VPN Reviews

VPNGates Review – A Popular VPN Service

By Paul Liu
Wednesday, June 12th, 2013

VPNGates is a security provider that has been around for more than 5 years. Established in 2007, the service is brought to you by a United States based company which aims to deliver high quality anonymizing services to its customers. In the detailed VPNGates Review below, we will check the pros and cons of the service and decide whether it is worth subscribing.

Server Locations and Site Access

VPNGates has 118 severs in 9 different countries – United States, United Kingdom, Canada, France, Switzerland, Germany, Netherlands, Australia and China. The wide range of server location choices makes it possible to unlock country restricted sites such as Hulu, Zattoo, CTV, Pandora, Spotify, Amazon Prime, HBO On Demand, Netflix, ABC, BBC iPlayer, Eurosport, Rara, CBS, NFL, MTV and Fox from any country in the world. The service also enables you to bypass censorship imposed by countries like UAE, China, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain and Thailand and unlock your favorites sites like Facebook, Gmail, YouTube, Skype and Twitter even if they are blocked by your organization or local authorities. The company offers country specific VPN plans so you cannot unlock local content from more than one country.

VPN Speed and Bandwidth

The company offers unlimited speeds and bandwidth to its customers. The high speed network makes it possible to stream HD movies and TV shows, download huge files, play online games and make VOIP calls without worrying about disruptions and throttling. However, in the recent months some people have complained about the speed delivered by the company so it makes sense to choose the best possible server and protocol combination to get optimum speeds.

Privacy Settings

VPNGates offers high grade security through SSTP, PPTP, L2TP and OpenVPN protocols. While the SSTP and OpenVPN are renowned for their encryption, PPTP and L2TP offer a better compatibility with most devices. The service also protects you from nuking, DNS spoofing, Evil Twin and other online attacks. Due to very high level of security available, the service is ideal for protecting FTP, messaging, emailing and VOIP activities and securing vital data such as passwords, credit card details and social accounts. The company also provides excellent hotspot protection which means your personal data remains hidden from hackers and criminals lurking at airports, public parks, malls, coffee shops and airports.

VPNGates does not monitor or spy on user activities. However, they do collect bandwidth usage data and keep the logs for 1 month. The company does not hand over subscriber data to anyone unless they are compelled to do so by the authorities.

Supported Operating Systems

VPNGates plans are compatible with PCs (Windows, Mac, Linux), Smartphones/tablets (Android) as well as iPhones and iPads (iOS). The setup is easy and you don’t have to be a security expert to install and run the service. If you face configuration issues, just refer to the detailed installation guides available on the company’s official site.

Customer Support

VPNGates offers support through email. While the company’s official site has live chat option, it doesn’t seem to be working. It is also recommended that you refer to troubleshooting guides available on the site before contacting the support staff.

Pricing Options

VPNGates offers single-country VPN plans from $15 per month ($40 for 3 months, $70 for 6 months and $120 for 12 months). The OpenVPN protocol is available only for US, UK, Germany, Canada and Netherlands severs, the SSTP protocol is not available for China and Swiss servers whereas the PPTP protocol is available for all servers. The company offers a limited free trial that would allow you to test the speed and connectivity of the service. The company also offers refunds in case the customer is not able to use the service for a period of 5 days after making his purchase.

Final Verdict

Overall, VPNGates delivers a satisfactory VPN service. While the official site of the company seems cluttered and some subscribers are facing speed issues, the company delivers a good service to vast majority of its customers. To be on a safer side, it makes sense to check the free trial before subscribing to a long term plan. For more information, please visit: www.vpngates.com.