ProXPN

ProXPN

My experiences with ProXPN Premium VPN Services

I acquired a lifelong licence of ProXPN Premium VPN Services for $39 via BitsDuJour in September 2015: an offer I could not refuse. I have been using it for almost two years now on my Windows computers and since a few months on a LinuxMint desktop from 2010, via Wine. The first time I had to use the command sudo chmod +s /usr/sbin/openvpn.

ProXPN is a very stable service, easy to set up under Windows, Linux and iOS iPhone and it is very easy to make changes during usage.

I use it mainly to access sites normally not accessible from the Netherlands, such as the BBC in the UK, or viewing Dutch television on my iPhone while sitting in a bus in Spain on holiday: since June 1, 2017, that does not cost me a penny, as long as I do not use more than 20 GB a month.

Another application is to check if I can buy a cheaper airline ticket from another country: EasyJet for one offers cheaper tickets when leaving than when returning. So when flying to the UK I will buy the Amsterdam - London ticket from the Netherlands and the return ticket from the UK, all from my desktop at home.

A third usage is when I make an error when voting on a posting on some site. Normally you are only allowed one vote per IP-address. But after changing your location and thus your IP-address, you can vote once more and "repair" your mistake. In Amsterdam several IP-addresses are available, so sometimes it is sufficient to close and reconnect. But you might get the same Amsterdam IP-address.

It supports OpenVPN, PPTP (Premium) VPN services and IPsec. On my Windows 8.1 laptop I use IPsec, on the other machines I use OpenVPN.

I read somewhere that ProXPN uses a 512-bit encryption tunnel with a 2048-bit key, but I have no way to check that. On their site they write it depends on the protocol you use:

What I particularly like is that I can switch my virtual location during a session. Even during live chats. I can choose to block non-VPN DNS. And protect any application with a VPN Guard. That will switch off selected applications when the encryption should be switched off for whatever reason. On this Linux machine I have selected the Firefox and Chromium browsers to be protected in this way.

Another nicety: it runs in my VirtualBox virtual Windows machines. So I can let a virtual PC work via a different country than the carrier machine. I use virtual machines a lot, because I test the daily giveawayofthedays.

Their headquarters are based in Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands As a part-time Dutch consultant working for Dutch clients, it can be advantageous to use a European VPN provider and a European access point. When I work for a Dutch hospital I am not allowed to store certain data in DropBox because of Dutch and EU regulations.Sensitive data must remain within the EU and may not cross the Atlantic Ocean. Using ProXPN I can guarantee that all my communications with them are encrypted and do not leave the EU.

When I am in a particular "sensitive" mood, I can use ProXPN in combination with The Onion Router (TOR). But TOR is not so fast, to say the least.

What if you can connect, but not surf?

The fact that you can connect, but not surf indicates that something on your end is blocking proper DNS resolution. Change your DNS servers in your network settings to Google's public DNS servers by going to https://developers.google.com/speed/public-dns/docs/using and following the steps as needed for your OS to the following values:

8.8.8.8

8.8.4.4

Change those, save, reboot and try connecting to proxpn.(The preceding text is copied from ProXPN's FAQ)

The Google Public DNS IPv6 addresses are as follows:

2001:4860:4860::8888

2001:4860:4860::8844

What about speed?

speed test on LinuxMint on an old desktop using Firefox (eMachines EL1352) via SolidHost Amsterdam: http://beta.speedtest.net/

ping 28 msec download 39.53 Mbps upload 21.85 Mbps

Without the vpn via a KPN access point near my village:

ping 14 msec download 84.40 Mbps upload 24.70 Mbps

speed test on LinuxMint on an old desktop using Chromium (eMachines EL1352) via SolidHost Amsterdam: http://beta.speedtest.net/

ping 28 msec download 22.,49 Mbps upload 22.50 Mbps

A second run gave better ping and download results:

ping 15 msec download 32.94 Mbps upload 22.24 Mbps

A third run gave better ping and download results, while upload was worse:

ping 25 msec download 27.07 Mbps upload 17.34 Mbps

Without the vpn via a KPN access point near my village:

ping 12 msec download 86.90 Mbps upload 26.72 Mbps

A second run gave worse ping and better download and upload results:

ping 21 msec download 87.25 Mbps upload 28.62 Mbps

A third gave better ping and upload results:

ping 11 msec download 86.02 Mbps upload 29.60 Mbps

It is clear the vpn takes its toll on speed, but it is still faster than my direct KPN access last year, before my ISRA-point was renewed with new copper wiring, replacing the original 40+ years telephony cabling and before KPN upgraded their network electronics in the village and connecting the curb box with fibre to their infrastructure. The ISRA point is the location where the main telephone line enters the house from the outside. This old and slow 2010 desktop is connected by UTP to a WiFi receiver in my little office room on the first floor. During these tests, all other Wifi users were switched off.

Updated on June 30, 2017, 09:08 local time