TorGuard VPN emerges as a strong product that provides an anonymous VPN, a business VPN, and a private email provider to improve your digital security. However, the VPN provider has been named for various scandals, like the hacking incident in 2019 and the recent event where it decided to ban torrents after getting sued by a movie studio, had made people question its credibility. These security breaches bring a lot of shame to TorGuard VPN. But to know how many of them are true, it’s crucial to review the TorGuard VPN in detail.
Above all, TorGuard VPN uses strong encryption to protect the users’ data from all snooping eyes. It also offers basic and a handful of extra features that increases its worth and, of course, your overall experience. The table below gives a quick overview of the TorGuard VPN features, so have a look at them:
Security and Privacy:
Encryption
- AES-256 bit CBC encryption
- Blowfish- 128-bit CBC mode
- SHA-512 authentication key
- AES-128-bit CBC encryption
Jurisdiction
- The United States of America.
Log Policy
- Follows a no-log policy but keeps limited information
Security Features
- Kill switch
- Split tunneling
- Anonymous proxy
- Stealth VPN
- Business VPN
- Private Email Provider
- Dedicated IP address
- Scripts
Streaming and Torrenting
List of Compatible Streaming Platforms
- Amazon Prime
- Netflix
- Hulu
- HBO Max
- Dazn
- BBC iPlayer
- But unreliable for streaming.
List of Torrenting Features
- Split tunneling Only on Android
- SOCKS5 proxy
- Torrent IP leak protection
User-friendliness
No. of Servers
- 3000+ servers in 50 countries
Pricing
- Anonymous VPN: $9.99/m for the standard plan and $12.99/m for pro plan
- Anonymous Email: $3.58/m
- Business VPN: $32.99/m
Customer Support
- Website resources
- Submit Ticket
- Live chat support
Compatible Devices
- Android
- iOS
- macOS
- Windows
- Router
- Linux
TorGuard VPN looks like a competitive VPN provider like NordVPN and ExpressVPN. But reviewing the VPN in detail rather than making assumptions is better. Let’s dig into this TorGuard VPN review.
Security and Privacy
Security and privacy are the two most significant and crucial aspects you must never overlook in a VPN. To test a VPN’s security, look into its encryption standards, the protocols it utilizes, and the features it offers to guarantee maximum online protection. Similarly, check into the privacy policy and jurisdiction of the VPN provider, which ensures that all your activities remain private.
What encryption does TorGuard VPN use
TorGuard is a secure VPN that keeps your online data safe. It uses powerful encryption on all platforms and ensures no one can exploit your data.
The VPN provider uses a variety of encryption options and allows the users to choose from the following encryption options:
- AES- 128-bit CBC mode
- AES-256-bit CBC mode
- Blowfish- 128-bit CBC mode
If you’re using the OpenVPN protocol and wish for greater security, you can change the encryption ciphers and use AES-256-bit encryption. If fast speeds are your priority, you can choose AES-128-bit encryption. However, if you want faster speed and improved security, you might use Blowfish encryption, which is faster than AES encryption.
Besides this, TorGuard VPN also uses the SHA-512 algorithm for data authentication. However, a few years back, a user on Reddit slammed the VPN provider over falsely claiming to use AES-256-bit encryption when it doesn’t. The user also attached the live chat log and .ovpn config files to prove its claims further. Though the VPN’s customer support member was there to defend themselves, it was enough to discourage users from using it.
Where is TorGuard VPN located?
VPNetworks LLC owns TorGuard VPN, which belongs from Florida, US. The country falls in the US, which isn’t a privacy-friendly jurisdiction, and is a member of the five eyes alliance country. The country is bound by the agreement to log users’ data, and when the government or intelligence agencies ask, they must provide users’ data without their consent.
Moreover, mandatory data retention laws and other anti-privacy laws also apply to US users. This worries users, but everything remains controlled until the VPN follows a no-log policy.
Does TorGuard VPN keep logs?
TorGuard VPN promises to keep your online data and activities private. Like other top-rated VPN providers, it follows a strict zero-logging policy under which the VPN nor the proxy service doesn’t store any IP address or other data that violates users’ privacy and reveals their true identity.
However, they gather a small amount of information to improve their service and have disclosed it in their privacy policy.
But the most disappointing thing about TorGuard’s logging policy is that it provides no transparency proof of its claims. The VPN hasn’t undergone any infrastructure or log-audit process. Neither does it issue transparency reports to inform about the requests they receive from the higher authorities. Independent third-party audits have become the industry’s standard, so TorGuard VPN needs to undergo them. Also, it will improve its security and service and add more points to its reputation.
Which protocols does TorGuard VPN use
TorGuard VPN supports various secure tunneling protocols, including
- WireGuard
- OpenVPN
- Stunnel
- Openconnect
The VPN provider also deploys the OpenVPN protocol, and the UDP and TCP connection ports enhance security and speed. But the choice is entirely yours, which port you want to use for your network.
Besides this, TorGuard VPN also uses the PPTP, SSTP, L2TP, and IKEv2/IPSec protocols. But, you need to manually set up these protocols on your apps which can be a bit complicated, but if you’re an advanced user, you can do it easily.
Though TorGuard VPN supports all known tunneling protocols, using the WireGuard, OpenVPN, and Openconnect protocols is recommended for a smooth user experience.
How good is TorGuard VPN at bypassing censorship?
TorGuard VPN has a stealth VPN feature that enables you to circumvent censorship and access the popular blocked websites, apps, games, and services. A stealth VPN feature disguises your VPN traffic as regular web traffic and allows you to bypass strict firewalls and deep inspection packets, making it easy to bypass censorship. For instance, if you reside in UAE or any other Gulf country with TorGuard VPN, you can use the VOIP services, Facebook, and Twitter without issues.
Moreover, you can even use the Stunnel protocol to get around internet restrictions in offices, libraries, and universities. If you find that the stealth OpenVPN feature is not working, you can use it by choosing the OpenVPN tunnel and checking in the Stunnel-enabled option.
Similarly, when you use the OpenConnect VPN protocol, all your activities appear as regular SSL traffic without any clue that you’re using a VPN. In other words, if you use this protocol, you won’t ever get blocked by firewalls.
The TorGuard VPN also offers servers in countries like Turkey, Russia, and UAE. Hence, you can easily connect to these servers and browse the web freely. Though the VPN doesn’t offer servers in China, you can find servers in Taiwan, Japan, and Hong Kong; hence, they can help you use the free internet in China.
Past track record of the VPN provider
TorGuard VPN, over the last few years, has been named under various privacy-violation incidents. The VPN provider was named for stealing cryptographic keys that hackers might use to decrypt sensitive user data or circumvent the browser security feature to implement web-based attacks.
In 2017, TorGuard VPN and VikingVPN experienced a breach like NordVPN in which they leaked encryption keys. TorGuard issued a statement and accepted that a secret key for the TLS certificate got stolen. In addition, on their official Twitter account, the officials further said that the private keys don’t affect the server, and the threat actors couldn’t do anything with them. This event makes the security experts question the security of TorGuard VPN. Also, TorGuard and NordVPN got involved in a scandal where TorGuard filed a lawsuit against NordVPN for blackmail and hacking.
Besides this, the TorGuard operators have decided to block the BitTorrent traffic on all US servers. The main purpose is to settle a lawsuit that various movie copyrights filed against them.
Again, this time, TorGuard VPN disappoints the users and leaves a big hole for people to trust them to maintain security and use it for their preferred activities.
Extra privacy and security features
You must look at its features to check how much a VPN stands out from the competition. TorGuard VPN isn’t a full-fledged VPN provider, but it offers some impressive extra security and privacy features that make your user experience amazing. Here’s a brief description of these features:
Stealth VPN
Stealth VPN is an advanced anti-censorship feature offered by many top-quality VPN providers, including ExpressVPN and Surfshark VPN. It masks your VPN traffic as regular internet traffic while allowing you to bypass strict censorship and firewalls.
The stealth VPN hides the use of OpenVPN by taking away headers that include information regarding VPN encryption. It wraps and obfuscates SSL/TLS encryption and routes data traffic via a standard HTTPS port.
In addition to the stealth VPN, TorGuard VPN also offers a stealth proxy powered by ShadowSOCKS5. It works together with the stealth VPN and provides double security. First, you connect to the stealth VPN that redirects your traffic through secure HTTPS, and then further, the proxy hides it and further increases online protection.
Anonymous proxy
TorGuard VPN offers an anonymous proxy service that masks your IP address while browsing. By hiding your IP address, the proxy ensures that the websites you visit can never know about your location.
The proxy service offers more than 3000 IP addresses in 50+ countries. You can access any website you want and your favorite streaming content by changing your geographical location. You also enjoy unlimited bandwidth that ensures fast speed and enables you to unblock websites and services. Besides this, you can even use it for downloading torrents anonymously.
Moreover, this TorGuard feature offers SOCKS5 proxy and HTTP/SSL proxy support, which is easy to use and is compatible with all operating systems. You can also contact the 24/7 available support team if you have any issues regarding the anonymous proxy. However, to benefit from TorGuard proxy, you must pay an extra $59.99 on the annual plan or $9.99 /monthly.
Kill switch
Like every other VPN provider, TorGuard VPN provides an integrated kill switch feature across all supported platforms, including Windows, MacOS, and Linux. It is a highly advanced feature that automatically blocks your internet connection when it detects the VPN connection drops. The kill switch prevents your IP address and other sensitive information from leaking.
TorGuard VPN has two types of kill switches. The first is called the App kill switch, enabling you to auto-terminate any process from a running process list or add a customary entry. To allow it go to More Settings > App kill section > choose the apps you want to kill with TorGuard VPN.
The other type of kill switch that TorGuard VPN offers is the Network Kill Switch. Navigate to the Network tab > tick mark the Manage Interface State > tap on select interfaces to use it. By doing so, your internet will stop working.
TorGuard VPN offers various kill switch options, but still, users are not satisfied with its performance and complain that it’s useless as the ISP sends them letters for torrenting despite enabling the kill switch.
Dedicated IP address
Another impressive feature of TorGuard VPN is its dedicated residential IP address and streaming IP address feature. It’s entirely up to the user to use a shared IP address, streaming/sports, or a dedicated IP address.
A dedicated IP address is unique and not shared with any other user. It offers several advantages, like using an online banking service, avoiding RECAPTCHA, and browsing anonymously. On the other hand, a streaming IP address is similar to the dedicated ones but is compatible with primary streaming services.
The VPN offers dedicated residential IP address servers only in the USA, and it’s disappointing that you can’t download torrents if you use them. Similarly, when connected to the UK, US, Canada, France, and Spain servers, you can get the dedicated IP address.
Since it’s an add-on feature, you must pay extra to use it. The dedicated residential IP address costs $13.99/m, while the streaming IP address costs $7.99 monthly. The prices are a bit higher than what you expect.
Split tunneling
TorGuard VPN also offers a split tunneling feature that lets users control their data. However, this feature is only limited to Android apps. You can find this feature under the name Restricted Apps. With this feature, you can choose particular apps you want to continue securing via VPN encryption while excluding others to route through the regular internet connection.
It is a handy feature for unblocking foreign content and downloading torrents. Also, it reduces your bandwidth and improves your overall connection speed. To enable this feature on your TorGuard Android app, go to Settings > select Restricted apps > choose the apps you want to restrict.
Scripts
Network scripts are another feature that TorGuard VPN offers. It enables you to customize the VPN connection, write your own scripts, and make the app run before connecting, after connecting, and after disconnecting. To set up the VPN connection scripts with the TorGuard client, go to the settings button on the main TorGuard lite screen > tap on scripts > execute apps > choose the connection type> type the scripts you want you run > click on save.
Business VPN
TorGuard VPN, besides offering an anonymous VPN, also provides a separate business VPN that helps to secure corporate data.
The business VPN offers different subscription plans for starters, small businesses, medium, and large-sized businesses with a starting price of $32/m. All the plans include various features, but they all use the industry’s leading encryption and guarantee protection against data leaks while they use public Wi-Fi networks.
Moreover, employees can safely access the cloud environment and use the stealth VPN feature for business apps like Dropbox, VOIP, and Google Apps.
Private Email service
Another add-on that TorGuard VPN offers is the private email service. You can now encrypt your emails with TorGuard’s private email feature. The private email service provides best-in-class support, easy email alias, encrypted cloud storage, and many more features.
Besides this, you can secure your emails with other features like advanced search, calendar, notes, and key storage. Also, the email service offers protection against MITM attacks and other potential cyber threats. There are four different pricing plans, but you can get the private email feature at the lowest price of $8.95/m, including 10GB of data and five email aliases.
Apart from these, TorGuard VPN also provides IP and DNS leak protection. However, the VPN lacks features other VPN providers have, such as double VPN and private DNS servers.
Streaming and Torrenting
To get the best results for torrenting and accessing the blocked streaming content, it’s recommended to use a VPN provider. A trustworthy VPN ensures a hassle-free experience and fixes these activities’ security issues. Also, they have incredible features that maintain maximum protection and don’t interrupt your experience.
Compatible streaming platforms
TorGuard VPN claims to enable users to access the blocked streaming content on Amazon Prime, Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, and DAZN. However, in reality, TorGuard VPN doesn’t fulfill your entertainment needs.
The VPN provider has been greatly criticized for not allowing users to watch their favorite streaming content when subscribed to the Anonymous VPN plan. But, if you have the streaming IP add-on feature, you can stream Netflix from the US and the UK region. Some users even suggest that if you cannot access the streaming services, you should submit a ticket and ask them to change your IP address.
You may use the Anonymous VPN bundle + streaming bundle for unblocking the geo-blocked content. This package allows unlimited streaming and allocates two streaming IPs that can guarantee streaming in France, the UK, the US, Germany, Russia, and Spain region.
It is utterly disappointing that with a VPN like TorGuard, you can’t enjoy streaming despite offering a stealth VPN feature. Follow this link to learn more about the best VPN for Netflix.
Is TorGuard VPN a good option for downloading torrents?
As the name suggests, TorGuard VPN is one of the best options for torrenting. It allows P2P file sharing and torrenting on all servers. The VPN provides fast speed while torrenting and comes with no bandwidth limitations. Hence, you can upload and download many files on torrent clients such as BitTorrent. The VPN works with torrent apps like qBitTorrent, Vuzu, Deluge, and Transmission, giving users another reason to consider it.
TorGuard VPN uses strong encryption, IP leak protection, and the kill switch feature to protect torrent traffic. In addition, the VPN prevents keeping data logs and thus ensures that all your P2P activities remain private and secure. You may even use the SOCKS5 proxy for torrenting and enjoy maximum privacy.
However, since the VPN company received a lawsuit, you must use servers other than the US for torrenting.
How fast is TorGuard VPN
TorGuard VPN offers fast and reliable speeds across the entire server network. It provides more than 3000 servers in 68 locations. More servers lead to less server load and ensure a quick and stable connection.
Speed varies from the server location. You can get maximum speed while connecting to servers located in America and Europe. Still, as the number of servers is limited in Asia and the Pacific, you can experience connection drops while connecting to long-distance servers.
Furthermore, the VPN guarantees fast and consistent connection speed using the WireGuard and OpenVPN protocol. Also, the OpenConnect VPN protocol provides maximum bandwidth and prevents ISP and bandwidth throttling issues.
Users on Reddit share mixed opinions about TorGuard VPN speed. Some users experience a 10% drop in speed, while others say that they receive maximum speed while browsing, and the only issue they face at times is that their app sometimes lags. The VPN offers good speed for browsing and torrenting, but the speeds are not ideal for streaming, and it’s better if you look for other options like ProtonVPN.
User-Friendliness
Another best thing about a VPN is its user-friendliness. A VPN like TorGuard is user-friendly and offers apps to ensure a seamless user experience.
The number of servers TorGuard VPN offers
TorGuard VPN is also among those VPN providers with an extensive server network. It has its server network in half the globe, and all the servers ensure the fastest connection speeds. The VPN is powered by a 3k+ gigabit server and unmetered bandwidth, comprising 3000+ VPN servers spread over 50 countries. Most TorGuard servers are physical, while it offers virtual servers at only seven locations.
You can find most of the TorGuard VPN servers in America and Europe. It also has its server network in four African and Middle East countries and nine countries in the Asian Pacific region. If you want to connect to the fastest TorGuard VPN servers, you must connect to the following servers:
- The USA – Chicago, Dallas, Miami, New York, and LA.
- Asia – Hong Kong, Japan, and Singapore.
- Europe – Iceland, Germany, Russia, Sweden, Switzerland, and the UK
- Oceania – Australia and New Zealand
These servers are optimized for fast speeds and won’t disappoint you while browsing, downloading, and streaming. Furthermore, the server’s extensive network reduces server load time and establishes a quick connection.
All the servers support a wide range of VPN protocols that ensure a fast and stable connection. However, you won’t find the stealth VPN feature on a few servers in major locations like Canada, Spain, and some USA servers.
The VPN providers also offer specialty servers that are dedicated IP addresses and streaming IP address servers. These include a limited number of servers in major countries like America, France, Germany, Spain, and the UK, but they cost you extra.
How good is TorGuard VPN customer support
TorGuard VPN claims to help users greatly by connecting to their customer support team. They offer multiple options, including 24/7 live chat, ticket submission, and email service, by which you can connect to their support.
Unfortunately, TorGuard VPN’s claim of providing a 24/7 live chat feature is misleading. If you’re looking for an instantaneous reply, then sorry, TorGuard VPN will disappoint you, and here’s proof of it.
The screenshot above clearly shows how poor the live chat feature is; even after waiting for at least 15 minutes, no service was offered.
Chatbots run the TorGuard VPN live chat feature, probably giving auto-generated replies. Also, chatbots are not capable of handling any technical issue.
The next option is to submit a ticket, but you must first have a user account. In other words, if you’re an already registered user, then you can benefit from this option. However, the help desk feature is for every user. You can email your query, and the customer support team will resolve your issue after a maximum of two hours.
Besides this, the VPN also has a Twitter account. You can directly tweet your issues there. In addition, you can also post on Reddit, as the customer support team is pretty active there and offers excellent help.
Moreover, there’s a wide range of online resources that you can use. This includes FAQs, troubleshooting, news, blog posts, and setup guides. The VPN must improve the live chat feature as users are always looking for fast and instant replies.
What devices is TorGuard VPN compatible with
TorGuard VPN offers cross-platform compatibility, meaning you can download and install it on various popular operating systems and devices. The VPN provides dedicated apps that are easy to use for the following platforms:
- Android
- iOS
- macOS
- Linux
- Routers
- Windows
You can download the apps from the Google Play Store, Apple App Store, or TorGuard’s website.
The Windows and MacOS apps are identical because of their interface and similar features. The mobile apps (Android and iOS) perform well, but they vary in the availability of features. The Android app has the restricted/split tunneling app feature, enhancing online security.
TorGuard VPN doesn’t offer compatibility with smart TVs, which is disappointing. Besides this, the VPN doesn’t provide any SmartPlay feature, which is helpful when connecting the VPN to streaming devices. The absence of this feature means you can’t connect TorGuard VPN on any streaming devices or gaming consoles.
Conclusion
TorGuard VPN offers many good things, with room for immense improvement. The VPN provider offers excellent security and many extra features that ensure a great user experience. Moreover, the browsing and torrenting speeds are also pretty impressive.
However, the VPN needs to improve its streaming abilities. Despite all the claims, the VPN performs poorly with streaming platforms. Also, VPNs in the past have been questioned over their privacy. There’s a need to add an audit report as proof to assure users that they’re living up to all their claims.
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About the Author
Rebecca James is an IT consultant with forward thinking approach toward developing IT infrastructures of SMEs. She writes to engage with individuals and raise awareness of digital security, privacy, and better IT infrastructure.
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