VPN Reviews

ViaTun Review – An Affordable Privacy Solution

By Paul Liu
Saturday, January 25th, 2014

ViaTun is a privacy solution that was designed to make the internet a more open, equal and free place. Launched in 2010, the service is brought to you by Viatun Software Inc. which is a British Virgin Islands based company. In this detailed ViaTun Review, we will list down the benefits of the service and help you to decide whether you should subscribe to it.

Server Locations and Site Access

ViaTun has servers at just two locations – United States and United Kingdom. While the lack of more server options is indeed disappointing, the service allows its customers to unlock premium services from US and UK such as Vudu, Hulu, Xfinity, CWTV, Sky, HBO Go, ABC, iTV, Netflix, NBC, Pandora, 4OD, Lovefilm, MLB, NHL, Amazon Prime, Demand 5, Fox, BBC iPlayer, CBS and USA Network. For those who travel a lot, the service acts as an anti-censorship solution and provides unrestricted access to social networking, VOIP, emailing and video sites that are usually blocked in organizations and many countries. For instance, when you log into the service it becomes possible to unlock Facebook, Skype, Twitter, YouTube, Google Talk, Viber and Blogspot even from China, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Brazil and Thailand. Also, due to the unlimited server switching option provided by the company, it is possible to unlock On-Demand services from US as well as UK with just one VPN subscription.

VPN Speed and Bandwidth

ViaTun does not place any kind of restriction on the speed and bandwidth that is available to its customers. The company uses a special compression algorithm that speeds up data transfer and allows you to save on roaming costs and reduce your traffic expenses by up to 80%. The data compression technology also makes the service perfect for resource intensive activities like VOIP, gaming, streaming HD videos and downloading.

Privacy Settings

ViaTun delivers privacy and anonymity through L2TP/IPSec protocol. While the L2TP protocol is not considered as secure as the OpenVPN protocol, it supports higher level of encryption than the PPTP protocol. The level of security on offer is perfect for protecting unsecured wireless sessions at public places (for instance, airports, shopping malls, hotels and book shops) and securing your social accounts, passwords and financial transactions (credit card numbers, bank login details, shopping activities etc.).

The company does not spy on customers’ online activities but it does capture session time and bandwidth usage details. While the company respects the privacy of its customers, it will not hesitate to hand over subscriber data to law enforcement authorities in case the service is used for unlawful activities.

Supported Operating Systems

ViaTun is often advertised as a mobile privacy solution but it works equally well with desktop computers. The company offers custom apps for Windows, Android and iOS but Mac users would need to configure the service manually. The ViaTun apps even include a built-in anti-virus solution that keeps you safe from all kinds of online threats and malicious code.

Customer Support

The company offers email based support in English and Russian. The company has also published a detailed FAQ section on its official website so that customers can resolve common errors and connection problems on their own.

Pricing Options

ViaTun’s unlimited speed and bandwidth plans are available from $1 per month ($5 for 6 months and $9.5 for a year). The company does not offer refund on any plan but it does provide a 3 day free trial (with 1 GB bandwidth limit) that should give you an idea about the capabilities of the service.

Final Verdict

Overall, ViaTun offers a satisfactory VPN service. While the company does not have a presence all over the world, it offers an affordable and feature packed privacy solution to its customers. So if you are looking for a fast and reliable VPN service that doesn’t burn a hole in your pocket, check out the free trial offered by ViaTun. For more information, please visit: www.viatun.com.