ibVPN Review

ibVPN offers a lot of features that are bound to make any VPN user happy. Whether you just want to protect your IP address from hackers or advertisers or bypass geo-blocks from streaming services such as Netflix, ibVPN has got you covered. But how does it hold up against other paid VPNs in its price range? Let’s dive into the nitty-gritty and find out.

ibVPN at a Glance

• Strict ‘No Logging’ Policy
• Jurisdiction in Romania
• Extensive Device Support
• 24/7 Live Chat
• Unblocks Netflix
• Permits Torrenting and P2P
• Pricing starts off at $3.08 with the Standard VPN, Torrent VPN, and IBDNS/Smart DNS packages

The Pros

Strict No Logging Policy

A ‘No Logging’ policy requires a service to not to track or store any user traffic data. This includes IP addresses, metadata, destination URLs, browsing history…etc. But literally every VPN on this planet promises something along these lines and many fail to honour it. So how do we trust ibVPN to deliver?

First of all, their comprehensive privacy policy gives us the impression that they’re very thorough. As per their terms, ibVPN does not require you to hand in ‘personally identifiable’ information in order to use the service. However, you do have to register for an account with an email address. This, of course, doesn’t necessarily have to be your personal or even work address.

Secondly, a VPN service’s jurisdiction has a huge impact on its ability to commit to a ‘No Logging’ policy. This brings us to the second item on our pros list.

Jurisdiction in Romania

Romania isn’t under any obligation to share data with foreign intelligence agencies. It isn’t one of the ‘14 Eyes’- a group of mostly developed countries that circulate intelligence amongst themselves. This agreement is basically a ‘you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours’ kind of deal. Thankfully, Romania doesn’t seem to be interested in scratching anyone else’s back.

This means that your government or Internet Service Provider can’t technically force ibVPN or any other Romanian VPN services to hand them any information. In addition, Romania’s laws on data retention are pretty lenient. As a result, they aren’t pressured by their own government to collect the IP addresses of their users.

Industry-Standard Encryption and Tunneling Protocols

ibVPN uses the AES-256 encryption protocol to mask your data. It’s the most secure standard today and in fact, it’s the exact same one that’s used by intelligence agencies like the FBI. It’s so airtight that not even advanced supercomputers are able to crack it. Hence, you know that your data is in safe hands!

In addition, ibVPN offers secure tunneling protocols as well. The default option is OpenVPN which is the go-to option for most paid VPN services and is highly recommended by experts in the cybersecurity field. However there are two drawbacks to using OpenVPN:

1) It’s not compatible with iOS devices

2) It may not be compatible with older computers

3) It’s not the fastest tunneling protocol

Fortunately, ibVPN offers other options as well: PPTP, IPsec, and L2TP. However, bear in mind that these protocols aren’t as secure as OpenVPN.

Leak-Free

Despite using encryptions and tunneling protocols, you may experience IP address leaks with certain VPN services. This usually occurs due to some error with the DNS server itself. When this happens, your Internet Service Provider will be able to track what sites you’re visiting and what actions you’re performing online.

Fortunately, ibVPN’s connection is perfectly secure. When you run the connection through online tools like ipleak.net and dnsleak.com, the result is always the same: no leaks will be detected.

Netflix

If you live outside of the USA, you may face geo-blocks from Netflix, preventing you from accessing certain TV shows or movies. Fortunately, ibVPN allows you to bypass these restrictions with some of their Netflix-optimized US servers. These servers will quickly switch the virtual IP address so that you always fly under Netflix’s radar while streaming.

Torrenting

Torrenting is banned in a lot of countries and as a result, users turn to VPNs in order to go about it. ibVPN encourages torrenting with 35 servers dedicated solely to it. You can even configure the service to automatically switch to a torrenting server every time you boot it up. However, in order to get access to these optimized servers, you must be subscribed to either the Premium Torrent VPN or Ultimate VPN package.

Device-Compatibility

Perhaps the greatest thing about ibVPN is that it appears to support every device under the sun. This includes all of the popular operating systems, smart devices and even gaming consoles like the Playstations and Xboxes.

User-Friendly App

Luckily, ibVPN is one of the few services that offer a very streamlined and easy-to-use proprietary application. Installation is done in a matter of minutes and your navigation is a breeze. You can instantly access the list of servers and find your way around configuration options.

Customer-Support

When it comes to customer support, most VPN services hardly ever deliver. However, this is certainly not the case with ibVPN. The service offers 24/7 Live Chat, a ticketing system, and even email support. Responses are not only fast on all three platforms but are extremely helpful as well. But that’s not all! ibVPN offers a wealth of information in their knowledge base if you’d rather hunt down the solution yourself.

The Cons

Lackluster Speeds

Speed is one major aspect at which ibVPN fails. While you can expect reductions with any VPN, ibVPN will shave off your download speed by 30% even while connected to local servers. If your default connection isn’t all that fast, to begin with, this could make for a very unsatisfactory experience. Depending on how fast your default speed is, you may not be able to use ibVPN for things like gaming or streaming movies on Netflix.

Limited Connections in Basic Plans

Beware when signing on to ibVPN’s basic plans because it only allows you to connect one device at a time. If you want your entire family to be able to hop on to the connection at once, you’re much better off purchasing the Ultimate VPN package which allows five simultaneous connections.

In Summary

ibVPN is a top-tier VPN that offers a whole host of useful features. First and foremost, it’s uses of AES-256 Encryption and tunneling protocols such as OpenVPN make it one of the most secure services around. Further, ibVPN offers Netflix and Torrrenting-optimized servers, a user-friendly app and helpful customer support.

The only drawbacks are its sub-par speeds and the fact that you can only connect one device with the basic plans.