IPVanish VPN Review: Access Internet with Zero Traffic Log

Let me be honest and straight-forward, this article is a pure review. IPVanish VPN review to be specific, and I’m 100% trying to get you to buy this product.

So if you’re allergic to the next level anonymity on the web and the freedom to do anything without being traced, this isn’t for you.

But if you are indeed someone like me who likes his privacy from the Govt, servers and other elements in my society, and every now and then likes to checkout stuff from places like the deep web and other restricted areas, you should consider further reading.

Basically I could write this review about anything in the world, right? Any VPN service that there is, but I didn’t. Why? It’s simple, I didn’t have a product I could vouch my name out for saying “hey, this is the best VPN provider that there is, do check it out!”.

So let’s start from the basics. (Or directly skip to the IPvanish VPN Review- Full Features section for the real deal!)

What is IpVanish?

The very first question I should be answering this IpVanish VPN review  is, What’s IpVanish?

The name is pretty simple enough isn’t it? Ip-Vanish. What does it add up to? It adds up to the meaning that it’s a tool (one of the Best VPN Services on the planet actually as you’ll soon figure out) that makes your IP vanish, simple as that.

Now why would you want to make your Ip vanish? I’m sure you already know this if you’re reading this piece, but still let me humor you.

The IP address is like your cell phone number, it can be used to trace your geographical location, your history, and it also leaves a footmark on the sites you visit on the internet.

So basically anything you do, can be tracked back to you by the means of this IP address itself.

So what do you do when you don’t want to be tracked? You “Vanish” (Hide/Change/mask) your IP Address, right?

That’s exactly what a VPN service allows you to do. (And hence this IpVanish VPN review is being written!)

What does IpVanish do?

In the simplest possible way, all I can say is, IpVanish let’s you change your IP address.

You can change your IP address  to almost any place in the world, and no one would ever know where you’re actually based in.

(I know it sounds real complicated and “hacker” kinda stuff”, but trust me this is one of the best VPN Services in the world, and they make it as easy as a “single click” to change your location as I’ll show you in this IPVanish VPN Review)

What can YOU Do With it?

Apparently, anything!

Me? I’ve been using VPN’s since I was 13, I always liked to poke around my nose into stuff that wasn’t considered legal by my govt, but hey, who cares, right?

You can hack into computer systems (you need a good hold of hacking for that) but what IPVanish can ensure is, you won’t get caught.

And well let me add another one, I’m sure if you’re interested in this kinda stuff, you’ve been using the TOR Browser to get into the Deep / Dark Web, right? (Don’t be shy now!)

The problem? I don’t exactly trust TOR. I mean yeah it never got me in trouble till date, but who says I can’t add another level of protection to myself?

In that case, the IPVanish can be your second level of security, your firewall when you’re accessing the Deep/Dark web too! (Just make sure you don’t actually interact or buy stuff from the Dark web, cause hey the stuff they sell or rent isn’t exactly “social” in my opinion!)

I truly want to quit listing the benefits right now, but they’re just so exciting right? This is the last one, I promise.

In many countries, access to certain sites is blocked! Including China, Japan, etc! How can you live without Google and Facebook? They as well might bury me alive.

So with IPVanish you can change your location, pretend you’re sitting somewhere in a coffee shop in NYC, and access those sites you’ve been wanting to.

So okay, let’s get down to the real deal.

IPVanish VPN Review: Full Features

Before getting into a lot of details, let me just say, you’re “truly” anonymous with IPVanish. Because it doesn’t keep any metalogs of what you do on the internet. (Meaning they don’t keep any record of you!)

Additionally, you can use the same VPN on as many as  5 different devices at the same time!

And to top it all up, let me just say you’ll be getting over 500 different servers, in over 60 countries across the globe!

Intriguing enough?

So in order to give you a real-time picture of the service, what I’ll do is I’ll start from the very basics, and give you detailed insights into every aspect of the tool.

So to start with, I’ll just login to my IP Vanish VPN account, and download it’s Windows executable file.(IPVanish has an executable file for ALL the OS’s in the world! So don’t worry about it!)

I’ll be going with the OPEN VPN setup for a number of reasons!

Well let’s just say it’s the Fastest protocol that there is, it’s also the most secure one! Additionally It’ll be using the 256 bit Encryption with SHA-256 authentication protocol.

Not to mention the RSA 2048, now IPVanish VPN is already “no records” kinda guy and there are shared IPs. So I’d say, that’s as close to being anonymous as I can get with IPVanish. (And trust me, it’s pretty anonymous!)

1). The Installation

Let me be honest, just because I’m writing this IPVanish VPN review doesn’t mean I’ll side with it at any cost, right?

The installation isn’t exactly as easy as installing paint. But hey, you’re about to dodge the Govt, the NSA and people like that, you can bear a bit of patience right? (

And well they’ve a step-by-step, illustrative guide on the whole procedure, so worry not, it’s not that hard either.

So as you can see  I just  connected to Sydney as my location!

And I’ll even verify it for you right there.

So see? It works, simple as that.

Let’s get a deeper look into the features the windows client of IPVanish.

2). The Dashboard

This is what the dashboard from the product looks like.

As you can see, it starts with a list of all the available servers. That’s around 1400+ IP addresses I can choose from!

So In other words, I can be at any place from among those 1400 locations!

3). The Connecting Procedure

Now you ask me, how hard is connecting to one of those addresses? In the movies, the hackers seem to write thousands of lines of codes to wipe their traces, so your curiosity is natural!

What if I say, it’s nothing like that! (Sorry if I killed your excitement!)

Instead, all you need to do is, “click”! Yeah, a single click, and you’re untraceable + you get yourselves virtually thousands of miles away from your real location!

So I just choose the location I want to change my IP address to > Choose the protocol and click on Connect!

Done! I was connected to my location in around 8 seconds! That’s not a very big time-frame if you ask me!

4). Connection Protocols

Currently, IPVanish supports 4 different connection protocols! And this being a IpVanish VPN review, it’s only fair of me to mention them, right? (Ofcourse me just ranting about how it’s the Best VPN Provider doesn’t help, I get it, you guys need data, I’ll give it to you!)

The current connection protocols which are supported are:-

• Open VPN (TCP)
• Open VPN (UDP)
• L2TP
• PPTP

This is what makes IPVanish one of the best VPN services on this planet! Not all the VPN providers out there give you so many connection protocols, they’ve mostly a default one and you’ve got no control over it.

Anyway, let me explain these protocols in detail.

a). Open VPN (TCP)

As I’ve already said, it’s by far the simplest and the most secure connection protocol if you’re concerned about your anonymity on the internet.

It uses the Open SSL Library for the encryption, including the authentication. And as I’ve already said, if you combine the power of 256 AES encryption + 256 SHA Encryption + RSA 2048, it’s technically a fortress for you.

And in order to connect to the Open VPN (TCP), you can use certificates, or Usernames and passwords which is an easier and simpler method.

So the connection isn’t a big problem either. So in simpler words, it’s a secure connection.

b). Open VPN (UDP)

There are slight differences between the UDP and the TCP protocols which I’ll just list out here.

The TCP is an “check & verify” protocol. In short, the internet communicates in data packets, right? So what TCP does is, it sends a packet, verifies that it reached it’s destination and then sends the next packet.

That makes it a more dependable, responsible and trustworthy protocol. Hence the most popular one too.

While on the other hand Open VPN (UDP) is a “non-verification” protocol. Meaning it doesn’t give a shit if your receiver got the data packet or not, instead it just keeps on sending the the data packets.

So even though it’s not as reliable as the TCP protocol, its faster. And it’s supported by IpVanish.

c). LT2P

The third kind of protocol supported by them is the LT2P protocol, it’s the abbreviation for “Level Two Tunneling Protocol”.  I won’t get into a lot’s of details, but just so you know that you’re in the right hands, let me give you an insight into what it exactly is.

So it just transfers data over the internet with IpSec. Basically in plan English, I can explain this to you as, a protocol that doesn’t have it’s own encryption or authentication verification measures, but it’s strong. (Plain and simple!)

d). PPTP Protocol

PPTP again is another tunneling method for transferring data over the internet, only it’s not as safe or secure as the above three methods. (I can get into all the details, but I’ve a feeling you’ll get bored!)

No it’s not a “bad” feature, it’s there because it’s atleast a feature! Just because you get Windows 10 doesn’t mean you throw away your windows xp configurations, right?

So okay in other words, in this IPVanish VPN review I can include the “types” of connection protocols supported as a major edge it has over any other VPN out there.

5). The Top Bar

The Top Bar consists of pretty sleek and simple options, and you don’t need a Ph.d in rocket science to undderstand those.

Let’s start with the first option they got, it says “File”.

So basically I don’t know why they kept the option termed as “file”. I mean the options they have in that list can go with just about any other term, but anyway this list comprises of:-

• Send to Tray
• Forget Credentials
• Exit

So basically, the send to tray option lets you send the IPvanish icon to your system tray for quick access. That way you can access the program without minimizing whatever else you might be working on.

Also it will give you a quick insight of your status with the VPN directly from the system tray. So that’s what this option does, it lets you decide if you want to send it there or not.

Forget Credentials is a safety measure, a fail-safe. Something like “do not remember my password” thing on browsers.

If you don’t want anyone else using the VPN when you’re not around, this option can help you out. Enabling it, will make the VPN ask for your login credentials everytime you (or someone else) login or try to use the VPN.

Now it’s more time consuming and irritating to keep entering the login credentials everytime, but IPVanish vpn didn’t get to be the Best VPN service by ignoring your security, right? And whether or not to use the option, is totally your choice.

Exit:- I won’t explain this button, you can kill me for it if you want to.

6). Preferences

This is the second button on the Top bar, and as it says, it lets you set your preferences for the software.

It’s basic stuff, let me just take a short look into them:-

• Save Login Credentials:- It’s basically the same thing as “Remember password”. Again it makes login faster, and you don’t have to enter the credentials everytime! So yeah, same thing.
• Start IPVanish when Windows Starts:– If you take my scenario, I’d prefer a VPN 100% of the times I access the internet, meaning I’ll always need it. So enabling this option eliminates one step for me, that’s IPVanish would already be running everytime I start my Windows system.
• We just selected the “Start IPVanish when Windows Starts“, right? But what do you want to do when it starts?  This option is what let’s you decide that, (and it’s one of the reasons why I’m writing this IPVanish VPN review, it gives me so much control over the product that there’s no way I could dislike it, simple).
  • I can choose if I want it to connect to the Last Server Used. That way IPVanish would  automatically connect to my last server when it starts, like totally automated. I don’t need to do anything apart from hitting my browser and start browsing.
  • If you don’t want the same server everytime, you can also set it to connect to the closest server by Latency range.
  • Or, it even lets you specify a specific server manually, so you can set it to that. That way you control exactly which server IPvanish connects to automatically.

Below that, there’s the Protocol selection drop-down. As I’ve already explained what that is, choose the protocol you wish to go wish.

So basically, this option is what gives you total control over your connection. You can choose the server, the protocol and the server delay.

7). IP-Location Verification

The next option on the menu is the “connections” menu. You click on that and you’re confronted with two options.

View log Files & Check IP Address.

The Log files option basically just gives you a log file of your connection, simple. While the “Check IP Address” option is what interests me more.

Once I click on that, I actually get a map verifying my location on the internet. I mean my fake, virtual location anyway. So you can use this to check if you’re location has really been masked or not.

8). Auto-Reconnect

Their latest update also added this new feature which lets you “auto-reconnect” to the servers if something goes wrong with your current connection.

So basically it’s like an auto-redial thing. And it comes in handy trust me.

9). The Windows Client

The above features were just a basic insight for you, I mean nothing out of the ordinary there, right?  Let me give you something out of the ordinary if you insist.

I mean well, features other programs don’t (or can’t) offer you, not at this price atleast.

So take a good at the below screen:-

1). There’s IPv6 Leak Protection to start with. It’s a dedicated option to let you be on the safe side of Ipv6 leaks if they occur.

Ipv6 leaks are basically what started happening after the Heartbleed bug, in simpler English, your real IP could be tracked if you visit certain websites, and that’s something you’ll be protected against if you’re with IPVanish VPN.

2). Kill Switch:– Ofcourse I can’t not mention it, there are instances when your VPN connection might be disruppted or disconnected, right?

Hence exposing your real IP address, so what happens with this option is, it’s an instant kill switch to prevent your privacy from being exposed.

3). Enable DNS leak Protection:– Well we just talked about IP leaks, right?  DNS leak is just about the same thing, it has a number of reasons for occuring, it might be an OS fault, default choice fault or VPN fault.

So what happpens is, when you type Facebook.com, the internet uses it’s machine language to access it, let’s say it will see Facebook.com as 111.23.455.12, so if your OS  and VPN aren’t using the same DNS server, you’re compromised.

So ofcourse, the DNS leak protection option protects you from that if it happens. (It’s again one of those exclusive features which makes it one of the best VPN services on the planet and forced my hand to write this IPVanish VPN review!)

10). IP-Settings

The IP settings tab naturally regulates your IP options.

I won’t go into much story telling but all I can say is, they’ve this new IP-cycling feature. It’s like you can set a time-frame, let’s say 45 minutes.

And your IP address would change every 45 minutes. So ofcourse, its added layer of security.

11). Pricing

Okay so down to the most important part, you must be thinking, such a bad-ass software would cost you hundreds if not thousands of dollars, right?

I mean well it’s really NSA-level thing if you consider it, right?

So let me show you something.

Wait, WHAT? $10? That’s lower than your monthly cup of coffee, isn’t it? But well that’s how it is! And that’s the highest PLAN!

The lowest one goes for as low as $6.49! If you still are debating it on financial grounds, I’m sorry this article wasn’t for you at all, or maybe you’re okay with the traditional methods of TOR browsers and stuff and landing in jail someday probably.

Final Words:

The features I just discussed were like the 70% of IPVanish, ofcourse it’s not possible for me to manually explain each and every feature in this IPVanish VPN review, right?

If I’ve to give a final verdict on it, all I can say is, for $6.49, all those super powers? I’m totally in!

I mean yeah it’s a IpVanish VPN review and yes I’m trying to sell it to you, but hey, you just saw what this thing can do, right? You seriously think $6.49 is too much for it?

Just give it a try, I’m more than sure, you’re gonna fall in love with it.