PROXPN is a VPN based in the Netherlands, and when you first hear the name, you’re surprised to learn that the company has been in the VPN business for almost a decade, launching in 2009.
But when people use the service, they’re not so surprised that they’ve never heard of it. Despite its long history in the industry, proXPN has failed to improve its service and maintain a level of quality comparable to most good VPNs. While there is a glimmer of hope in the form of excellent customer service and decent connection speeds and protection, the overall experience is terrible.
Features
- No record policy
- Unlimited bandwidth
- Off switch
- Servers in 14 countries
- Software for all platforms (mobile app PPTP only)
- OpenVPN encryption
- 30 days risk free trial
- Easy to use software
- Excellent customer support
- Free basic package (severely limited speed, only one server space)
- Unlimited data and connection time for free and paid users
- Four simultaneous connections
Speed Test
ProXPN’s free VPN service is fast enough for most browsing activities, but media streaming could be difficult. For free account users, connection speed is limited to 300 kbit/s. However, as a premium account holder, there is no bandwidth limit on connection speed and you can stream media and perform almost any task online. Premium account holders also have access to additional servers to increase connection speed.
Server Locations
proXPN has 20 servers in 11 countries. The number of servers is too low, which is unacceptable considering the high price of this VPN provider.
It has a presence in several popular countries such as the US, the UK, the Netherlands and Sweden, but no servers in China, Russia and Middle Eastern countries.
These are the countries that have the most restrictive Internet access. VPNs in these countries require confusing server technology to unblock websites.
Pricing Plans
| 3 Months | 6 Months | 1 Year |
|---|---|---|
|
$9.98/Month |
$8.33/Month |
$6.25/Month |
This VPN provider offers a free package, but to be clear, this package has very limited features and functionality, so we recommend that you opt for the “Premium” package. The “Premium” package costs $6.25 per month for 12 months. A three-month subscription costs $9.98 per month, and a six-month subscription costs $8.33. All Premium subscriptions come with a 30-day risk-free trial.
Privacy Protection and Security Feature
ProXPN’s privacy policy is shorter than most, at less than 200 words, which is often a problem because there simply isn’t enough space to properly explain what the company does.
In this case, ProXPN could get away with it because the company claims to have recorded nothing at all. Here’s the relevant part.
While this sounds good, as is so often the case with small VPNs, no one can tell if the company delivers what it promises. You have to take these claims as a given.
The security features of proXPN are weak.
- Outdated encryption (512-bit BF-CBC).
- OpenVPN and PPTP tunneling protocols.
- Off switch
While most competitors have long since switched to military-grade 256-bit AES encryption, proXPN is one of the few vendors still using the outdated 512-bit BF-CBC. This may be secure enough for the average user, but we can’t recommend anything less secure than the industry standard.
In terms of protocols, proXPN basically does not offer an alternative to OpenVPN, since PPTP is also outdated.
With the tool “VPN Guard”, proXPN offers a kill switch that shuts down visited sites when the VPN connection is interrupted. To be fair, we didn’t test the reliability thoroughly enough to give a definitive opinion, but one has to wonder if the lack of a kill switch is a big deal when a VPN can’t be considered secure with or without one.
User Experience
proXPN has a standard and very simple software client for popular operating systems with DNS and IP leak protection built in. Once you complete the registration process, you can download and install the proXPN application on your device. The user interface seems anachronistic and very simple. However, it is intuitive, with a special “VPN Guard” kill switch that prevents “VPN Guard” torrents and all running programs from being exposed if you connect to proXPN and get disconnected. There is also an auto reconnect option and other configuration options that can be found on the “General” tab. Overall, nothing stands out about proXPN’s client.
Customer Support
ProXPN offers a variety of support options. You can contact them via email, social media, phone, etc. We offer 24/7 support.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Supports both PPTP and OpenVPN
- Supports Windows, Mac OS X, iOS
- Free version has no ads
Cons
- VPN Guard seems to be incomplete
- No official Android support
- Not enough help, not enough documentation
Conclusion
There is no doubt that proXPN needs a lot of improvements and they could start fixing the connection issues. If this happens, at least users won’t have to reinstall the app multiple times. This may not be the ultimate choice for many, as feature-rich services like ExpressVPN or NordVPN are on the market at similar prices.
Also, network issues need to be fixed to avoid blocking the network as soon as the VPN connection is disconnected.
You should also improve security by equipping OpenVPN with AES encryption. Currently, there are serious security risks with OpenVPN on proXPN clients. After fixing these serious issues, the next step is to add servers, which will directly increase the speed.
Now let’s talk about pricing. If proXPN wants to charge users $6.20 for an annual plan, it will be difficult. The price can be considered reasonable only after they solve the problems mentioned above and add additional features. More attributes that allow for better user control would be useful for users and would also expand the functionality of the app.
