The Good, The Unhealthy, The Ugly

TorGuard VPN’s quick information Beginning value: $9.99 per person per 30 days Key options: Limitless bandwidth. Stealth proxy. 3,000+ servers in 50+ international locations.

TorGuard, as its identify implies, is a strong selection VPN, particularly for these in search of a quick torrenting VPN velocity. The VPN has robust security measures and an in depth server suite in 50+ international locations. Nevertheless, accessing the free trial entails leaping by many hoops, and the refund course of is equally difficult. It made me query whether or not this quick VPN is definitely worth the funding.

Here’s a TorGuard overview overlaying every part that you must know about the VPN, together with the great, the dangerous, and the ugly facet, so you’ll be able to determine if it’s the perfect VPN for your online business or private use.

Is TorGuard VPN for streaming?

Whereas TorGuard affords most VPN safety and velocity in all its plans, the flexibility to stream geo-restricted content material with the VPN is dependent upon your chosen plan. Once I examined the VPN, TorGuard’s common servers have been unreliable for streaming Netflix or Amazon Prime Video in sure areas. Fortuitously, the VPN’s Professional plan affords a free devoted IP handle as an add-on, which you need to use to acquire a streaming IP handle to unblock streaming content material in any particular area.

SEE: 5 Best VPNs for Streaming in 2024 (TechRepublic)

However, if you’d like a VPN that works out-of-the-box for streaming companies, different choices like ExpressVPN, NordVPN, or Surfshark VPN would possibly supply a extra seamless expertise.

TorGuard VPN’s pricing

TorGuard VPN pricing is split into two plans, Normal and Professional. Every has month-to-month and annual billing choices. Under is a desk summarizing how the pricing plans evaluate to one another.

TorGuard VPN plans	Nameless VPN (Normal)	Nameless VPN (Professional)
Month-to-month	$9.99 per 30 days	$12.99 per 30 days
Annual	$59.99 per yr	$69.99 per yr
Characteristic variations	x8 Units, Static IP Pool, Most Safety, Most Velocity	x12 Units, x1 Streaming IP, Most Safety, Most Velocity

No matter which TorGuard VPN plan you select, you’ll obtain virtually the identical most security measures. Options like access to three,000 servers throughout 50 international locations, and limitless speeds and bandwidth can be found in all plans.

Some variations nonetheless exist between the TorGuard pricing plans. TorGuard VPN Professional plan affords a free devoted IP and streaming possibility and might concurrently hook up with as much as 12 units, whereas the Normal plan falls quick in these choices and solely permits eight simultaneous device connections.

SEE: How to Create an Effective Cybersecurity Awareness Program (TechRepublic Premium)

Additionally, as with most VPNs, the longer the billing plan you decide, the more cash you’ll save on subscriptions. If you choose the annual billing possibility within the TorGuard Normal plan, you’ll save as much as 50% of the fee. That can quantity to you paying $60 as a substitute of $120 when calculated on a $10 month-to-month billing foundation. The Professional plan, alternatively, saves you about 42% of the subscription value once you select the annual billing possibility.

I like to recommend the annual billing possibility if TorGuard is the correct VPN service to your wants. That approach, it can save you substantial billing prices. In any other case, go for the month-to-month fee possibility when you’re solely testing the waters.

SEE: The 5 Best VPNs with Free Trials in 2024 (TechRepublic)

I counsel you to make use of the seven-day money-back assure out there in all of the plans to check the product first earlier than any long-term dedication.

TorGuard VPN’s key options

TorGuard VPN is thought to have one of many quickest torrenting capabilities with no capped obtain velocity. It additionally affords different helpful VPN options like Stealth Protocol and Port Forwarding.

TorGuard Stealth protocol

Stealth VPN protocol makes it almost not possible to dam VPN utilization, and this allows you to bypass deep packet inspection and overcome the hardest firewalls, even in international locations that prohibit VPN ports. TorGuard affords a number of Stealth VPN protocols for censored and strict international locations or firewalls which embody — SSTP protocols, OpenVPN obfuscation, and OpenConnect/AnyConnect.

SEE: How Much Does a VPN Cost? + Savings Tips (TechRepublic)

Throughout testing, TorGuard’s Stealth protocol allowed me to bypass firewalls in China, Russia, and Turkey once I paired it with the Stealth proxy.

Port forwarding

Port forwarding means that you can open a port to the web whereas linked to a VPN, so you’ll be able to have remote entry to software program hosted in your community. This performance is present in TorGuard’s member’s space, which lets you rapidly allow numerous port ahead guidelines and apply whitelisted firewall settings to your port ahead requests.

SEE: 6 Best Anonymous (No-Log) VPNs for 2024 (TechRepublic)

Nevertheless, it is very important notice that when exposing a port to the web, be sure you safe the login to your software program and permit solely particular IPs to entry the port remotely over the VPN.

TorGuard VPN advert blocking

Advert blocking protects your privateness and performs a key position in strengthening your total on-line safety. By default, TorGuard VPN’s DNS depends on its inner VPN server DNS, however you’ll be able to select the “Advert Blocking DNS” possibility within the VPN consumer settings for added protection. TorGuard claims that this characteristic is frequently up to date to make sure ongoing effectiveness.

SEE: The 6 Best Small Business VPNs for 2024 (TechRepublic)

Whereas TorGuard’s advert blocking is a wonderful privateness instrument, pairing it with different methods enhances your safety much more. I like to recommend utilizing privacy-focused browsers like Firefox or Courageous for optimum efficiency of this TorGuard characteristic, since it might probably actively work to dam fingerprinting and different types of monitoring which may bypass DNS-based advert blocking.

Hundreds of VPN servers and places

TorGuard boasts over 3,000 VPN server networks spanning quite a few places and international locations. This consists of key areas like the US, United Kingdom, Switzerland, Canada, Netherlands, Turkey, Germany, Australia, Japan, and Hong Kong. With good protection throughout 4 continents, TorGuard improves the probabilities of discovering a close-by server and affords quite a few digital places for safe shopping and geo-spoofing. Nevertheless, different VPN suppliers like ExpressVPN and NordVPN even have massive server networks, so this benefit might not be vital in all circumstances.

SEE: Does a VPN Slow Down Your Internet Speed? (TechRepublic)

Whereas TorGuard is well-established in most areas, extra server places in areas like North America and Africa, the place Africa at the moment solely has one server in South Africa, would additional enhance entry and efficiency.

OpenVPN obfuscation

Nearly all of VPN companies as we speak use the OpenVPN protocol. However whereas the protocol is great and efficient, it leaves behind a tiny mark of VPN utilization for web service suppliers to detect.

SEE: Can a VPN Be Hacked? (TechRepublic)

OpenVPN obfuscation disguises VPN visitors to bypass DPI and firewalls, making it tougher for censors or ISPs to detect VPN use. TorGuard offers a number of obfuscation choices by Stunnel. So you’ll be able to simply swap to a unique methodology if one isn’t working.

TorGuard execs

• Limitless speeds.
• Limitless bandwidth.
• Affords 3,000+ servers in 50+ international locations.
• Overcomes VPN blockers with stealth mode.
• Good for torrenting.

TorGuard cons

• Dated-looking interface.
• The usual plan doesn’t unblock Netflix in some areas.

Options to TorGuard VPN

Whereas TorGuard affords wonderful velocity, there are different various VPNs chances are you’ll wish to contemplate. Listed here are the highest three I in contrast.

	TorGuard VPN	Surfshark	NordLayer	CyberGhost
Beginning value (month-to-month plan)	$9.99 per 30 days	$15.45 per 30 days	$10 per person per 30 days	$12.99 per 30 days
Variety of servers and places	3,000+ servers in 50+ location	3,200+ servers in 100 international locations	30+ international server places	Hundreds of servers in 124 international places
Free trial	7-day money-back assure	7 days free trial	14-day money-back assure	24 hours free trial or 45-day money-back assure
Gadget connections	As much as 12 simultaneous system connections	Limitless system connections	As much as 6 simultaneous system connections	As much as 7 simultaneous system connections
Standout options	Affords limitless bandwidth and velocity, stealth mode, and inner encrypted DNS	Surfshark antivirus, Surfshark search, alternate ID, Free GPS spoofing, camouflage mode, Dynamic MultiHop, and so on.	Digital non-public gateway, smart distant entry, customized DNS, system posture safety, and so on.	45-day money-back assure, specialised servers for gaming, torrenting, and streaming.

Surfshark VPN

I like to recommend Surfshark when you’re in search of a VPN that’s inexpensive and comes with an all-inclusive package deal. Surfshark premium plans — Surfshark One and One+ — supply robust VPN security measures alongside different premium options, together with Surfshark antivirus, Surfshark search, Surfshark alert, and alternate ID.

SEE: Is a VPN Really Worth It in 2024? (TechRepublic)

Whereas TorGuard instructions respect in velocity and efficiency, it falls quick in wider protections just like the antivirus. Surfshark additionally affords limitless system connections, in comparison with TorGuard’s 12 units at a time. So, decide Surfshark when you have a bigger group with a number of units to guard.

To be taught extra, learn our full Surfshark VPN review.

NordLayer VPN

NordLayer is one other all-in-one community safety resolution that gives a robust VPN service. I like to recommend the answer if you’d like a enterprise VPN that gives robust cybersecurity tools. NordLayer’s 30+ international server places may not be as spectacular as TorGuard’s 50+ places, however its providing, together with cloud firewall, system posture safety, digital non-public gateways, and devoted servers with mounted ID, makes it a greater various.

NordLayer Management Panel additionally streamlines community administration duties in a single intuitive interface, in comparison with TorGuard, which has a dated-looking interface.

CyberGhost VPN

CyberGhost is an effective various to TorGuard in case your major want for a VPN is unblocking geo-restricted content material on-line. I like the extent of element CyberGhost goes into when offering what precisely every server is greatest for. It categorizes servers into three teams — gaming, torrenting, and streaming.

Whereas the CyberGhost month-to-month plan is pricier than the TorGuard providing, its 14-day and 45-day money-back ensures for month-to-month and bi-annual subscriptions imply you will have extra time to determine on the package deal earlier than cancellation.

To be taught extra, learn our full CyberGhost VPN review.

Methodology

I evaluated the TorGuard VPN based mostly on its options, safety, and pricing. Since TorGuard affords a seven-day money-back assure, I used the chance to enroll to get hands-on expertise with the VPN, regardless that the method isn’t as simple as the corporate marketed it.

Although each TorGuard’s Android and iOS apps look the identical, I seen that the Android model affords OpenVPN and WireGuard, and never IKEv2/IPSec protocols as may be discovered within the iOS model. The Stealth protocol was additionally capable of bypass geo-restrictions in China and Russia.

From my expertise, not one of the TorGuard purposes are as intuitive as they may very well be. Tech-savvy people will fancy it greater than the typical person. General, I discovered TorGuard VPN to be a good VPN, particularly for torrenting.