VPN Reviews

CloakVPN Review – No Frills Service with Limited Servers and Customer Service

By Paul Liu
Thursday, July 25th, 2013

CloakVPN is a relatively new VPN service. Launched in 2011, the service is brought to you by a United States based company. In this thorough CloakVPN review, we will look at the pros and cons of the service to help you to decide if it is worth the money.

Server Locations and Site Access

CloakVPN has VPN servers in just 2 countries – United States of America (Kansas City) and United Kingdom (London). Although the number of server locations is on a lower side, the service would enable you to unblock premium streaming services from US and UK as well as bypass ISP and network based firewalls from all locations. Once you activate your account, you would be able to access your favorite social networking, email, blogging, VOIP and video sites like YouTube, Blogger, Facebook, Twitter, Skype, Gmail, Google Voice and Vonage even if it blocked by your network administrator or local ISPs (as in China, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Bahrain, UAE, Qatar and Kuwait). What’s more, you would be able to unlock services that are available only within US or UK such as Netflix, Hulu, BBC iPlayer, iTV Player, ABC, NBC, CBS, CTV, CWTV, Demand 5, Amazon Prime, Dramafever, MLB, MTV, NFL, Vudu, Xfinity, Lovefilm, HBO Go and Fox TV even if you are thousands of miles away from these countries. The company permits unlimited server switching between its servers so you can unlock your favorite shows from both the countries by subscribing just once.

VPN Speed and Bandwidth

CloakVPN does not impose speed or bandwidth restrictions upon its subscribers. The high speed and bandwidth availability makes the service ideal for downloading big files, conducting long VOIP sessions, streaming tons of movies and TV shows in full HD and playing online games for hours.

Privacy Settings

CloakVPN offers privacy and security through the OpenVPN protocol. The OpenVPN protocol is considered as one of the most secure VPN protocols currently available and it protects your online sessions from all types of monitoring and surveillance as well as snooping and hacking attempts. The company also provides a hotspot protection feature that protects your passwords, social profiles and financial transactions while you are using unsecure wireless networks at homes, airports, public parks, malls, coffee shops and hotels. The service is ideal for protecting all kinds of online traffic including browsing, emailing, FTP, VOIP and messaging. The company does not spy on your online activities nor does it keep a record of the sites that you visit which means your online sessions are totally private and secure.

Supported Operating Systems

CloakVPN is compatible with Windows (7, Vista, XP), Mac OS X and Linux operating systems. The service also works with jailbroken iPhones and iPads (the company recommends GuizmOVPN) and Android devices that are running in Cyanogen mode. It is also possible to use the service from other devices that support the OpenVPN protocol. The setup process is manual but it shouldn’t take more than few minutes to configure the service as the company provides detailed setup instructions. The company has blocked port 25 to prevent email spamming so it is not possible to send emails from clients like Outlook, Thunderbird through the service. On a positive note, the company offers a free proxy service along with its VPN plans.

Customer Support

The company does not offer dedicated technical support through its site. However, it is possible to contact the CloakVPN team by sending a Direct Message through Twitter. The company has provided basic troubleshooting information on its website which should help those who are facing connectivity issues.

Pricing Options

CloakVPN’s service is available from $5 per month. There are no long term plans or contracts available so it is not possible to save money by subscribing to term plans. Moreover, the company does not provide free trial or refund so there is no way to test the service without investing money. As of now, the company accepts payments only through Paypal though they have promised to bring more payment options in the near future. It is possible to subscribe to the service without providing your real email address (or any email address at all) though you need to remember the username/password at all times since there is no password recovery mechanism available.

Final Verdict

Overall, CloakVPN delivers a very average VPN service. Although the service is not without its share of flaws (no dedicated support, limited choice of server locations and payment options), it manages to deliver good speeds and high level of security. So if you are looking for a no-frills VPN service, check the VPN offers from CloakVPN. For more information, please visit: www.cloakvpn.com.