GhostPath Reviews

Another thing that they stand out with is their Windows client. It is definetly the primary focus of GhostPath’s service: we are now going to speak about it in more detail.

The Windows client has one very distinct feature that we found a bit odd: by default, you cannot connect to any country. To avoid misunderstandings, this does not mean that they are not available. It means that you have to manually create groups for your connections and drag them into these groups. The only connection option available right off the bat plugs you in to the nearest VPN server. You could argue that this is a minor setback, and you would be right. We were merely puzzled on why localized connections are indirectly incentivized, while a lot of people are using VPN explicitly as a long distance solution. Nevertheless, this is the only argument we can bring up against it. If you are the sort of person who enjoys a little extra organization, this is even an advantage. And also, with the Auto-group button, you can automatically document the 10 nearest locations to you, saving you time.

The installation process itself is quick and simple, it doesn’t offer a challenge. This is also true for the drag-and-drop type connections explained above. Moving on, a built-in speed test is even available inside the client, while such options as launching the software as soon as you log in to your computer, and connecting to servers automatically creates an even more leisurely experience. If this function is enabled, re-connections also seem to be done by themselves.

The DNS-leak protection is a feature that when enabled, does not let your computer give away its DNS information to outside snoopers. Connecting to another server means a temporary change in your connection’s preferences, and under certain conditions, the time under which these properties are changed exposes the computer for very short timescale. DNS-leak protection keeps your computer scale during these quick moments of vulnerability.

It also comes useful if you want to use the second feature, the auto-IP change. You can set durations manually inside this functionality, ranging from a minute to days, even. Your IP address will change after there durations pass, making you harder to track down.

In general, GhostPath VPN has an efficient and well-organized network of servers throughout the world. Their 227 IP addresses, 143 servers across 46 countries are a good number. Most of them are located within Europe, but there is some space reserved for rarer places to get VPN from, like Macau, Liechtenstein, Chile or South Africa. The relative quickness of their expansion – in about 3 years – is something to be proud of.

It is important to highlight that most US-based companies and most VPN connections that even go there do not support P2P and Torrent oriented data traffic. This is true in the case of GhostPath too. Sadly, this is a downside of them residing in the States. As mentioned before, they do offer two fabulous safety options that help your online activities stay hidden.

As far as speed goes, GhostPath is average. Connection strength lessens quite a bit with distance, but this is to be expected with the vast majority of VPN providers.

GhostPath offers its services in two major connection types: TCP and UDP. The former is available with three major protocols: OpenVPN, L2TP, and PPTP. We would not really encourage you to use PPTP, though; a lot of providers phase it out, as it is almost obsolete compared to their quicker and safer counterparts. OpenVPN is the safest and is best suitable to access restricted content, while L2TP is fair enough for casual usage.

There is also additional protection available through the use of SSL encryption. Speaking of which, both L2TP and OpenVPN use 256-bit encryptions, while PPTP is on 128 bits. Furthermore, another great safety bonus is provided when you encounter a problem. If you send in a ticket, the e-mail will reach its destination under a 128-bit encrypted disguise. Considering how in the desktop client you yourself can backtrack your connections, IP history and even the full connection log, your actions are probably logged to some degree; GhostPath’s terms of use section however revealed little information about this. They do – and here we quote “change it often”, so it is wise to keep track of it.

The device selection is not the most extensive for GhostPath. It does offer the most common machines used today, therefore there is no need to turn away. Operating systems include Windows 8, 7, Vista and XP, all of which share the client examined above. Mac OSX users are also welcome, but via Tunnelblick only. Linux is also supported, but requires manual setup. Mobile devices are in a worse shape; iOS products, like iPhone and the iPad, are available and also have a client to boot. Android devices need manual setup however.

The official website provides guides to establishing your VPN connection in all of these cases either by video or text and pictures. We found them to be informative but a bit hard to recognize where they are at first. They are located in the support section, where we would assume that customer support is. That part of their service is also there, but it’s melted together with the guides and educational content.

Perhaps the most interesting facet of GhostPath‘s service is the prices they offer. Not the amounts themselves, but rather the durations: they have a weekly plan, a monthly and an annual one. For 7 days, you can enjoy their services for $5. A monthly plan fares at $10 per month, that’s a standard price. The one-year plan costs an overall of $75, which accounts for a $6.25 monthly payment. What is interesting about these is that next to these, there is a 7-day money back guarantee policy the company practices. Furthermore, there is a free trial offered out, but the button redirects you to the pricing page. So essentially, the 7-day money back guarantee serves as a means to enjoy a risk-free trial. For $5, you can try out their service for a week while having a refund option on it that also lasts for a week. It is just a bit trickier than other providers who just apply a refund option without a weekly plan. But keep in mind that while one week costs $5, one month fares at $6.25 in the annual plan, so we recommend the 7-day package for testing purposes above all else.

Being a US-based company, payment options conform to that area somewhat. You can do transactions via MasterCard, Visa, American Express, Discover, PayPal and Bitcoins.

GhostPath offers a variety of methods for you if you do run into any kind of trouble during your VPN haunting sessions. You can send in a ticket on their contact page for starters Keep in mind though that even though your message will be encrypted, you cannot attach pictures or files to your text. Staying in touch is also possible via Twitter or Facebook. We tried both the ticket and Twitter options and got replies within a few working hours. The better news is that you can also contact GhostPath via telephone, although the call code is not automatically indicated. Still, the number is accessible via Skype, even, so there should not be any problems with this method of service either.

Overall, we were not disappointed, but we were not impressed either. The information we got was enough in both cases, which is fine. A live chat is not available, and this means that you are bound to wait a bit before your problem can be resolved.

GhostPath has come far, considering they have been competing on the VPN market for only 3 years. From the Windows client’s structure and interesting connection arrangements to the DNS Protection and IP switching features, they are worth checking out. Even though they offer nothing really outstanding, overall they can call a strong, good service their own. Their customer service team manages to deliver adequate support in a timely and correct manner, while the setup guides and other support facilities offered through their site are of great assistance by their own. You won’t get any speeding tickets from using the web through GhostPath’s decently scaled server network. As is the case with all other aspects of the service, it is acceptable and of the standard you should expect.