MyVPN Reviews

MyVPN has four locations available to connect to: the Netherlands, the UK, the US, and Hong Kong. Thus their service – like others around the corner – and next to being a general purpose VPN provider also focuses on providing access to restricted online content. This mainly includes otherwise television-based entertainment like sports film and similar channels, or rather streaming services. It is worth noting that in this matter the Netherlands, UK and US are considered standard locations. Hong Kong – because of its unique political status – is also considered an access point to these contents for Asian users. Therefore we consider server supply to be the bare minimum, and nothing more.

Perhaps the best feature MyVPN provides is their client altogether. Installation is almost instantaneous, at the expense of not being able to choose the place of installation; this is the only argument we can make against it. Otherwise, MyVPN creates an extremely polished look that is still appealing. This is especially true for the settings section, where the wide range of functionalities are presented with just a little bit of extra visual spice. They provide a kill-switch that can be engaged before or after your VPN connection. Also, there are options for automatic startup, automatic connection, even updating the software automatically.

Further supplying a bit of privacy and a great feature are the DNS settings. MyVPN uses its own private DNS servers, while still supporting third party DNS usage. You can change between these two, or even keep your private DNS settings, at will. The amount of features and the manner in which they were represented stroke us as a surprise. Despite the lack of available connections, those that are on table are served well and taste well.

MyVPN offers connections with up to 5 different devices, all assigned to the same account. There is one hitch to it; these connections are restricted to location and IP address. This means that you cannot login from multiple IP addresses or countries at the same time.

All servers offered by MyVPN run on 1Gbit ports. This infrastructure is acceptable, given that they are a relatively small business. All packages are available on unlimited bandwidth, and an unlimited number of switches between servers. Despite this, speeds do not really conform to this; in fact they are a bit dismal. We tested all four locations, with varying results. Downloading in the US and Hong Kong were curiously close to each other, even with a great difference in ping values. The Netherlands’ and the United Kingdom’s values were similarly close, but altogether we observed that speed isn’t really that high as it is marketed to be. It is rather mediocre, thus it is still usable.

In terms of safety protocols, MyVPN provides a full arsenal: PPTP, L2TP, OpenVPN and a Mimic encryption, which is a more interesting matter. Every one of them except PPTP provide a maximum 256 bits of encryption, if of course your device supports it. Therefore the overall safety protocol structure of MyVPN is widespread but a bit rigid, as they do not offer 128 bit encryptions on more recent models of safety. Of course, this is somewhat understandable, putting safety first. However, currently this is done at the expense of speed, and so we would love to see more flexible specific settings.

MimicVPN

The MimicVPN protocol is an advanced version of OpenVPN. Its main purpose is to bypass different firewalls, restrictions and DPI (Deep Packet Inspection). In our eyes, this is a great solution: MyVPN saves a lot of hassle for the customer by not forcing a download of a third-party program or a browser add-on that does the same thing anyway. Incorporating it as a part of a safety protocol is smart, effective and should be used in a more widespread manner.

When it comes to logging, MyVPN uses its own non-logging MyDNS system. When enabled, your activity is only logged partially and only by MyVPN itself. The data is disposed of after one day, but it can raise some concerns in the unaware eye. In the case of P2P connections, MyVPN does not allow any by default on US servers. The use of legal P2P is still possible at the other 3 locations.

Supply is not that bad for MyVPN in terms of machines supported. Applications and clients are much more rare though. Operating systems that can use a MyVPN client include Windows, with versions 8, 7, Vista and XP all available. Mac OSX is the other OS to come with a client and sadly, the list of helpful software is over at this point – all other devices require manual setup. There is one more OS supported; Ubuntu Linux.

Mobile devices are more widespread though. The iPhone, the iPad, Android and Windows Phone are all good to go with MyVPN, with Blackberry and Kindle also members of the pack. Again, all machines except Windows and Mac OSX require manual setup. Guides for all of these – including the ones that supply clients – are available on the official website. MyVPN uses a multitude of IP addresses, or rather a combination of them, varying with each security protocol. Different devices may react differently to these comparatively rigid setups, therefore make sure to double-check your connection preferences before establishing a VPN connection if you are unsure.

Like most VPN providers, MyVPN provides increasingly better prices the longer you sign with them. Displaying this sales policy, their monthly price sits at $9.99, this might be a bit tight compared to the rest of the model. There are also 3 and 6-month plans available, both of which in one pricing policy is rare. For quarter of a year, you would pay $6.99 monthly, with an overall price of $20.99. Half a year costs $29.99 at MyVPN, with $4.99/mo – this is one of the most advantageous 6-month offers on the market. The 12-month period fares just a little bit better, with a very reasonable $4.83 per month and an overall of $58.00.

MyVPN also provides a 3-day free trial to test their service and simultaneously a 7-day refund policy. The two more or less walk hand-in hand, as you are required to supply your billing information just to try out MyVPN. This essentially creates an account that you are supposed to cancel. If you do not do it, the company will automatically start charging you. If you are displeased with what you have experienced, MyVPN also provides a 7-day money back guarantee option. Thus our general impression was that spending money is highly incentivized compared to other VPN services. This is not necessarily good, as this suggestive pricing can force some unaware customers into a purchase they do not actually need.

Payment options include MasterCard, Visa, American Express, enRoute, JCB, Discover and Diners Club. PayPal and Bitcoin are also welcome.

For what they have, MyVPN is a complete service, with extended functions, widespread security options and customer support offering rare channels of assistance. There are some minor downsides to MyVPN though: even though they use their own MyDNS system, they still store some of your connection data. Speeds could also use a bit of push – we were not impressed in this matter. While we are pleased with the technical side and helpfulness, we somewhat long for more locations to connect to, but even this is understandable in the case a relatively newly established business like MyVPN. Nevertheless, they have already come far, and future seems to be bright with them and for them.