PureVPN

British Virgin Islands Based in , my PureVPN review in France uncovers that the service enjoyed a good reputation in the past, which was tainted by reports of them storing logging information and having a confusing privacy policy.

Over the years, the service has worked really hard to recover from this, joining the ranks of top VPN services to get their no-logs claims verified. Now, the provider is recognized as the best cheapest VPN, starting at EUR 1.88 /mo (US$ 1.99 /mo ) 70% Discount (on a 2-year plan), offering NAT Firewall, Split Tunneling, Ad/Tracker blocking, IPv6 Leak Protection, Kill Switch, DDoS Protection, and dedicated IPs for personal use.

PureVPN has apps for all major platforms/devices and 2,000+ servers in 140+ countries around the world. The best part of all: you get exceptional performance with average speeds of 91.51Mbps in download and 88.59Mbps in upload.

I highly recommend it, if you are in search of an affordable VPN packed with a ton of useful features. It is also among the few providers in the marketplace to successfully unblock Netflix on all devices!

PureVPN Review in France: Rating Criteria

1. Jurisdiction: Where is PureVPN Based?
2. Security: Is PureVPN Really Safe?
3. Leaks: Does It Leak Your IP, DNS & WebRTC?
4. Servers: Is It P2P Compatible, does it work in China?
5. Streaming: Does it work with Netflix & other VoD services?
6. Speed: How fast is PureVPN?
7. Compatibility: Apps and supported devices
8. Pricing: How much does PureVPN cost exactly?
9. Trustworthiness: Trustpilot ratings, Reddit & Customer support

PureVPN Review in France: Pros & Cons

Jurisdiction: Where is PureVPN Based?

You must be thinking Is PureVPN a Chinese company?

PureVPN has its headquarters in the British Virgin Islands, so let’s start by talking about its hub. This former British colony is now an autonomous territory of China. However, does that make it a safe place?

Is PureVPN Really Safe in France?

My PureVPN review of the providers’ location, security audit, warrant canary, and logging policy, reveal, the VPN is a safe choice for the privacy-conscious. Learn more about each aspect below:

Will PureVPN Log My Data?

After receiving a huge backlash for cooperating with the FBI, involving a female victim of cyberbullying and cyberstalking, PureVPN vowed to eliminate all logs. Surely, they helped catch a criminal and ease the mind of an innocent girl, but they did still hand over logs.

As such, it was their duty to take the backlash seriously, and they did. Now, the provider joins the ranks of VPN services to get their no-logs claims verified, as part of its commitment to delivering strong privacy and security to its customers around the world.

That makes PureVPN the first & only VPN to offer an Always-On Audit option. This implies that KPMG may at any time and without prior warning perform a complete surprise audit of PureVPN’s operations and servers.

The audit was completed by the US-based security firm Altius IT and places all doubts of customer anonymity at rest, emerging as a trustworthy provider. In the updated Privacy policy, PureVPN claims:

This obviously sounds satisfying and I was pleased to know that the provider has revamped its entire privacy policy following the backlash. Is it all secure now though?

The Only Thing They Do Log

PureVPN’s website claims that they store your personal information like (your name, email address, and payment method) but that’s pretty much the usual practice done by every other provider. For an anonymous financial transaction, you can also use cryptocurrency for making payments.

Based on my PureVPN review of their privacy policy, I came to know the VPN does store bandwidth logs; not to throttle your speeds though. Just to make sure all PureVPN users get the highest level of speeds and experience with the provider.

PureVPN Protocols and How Do They Perform?

PureVPN offers a variety of tunneling protocols. You can choose the one that best meets your demands from the options screen because they are all different in terms of speed and security. All these protocols are listed below:

• OpenVPN
• IKEv2
• SSTP
• L2TP/IPSec

OpenVPN is the mainstream technology, provides security and speed, and supports UDP and TCP.  TCP offers protection whereas UDP is faster. It can get beyond most firewalls and ISP/network restrictions and is very flexible.

IKEv2 is a protocol renowned for its reliability, security, and adaptability. Sometimes, this tunneling technology provides connections with faster speeds than OpenVPN.

SSTP created by Microsoft, it is one of the most enhanced security and an excellent alternative for passing tough firewalls.

Although L2TP/IPSec is typically used in combination with IPSec to provide authentication and encryption, but it is less dependable than OpenVPN.

WireGuard provides the best performance; unfortunately, it is only supported by PureVPN’s Windows and Android apps. Both OpenVPN versions are excellent options because they provide exceptional security.

However, most apps utilize the OpenVPN protocol to secure you online, as it allows the implementation of military-grade encryption.

All these specialty features combined boost the overall protection you receive for downloading torrents or streaming on VoDs. Of course, I would like seeing an addition of DoubleVPN and Onion over VPN too.

PureVPN Obfuscated Feature

Recently, PureVPN added an obfuscation feature that is helpful for people who live in strictly restricted countries, especially those that prohibit VPN usage. However, it is not advised for people who want the fastest internet speed.

By masking your VPN data, the obfuscated feature gives the impression that you are merely browsing on a public network. You gain access to all the advantages a VPN may offer, such as avoiding ISP throttling, unblocking geographically restricted sites/content, and staying safe, but no one can identify or stop your VPN connection at the same time.

PureVPN Encryption

The provider utilizes AES-256-CBC cipher with HMAC SHA1 hash authentication for the data channel and AES-256-CBC cipher with  HMAC SHA384 hash authentication and RSA-2048 handshake encryption for the control channel.

PureVPN Quantum Resistant Encryption on Servers

(AES)-256 can withstand brute-force attacks and is quantum-resistant. through QuSecure, Inc. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is still working on finalising its list of post-quantum security methods and encryption techniques that can fend off attacks from quantum computers.

The first component of PureVPN’s quantum-resistant capability, Quantum-Resistant Encryption Keys, is now available thanks to a partnership with Quantinuum, the most integrated quantum computing firm in the world. We are providing users with much more privacy and security while protecting their data from cyberattacks in the future.

Does PureVPN Offer Split Tunneling and Kill Switch?

The British Virgin Islands-based provider is among the few in the marketplace that supports advanced features like the Automatic Kill Switch and Split Tunneling along with other features such as Port Forwarding, DDoS Protection, and IP leak protection.

The kill switch, a crucial security feature in VPNs, disables your internet activity in case your VPN connection breaks down. This prevents the exposure of your IP address and other private details.

The kill switch on PureVPN is referred to as IKS in the software. It is enabled by default, so you do not need to stress about it. Although you may disable it whenever you want, I don’t suggest it.

With PureVPN’s split tunneling feature, you decide whether you want all of your traffic to pass through the VPN or just the traffic produced by specific apps.

This indicates that you can use both a VPN IP address and your ISP’s IP address if you want to use your bank account and use your ISP’s IP address at the same time. With split tunneling, only the streaming traffic will be sent through the VPN, splitting the connections between the two.

Does PureVPN Offer Port Forwarding?

Port forwarding is a very useful tool if you want to use a service or any internet-connected device from another place. For instance, you can use your computer while you’re abroad or join your buddies in an online game. It enables certain devices linked to your local network to be accessed by computers on networks other than your own, provided it is set up appropriately.

While PureVPN does provide this option, it is not a part of the normal subscription and may be added on for a little under a dollar per month.

Does PureVPN Offer DDoS Protection?

DDoS protection is offered by PureVPN, but it is an add-on. By giving you DDoS-protected IPs, this functionality ensures your protection against sophisticated DDoS attacks. If you wish to block unauthorized traffic or if you are a serious player who can don’t want to be detected by cybercriminals and rivals, owning a DDoS-protected VPN is incredibly helpful. Additionally, it works wonders for firms that want to filter out any unauthorized traffic, such as e-commerce sites.

You must activate this extra feature at an additional fee to your subscription if you wish to utilize it. The advantage is that when you switch it on, it will always be in use. When an assault is discovered, the DDoS defense will promptly stop it.

Native Apps for all Platforms Free from Malware

To test if the VPN is safe to download/install, my PureVPN review involved performing tests on all apps supported by the provider from VirusTotal.com. The results reveal that all apps are secure from viruses/malware.

Testing PureVPN in France: Does It Leak Your IP, DNS & WebRTC?

For this PureVPN review in France, I even conducted a thorough leak test, involving the usage of over 6 different tools. PureVPN passed all tests, indicating it does not leak any information whatsoever.

WebRTC and HTTP Request Leaks:

The WebRTC technology enables calls through services like Google Hangouts without the need for a plugin or application. The drawback is that the websites that employ it can see your IP address. Your identity is thus made public to the website and ISP.

• https://browserleaks.com/webrtc (Clear)
• https://www.doileak.com/ (Clear)

DNS Leaks:

The DNS converts domain names for the sites you visit into IP addresses. Your ISP will be able to observe what you are doing online if your DNS entries are exposed.

• https://www.perfect-privacy.com/dns-leaktest/ (Clear)
• https://www.dnsleaktest.com/ (Clear)

IPv4/IPv6 and Torrent IP Leaks:

Your real IP address will be visible to the sites you access if the VPN fails to conceal it. Your true location can be found when this occurs. To cross-check if your IP is not leaking, connect to the VPN and do the following test below.

• https://ipleak.net/ (Clear)
• https://ipx.ac/run/ (Clear)

Servers: Is It P2P Compatible, and Does It Work in China?

The VPN has a large global network of 6500+ servers in 78+ countries worldwide, according to my PureVPN review in France.

The highest number of servers that PureVPN has is in the European region, followed by North America. Here is a breakdown of the server count region-wise:

Is PureVPN P2P Compatible and Good for Torrenting in France?

Absolutely, PureVPN is a good option for torrenting in France. Though not all of PureVPN’s servers do, keep that in mind. This is due to the VPN service provider blocking P2P on servers located in regions where file sharing is prohibited (Canada, the UK, the US, etc.). Fortunately, there are still plenty of servers available.

On the Locations menu, you can check the provider offers a huge list of p2p-specific servers and even makes available features like Split Tunneling and SOCKS5 proxy to speed up and protect you. Also, PureVPN works best in South Africa for torrenting.

It uses the OpenVPN (UDP) protocol for its p2p servers and encryption is available via AES-256 cipher, RSA-4096 key encryption, and SHA384 hash authentication.

While testing the USA server speeds for p2p/torrenting on uTorrent, PureVPN also managed to deliver an average of 91.51 Mbps and 88.59 Mbps upload.

Does PureVPN Work in China?

PureVPN fails to offer consistent performance in China to residents. Unlike other providers like ExpressVPN and Surfshark, it does not offer a dedicated Chinese page for residents to download the product.

How to Connect to a Server in PureVPN?

When using PureVPN, connecting to a server is simple once you are aware of which location server you want. below are the steps you need to follow:

1. To begin, tap on the tiny globe symbol on the screen’s left side.

1. Pick the location you prefer.

1. That’s all! You are connected to the LA server of the US.

PureVPN Uses both: Bare-Metal and Virtual Locations

Like many other providers these days, A good number of PureVPN servers are physical, whereas most of the servers are virtual. It also utilizes virtual locations mainly for availability in countries with tough internet laws.

The primary difference between the two is exactly what their names imply. Physical servers are those that are actually situated in the country they are appearing to be in. Whereas a  virtual server appears to be located somewhere else than where it actually is.

For instance, if you select a Bulgarian server, it can actually be in Greece. Fortunately, you will still receive a Bulgarian IP address. Because of that, you cannot expect to achieve a performance level comparable to that of a real server.

You can select one of four filtering options for the servers using their Android app, including Streaming, Internet Freedom, Privacy/Security, and File Sharing, depending on your needs. I also enjoy that you can contact assistance and ask for a server if you can’t find one in the nation you require. They offer their utmost efforts to secure the server you choose.

You can check out the full list of both virtual and physical servers on the official site of PureVPN.

Testing on their az1-ovpn-udp.pointtoserver.com server revealed that it is actually located in Edinburgh, UK. Some other virtual locations used by PureVPN include Aruba, Saudia Arabia, Bahrain, and Yemen.

Streaming: Does it work with Netflix & other VoD services?

Depending on the server you’re connected to, PureVPN can unblock some geo-blocked content. It also includes a special Apple TV app, which is a significant benefit.

Here is the list of the platforms that work with PureVPN:

• Netflix
• BBC iPlayer
• Hulu

Can I Use Netflix with PureVPN in France?

Indeed, my PureVPN review discovers it is the only one in the marketplace to unblock VoDs directly through its browser add-on, despite the VPN ban. And this is not only limited to Netflix.

Just make sure to clear your browser cache before accessing the Netflix site or as a simpler solution launch the “Incognito” on Google Chrome or “private mode” on Mozilla Firefox.

Below you can see how I used their Chrome extension to unblock the US version of Netflix and stream the latest animated film movie, “The Sea Beast”, without any hassle!

If you opt for the 2-year plan, you will only have to pay EUR 1.88 /mo (US$ 1.99 /mo ) 70% Discount and will get access to the “popular websites” menu that allows users to unblock a huge list of streaming platforms directly from within the browser extension. These include:

• PureVPN Hulu
• PureVPN BBC iPlayer
• PureVPN Disney Plus

Speed: How Fast is PureVPN?