12/16/2023 0 Comments Kaspersky vpnThe Windows app is compact, and has a simple, straightforward interface. That's a significant improvement on Bitdefender's VPN, which can only be used as part of a bundle with another Bitdefender product- it's not available stand-alone. The package comes bundled with some Kaspersky products, or you can grab clients for Windows, Mac, iOS and Android from the Kaspersky site. Getting hold of the free Kaspersky Secure Connection edition is straightforward. This is the user interface of Kaspersky Secure Connection's Windows app (Image credit: Kaspersky) Apps None of this means Kaspersky can see what you're doing online, or connect any internet action back to you, but it's still a little more logging than you might expect. The policy also says device IDs are associated 'with other data we collect (such as for measuring bandwidth use, providing support, understanding how you interact with our VPN, and other analytics and marketing purposes).' Hotspot Shield's Privacy Policy (opens in new tab) makes it clear that although there's no logging of where you're going online, the service records plenty of information about your connection sessions.įor example, the product logs the duration of VPN sessions, the bandwidth used, your approximate geographical location, data on your ISP or carrier, and a unique ID for the device, which enables building up a pattern of use over time. While that sounds definitive, it's not the whole story. We're more interested in Kaspersky's logging policy, but the website barely mentions the issue beyond a single line on the front page: "Kaspersky Secure Connection won't log what you're doing online and won't keep any records of which websites you visit." Should you be concerned? We can't say for sure, but as there's still no sign of wrongdoing on Kaspersky's part we're not going to allow these issues to influence our review. Kaspersky Secure Connection doesn't have the same kind of access to files, and the company doesn't control the underlying VPN network, either: it's powered by the California-based Hotspot Shield. We've yet to see any evidence that Kaspersky has done anything wrong, though, and the main focus of the concern seems to be Kaspersky's antivirus software. It's always difficult to know whether you should trust any VPN provider with your privacy, and this is especially true with Kaspersky, after the US government announced it was banning the use of Kaspersky software on sensitive government systems (Pentagon, GSA, NASA). While Kaspersky Secure Connection doesn't record what you do online, there is some session logging (Image credit: Kaspersky) Privacy and logging Hotspot Shield's clients have more power and features, but Kaspersky Secure Connection gives you access to some of the same locations, and all the same performance, for a fraction of the price. That's a fraction of what you'll pay if you go direct to Hotspot Shield, where the annual plan costs a chunky $7.99 a month. Pay for a year upfront (opens in new tab) – card or PayPal supported – and the price plummets to an effective $1.67 a month. Buying a monthly account direct from Hotspot Shield costs $12.99. This gets you unlimited data use, full access to all locations and support for up to five simultaneous connections, all for the very low price of $4.99. But such a low daily limit means you'll struggle if you want to download or stream very much, and if you're willing to hand over your email address, there are better options around (Windscribe's free account gives you 2GB a month, but rises to 10GB if you register.)įortunately, the picture improves significantly if you sign up for a paid monthly account (opens in new tab). Even that 200MB per day translates to around 6GB a month without requiring handing over any personal data. There are a few welcome features, the best being the ability to automatically connect when you access insecure or untrusted wireless networks, but for the most part, Kaspersky keeps options to an absolute minimum. Secure Connection is powered by Hotspot Shield, and offers a minimal 27 locations spread around the world (Europe, North America, Brazil, Hong Kong, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Singapore). Early Amazon Prime Day deals: see all the latest offers right here.Īlthough one reason for this could be that there's not a lot to talk about.Want to try Kaspersky Secure Connection? Check out the website here (opens in new tab) Check out the website here.It explains some general benefits of a VPN - privacy, unblocking websites - but contains almost no details on the number of countries or locations available, the supported protocols, DNS issues, kill switches or anything faintly low-level. The service is aimed at a non-technical consumer market, and that's clearly reflected in the website.
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