TuVPN Review 2018 – How Secure is TuVPN?

TuVPN is a European-run Virtual Private Network (VPN) service that has registered headquarters in the British Virgin Islands (BVI). The BVI is a good base for a privacy service, because the colony has no legislation that requires internet service companies to keep records. This means that TuVPN is able to operate a total no logs policy. This is an important feature for users who want to download with torrents, where copyright infringement might become an issue.

If you run a VPN on all of your connections, no-one will be able to spot that you are connecting to peers to download, and if the VPN keeps no logs, no agency can force it to hand over records of your activities.

TuVPN is run by highly competent technicians. Their passion for privacy on the internet is expressed loud and clear on every page of the service’s website. That dedication is very important to those who intend to use P2P networks to download entertainment. This is because copyright holders are becoming increasingly aggressive towards end users.

The commitment to defending the anonymity of customers is also very important for web surfers in the Middle East, and in China, where laws against using applications such as WhatsApp can be very draconian. Given its potential for satisfying the privacy requirements of citizens of repressive regimes, TuVPN could perhaps improve its service by opening server sites in strategic locations throughout Asia and South America.

TuVPN Types of Service

TuVPN has price points for two different services: a shared IP service and a dedicated IP service. This factor refers to the address that goes onto all of the communications that go out on the internet.

Every computer connected to the internet has to have a unique address, and the computer that you contact has to know the address to which it should send back information. This simple factor gives sites operating geo-restrictions the ability to detect the country of origin of a request. This sort of block is very common with TV websites. It’s why you see a message that a video is not available in your country when you try to watch entertainment on websites abroad.
If you want to watch TV from another country over the internet, a VPN can help you. The web server only communicates with the VPN server, so if you pick a server location in the same country as the entertainment site you want to visit, you should be able to get through the block.

Although every computer connected to the internet has to have a unique IP address, that uniqueness only applies to the moment. Thus, VPN companies buy up thousands of IP addresses and allocate one to each connection. When you disconnect from the internet, that IP address goes back into the pool for others to use. This is a shared IP address.

Unfortunately, a lot of media sites now try to block access through VPNs. They keep a log of the IP addresses that they detect VPNs are using. One by one, those shared IP addresses become useless. When you opt for a dedicated IP address, you get the same address every time you use the VPN, and no one else can use it. That means you have a better chance of getting around VPN detection procedures.

Does TuVPN Unblock Netflix?

While a dedicated IP address option is usually the best way to overcome geo-location restrictions, the shared IP service of TuVPN can get into Netflix USA.

Netflix has poured more resources into blocking VPNs than any other company on Earth. Although the company operates in almost every country, it doesn’t allow universal access to its content. However, a subscription in one country works in another – the only requirement to get into that service is that you have to be physically in that country. Thus, if you log into Netflix USA from England, you will be redirected to Netflix UK.

Most VPNs can get around the redirection, but only a very small number can get around the proxy detection procedures that the content delivery server performs before it shows a video. TuVPN can, without the added cost of a dedicated IP address.

How Much Does TuVPN Cost?

The prices of TuVPN’s shared IP service are shown below. You get a cheaper rate per month if you subscribe for a longer period. However, keep in mind that you have to pay the entire subscription period up front.

The seven-day free trial is a great help when you buy this service. After all, you wouldn’t want to pay for the full year and then discover that the VPN doesn’t work well for your particular needs! With the free trial, you can take out the one-year subscription, try it out, and cancel it if you find it doesn’t suit you. Just keep an eye on the date so you don’t miss the one-week cancellation window.

The dedicated IP service is more expensive, as you can see below. The drop-down list next to the title gives you the option of choosing an IP address in Sweden, the Netherlands, the United States, France, Germany, Canada, Spain, or the UK. You should choose an IP address in the country that you want to communicate with, rather than the country you are in. For example, if you are in Sweden and you want to watch Netflix USA, select the USA location, not Sweden.

But wait! You can get either service a lot cheaper for almost no effort at all. Look at the features list for the shared IP service.

If you click on the words “Starter Pack Promotion,” another tab opens in your browser showing a discounted price list.

The company only offers a discount on the monthly payment plan, which means you pay less by taking the discounted offer. However, this discount only applies to the first month, so over six months you will still be better off taking out the longer subscription period. There is no equivalent discount on the dedicated IP service.

Unfortunately, the company doesn’t accept PayPal, but it does process bitcoin payments. You can pay by bank transfer, but probably the most convenient way to pay for the service is by credit or debit card.

TuVPN Repeat Payments

A lot of VPN companies set up a recurring payment order on your bank account. These arrangements can be annoying, because most people forget about them and end up paying for another period before they realize that they should cancel the order.

TuVPN has a slightly different method. After your initial payment, it is up to you to keep sufficient funds in your TuVPN account. The credit will be shown in your account page on the TuVPN website. When your subscription period ends, TuVPN will renew it automatically if you have sufficient funds loaded up into your TuVPN account. Thus, if you don’t want to continue with the service, you just don’t put money into your account. TuVPN won’t charge your bank account again, it will just cancel the service.

TuVPN Features

Apart from the options of shared or dedicated IPs, you get a choice of four VPN protocols. A protocol is a method that computers follow when they communicate with each other – it is like a rule book. The other features of the service include:

• An app for the OpenVPN version of the service
• Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) 256-bit encryption with OpenVPN
• Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol (L2TP)/ Internet Protocol Security (IPSec) with 128-bit AES encryption
• Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol (PPTP) with 128-bit Microsoft Point-to-Point Encryption (MPPE) encryption
• Secure Shell version 2 (SSH2) protocol with 256-bit AES encryption
• An additional anonymizing proxy server
• Unlimited data usage
• Dynamic Remote Port Forwarding for P2P and Skype connections
• Throughput speed limited to 12 Mb/sec
• Apps for Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, and Android

Is TuVPN Secure?

The VPN offers a choice of protocols. However, you will probably end up just using one of them unless you have specific needs from your connection.

You can download the app that implements the OpenVPN protocol before you sign up or pay for the service. OpenVPN is the industry’s favored protocol, and it offers the strongest encryption of all the systems offered by TuVPN.

The recommended minimum encryption key length for sufficient security is 256 bits. However, gamers often prefer to switch to the PPTP protocol. This is less secure, but it is still encrypted and is faster.

Many VPNs offer the L2TP/IPSec protocol combination for smartphone users. This system only has 128-bit encryption. However, this is a good compromise for mobile devices, because implementing full 256-bit AES encryption drains the battery quickly.

Another reason that you will probably only use the OpenVPN protocol is that the other protocols have to be set up manually on your computer. If you are not comfortable with creating a new network, then you’ll probably avoid these options.

TuVPN also offers a free proxy server to all of its VPN customers. A proxy is the same as a VPN, in that it mediates between the user and the target web server, so that the two end points never communicate directly. However, a proxy doesn’t employ the encryption that a VPN offers.

Subscribing to TuVPN

Click on the “Order Now” button at the bottom of the description of your favored plan.

You will be taken to the order screen. Fill in your name and email address, create a password, enter the security code, and check the terms of use box.

Select your preferred payment method and fill in your billing details.

Once you pass the first screen of account creation (above), the system will automatically log you in to the website. Your username and password to log in to the

How to Install TuVPN?

The download page for the application can be found in the tutorials section of the website. Click on the headline for your operating system.

Next, open up the tutorial for your operating system version. You will see the link for the download file at the top of the tutorial.

The download will begin automatically once you click on the link. Once the file is on your computer, click on it to start the install.

You will walk through a standard install wizard.

Look for the icon of the newly installed program on your desktop. It is called “OpenVPN GUI.”

Right-click on this icon to open a menu. Select “Properties” at the bottom of the menu.

In the Properties panel, click on the Compatibility tab and check the “Run this program as administrator” box. Click on Apply and then OK.

Using TuVPN

When you double-click on the program icon, you will get a security message asking you to give permission to the app. After that, you will think that nothing is happening. However, look down at the system tray. You will see the OpenVPN graphical user interface (GUI) icon there.

Clicking on the icon won’t do you any good. You need to right-click to get anything to happen. You will see the server list appear. Move the pointer over one of the names in the list to get control options. Click on Connect.

A popup will appear and you should enter the username and password that was emailed to you – not the username and password of the account that you set up when you bought the package.

If the message panel is still visible, the connection failed. When a connection is successful, the message panel will disappear and the two screens in the system tray icon will turn green.

Right-click on the icon to get the connection control options.

TuVPN Customer Support

You can access customer support via the TuVPN website. Click on the gray “Support” button at the top right of the screen. You will be presented with the option to open a support ticket and another to check on the status of an existing support issue.

The support request page is a standard web form.

TuVPN will send its response to your enquiry to the email address that you registered when you opened your account.

Is TuVPN Fast?

The throughput of TuVPN is good enough to watch streaming videos, even from countries with lousy internet service.

These tests were performed from the Dominican Republic – a vacation spot from which many visitors want to check into Facebook, or stream video from back home.

Here is the speed of a local connection without TuVPN turned on. This shows the speeds of a regular internet connection on the island:

American tourists would want to connect to their home country, so here is the speed of an unprotected connection to Miami:

Finally, for Brits abroad, here are the speeds from the Dominican Republic to London without a VPN applied to the connection:

TuVPN only has one server location in the USA – Dallas. Here are the speeds of a local connection with that US server engaged:

The connection to Miami through the TuVPN server in Dallas got these results:

The VPN slowed down the connection. However, these speeds would be good enough to stream video, though perhaps not in HD quality. Connecting to London through the TuVPN Dallas server created a very slow connection:

However, if you wanted to watch the BBC iPlayer, you would need to connect through a VPN in the UK:

The performance of TuVPN on this connection created a considerable improvement in speeds. This connection speed would be fast enough to enjoy video streaming from the UK while in the Caribbean.

After completing the speed test, I tried to get into Netflix UK. Oh dear.

That is the dreaded proxy error message that every VPN in the world is trying to beat. So, the TuVPN server in the UK is not as stealthy as the facility in the US. The service did get around the BBC iPlayer VPN detector, however.

Should I Subscribe to TuVPN?

Most VPNs allow several simultaneous connections, but TuVPN doesn’t. The application is complicated to install, it is difficult to use, and the requirement to enter the username and password for each connection is annoying.

The speeds offered by TuVPN are not so great, and its server network is small compared to other VPNs out there. However, TuVPN is one of very few VPNs in the world that can get around the US Netflix VPN proxy detector. That makes it a world-beater.

Yay!

• Seven-day money-back guarantee
• Gets past Netflix USA proxy detector
• Gets into BBC iPlayer
• Option of shared or dedicated IP addresses
• Optimized for P2P downloading
• Strictly no logs
• Email support

Nay!

• No live support
• Only one connection allowed
• Complicated and technical installation process
• Not very visually appealing
• Small network
• Blocked by Netflix UK