The Verdict
Some people think of VPN services as something that’s comparable to the spirits of the dead. They will work undetected especially when things are done the right way.
There will be no boundaries whatsoever and you can even think of them as “friendly ghosts” because of their ability to protect you from the dangers that lurk around the Internet.
We want to think of CyberGhost as this type of VPN service. It’s actually German company that is based in Romania and they’re offering good VPN service for every type of user there is.
They’ve been paying a watchful eye to user concerns on safety since the VPN service’s release back in 2010.
Their dedication to providing unparalleled security has made them develop special security settings that hide torrent activities in servers that are hard to trace while still having the capability of providing good service to those who only want to do anonymous surfing on public Wi-Fi hotspots or unblock websites that are geo-restricted from the comfort of their home.
We don’t want to hide these awesome capabilities from anyone who wants to use a VPN service but is still undecided on which one to choose.
This VPN service provider also has both the short-term and long-term subscriptions that are capable of tempting anyone to learn more about the useful and attractive apps that it features.
Just like other VPN clients, it also has some features that can be customized by the user so the software works in well in an effort to deliver great user experience regardless of the device being used.
Yes! CyberGhost works on computers, smartphones, tablets, and other devices that support VPN.
Pros:
- Attractive and competitive prices
- Provides a no-log policy that reflects transparency
- Offers great features for security and privacy
- Allows up to seven (7) simultaneous connections
- Best fit for every type of VPN users
- 24/7 Customer support available
Cons:
- Their limited trial is only available for one day
The Features
Those who are fond of exploring the web will surely love the two features which CyberGhost has.
One is its ability to automatically figure out if it needs to use HTTPS and you can also choose to configure it so it forces such a connection whenever you’re browsing.
It’s also got some other features that are interesting, to say the least, and that includes one which is called auto app launch, a feature that allows CyberGhost to launch the browser which you prefer to use in safe or incognito mode as soon as a connection to one of its servers is established.
This feature comes along with IPv6 and DNS leak protection which are both proven for their reliability even in other VPN services. There’s also the presence of a kill switch, a NAT firewall, and much more!
It’s also one of the VPN services out there that has a very intuitive app for the desktop version making it perfect for both beginners and the more advanced users.
To be more detailed about this, users who are searching for a VPN service that has the “connect and go” feature can choose to make CyberGhost shrink which will make it work in just a simple click or tap of a button.
Others may also like the expanded version of the program more which reveals more advanced options and settings such as viewing servers that are dedicated for streaming or torrenting for instance.
There are other settings that allow users to change the language so configuring proxy connections would be easier.
It is in these settings that it’s also possible to assign address exceptions or those sites that should not be allowed to use VPN connections plus a DNS and IPv6 leak protection feature, and even more!
Streaming Service Unblocking
There’s also no issue on how CyberGhost unlocks some popular streaming sites. In fact, it is one of the strong points that make it popular among VPN users.
It’s still possible to tackle things manually and the software is able to display the targets that are commonly blocked while also showing the servers that are suitable for such services.
For example, Youtube Red and Netflix are going to be shown as being associated with the American Server while Comedy Central and BBC will be linked to German and British servers respectively.
But there are other options that are available and not just these ones. For instance, there’s France, UK, and other servers that are able to unblock the version of Netflix in their respective countries.
Wi-Fi Protection and Torrent Servers
Wi-Fi protection has a very interesting way of working which influences the VPN’s behavior changing at the instant that a new network gets detected. The user can choose to either let CyberGhost ask for an action, ignore it, or take automatic action of securing your device’s connection.
This is very useful for those who often connect to public Wi-Fi hotspots. Also, once a connection turns active, users can view the connection speed and how much data has already been used as well as the number of issues that the VPN was able to block.
There are also features that are leaning towards Wi-Fi Protection and Torrenting and it’s got almost the same customizable options as its previous versions.
The servers that the company intends to use for P2P sharing are placed in a separate tab while also displaying useful information such as server load and physical distance.
If you want to use your VPN connection for torrenting then you will need to use the DNS leak protection to stay on the safe side.
This is a great addition to the software’s always on kill switch which the company purposefully put in place.
VPN Network
CyberGhost is one of the few VPN service providers out there that have thousands of servers located in over 60 different countries.
We tried testing some servers in Europe and as well as other servers in different locations and countries and we found that most of them delivered acceptable speeds.
Servers that are the farthest from our location such as Argentina, for instance, yielded the weakest connection speeds.
The South African server, on the other hand, performed better than we’ve expected in terms of speed.
The quality of the Internet in every country where servers are located also influences the speed that the servers can deliver.
IP and DNS Leak protection worked and met our expectations since there no problems at all in terms of it affecting the overall speed and performance of the servers.
How it Protects Your Privacy
With the 256-bit AES type encryption that the company uses for all of its protocols including L2TP, IKEv2, and OpenVPN, CyberGhost is able to offer the possibility of switching between these protocols either automatically or manually especially for those who want to be hands-on in terms of making changes on security-related settings.
As we have already mentioned above, CyberGhost provides IP and DNS Leak Protection that are trustworthy which comes on top of the kill switch button.
Some other tools that are available include those that block malicious ads, websites and other activity-tracking culprits that are found all over the Internet.
Having its headquarters in Romania is also a good move for CyberGhost. This becomes even more apparent when you look into their log policy which actually states this:
“traffic data from the users which includes browsing history, the destination of traffic, the content of the data, preferences in search engines are not monitored, logged, recorded, or stored.”
They also claim that the VPN service does not keep logs of the real IP addresses, session duration, or time stamps but we’ve noticed that their SSL website still use cookies.
But the good thing is that the company still makes all information pertaining to its transparency records open to the public.
They also make sure that you stay anonymous because instead of using a username, the subscribers are given a user ID that is generated randomly and you also have the freedom to pay using Bitcoin.
Device and Operating System Support
Providing connection to as many types of devices and operating systems as possible is an important point that every VPN company needs to ensure.
Thankfully, CyberGhost does not lag behind the top competitors out there because it can support a maximum of seven devices which are connected to it and they can be of different types.
So this actually means that you can use a laptop that has Windows or Mac OS X running on it.
It is also compatible with Chrome OS, Linux Ubuntu, and many other computer and desktop operating systems.
There’s also a wide range of mobile devices that CyberGhost supports and that is something that’s worth noting.
Both the Android and the iOS versions look similar but we did not expect that it would include IPSec, OpenVPN, and L2TP processes which is something that other VPN services don’t have.
This then allows users to configure the service manually on devices such as routers that run on Tomato, DD-WRT, Raspberry Pi systems along with rarely used devices such as VU+ Solo2 and Synology NAS which are used in satellite receivers that run on Linux-based systems.
Plans and Pricing
Just like other VPN services, CyberGhost has the usual three plan system which is able to deliver similar service across in all the different plan durations.
However, there’s the fourth plan that gives more value and savings. Yes! It’s called the “Best Value” package that costs $2.75 per month for a three-year duration billed once at $99.
Now that’s a savings of up to 75% or in other words, a 1-year subscription that’s free because the price is mostly the same as the two-year period subscription.
But CyberGhost isn’t short of the shorter subscriptions either with the monthly plan priced at 12.99 and the annual plan at $63 or $5.25 per month. The 6 months plan is at $7.99.
With all the features and the excellent service that CyberGhost provides, these prices that CyberGhost has on their plans are actually fair especially because of the fact that there are no restrictions in terms of service, features and server access.
The company also offers multiple promotions and discounts all throughout the year. You can check the latest offers from CyberGhost on their official website.
Unfortunately, when it comes to the free trial, it isn’t like the other VPN services which offer more.
They only have 1 day but their money-back guarantee is set to 45 days.
The monthly plan only has 14 days though. Available payment options include credit and debit cards, Bitcoin, and PayPal.
Customer Support
CyberGhost has made sure that all versions of the software client are easy to install for every type of user but if there are problems along the way, users have access to a number of methods in getting help 24/7.
The first one is through the knowledge base and FAQs pages which contains a wealth of answers to different questions and even tutorials that are meant to guide users in great detail.
The company also has Live chat although we recommend that you use the ticket system for the more serious problems.
If you don’t have time doing all these, you can choose to use the built-in troubleshooter for a quicker solution.
CyberGhost also has a blog and a strong social media presence that is comparable to the strongest ones in the industry because of their active presence on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Google+, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Vimeo, and Flickr.
Final Say
CyberGhost has left us nothing but good impression as a whole. In fact, we consider it as one of the best VPNs at the moment along with the top performers ExpressVPN and NordVPN.
You’ll get every feature that you would want to see in a VPN service and it’s going to work perfectly both for newbies and experts alike. It allows every user to customize their experience.
In the same way, the VPN service also provides access to a vast network and while there can be bumps along the way, the speeds stay consistent most of the time.
The devices that CyberGhost supports isn’t lacking either and the security features are just awesome especially the “always on” Kill Switch that isn’t present in other applications.
It also has so tracking protection and as well as a DNS and IP leak protection. Overall, CyberGhost is worth your trust especially their transparent and open culture that they maintain since the company ever started.