This post was updated in August 2023.

Proton VPN receives consistently good reviews from professional technology journalists. Here, we collect some of these to make it easier for you to evaluate our private and secure VPN service. 

We have collected a number of these independent reviews to make it easier for our users to see professional evaluations of our VPN.

Please also see our Proton VPN reviews page for a breakdown of how different aspects of our service have been independently reviewed.

Why reviewers like Proton VPN

Proton VPN is brought to you by the company behind Proton Mail, the most popular end-to-end encrypted email service in the world. Trusted by journalists and activists around the globe, Proton VPN offers:

• Open source and fully audited apps for all major platforms
• Connect up to 10 devices per user at the same time
• 1900+ servers in 66+ countries
• WireGuard and Stealth VPN protocols
• High speed VPN network
• Worldwide streaming services
• P2P/BitTorrent support
• Secure Core servers
• Tor over VPN
• Based in privacy-friendly Switzerland
• Strict no-logs policy
• Unlimited volume/bandwidth
• DNS leak prevention
• Kill switch
• Encrypted VPN servers
• Secure core double VPN
• Split tunneling (Android and Windows only)

Proton VPN reviews

PCMag

With a 5.0 Outstanding rating, an Editor’s Choice award, and being placed at the top of its Best VPN Services for 2023 list, Proton VPN is PCMag’s “top choice for VPNs”.

“The company has shown it can scale up its service without sacrificing its integrity. Importantly, Proton VPN remains committed to its reputation as a privacy-focused company, which is a refreshing change after seeing so many other VPNs emphasize speed and video streaming. A 2022 audit is a valuable endorsement of the company’s privacy practices.

We believe that Proton VPN is setting the standard for the VPN industry, which is reflected in our perfect five-star rating and Editors’ Choice award”.

Read the full review here.

Trusted Reviews

Ranking number one on its best free VPN list and number two on its best VPN list, The Trusted Review team has this to say about our service:

“ProtonVPN is consistently among the best-performing VPNs that I put through tests. It’s also easy to use and has an excellent range of features”.

Read the full review here.

Engadget

In its best VPN services 2023 roundup, Engaget ranks us Best VPN Overall, noting that:

“ProtonVPN stood out as a strong option because of its overall security and usability.”

Top10VPN

Top10VPN gives Proton VPN 9.0/10 and recognizes us as the Best Free VPN Overall for 2023.  

“Overall Proton VPN is a top-tier VPN service and we fully recommend using it if privacy and security are your primary concerns… Proton VPN has also become a good VPN for streaming, with regular and fast access to Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, and more”.

Read the full review here. 

CNET

Listing us as both the best free VPN service and best open-source VPN, CNET’s reviewer says, “this Swiss-Based VPN Provider Delivers Top-Notch Security”, and notes that:

“If you’re in need of a well-rounded VPN service that puts its money where its mouth is, take a look at Proton VPN”.

Read the full review here. 

ZDNET

Appearing as the best open-source VPN on its 5 best VPN services list, the ZDNET reviewer notes that:

“I was very impressed with the complete absence of leaks, and that no data about the fact that I was using a VPN was visible at the destination test site”.

Read the full review here.

VPN Overview

 Winner of VPN Overview’s Best Free VPN Services award, VPN Overview concludes that:

“Proton VPN is definitely a good choice if you’re looking for a VPN that prioritizes security and privacy while being easy to use”.

Read the full review here.

Techradar

Describing us as a “powerful VPN with a pile of features and a generous free plan”, Techradar features Proton VPN on both its best VPN service and best free VPN lists. Techradar summarizes our service in this way:

“Proton VPN unblocked almost everything we tried, its powerful apps are open source and independently audited, WireGuard speeds can be excellent and there’s a free plan with no bandwidth limits. This is a great VPN, and it’s getting better. Give it a try”.

Read the full review here.

PrivacySavvy

PrivacySavvy’s Ultimate Proton VPN review recognizes Proton VPN as a trustworthy VPN with “a good history of handling user data responsibly” and “a strong focus on the privacy of its users”. PrivacySavvy also labels Proton VPN Free as “the industry’s best and fastest free VPN”.

Read the full review here.

Are we missing your Proton VPN review?

If you’ve reviewed Proton VPN and would like us to feature your review here, please let us know. If you’d like to review our service, we can give you access to a demo account! Contact us as partners@proton.me. 

The post Proton VPN Reviews appeared first on Proton VPN Blog.

But the problem is also widespread. A record 35 countries blocked access to the internet in 2022, according to Access Now. Many of these countries, like Myanmar and Iran, are run by authoritarian leaders, but the worst offender in 2022 was India, the world’s most populous democracy. It imposed over 80 internet blackouts, most of which affected the contested regions of Kashmir and Jammu. 

This being said, there are some glimmers of hope: According to Freedom House, 26 countries saw their internet freedom improve, including the United States, which is still one of the most influential online spaces globally. There’s also been a broader push by everyday people worldwide to fight back against internet censorship. People everywhere are fighting to restore access to the open internet, either in the courts or by downloading and using VPNs to bypass the blocks. 

For this year’s World Day Against Cyber Censorship, we’ll look at how fighting for a free and open internet is integral to Proton VPN and the future of censorship.

We built Proton VPN to fight censorship

We launched Proton VPN in 2017, roughly three years after we launched our end-to-end encrypted email service, Proton Mail. We launched Proton Mail in response to the Snowden revelations that exposed a global system of mass surveillance. As an end-to-end encrypted email service that could protect people’s messages, Proton Mail became popular with journalists worldwide who used it to communicate with their sources. In many places with authoritarian governments, Proton Mail ended up getting blocked. This gave us the idea to launch Proton VPN. 

Authoritarian governments, including Turkey, Russia, and Belarus, still occasionally attempt to block Proton Mail, but Proton VPN makes it much more difficult. Since 2017, Proton VPN has grown to help millions of people all around the world access crucial information, stay in touch with friends and family, and express themselves in the face of online censorship. 

We view the freedom of expression and the freedom of information as vital human rights, and we’ve worked with anti-censorship organizations worldwide to fight for a free and open internet. This effort has been led by the Proton community. Thanks to your support, we’ve been able to donate to vital anti-censorship technologies, including:

• WireGuard
• Tails
• Tor

You’ve also enabled us to work with organizations that provide vital support to journalists and fight censorship in all its forms, including:

• Sponsoring a Reporters Without Borders (RSF) journalist digital security program
• Partnering with RSF
• Leading a training session with the Second Asian Investigative Journalism Conference in Kathmandu, Nepal
• Partnering with Deutsche Welle
• Supporting Access Now
• Supporting Netblocks

None of this would have been possible without the support and generosity of the Proton community. Every person that subscribes to a paid plan helps fund our work that is providing vital internet access. It’s thanks to you that we have been able to stand up for online freedoms in Hong Kong, Russia, and other authoritarian countries. 

We hope every member of the Proton community is proud of the work they’ve enabled.

You’re enabling online freedom

People have learned that Proton VPN is an effective way of accessing the uncensored internet, and we have become a lifeline for those in need. 

VPNs, in general, are effective tools for bypassing online censorship because they allow people to shield their browsing habits from their internet service provider (ISP). Typically, when a government wants to censor specific websites or social media, it instructs the national ISPs to block connections to those sites. When you connect to a VPN, your connection is encrypted, and the ISP can’t see what website you’re visiting. It can only sees that you’re connected to a VPN server. The VPN then handles your connection, allowing you to safely access the uncensored web. 

Proton VPN goes beyond standard VPNs with our complement of anti-censorship features, all of which are available with our Free plan:

• Stealth — A WireGuard-based VPN protocol that obfuscates your VPN traffic and makes it look like normal HTTPS internet traffic, making it hard to detect and block. 
• Smart Protocol  — This feature automatically detects censorship attempts and selects the best VPN protocol to help you bypass the block. 
• Alternative routing —This feature automatically detects attempts to block your connection to our service and bypasses them by rerouting your connection over third-party services, like AWS. 

The Proton community’s support also has allowed us to provide the best free VPN service available. Our Proton VPN Free plan has no data limits, no artificial connection speed limits, no ads, and keeps no logs, making it the perfect tool for those in dire need. 

Resisting the next wave of censorship

Unfortunately, fighting the censors deployed by authoritarian regimes is a cat-and-mouse game. We develop a new VPN protocol, the censors work on fine-tuning their deep packet inspection tools to detect it. But it seems like we’re rapidly approaching an inflection point. 

Despite the persistent and pervasive online censorship, the internet is still mostly global. Only China has been effective at cutting nearly all ties between its internet and the global internet. But there’s evidence that other countries might attempt to replicate its model. Russia has been experimenting with creating its own “splinternet” for years, and the invasion of Ukraine might be what finally launches it. And according to Freedom House, there’s evidence that Belarus, Cuba, India, Iran, Rwanda, and Singapore have taken steps toward detaching their internet from the rest of the globe’s as well. 

This would represent a new phase in online censorship that we all need to resist. But as long as governments use censorship to try to control their citizens, the Proton community will be ready to fight back.

At Proton, our goal is to give everyone privacy and security online, so join us. Together, we can build a better internet where privacy is the default.

The post The fight against censorship has never been more important appeared first on Proton VPN Blog.

Since the internet was created, we’ve seen geo-restrictions, mass surveillance, and censorship prevent people from accessing all kinds of websites and online content. Although using a VPN isn’t the solution for all of these problems all of the time, it’s a good place to start in the fight to defend your access to a free and fair internet.

We believe everyone should be able to access the internet securely and without restrictions. Our free and unlimited VPN is a crucial part of how we put that belief into practice.

The impact of a secure, free VPN

Providing a free, privacy-focused VPN means that everyone can access the internet securely. The benefits of using a VPN range from bypassing geo-restricted content to protecting people from government surveillance and hackers.

Stop your ISP from seeing and interfering with your browsing activity

When you browse the internet without a VPN, your internet service provider (ISP) can see all of your unencrypted network traffic. This means your ISP can know a lot about you, such as the domains you visit and what time you visited them.

In the UK, the government is using 2016’s Investigatory Powers Act to secretly test a new snooping tool, increasing the amount of information your ISP can collect on your browsing activity to hand to the government if requested. Meanwhile, with the repeal of net neutrality in the USA, the FCC handed ISPs the ability to monitor your browsing, sell that information, throttle your internet speeds based on what website you visit, or even limit your access to certain websites.

Using a VPN encrypts all your network traffic, so your ISP cannot see your browsing activity. In addition to protecting your privacy, using a VPN also enables you to access websites that would otherwise be blocked or slowed down by your ISP.

Your ISP needs to know your true IP address in order to keep tabs on your browsing activity or to impose speed restrictions on the websites you visit. A VPN hides your true IP address, making it harder for your ISP to track your online activity.

However, not all VPNs provide the same level of protection. Once you have connected to a VPN, that VPN essentially acts as your new ISP and can see your browsing activity. So rather than your ISP receiving that information, your VPN provider receives it instead. With that in mind, it’s essential to only use trustworthy no-log VPNs.

Proton VPN doesn’t keep any logs on you or your browsing history, whether you’re using a free plan or a paid one. We’re building a movement for better privacy online, and that means no one but you should be able to know about your browsing activity. (Our latest security audit results confirm our no logs policy.)

Bypass government censorship

When you connect to a VPN, you can choose the server that your traffic is routed through. This means that you can use a VPN to route your network traffic through a server in a different country and browse as if you were in that country.

We believe that your location shouldn’t determine the websites you can access. By using a free VPN that lets you select the country you are browsing from, you can bypass government censorship or access geo-restricted content.

This government censorship prevents citizens from accessing unbiased information on the internet and stifles free speech and political activism. 

People who use our free VPN can choose to route their traffic through servers in Japan, the USA, and the Netherlands to bypass government censorship in their home countries.

Unblock geo-restricted content

It’s not just your government or ISP who can block you from seeing certain content. Sometimes, you may not be able to access an entire website, or parts of a website because the people operating the website have decided to deny some people access based on their location. 

Most frequently, this is seen on streaming sites, such as Netflix, where some content is only available in certain locations. This can be particularly frustrating to anyone traveling away from their home countries when they are denied content they are used to having access to and for which they have paid..

While not being able to catch up on a TV series may be irritating, geoblocking also affects people’s ability to access certain news websites and popular online services. For example, some US news outlets blocked traffic from EU member countries once GDPR came into effect to avoid the need to comply with the regulations. Other websites block the internet traffic originating from entire countries in an attempt to stop hacking attempts or to comply with international sanctions.

In a dramatic example, The Conversation reported that an Iranian student was unable to apply for an overseas graduate school because it had implemented geoblocking, which prevented the website from being able to accept applications from Iran.

Like most free VPNs, a free Proton VPN plan will not enable you to access geo-restricted streaming content. However, you can use a free VPN to access geoblocked websites and online services by connecting via a country where those websites are not blocked. Accessing content from around the world, especially from news outlets, is an important part of a free internet, as it offers a broader view of international events.

Protect yourself from hackers

Anyone who uses the internet can be a potential target for hackers. Hackers may be looking for your identifying information to commit identity theft or looking for vulnerabilities in a business’s network in order to defraud a company. For political dissidents or journalists targeted by state-sponsored hackers, the stakes are even higher.

While a VPN doesn’t entirely protect you from hackers, it does protect your browsing activity by routing your network traffic through an encrypted tunnel. This means that even if anyone were able to intercept your traffic (for example, by exploiting a vulnerability in the network), they would be unable to read it.

Using a VPN becomes even more important when you connect to public WiFi. Without a VPN, you put your data in the hands of a network that could be compromised or have poor security, as well as sharing your data with the public network’s ISP.

There are numerous free VPNs available for download, but you need to be careful. Many free VPNs are not trustworthy. Entrusting your data to an unknown service provider that is not completely transparent can, in many cases, leave your privacy and security in a worse state than without a VPN.

Several well-known VPN providers offer a free plan as well. These free VPNs are more secure but almost always impose some sort of data or speed limit on your connection, meaning you are only able to protect some of your online browsing.

At Proton VPN, we don’t impose any data limits or artificial speed restrictions on you, including those using our free VPN plan, and everyone who uses Proton VPN benefits from the same level of robust encryption. Our free VPN will always be free and unlimited, so everyone can protect themselves online.

Our free secure VPN

Proton VPN was built with security as the main focus, so everyone can enjoy online privacy and the freedom to access content from around the world. Proton VPN is the only free VPN that:

• Imposes no data or speed limits on your browsing activity
• Has no advertisements
• Does not log your online activity
• Is protected by Swiss privacy laws

Our free VPN isn’t funded by advertisements or by selling your data (in fact, we don’t log any of your online activity at all). We are able to provide a free VPN thanks to paid subscriptions to the Proton VPN Plus plan.

Although a Proton VPN Plus plan offers the same security benefits as our Free plan, Plus plans come with some additional features, such as streaming support, faster servers, and P2P file sharing support.

Proton VPN has a long history of protecting free and unrestricted internet access. As a secure and trustworthy VPN, activists, journalists, and NGOs around the world rely on Proton VPN.

Get a free, secure VPN from Proton VPN

It’s not just activists, journalists, and dissidents who need to protect their privacy online. Everyone has a right to control who holds their data, and using a VPN when you connect to the internet is one of the simplest steps you can take to protect your browsing activity.

You can sign up for a free Proton VPN plan here. All you need to sign up for Proton VPN is an email address, and once you have downloaded and installed the Proton VPN app for your device, you can connect to the fastest server for your location in just one click.

Feel free to share your feedback and questions with us via our official social media channels on Twitter and Reddit. 

The post Why we have a free VPN appeared first on Proton VPN Blog.

We feel every corporation has a responsibility to protect basic human rights wherever they are under threat. Unfortunately, by blocking Proton VPN security updates, Apple has demonstrated that it does not share this philosophy.

Recently, the people of Myanmar have been fighting to preserve their human rights after the military deposed the democratically-elected government and seized power on Feb. 1. In the weeks since, military forces have killed over 250 peaceful protesters and illegally detained over 2,500.

On March 17, the United Nations appealed for people to collect and preserve documentary evidence of crimes against humanity. To safely convey such sensitive information to UN investigators and ensure whistleblowers are not attacked or killed, the UN recommended people use Proton Mail or Signal to report evidence of wrongdoing. 

Proton Mail is not the only Proton app being used by activists and protesters in Myanmar. For the past month, the Myanmar military has forced the national telecom companies to regularly shut down the internet and block access to social media to prevent damaging evidence from getting out. 

The people of Myanmar have also turned to Proton VPN to get around these internet blocks, seek accurate news to stay safe, and report on the killings. In the days immediately after the coup, the sign-ups for Proton VPN in Myanmar spiked to 250 times the previous average daily rate.

Apple blocks Proton VPN updates

On the same day the UN recommended Proton apps, Apple suddenly rejected important updates to our Proton VPN iOS app. These updates include security enhancements designed to further improve safeguards against account takeover attempts which could compromise privacy. 

Apple says it blocked our security updates because our app description in the App Store, which we have used without issue for months, mentions Proton VPN is a tool to “challenge governments… and bring online freedom to people around the world”. Given the current context, Apple’s actions could not be more insensitive.

Today, apps like Proton VPN are a lifeline to the rest of the world for the people of Myanmar who are being massacred. By preventing us from informing users that Proton VPN can be used to bypass internet restrictions, Apple is making it harder for people to find this lifeline. Apple’s decision will make it even more difficult for the citizens of Myanmar to send evidence of crimes against humanity to the United Nations. 

Apple’s actions are also hypocritical. Apple has no problem challenging governments when it is in its own financial self-interest (e.g., avoiding EU taxes or evading antitrust charges). However, when Proton does it for human rights reasons, it’s suddenly against Apple’s policies. 

Actions have consequences, and Apple’s actions are actively hampering the defense of human rights in Myanmar at a time when hundreds of people are dying.

Apple’s actions hinder progress on human rights

Apple has systematically blocked updates that outline that Proton VPN can be used to overcome internet blocks used by regimes engaging in human rights abuses. We were forced to censor our app description to get approval from Apple to update our app. We strongly object to this policy of censorship and strong-arming. We believe that Apple’s policy of rejecting apps that “challenge governments” is simply wrong.

Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident with Apple but part of a longstanding corporate policy to put profits ahead of human rights. During the Hong Kong protests last year when Proton VPN became one of the most downloaded apps in Hong Kong, Apple similarly forced us to self-censor. In 2019, it removed the HKmap.live and Quartz apps, which Hong Kong residents used to stay informed about the protests, from its App Store after it received pressure from China. 

Apple’s priority is to preserve access to markets and maintain its profits, so it almost never challenges the policies of dictators or authoritarian regimes. By giving in to tyrants, Apple is ignoring internationally recognized human rights and preventing organizations such as Proton from defending those in need. What is also troubling is that Apple requested the removal of this language in ALL countries where our app is available. By doing so, Apple is helping spread authoritarian laws globally, even in countries where freedom of speech is protected.

What can we do?

We can create an internet that promotes freedom around the world. The situation in Myanmar shows how encrypted services are an essential part of that internet as they allow activists, journalists, and everyday citizens to access the entire internet and privately communicate. When a regime turns against its own people, this ability to access and share the truth can save lives. More broadly, a free and independent internet is essential to democracy in the 21st century. But Big Tech companies like Apple have a different vision of the internet, one where profits matter more than people. 

This is why we support the EU’s efforts to regulate big tech companies through the Digital Markets Act. If you live in the EU, contact your MEP to express support for this legislation. You can also reduce the power of tech giants by switching away from Big Tech to services like Proton Mail, Signal, or DuckDuckGo.

Together, we can ensure that the internet of the future serves the interests of all citizens. 

PS: Proton Mail and Proton VPN have free plans that are free forever. If you are an activist organization in Myanmar that could benefit from a paid Proton plan, please contact us at advocacy@protonmail.com. We have been supporting organizations in Myanmar with paid plans for free since February.

UPDATE March 25, 2021: We clarified which part of Apple’s policy we object to.

The post When Myanmar needs Proton VPN the most, Apple stands in the way of human rights appeared first on Proton VPN Blog.

Internet blocks and shutdowns should be recognized as acts of oppression. Governments are censoring their citizens’ speech and preventing them from accessing information, often so they can maintain power in the face of mass protests or contested elections. These shutdowns and blackouts are even more unacceptable this year as Covid-19 has forced many people to rely on the internet for their job, entertainment, and communication with family and friends.

How shutdowns work

From a technical standpoint, it is relatively simple to shut down the internet in a country where there are only one or two national telecom or internet service providers (ISPs). The government simply forces these companies to shut down their services. If they want to be more targeted, the government can present these ISPs with a list of URLs to block. Usually, this list will include social media sites, messaging apps, and anything else that people can use to communicate and coordinate. 

Governments usually justify internet shutdowns with claims that they are necessary to halt the spread of fake news or to preserve public safety. Whatever the government’s stated reason, the actual cause is usually a protest, military action, political instability, or election, as this Access Now report shows. Observers have noted that governments shut down the internet whenever they stand to gain from disrupting people’s ability to organize, speak out, and report abuses.

Repressive regimes have found that blocking social media sites is as effective at disrupting protesters and opposition parties as complete internet shutdowns and less costly to the national economy. 

Below, we examine nine examples from the past year when protesters turned to Proton VPN to protect their right to free speech and access censored content.

Turkey

On Feb. 27, 33 Turkish soldiers were killed and dozens more injured in an airstrike in Syria’s Idlib region on the Turkish border. Turkish officials blamed the Syrian regime for the attack, but local sources and video footage suggested that Russian aircraft carried out the strike. 

Shortly after this attack, the Turkish government directed Turk Telecom to block internet connections to all major social media networks, including Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and WhatsApp, for roughly 16 hours. During that time, visits to Proton VPN increased 362%. (Note: In this article, percentage increases are compared with previous daily average visits.)

Hong Kong

In May, the Chinese National People’s Congress approved a national security law that criminalized the protests and dissent that were taking place in Hong Kong and made it easier for law enforcement to surveil citizens without the need for warrants. In response, Hong Kongers rushed to sign up for Proton VPN so that they could protect their online activity from surveillance. 

Visits to Proton VPN spiked more than 1,200% (and sign ups increased 3,000%) following the initial announcement of the National Security Law. We saw additional spikes in July and August as more details about the law began to emerge and the law was finally implemented.

Former Hong Kong legislator Nathan Law explains how freedom is under threat and what Hong Kongers can do to resist. 

Mali

In Mali, regular widespread protests against then-President Keïta (also known by his initials, IBK) had been taking place since 2020 began. Then, on July 12, IBK dissolved Mali’s Constitutional Court and had religious leaders and opposition politicians arrested, which led to even more intense public demonstrations. 

To prevent protesters from organizing, the Malian government ordered Malitel and Orange, the two major network providers, to block social media sites, including Twitter, Facebook, Viber, and Instagram. 

This caused daily average visits to Proton VPN to increase by 2,576%.

Zimbabwe

Protesters planned nationwide demonstrations against the ruling political party and government corruption for July 31. However, once the day arrived, they found hundreds of military troops and police officers out in force in Harare, Zimbabwe’s capital. The government shut the city down, cleared the streets, and arrested dozens of protesters, opposition leaders, and even the internationally lauded novelist Tsitsi Dangarembga.

The government also ordered the national network providers to throttle the network, leading to slow connections for roughly 14 hours. 

Visits to the Proton VPN site from Zimbabwe increased by 1,260%.

Belarus

Alexander Lukashenko, known to critics as “Europe’s last dictator,” was re-elected as Belarus’s president on Aug. 9 in an election that nearly all international observers said was marred by violence, intimidation, and widespread fraud. During this contentious election, Lukashenko’s regime cut internet access across the country. When the government ordered the internet be turned back on, social media and communication services were blocked. 

Visits to Proton VPN increased 800% immediately following the election.

Learn more about Proton’s support of protesters in Belarus.

Azerbaijan

After escalating tensions between Azerbaijan and Armenia in the border region of Nagorno-Karabakh spilled over into military conflict, the Azeri government announced it would restrict internet access throughout the country. The block affected nearly all social media platforms, including Twitter, TikTok, WhatsApp, and Facebook, and the internet in general was throttled for over a month. 

During this period, visits to Proton VPN spiked 4,435% above the average daily numbers we’d seen in previous months. 

Kyrgyzstan

Protesters took to the streets in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan’s capital, after widespread reports of vote-buying and other electoral fraud during the country’s Oct. 5 parliamentary elections. Amid a violent crackdown by law enforcement, protesters took over the Parliamentary building and forced the government to annul the election results. 

The Kyrgyz government ordered a partial internet block, which focused on preventing protesters from communicating and organizing. 

This led to a 1,650% increase in visits to Proton VPN followed by numerous similar spikes over the following weeks. 

Vietnam

Vietnam’s government has consistently pressured social media sites, like Facebook, to censor posts that officials deem are “anti-state.” Amid this repression, Vietnamese law enforcement arrested Pham Doan Trang, a well-respected independent journalist, this October for posting online about a highly sensitive land rights clash that involves the government building a military airbase near the village of Dong Tam.

This arrest coincided with a 355% increase in visitors to Proton VPN. 

Thailand

Anti-monarchy, pro-democracy protests have been going on in Thailand since February. What began as demonstrations against current Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha have turned into calls to reform the entire Thai system of government, including its monarchy. 

In October, the Thai government attempted to put down the protests. It declared a state of emergency in Bangkok, shut down Voice TV, a media outlet reporting on the protests, and threatened to block messaging platforms like Telegram. Authorities even threatened to prosecute demonstrators for their online posts using the Thai Computer Crime Act.

This drove Thai citizens to turn to Proton VPN in record numbers. Proton VPN usage in the country has been far above normal levels, and visitors peaked at 1,700% higher than the daily average.

Tanzania

Tanzania’s president, John Magufali, was reelected to a second term in an election that opposition leaders and some international observers claim had serious irregularities. The night before the election, Magufuli’s government ordered the national telecom providers to block all major social media platforms, including WhatsApp, Instagram, and Twitter, as well as most Google services. 

This led to a massive 37,000% spike in visits to Proton VPN.

As 2020 has demonstrated, internet blocks are not going away. This troubling trend is spreading to more and more countries around the world. Fortunately, people can take back control of their internet with Proton VPN. 

How Proton VPN defeats these blocks

If you are in a country where the ISP is blocking WhatsApp, for example, there is very little WhatsApp or anyone outside the country can do to reestablish service other than apply diplomatic pressure. However, if citizens within that country use Proton VPN, they can connect to a server in another country where WhatsApp is not blocked, allowing them to access the app and send and receive messages. 

This makes Proton VPN a powerful tool when it comes to protecting your online activity from surveillance and accessing blocked apps or censored material. Because we believe the right to free speech is a fundamental human right, we offer a free version of Proton VPN, so that everyone can access the truth and express themselves online.

Governments could block VPN sites and apps like ours, but experts suspect they don’t because they are primarily used by expats, foreign diplomats, and international companies that could more easily register complaints with high-ranking officials. We have also developed an alternative routing feature, which will allow you to reach our site even if your local ISP is trying to block it.

Proton VPN has several factors that separate it from other VPNs and make it the first choice of anyone who fears their internet connection may be monitored or blocked. 

• Transparency — You know the team behind Proton VPN and where we are based.
• Strong security — We keep no logs, only use VPN protocols that are known to be secure, and protect your internet connection with advanced encryption.
• Open source and audited apps — All our apps have been examined by cybersecurity experts, and we have published their reports so you can see their evaluation. Or you can check our apps’ code for yourself to ensure that it does what we claim.
• Free and unlimited — Those most vulnerable to internet censorship often cannot afford a VPN. Proton VPN is one of the only free VPN services that has no ads, no bandwidth limits, and no data limits.

Proton’s mission is to preserve the human rights of free speech, privacy, and democracy, and we are happy to see that our service has made a difference for people in their time of need. We also want to thank the Proton community. Your support allows us to defend the human rights of free speech and democracy when they are under attack.

You can follow us on social media to stay up to date on the latest Proton VPN releases:

Twitter | Facebook | Reddit | Instagram

To get a free Proton Mail encrypted email account, visit proton.me/mail

The post When faced with internet censorship, people around the world turn to Proton VPN appeared first on Proton VPN Blog.

The new macOS release, Big Sur, has made headlines due to Apple’s decision to place 56 of its own apps, including FaceTime, Apple Maps, and Apple Music Library, on an undocumented, unannounced “exclusion list.” This means these apps can bypass firewalls and, potentially, VPNs that function on a per-app basis without the users’ knowledge or consent, undermining macOS devices’ security and privacy.

Given the potential impact this could have on our users’ privacy, we immediately examined the Proton VPN app’s performance on macOS. We found that Proton VPN’s network control is not impacted by Big Sur. Our macOS app works on a system level and prevents these Apple apps from bypassing our VPN’s firewall. However, we advise everyone using our macOS app to enable Kill Switch to maintain optimal security.

What Big Sur does

Back in October, when Big Sur, the latest version of macOS, was still in beta, IT security analysts discovered that Apple made dozens of its services and apps unavailable to NEFilterDataProvider and NEAppProxyProvider. Application-level firewalls like Little Snitch use NEFilterDataProvider to implement content-based firewall rules (i.e., firewall rules based on the actual program that is performing the network requests). Essentially, Apple made those apps’ traffic invisible to firewalls and the user.

When Big Sur was released on Nov. 12, 2020, analysts found that Apple had not resolved this issue, leaving macOS devices less secure.

Because Apple has excluded its apps’ traffic from NEAppProxyProvider, firewalls are no longer able to intercept and filter network traffic originating from these Apple services. Additionally, these Apple apps can bypass per-app VPNs that rely on NEAppProxyProvider.

Why Proton VPN is not affected

Similar to other system-wide VPNs, Proton VPN does not rely on NEFilterDataProvider or NEAppProxyProvider to control network connections in the VPN tunnel. Our macOS app uses the Packet Filter (PF) mechanism to enable our Kill Switch feature. PF controls a networking layer that is lower in the network stack than those controlled by NEFilterDataProvider or NEAppProxyProvider and, thus, is not affected by this particular issue. If Kill Switch is enabled, it prevents your device from establishing any connections outside the VPN tunnel, including the Apple apps on the exclusion list.

We ran tests that proved no traffic is excluded from our app’s encrypted VPN tunnel when Kill Switch is enabled.

If Kill Switch is disabled, some TCP requests that were initiated before the VPN tunnel was established will continue outside the VPN tunnel (similar to the previously noted bug afflicting iOS). For this reason, we advise you to enable Kill Switch for optimal security.

This is a concerning development from Apple, a company trying to claim that privacy is its most important product. While claiming to be modernizing macOS with Big Sur, Apple is actually preventing networking app developers from creating extensions that allow them to manipulate the network at the kernel level (the foundations) of its operating system, making it difficult for users to have comprehensive oversight and control of their device’s traffic.

We condemn this secret exclusion list on the grounds that it makes it harder for users to control or even be aware of how their data is being collected.

The post Proton VPN prevents Apple apps on Big Sur exclusion list from bypassing firewall appeared first on Proton VPN Blog.

But we quickly recognized that we could do more than provide encrypted internet connections and private email service. Activists on the ground were being arrested by the thousands, signaling the end of freedom and due process in Hong Kong.

While many tech companies responded by pulling out of Hong Kong, we believe that now more than ever, it is time to stand for freedom and the people of Hong Kong. This summer, we launched a fundraiser for civil society groups working to defend privacy, freedom, and the rule of law. As a result of our campaign, we raised HK$800,000 for the 612 Humanitarian Fund and Stand With Hong Kong. The 612 Humanitarian Fund provides much needed legal and medical assistance to activists working towards protecting freedom in Hong Kong. 

From July through September, we donated 50% of our revenue from Hong Kong to give back to the cause of freedom in Hong Kong. As always, it is only through our community’s collective power that we are able to make a positive difference in the world.

Stand With Hong Kong wanted to offer this message to the Proton community now that the campaign is over:

“We are very grateful for Proton VPN organizing the campaign, and we are honored and delighted to receive the generous donation. 

The right to privacy is the cornerstone of a functioning democracy. The global democratic system needs privacy infrastructures to ensure activists and political movements to have the anonymity and protection to carry on making positive changes to the world.

A secured and free internet is the modern armor for activists and freedom-loving Hongkongers. Without a good VPN, many people who are living under authoritarian regimes will struggle to connect with the world and let the world stand with them in solidarity. 

In our fight for freedom, we are inspired by many like-minded individuals and enterprises, and we will continue to work together to bring democracy closer to Hong Kong. 

Thank you to all those who supported and trusted the campaign, your goodwill is the driving force for us to continue our work.”

The 612 Humanitarian Fund also wanted to share its gratitude to all our users and community members that supported the campaign:

“We extend our heartfelt thanks to the public and to protestors for their trust and support, which has enabled the Fund to play a modest part in this hard time for Hong Kong.”

Why freedom in Hong Kong matters

In June, the Hong Kong authorities, at the behest of the Chinese government, rushed to implement the new National Security Law in the middle of the night, giving the people of Hong Kong only two hours’ notice. This regulation granted Hong Kong law enforcement sweeping extra-judicial powers, including the ability to intercept private communications, censor online content, and search premises and seize property, all without a warrant. 

The National Security Law effectively destroyed the freedom, respect for human rights, and rule of law that Hong Kong had been known for. Former Hong Kong legislator Nathan Law, who was forced to flee Hong Kong for London since the regulation was passed, sat down with us to explain the situation the people of Hong Kong face.

Protecting freedom is a long and difficult struggle, and to succeed, the peoples of the world must stand together, which is why, today, we stand with Hong Kong. We hope that our financial support helps the cause for freedom in Hong Kong to continue burning brightly. 

We will always fight for freedom

Proton is a Swiss organization, and like our host country, we remain neutral on political matters. However, we will always stand up for fundamental human rights, like freedom of speech, the right to privacy, and democracy. Proton has an office in Taiwan, so we feel great solidarity with our users in Hong Kong and a duty to help uphold our shared values. 

As an organization dedicated to increasing privacy and freedom worldwide, we will always speak out against authoritarian efforts to trample on these rights and leverage the support of our community to make a change. Proton apps rely on advanced encryption to allow people to communicate more freely and escape mass surveillance. Making such tools available is a crucial part of helping preserve freedom in the digital age.

Thank you again to everyone who contributed to this campaign to support the people of Hong Kong in their time of need. Your support is helping us move towards the world we want to live in, where everyone can fully exercise their right to privacy and freedom.

You can follow us on social media to stay up to date on the latest Proton VPN releases:

Twitter | Facebook | Reddit | Instagram

To get a free Proton Mail encrypted email account, visit proton.me/mail

The post Proton raises HK$800,000 for freedom in Hong Kong appeared first on Proton VPN Blog.

According to the poll, adding servers to Cyprus, the Philippines, Thailand, and Puerto Rico should be our top priority. Each of those locations received over 1,000 votes, while Nepal, which came in fifth, was just short of 600 votes. 

We have already begun acting on this data, and we hope to bring new servers online in these locations in the next few months. As always, our foremost priority is our users’ security. We will not add any new VPN servers if we are not confident we can protect our users’ data. 

We will always try to bring new VPN servers online in the order of priority. However, it is more difficult to find servers in some areas, particularly those that do not have strong IT infrastructure. We will announce new servers on our blog and on social media as they become available.

Below are the results from the poll:

There were also over 3,000 write-in votes. Out of these results, the Canary Islands were the most popular new location. 

Thank you for voicing your opinion

Thank you again for participating in this poll and helping to shape the future of Proton VPN. As we work to make online freedom and privacy accessible to all, your support and feedback are invaluable.

As we always say, the Proton community is our greatest strength. The help of our volunteer translators has made the Proton VPN website available in 15 new languages, while the support of our paid users has enabled us to make Proton VPN the first VPN service to make all our apps open source. Your support has also allowed us to add over 100 servers in the past two months to improve service for current users and make room for new users. 

Thank you. All of these improvements help Proton VPN bring security, privacy, and freedom to people around the globe.

You can follow us on social media to stay up to date on the latest Proton VPN releases:

Twitter | Facebook | Reddit | Instagram

Get a free Proton Mail encrypted email account

The post Cyprus received the most votes in our annual server poll appeared first on Proton VPN Blog.

Each year since 2018, we have turned the floor over to our community to decide where we should prioritize our efforts to expand the Proton VPN network.

As a result of the 2019 Proton VPN server poll, we have added new servers around the globe, including Mexico, Taiwan, Costa Rica, Argentina, and Turkey. Today, we have over 1,000 servers in over 50 countries. And we are adding more servers constantly to improve the speed and reliability of Proton VPN in every region.

This year’s poll aims to increase this geographic diversity even more while aligning our efforts with your priorities.

Cast your vote

Everyone gets one vote in the poll. You should select the country you think should be our highest priority. The countries below were selected based on the regions where we get the heaviest usage. We have excluded countries where we already have servers and countries that may pose a risk to privacy. You’ll have about two weeks to make your selection, and anyone is eligible to participate, so please share this poll with your network.

Please answer this survey only once. The captcha is included to prevent abuse and collects only the letters you enter.

This poll will close at 11 PM (Central European Summer Time) on 11 September.

Once we close the poll, we’ll add up the votes and announce the winners. Then we’ll start working to acquire and provision the servers you’ve chosen. 

We will always try to bring new VPN servers online in the order of priority. Still, we must also maintain our high security and reliability standards, and some countries are better equipped for this than others. We will announce new servers as they are ready on our blog.

Thank you for your support

We’re grateful for the support of our community. From our volunteer translators, who increase privacy access to people in more languages, to everyone who votes in our server polls, we depend on you to further Proton’s mission to make privacy and security accessible to all.

And because of our paid users, we can continue to provide the only truly free and open source VPN. In the last year, we have made Proton VPN available on F-Droid and launched support for the OpenVPN protocol on more platforms. These help to make Proton VPN more private, secure, reliable, and resistant to censorship.

Thank you, and happy voting!

You can follow us on social media to stay up to date on the latest Proton VPN releases:

Twitter | Facebook | Reddit | Instagram

To get a free Proton Mail encrypted email account, visit proton.me/mail

The post Where should we install our next servers? appeared first on Proton VPN Blog.

香港正面臨黑暗的日子。7 月 6 日深夜，香港政府強推一系列措施，公然侵害私隱、加強審查，並打壓言論自由。自治、民主的香港，從此蕩然無存。

自由之戰向來無分國界，若要成功，我們必先聯成一線。香港這場戰鬥，就是世界的戰鬥，我們每個人都義無反顧，定當站在香港的一方。今天，為了捍衛民主、私隱和言論自由，我們正式宣布一項新的籌款活動。

我們將會捐出 2020 年 7、8 月份香港業務的一半收益，以支援兩個本地民權團體，分別是：612 人道支援基金，以及攬炒團隊（Stand With Hong Kong）。

活動期間，我們希望籌得逾 1,000,000 港元，為捍衛香港自由一役略盡綿力。截至 2020 年 7 月 20 日，是次籌款活動暫籌得 171,000 元。

為何香港急需我們的支持

自 1997 年，香港在《基本法》保障人民基本權利的條件下，成為了中國的特別行政區。儘管這些法律保障獲得國際認可，中國當局仍屢屢蠶蝕香港的自由。香港人民為了竭力守護他們享有的自由，紛紛走上了街頭。

為了鎮壓示威運動，中國在 6 月 30 日通過《港區國家安全法》，訂立沒有清晰定義的「顛覆國家政權」罪名，為中國在香港行使鐵腕政治手段鋪路，這些手段包括奧威爾式審查、無手令下擅闖民居搜查、對政治囚犯進行秘密審判、強迫他們認罪，甚至動用私刑。是次頒布的法例，以及在 7 月 6 日公佈的實施細則，從根本上扭轉了香港的局勢。事實上，中國的「防火長城」現已可伸向香港，而抗爭者亦將隨時遭到肆意拘留和刑事起訴。

我們 Proton 亦察覺到這些影響。香港人已長年透過 Proton Mail 和 Proton VPN，保障自己的網絡通訊和網上活動免受政府監控。7 月 6 日起，Proton VPN 或將成為突破網路審查的必需品。自從《國安法》訂立以來，Proton VPN 在香港地區的搜尋率躍增 3,000%，登上香港 App Store 熱門排名的第三位。

我們 Proton 深信自由和民主對世界各地人民均至關重要，亦素來支持香港的民運群體，其中包括 HKmaps。捍衛自由之路荊棘滿途，世界人民必須聯成一線，才能取得成功。而今，我們與香港站在同一陣線。我們希望透過經濟支援，讓香港的自由之火繼續發光發亮。

我們支持的香港民權團體

我們選定了兩個香港民運團體，將會讓它們平分籌得的款項。我們按照相熟的民運人士建議，甄選出這兩個團體。我們的目標是選出能充分善用我們的捐款，為香港人的民主和法治謀求最大效益的團體。

612 人道支援基金

在 2019 年反修例運動後成立，612 人道支援基金為民主運動中的被捕人士提供經濟、醫療和心理輔導支援。612 基金的信託人包括陳日君樞機（天主教香港教區榮休主教）、吳靄儀（執業大律師，兼任香港立法會議員 17 年）、何秀蘭（LGBT 平權運動參與者）和何韻詩（因參與社會運動而廣受敬重的歌手）。612 基金以高度透明和獨立的方式營運，真正能夠代表香港人民。

攬炒團隊

攬炒團隊（Stand With Hong Kong）作為遊說團體，致力提高國際間對香港民主運動的關注和援助。攬炒團隊的活動種類繁多，包括在香港以至世界各地組織示威活動、在報章上發表社論和廣告以喚起關注，以及遊說各國政府向北京施壓。

您可以與我們一起捍衛香港的自由

您可以透過兩種途徑，支持我們的籌款活動。

1. 如您身在香港，只需使用 Proton VPN

我們將捐出 7、8 月份香港業務的一半收益。您只需訂閱付費版 Proton VPN，便能與我們一起捍衛香港的自由。同時間，您亦可享用讓您免受政府監控、暢心上網的 VPN 服務。

取得 Proton VPN

如您已擁有 Proton VPN 帳戶，您在這兩個月期間所繳付的任何費用（包括升級至各種付費版 Proton VPN 時的費用）均將成為籌款的一部分。如需升級，請登入您的帳戶。

登入

2. 如您並非身在香港，請到我們的網站捐款

假如您並非身在香港或不想使用 Proton VPN，您仍可以作出改變。

在 7、8 月期間，我們會將本網站捐款頁面所籌得的款項全數撥捐我們的香港籌款活動。

捐款

關於 Proton 的使命

我們堅信，任何人均有權使用免費、私人的網絡，可惜這不是當下世界的常態。無論是美國、歐洲、以至專權國家如中國，各地政府皆持續破壞網絡私隱和安全。同時間，科技巨頭協助政府進行監控、審查，以謀取私利。

Proton 開發保障網絡自由的工具，讓權力歸於人民手上。2014 年，一群科學家在歐洲核子研究組織（CERN）上會晤並成立 Proton Mail。自此，Proton Mail 運用點對點加密技術，成功協助超過 2 千萬人用最簡單便捷的方法保障電子郵件通訊安全。

隨後於 2017 年，我們了解到公眾對於值得信賴的保護私隱與反審查工具有急切需求，於是便開發了 Proton VPN，以保護網絡活動免受監控，並解封經過濾的內容。一如 Proton Mail，Proton VPN 是完全開源的，對全世界人民開放。

我們成立 Proton VPN 和 Proton Mail 的目的就是要捍衛民主、私隱和言論自由等基本權利。香港人民值得享有與世界其他國家人民同等的權利。Proton 在台灣設有分部，因此與我們的香港用戶休戚與共，亦肩負秉持我們共享的核心價值的重大責任。您們支持我們已久，現在正是我們酬謝之時。攜手，我們定能建立更美好的將來。

The post 一起守護香港的自由和民主 appeared first on Proton VPN Blog.