UltraVPN Review
Security Features
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30-day money-back guarantee
$2.99-$7.99/mo
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Intro
UltraVPN is the flagship product of Network Protect, a software provider based on the UK’s south coast. The company was founded in 2018 and launched its VPN product on August 18 of the same year. Barely six months later, it employs 35 people and is rapidly expanding due to the success of UltraVPN.
UltraVPN is available for the use on the dominant platforms: Windows and MacOS for desktop and laptop computers, and iOS and Android for mobile devices. It offers users the option to connect to a server network that consists of more than 100 separate servers in more than 55 locations all across the globe, of which close to half (currently 57 servers) are located in North America – making it the epicenter of UltraVPN’s activities.
To make it easy on potential customers, UltraVPN tells them exactly why they should choose UltraVPN. If you’re interested in using a VPN service that connects fast, unblocks social media, offers maximum bandwidth, lets you stream live sports events, doesn’t log your activity, minimizes speed loss, and encrypts data using the highest security standard (256-Bit), then UltraVPN should be on your radar as a VPN provider to consider.
During our research on VPN services, we’ve identified five key criteria for you to consider when choosing a VPN service: 1. Main security features 2. Resource consumption 3. Connection stability 4. Platforms/Devices accessibility 5. Value for money. Our reviews will examine each VPN service in accordance with how well it delivers on these five criteria.
How UltraVPN meets the 5 criteria?
1. Main Security Features
Encryption
A new player on the market, a label UltraVPN definitely qualifies for, has to bring a lot to the table to be able to compete with the household names in the field. At the very least, a new player has to match the level of service of its biggest competitors to be able to provide potential users a worthy alternative. When it comes to data encryption, UltraVPN hits the proverbial ball out of the park – exactly like it is supposed to. Providing less than the standard 256-Bit security would be underperforming and not measuring up to the current standards. But UltraVPN does fine here, its security is up to par with that of other providers. However, we don’t get any additional info about the type of protocol used for the encryption, but we can live with that. While it makes sense to assume UltraVPN uses what is considered to be the standard (OpenVPN, IPSec, or IKEv2, or a combination of those), we can’t find the info in the knowledge base on the UltraVPN site. Taking its claim of no loss of connection speed, a combination of the OpenVPN and UDP protocols would be our pick if we had to guess the encryption method UltraVPN uses.
Connection
UltraVPN has only been active for a very short time, about half a year. Realistically speaking, unless you are able to work with a huge budget, you start with a relatively small server park and add more servers on more locations, slowly expanding the service’s coverage. Judging from the current situation, offering users to connect to 100+ servers in more than 55 countries, UltraVPN is working on having servers in many different countries, while making sure its main target market (North America) is served in the best possible way, which explains the relatively large number of servers located there. With a little over a 100 servers spread out over the world, UltraVPN can’t match the coverage and server proximity offered by the top providers. But, by at least having servers in many different countries, it does offer users a good variety of locations to connect to, even if the number of servers is still on the low side.
Activating a connection with UltraVPN is easy and only takes a couple of seconds. You can connect in two different ways: either you just click the “On” button in the middle of the UltraVPN window, or you first open the list of available locations and then click on the location you want to connect to.
UltraVPN offers a few adjustable basic settings, among which the option to start UltraVPN together with Windows and connect to the last connected server or to the best available location. The settings also allow you to set the firewall mode to automatic (default setting) or manual.
Connection logs
UltraVPN keeps a so-called “zero logging policy”, which obviously means they do not store any log files of your internet activities. You do have to keep in mind that laws regarding data collection in the UK are very strict, so even though a zero logging policy sounds very secure and convincing, you may want to act with the necessary caution just to be on the safe side.
DNS Leak Protection
DNS leaks happen when your VPN connection fails and your internet traffic passes through the regular digital highway instead of through the protected tunnel the VPN provides. When such a failure happens, your ISP is able to see DNS requests, which tells them which sites you visit, which services you use and which files you download. You’re using a VPN to prevent that from happening. UltraVPN offers users the kill switch option to make sure no DNS leakage will occur because it will immediately break the internet connection when there is a VPN connection failure. Basically, it stops you from using the internet when not connected to the VPN.
2. Resource Consumption
UltraVPN clearly states on its website that the VPN connections it offers do not sacrifice the quality of your connection. You should, in other words, not experience any loss of speeds at all. Before we put that statement to the test, we take a quick look at how much of your PC’s resources UltraVPN needs to run. To sum it up in two words: very little. Actually, you don’t notice any difference when the VPN is not connected as compared to when it is connected to an UltraVPN server of your choice.
When comparing up- and download speeds with UltraVPN connected and disconnected, the results are equally impressive. Measurements from three different speed tests (speedtest.net, meter.net, and fast.com) show that our PC’s download speed when running UltraVPN is no different than when UltraVPN is not connected: 34.27 Mbps vs. 34.33 Mbps. We tested for several server locations, and every time the results showed remarkable consistency. The same goes for the upload speed, which is even a bit higher (37.48 Mbps vs. 37.56 Mbps). The connected PING values, providing info on how long it takes for a page to load, indicate a fast connection (14 ms). On top of the three variables that inform us about the speed of the connection, the low jitter score (0.6 ms) tells us that our connection is also very stable. In short: our test results confirm UltraVPN’s claim of no loss of speed.
3. Connection Stability
The quality of the connection offered by UltraVPN doesn’t give us reason to complain. The relatively low jitter score indicates a stable connection, which is what we expected based on the recorded download and upload speeds while running UltraVPN. The fact that the number of available UltraVPN servers is still on the low side, especially when compared to some of the more established competitors, means that it is not always possible to connect to a server that is in close proximity of your location. Our expectations regarding the stability of the connection were conservative, but our worries were far from justified: the connection was actually very stable.
4. Platforms/Devices Accessibility
UltraVPN is available for a range of operating systems: Windows and MacOS for desktop/ laptop devices, Android and iOS for mobile devices. With that set of apps, it covers a big part of the market. Since UltraVPN is a very new product, it makes sense that they focus to make it available on the most widely used platforms first, before creating apps for the niche markets. As of yet, users that use other platforms than the main ones, are not able to benefit from UltraVPN’s product and service. People that are able to use UltraVPN, can install and run the product on up to 5 devices.
Windows OS
Mac OS
IOS
Android
5. Value for Money?
UltraVPN fully lives up to the various claims it makes on the website – our tests point this out without even the slightest doubt. Connections offered are generally stable, which is good because it provides users a great level of protection. UltraVPN’s connections are of high quality and match connections with the VPN turned off when it comes to speed. UltraVPN does not focus on offering a lot of extra features, and offers only a few settings the user can adjust himself. UltraVPN is basically a simple product, very easy to use, with a few keenly chosen, useful extra features such as the kill switch and the firewall. What sets UltraVPN apart from its competitors are not the extras, but rather the rock solid performance of the main feature of the product: a fast and very stable connection that ensures optimal protection of the user. On top of that, UltraVPN is also interesting for its low subscription prices.
User Experience
UltraVPN is a very easy product to use. Actually, nothing about the product is even remotely complicated. It really is created to serve the common user, who doesn’t want to even think about changing any settings or using additional features. Those users just want to know the product they’re using keeps them safe and protects their personal info and internet activity private. UltraVPN does well in keeping things simple and focussing their marketing message on the protection of users’ privacy and the attractive option to stream content and unlock the internet, both of which are just a mouse click away.
A very attractive part of UltraVPN’s service lies in its Ultraflix feature, which is basically a dedicated server for users who want to gain access to US Netflix. US Netflix is the mother of all Netflix content and offers the most extensive list of shows and other content – so it’s basically all you need as far as Netflix goes. Connecting to this special server takes only one click and works exactly the same as connecting to a specific location – you just click to connect to the appropriate server in the list of available servers and you can start watching instantly. Ultraflix is available on any device you have installed UltraVPN on, so you can even watch on your mobile while you’re on the road.
Plans/Rates
UltraVPN comes both as a free version and a premium version. The free version only offers a small list of servers to connect to, which doesn’t include Ultraflix, so it pays off to register for a paid subscription. UltraVPN is definitely among the cheaper options when you compare prices with those of the competition. Its monthly subscription is fairly priced at only $7.99, and the price per month obviously drops for longer subscriptions. UltraVPN also offers ongoing special deals that can save new subscribers a lot compared to the original subscription price.
Support and Customer Service
The UltraVPN Help Center is not super extensive yet, but it does cover the basic areas of the product. Problems with the product will largely focus on connection problems or slow connection speed, central issues for any VPN provider, so these are the areas UltraVPN highlights. The FAQ provides more help, also regarding less prominent issues.
And if all available options fail, you can contact Customer Support by phone or live chat (available in the lower right corner of the screen), or open up a support ticket, to cope with the problem.
UltraVPN set up their support channels in a convenient way for users to find answers to the problems they’re dealing with. At this point, the knowledge base is still relatively small, but we can expect it to grow in the near future. In general, UltraVPN does well to cover the most urgent matters, which will satisfy most users looking for assistance with the product.
Pros & Cons
- Little to no loss of connection speed
- Excellent connection stability
- Access to Netflix US (Ultraflix)
- 30-day Money-Back Guarantee
- Free version
- A relatively small knowledge base for problem-solving
- Growing, but still limited number of available servers
Bottom Line
UltraVPN built quite a name for itself in the first half year since its inception. By offering users access to high-quality servers that allow for little loss of connection speeds and great connection stability, dedicated servers for streaming content (including US Netflix), and topnotch data encryption providing the highest security possible, while keeping subscription prices lower than those of most competitors, UltraVPN manages to present itself as one of the best available options on the market of VPN providers.