
• Free trial period for 7 days.

Minuses:

• In the free version, you cannot select the country to connect to the VPN.
• The speed on the free plan is limited to 60 Kb/s. This is not enough to play videos normally.
• Video ads with sound turned on and intrusive requests to upgrade to a paid plan.
• To access the trial period of the paid tariff, you need to provide your bank card details.
• High cost of tariffs.

Price:

The application can be used for free without the ability to change the server and get a decent connection speed. To remove ads, improve connection quality and expand the catalog of countries, you need to upgrade to the premium version. The cost of a weekly subscription is 790 rubles, a monthly subscription is 899 rubles, an annual subscription is 2699 rubles.

Hola VPN

Install from Google Play

Hola VPN is an application of one of the most famous VPN services. Offers a non-standard approach to connection. If in other clients you establish a general connection and can exclude some applications from the list, then here in the Hola interface you select the program that you want to run through the VPN and the country of connection. You can also go to sites by first selecting a server in another country - the client uses its own browser for this.

The free version has servers in dozens of countries around the world. The list is indeed very large, almost a complete listing of states around the world in alphabetical order. The premium version of the application adds servers in the US and UK with increased connection speeds, advanced security tools and support for video streaming on all sites.

Pros:

• An original approach to launching a VPN - the connection is configured for each application separately.
• Built-in browser for navigating to websites via VPN.
• A huge number of countries with servers available for connection.
• Upgrading to premium access unlocks advanced servers in the US and UK with high speeds and additional security tools.

Minuses:

• Not suitable for everyone - sometimes it's inconvenient to assign your own VPN channel to each application.
• The premium version requires registration.
• High cost of subscription to a paid plan.
• Only 3 days of the test period with the need to provide bank card details.

Price:

Hola VPN works for free without restrictions. Ads appear rarely, so they don’t bother you at all. It makes sense to buy premium only to increase the speed and quality of the connection. The cost of a monthly Plus subscription is 990 rubles, a six-month subscription is 4190 rubles (saving 29%), an annual subscription is 6699 rubles (saving 43%).

Other platforms

TunnelBear is available for both Windows and Android, OS X, iOS and Linux. The client is similar on all these platforms (except Linux, which requires a third-party OpenVPN). The iOS version uses L2TP/IPsec instead of OpenVPN encryption, so if you need OpenVPN, purchase the appropriate software. All subscribers enjoy easy use and the same connection speed. You can find detailed information about each platform on its website.

TunnelBear also has a browser extension that can be installed for free on Chrome or Opera (it won’t work on Firefox). The multi-platform extension (available for Linux, Chrome OS, OS X, and Windows) is a nice addition, but remember that it's just a proxy service, not a VPN.

Secure VPN

Install from Google Play

Secure VPN is another very simple VPN client. By default, the optimal server is automatically selected at startup. You can connect to it immediately or select another available country. The free plan includes Germany, the Netherlands, Finland and the USA. When purchasing premium, France, India, Japan, Singapore, Canada, Great Britain, Australia and Korea are added to them.

In the settings you can configure automatic connection to the VPN when you launch the application. There is also a feature for managing exceptions, through which you can select programs that do not use a VPN. To solve problems that arise, you can use the feedback form in the application menu or contact the developers through Google Play.

Pros:

• A simple interface that allows you to establish a connection in one click.
• Unobtrusive advertising in the free version.
• Ability to fine-tune the list of programs that will use VPN.
• Automatic connection when the application starts and notifications about its operation.

Minuses:

• Low connection speed on the free plan.
• Small selection of countries.
• The interface and capabilities are almost completely identical to Thunder VPN, as if it were one client with different names.

Price:

The main features of the application are available for free. When you purchase a VIP plan, you get a faster connection, expanded server geography, and disabling advertising. A weekly subscription costs 479 rubles, a monthly subscription costs 799 rubles, and an annual subscription costs 4,790 rubles.

Setting up an l2tp tunnel in mikrotik

First, let's set up a simple l2tp tunnel without encryption and measure the speed. To configure l2tp vpn in mikrotik, follow the following sequence of steps.

Go to the IP -> Pool and add a pool of IP addresses for the vpn tunnel.

Create a profile for the tunnel in PPP -> Profiles .

On the remaining tabs, the settings are default. Next, create a user in PPP -> Secrets .

Now let's start the l2tp server. Go to PPP and click on the L2TP Server .

We set the settings for the l2tp server. We do not enable ipsec yet.

The VPN server is configured. Now let's create a permanent interface for it so that we can create static routes based on it. Go to Interfaces and create L2tp Server Binding .

Finishing touch. We create a static route with the help of which subscribers of the server’s local network will be able to connect to a local network subscriber behind a remote router via VPN. Go to IP -> Routes and add a route.

I didn’t consider the issue of setting up a firewall, because I didn’t want to bloat an already lengthy article. This is not directly related to this topic. Read more about setting up a firewall separately at the link provided. Here I will only indicate what needs to be opened on the firewall to configure l2tp correctly.

We need to create the following firewall rules on the server so that we can reach our L2TP server. IP -> Firewall -> Filter Rules . You need to create an allow rule in the input chain for the following ports and protocols:

• Protocol: UDP
• Allow ports: 1701,500,4500
• As In.Interface we indicate the one through which the l2tp connection occurs.

Separately, we add another rule that allows the ipsec-esc .

Everything is ready on the server. Let's go set up the l2pt client on a remote Mikrotik.

L2tp client

Everything is quite simple here. Let's go to PPP and add L2TP Client . We indicate the settings that were previously specified on the server.

We add a static route so that clients of this router know where to contact subscribers of the remote local network for VPN.

That's all. We configured l2tp on a remote Mikrotik and thus united 2 local networks using vpn. In the list of IP addresses, with an active l2tp connection on the server and client, you should see IP addresses from the range specified on the server for the vpn network - 10.10.5.1-10.10.5.100. Now you can ping opposite networks from both networks.

I have laptops connected to both Mikrotik for testing. Now I will measure the connection speed using iperf3. behind the m-remote on the laptop 10.30.1.254, and the agent on 10.20.1.3. Let's run a VPN connection speed test:

Average speed 194 Mbit/sec . Frankly speaking, I didn’t understand why the speed was so low. My test bench is assembled on two Mikrotik routers and a gigabit Mikrotik switch between them. I expected to see something around 500 Mbit/sec. Let me remind you that the tunnel is not yet encrypted. At the same time, the processor load on the routers was around 90-95%. That is, in fact, the ceiling of these pieces of iron.

Let's now try to enable ipsec encryption and measure the speed with it.

Setting up ipsec

I was stuck with setting up ipsec for l2tp for a while. There are many instructions on the Internet, but they are all outdated. As it turned out, in the latest firmware versions, launching ipsec in the default settings is not easy, but very simple. To do this, you just need to specify Use IPsec - yes in the l2tp server properties and set a password.

All necessary ipsec settings will be created automatically. On the agent, do the same - enable ipsec encryption and specify a password.

After connecting the l2tp client, you will see similar lines in the log:

19:17:00 l2tp,ppp,info l2tp-out1: initializing… 19:17:00 l2tp,ppp,info l2tp-out1: connecting… 19:17:03 ipsec,info initiate new phase 1 (Identity Protection): 192.168 .13.197[500]<=>192.168.13.1[500] 19:17:04 ipsec,info ISAKMP-SA established 192.168.13.197[500]-192.168.13.1[500] spi:407844c0ceb5d2ab:46ce7ffb25495efd 19:17:07 l2tp ,ppp,info l2tp-out1: authenticated 19:17:07 l2tp,ppp,info l2tp-out1: connected

In order to make sure that ipsec encryption is working, you can go to the IP -> Ipsec -> Installed SAs and look at the counter of encrypted packets. If it grows, then everything is in order, the traffic is encrypted.

There, in the Remote Peers , you can see a list of remote clients for which ipsec encryption works, and see the algorithms used. All default ipsec settings live in this section. You can view them, change or add new profiles. By default, the sha1 authorization algorithm and AES encryption are used. You can change these parameters if you understand the topic. I won’t be clever, I didn’t dig into the topic of encryption. I don’t know which algorithms are the fastest and most secure.

Let's test the speed of a vpn connection l2tp + ipsec.

I got it like this - 26 Mbit/sec on average. At the same time, the processor load is 100%. Not much. These pieces of hardware are very poorly suited for encrypted channels. In these tests they are not loaded with anything other than the test itself. In real conditions the speed will be even lower.

We are done with the VPN settings based on l2tp + ipsec. Let's continue setting up the remaining VPN tunnels and compare their speed.

Browsec VPN

Install from Google Play

Browsec VPN is an application from a well-known VPN service. In free mode, it offers to connect to an encrypted channel through servers in three countries. The connection speed is low, but it is enough to load sites with text content. If you need to watch videos or download files via VPN, then it will be much more effective to immediately switch to premium access: you will save both time and nerves.

Among the distinctive features of Browsec VPN is the “Persistent VPN” function, which allows you to forget about the need to connect to a private channel. This is convenient if you constantly surf the Internet via a VPN. It is also possible to configure the list of applications that will use the secure channel.

Pros:

• “Permanent VPN” function - the connection is restored even after the phone is rebooted.
• A large number of available servers when upgrading to a premium plan.
• Adequate price for a premium subscription.
• High connection speed on premium thanks to a dedicated server pool.

Minuses:

• Registration is required to activate your account.
• In the free version, only three countries with low connection speeds are available: the Netherlands, Singapore, and the USA.
• The need to connect a bank card to access the 7-day trial period.

Price:

The application is free to use, but a small selection of countries to connect to and low data transfer speeds greatly limit its scope of application. For comfortable work, you need a premium tariff, which costs 299 rubles per month or 2399 rubles if you pay for a subscription for a year (33% savings). Premium adds several dozen servers in different countries, increases connection speed, and makes support a priority.

Best VPN Services in 2020:

Editor's Choice 2020
CyberGhost Our rating: 10

Fast VPN with great privacy features

Try it

Read review

ExpressVPN Our rating:10

The fastest and most secure VPN. Ideal for TV broadcasts, online games, etc.

Read also: How an SSL certificate works

Try it

Read review

HideMyAss! Our rating:9

Simple and easy to use with a huge server network and excellent user support

Try it

Read review

Comparison table of the best VPN apps on Android

To make it easier to understand the capabilities of the applications, we have compiled a summary table with the main characteristics.

The cost of tariffs is indicated for monthly payment. Thunder VPN, VPN Proxy Master and Secure VPN also offer the option to pay for a weekly subscription, but this is rather an exception to the rule.

Conclusions and recommendations

There are many VPN clients on Google Play, so it can be easy to get confused when first exploring the options. To make things a little easier for you, we've rounded up the 10 best apps for Android:

1. Surfshark is a secure VPN that cares about user privacy and successfully bypasses blocking. Allows you to create a list of applications whose traffic does not go through a secure channel.
2. NordVPN is the best app with a large selection of servers around the world and additional features like protection against malicious files and ad blocking. Free testing mode for 7 days.
3. TurboVPN is a good client with servers in two dozen countries and the ability to choose a set of protocols for encrypting traffic.
4. SuperVPN is a very simple VPN application that offers the optimal server by default, but also allows you to change the country manually.
5. VPN Master is a high-quality client with a built-in tool for measuring connection speed, allowing you to independently select the appropriate server.
6. Thunder VPN is another simple one-click VPN app. In the settings there is a function to automatically connect when the program starts.
7. VPN Proxy Master Lite is a client with a minimalistic interface that automatically detects the optimal server. You can change your connection country only after purchasing a premium subscription.
8. Hola VPN is an application with a non-standard approach in which you enable and configure VPN for each application individually. Also has a built-in browser.
9. Secure VPN is a client that is very similar to Thunder VPN in terms of functionality, interface and cost of services. The quality of work is similar.
10. Browsec VPN is a client with a small selection of countries and low connection speeds on the free plan. The only one of them all offers the “Always On VPN” feature, which restores the connection even after the phone is rebooted.

The functionality of the applications is approximately the same. The number of countries and servers available for connection, the technology for building a virtual network, and little things like the presence/absence of an automatic connection when starting the client may differ. It is important that all of the clients listed work by performing basic tasks: protecting privacy and confidentiality, as well as providing additional security tools.

⇡#CyberGhost

The brief theory is over, let's move on to practice. The first in our review is the German service CyberGhost, which has 349 distributed VPN servers in 24 countries and client applications for Windows, Mac OS X, iOS, and Android platforms that provide quick setup of a virtual private network. The solution supports various protocols for building a VPN tunnel, uses the AES encryption algorithm with a 256-bit key and is equipped with an Anti Fingerprinting system, which prevents the collection of various information about the user’s computer and thereby provides even greater anonymity on the Internet. As for tariff plans, CyberGhost has only three of them - Free, Premium ($7/month) and Premium Plus ($11/month). The service offers free subscribers a limited set of VPN sites with automatic disconnection every 5 hours. In addition, users of the Free tariff plan are deprived of the opportunity to use the iOS mobile client and are forced to put up with advertising banners and short pauses when connecting to VPN servers. You can pay for the services of the CyberGhost service through various payment systems, including the virtual currency Bitcoin.

CyberGhost

The CyberGhost client application interface is concise and easy to use. To get started, just select the appropriate VPN server and activate the connection by clicking on the round yellow button. For the convenience of users, a selection by IP addresses is provided, as well as a map that clearly displays the connection of a specific gateway to the area. In case of difficulties, there is an impressive amount of web documentation that explains in detail any technical issues, including connecting computers running Linux and Chrome OS, routers and other computer equipment with built-in VPN support to the CyberGhost network.