Go for Windscribe's 10GB free tier instead. Phantom VPN supported watching videos and listening to music without a hiccup.Īvira Phantom VPN's good performance is a step ahead of the crowd, but its paltry usage limits don't make it very useful. Only Windscribe and Hotspot Shield did better.Īvira Phantom VPN uploaded data at 28.3 Mbps, a reduction of 20 percent from pre-VPN rates and again one of the better results. Phantom VPN downloaded data at an average rate of 78.2 megabits per second (Mbps), a drop of 56 percent from the pre-VPN levels but still among the best. (Speedify's latency was actually less than the baseline, but that service performs unique network tricks and we're treating it separately.) Most other services' latencies were at least double the non-VPN times. Connecting to Avira's New York City server took a relatively long 7.2 seconds, although TunnelBear, Opera and took longer.īut Phantom VPN's latency was 18.6 milliseconds, an increase of only 24 percent over the non-VPN ping time and the least of any regular VPN service. Its a simple VPN that uses OpenVPN protocol and can access US Netflix on mobile, but it stores user logs and monthly data is limited to just 500MB (or 1GB if you create an Avira account). It took us less than a minute to download Avira Phantom VPN's 5.2MB Windows package, install it on our HP EliteBook X360 1020 G2 notebook and get online. Avira Phantom Free VPN Our Verdict Overall Rating: 2 2.0 / 10 Avira’s free VPN is a disappointing VPN service. Because network speeds can vary, a baseline reading without any VPN service active was taken before each round of tests. Each service was tested for connection time, latency (network delay) and upload and download speeds using Ookla's online service.Įach parameter was tested three times and then averaged. Testing was done at a suburban New York home provisioned with regular consumer cable-broadband service. We tested Avira Phantom VPN's free offering and those of eight other services:, Hotspot Shield, the Opera browser VPN, ProtonVPN, Speedify, SurfEasy, TunnelBear and Windscribe. Because Avira is based in Germany, it should be beyond the reach of American search warrants - although German police are known for heavy-handed digital snooping. With Phantom, you can use Open VPN (for Windows or Android) or L2TP/IPsec (for macOS and iOS) to secure your connection with its VPN servers. The software also lets you set up a Wi-Fi auto-connect sequence for trusted networks. You can pick which VPN server to connect to from a pull-down menu. This is definitely something to note if you use the internet to stream, game, download files and apps, or video call, as a lower speed may cause crashes and buffering.Phantom VPN's user interface shows you when you're connected and what your virtual location is. VPNs can significantly slow down your connection speeds, so how did Avira's Phantom VPN fare? When using Avira, we found that the download speed fell from 78.32 Mbps to 35.55 Mbps, a huge decrease. Without such a perspective, it's a little difficult to confirm Avira's no-log policy, however genuine the company may be in its claims. Independent audits are carried out by third parties who will not introduce any bias in their outcomes. So, if you want to use a VPN to cover all your internet traffic and you're a regular internet users, Avira's free Phantom VPN simply won't be sufficient.Īs you may have guessed, you can only access unlimited data usage by signing up to the premium version of Avira's Phantom VPN.Īnother potential downside of the Avira Phantom VPN is its lack of independent audits. If you provide Avira with your email address, this limit is bumped up to 1 GB, but compared to other services, such as Windscribe's free VPN plan, this is still miniscule. You can download this VPN via Avira's website, or head to the Apple or Google Play store to install the smartphone versions. However, you won't be able to access all 137 servers offered by Phantom VPN via the free version, as this is a luxury for premium users.Īvira's Phantom VPN is available for Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android. In addition, Security Data is here to, allegedly, prevent abuse of the VPN, for which reason the company must. Many free VPN plans limit you to a handful of server locations, but Phantom VPN offers 41 locations around the world, including Canada, Australia, Hong Kong, and multiple servers within the US and UK. Yes, Avira Phantom VPN stores your IP address, which is a HUGE red flag for privacy. So a no-log policy is definitely something you want in your VPN service.Īnother perk of the Phantom VPN is that it has a wide selection of server locations, despite being totally free. VPN logs pose dangers to users because the data they hold can be exploited or sold onto third parties. OpenVPN is a highly secure protocol that uses both TCP and UCP for data security.Īvira also has a strict no-log policy, meaning the provider does not record your internet traffic, browsing activity, or other data. Avira Phantom VPN uses the OpenVPN protocol, a popular option among VPN providers.
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