Cybersilent VPN Review 2020

Last updated: January 19, 2023
William Sams
William Sams
Few VPNs can offer servers in China, supports torrenting and unblocks Netflix. But does a contradictory logging policy count against it overall? Learn more in this 2020 CyberSilent VPN Review.
Jurisdiction Poland
Price $5.64/mo. (On a 1-Year Plan)
Servers 190+ Servers in 50+ Countries
Logs Does Not Store Logs
Encryption AES-256-Bit
Unblocks Netflix Yes
Torrenting Yes
Works in China Yes
Recommended  No
Website https://www.cybersilent.com/
Compatibility Windows, Android, Apple, Desktop

CyberSilent surely ticks all the right boxes, but there is a lot more than meets the eye in this case. With dedicated Chinese servers it can guarantees users access to and from China as well as a dedicated server designed to make P2P sharing easy and safe for users online.

Impressively, it can also unblock US’ Netflix library and all other major streaming services with ease.  AES-256-CBC encryption with 3 secure tunneling protocols, ensure that users are safe online from any external threats and IP, DNS, and WebRTC leaks.

Sadly, it fails at protecting user privacy by its contentious policy of reporting any criminal activity done through its service straight to the authorities.  This leaves users feeling uneasy about the overall anonymity of their own activities via this service.

Subsequently, despite all its capabilities I recommend going for an alternative like PureVPN with an audited no logs policy from Cure53, something that CyberSilent has not considered doing yet!

Rating Criteria

  1. Jurisdiction: Where Is CyberSilent Located?
  2. Security: Is CyberSilent A Safe Option?
  3. Leaks: Are Your IP, DNS & WebRTC safe?
  4. Servers: How Many Servers Does CyberSilent Have?
  5. Streaming: Can CyberSilent Unblock Netflix?
  6. Speed: How Fast Are CyberSilent Servers?
  7. Compatibility: What Devices Can I Use CyberSilent On?
  8. Pricing: Is CyberSilent An Affordable Option?
  9. Trustworthiness: What Do Other Users Say About CyberSilent?

Jurisdiction: Where Is CyberSilent Located?

This service is based out of Poland. As part of the EU, Poland has to follow the robustly pro-privacy GDPR legislation. While the regulations are protective of users on its own, its national implementations often lead to some loopholes emerging. Poland falls into the same category.

Poland’s Dubious Protection Laws

The main regulatory body that deals with the issue of personal data protection is the Office of Data Protection. While the law does protect users online, a key clause known as the “Act on Electronic Provision of Services” (AEPS) has interesting loopholes.

Through this, law enforcement can gain legal authority to have oversight on the online activities of users that they deem dangerous for national security. While it may seem sensible at first, there’s no transparency about how law enforcement deems anyone dangerous enough.

With that in mind, Poland cannot be considered an entirely safe option as far as absolute anonymity and digital safety is concerned, which does not work in favor for CyberSilent despite its many offerings.

Security: Is CyberSilent A Safe Option?

On paper, yes. In practice, no. The service claims not to store any logs but it categorically states that it will report users to the authorities if they’re found committing a major crime.

This would imply that the service maintains extensive logs on all its users in order to be able to do so. So, while the service claims to have no logs, it is clearly evident that its practices are clearly contradictory to its claims.

Contradictory Logging Policy

The service states that it does not keep logs of any kind. However, rather curiously it states that it will hand over user data to law enforcement if any user if found using their service for the following purposes:

  • Internet bomb threats
  • Classified global security data theft
  • Illegal weapon trafficking
  • Online child pornography

While all of these activities may be vile, it is interesting to wonder exactly how will CyberSilent know which user’s committing these acts if it does not store logs. This has led me to believe that either CyberSilent is falsely claiming to be zero-logs service or deliberately hiding some crucial information about its exact logging policy.

CyberSilent VPN Encryption & Protocols

CyberSilent has a simplistic mission i.e. “Secure Your Cyber Life”. In order to be true to its mission, the service uses the military-grade, 256-bit encryption that reinforces a user’s connection online.

Similarly, the service offers support for 3 distinct tunneling protocols such as PPTP, L2TP, SSL, and OpenVPN. A combination of these ensures that users would be well-protected online without any major worries of potential vulnerabilities.

CyberSilent VPN VirusTotal Test

In order to be 100% sure that the service or its dedicated clients did not have any hidden malicious files, I put them through a virus test. Luckily, CyberSilent was clear from any kind of viruses and malware. Here is the result for its Windows application:

CyberSilent-Virus-test

Leaks: Are Your IP, DNS & WebRTC Safe?

I wanted to see how secure are CyberGhost’s protocols in terms of ensuring no IP, DNS or WebRTC leaks taking place. Using ipleak.net, we conducted different tests and users can be assured that their IP, DNS, and WebRTC are completely safe online.

CyberSilent-WebRTC-Leak-Test

Servers: How Many Servers Does CyberSilent VPN Have?

CyberSilent currently has more than 190+ servers operating out of 52 countries. Additionally, it has servers inside the notoriously censorship-privy Russia and China, making it easy for users to access the internet no matter where they are.

cybersilent_servers_review-1

Does CyberSilent VPN Support P2P/File Sharing?

Impressively, CyberSilent not only supports P2P sharing through its servers, but it has also detailed guidelines about which servers would be better.

For instance, users are advised to use servers in Romania, Russia, Lithuania, Sweden, and South Africa to ensure that they can continue torrenting without worrying about violating any copyright laws.

Does CyberSilent VPN Work in China?

This service continues to impress me. It can not only unblock the internet seamlessly; it can do so with relative ease. This is thanks to its 3 servers located across China.

While some of the most well-renowned services in the industry struggle to offer one solitary server, CyberSilent can boast of 3. This makes it incredibly easy for expats outside China to continue accessing and enjoying all the geo-restricted local Chinese content they want.

Streaming: Can CyberSilent Unblock Netflix?

CyberSilent does not explicitly mention whether it does or does not unblock Netflix. Therefore, I didn’t have big expectations when I tried using the service to access the US library of Netflix.

To my surprise though, the service was able to unblock Netflix. However, the speed was less than speedy and the buffering took longer than on most other VPNs that unblock Netflix.

I tried unblocking some of the other streaming sites like Amazon Prime, Hulu, Hotstar, BBC iPlayer, and Disney+, and was able to do so easily, albeit with the same speed, and buffering issues as with Netflix.

Speed: How Fast are CyberSilent VPN Servers?

While having servers across all continents is impressive enough, it’s important to know how fast are they. Hence, I put the service through the standard speed test. On a 100 Mbps connection, I connect to 5 random servers inside the US, Canada, France, Germany, and the Netherlands.

Server Download Upload Ping
US 41Mbps 35Mbps 256ms
Canada 37Mbps 31Mbps 277ms
France 44Mbps 38Mbps 321ms
Germany 38Mbps 29Mbps 198ms
Netherlands 49Mbps 44Mbps 278ms
Average 41.8Mbps 35.4Mbps 266ms

Compatibility: What Devices Can I Use CyberSilent On?

Users will be able to use the service on all major devices and platforms . CyberSilent supports Windows, Mac, Android, Linux, as well as all the DD-WRT routers. While users can download the APK files for most other platforms, there is no such dedicated client for iOS.

Pricing: Is CyberSilent An Affordable Option?

Not really, as plans with longer duration offer no major discounts. CyberSilent has the following three main plans that allow uses to choose the plan that best meets their needs:

  • Monthly ($9.90 per month)
  • 6-Months ($7.92 per month/$47.52 payment every 6 months)
  • Yearly ($5.64 per month/$67.71 one-time per year)

CyberSilent-Prices

CyberSilent Payment Methods

VISA/Mastercard/DISCOVER/American Express credit and debit cards, PayPal, Bitcoin and Giropay are all supported. Users can use all popular payment methods as well as some of the more unconventional methods to pay for their CyberSilent subscription.

cybersilent_payment_methods

CyberSilent VPN Refund Policy

The service offers just a 7-day money-back guarantee, which is a good enough time-frame for a user to use and judge whether the service meets their criteria. I was a bit disappointed though considering how the standard refund policy of most VPNs is 30-Days.

Trustworthiness: What Do Other Users Say About CyberSilent?

In order to see how true a service holds to its promises in practice, the best way is to ask its existing customers. The best avenues to view customer perceptions and comments are via Trustpilot, Reddit as well as through its own customer support.

CyberSilent Trustpilot Review

The service has a decent 3.5 rating on Trustpilot. While this might give the impression that the service is a fairly good VPN provider, it may not seem so. Regretfully, the service has one solitary review on Trustpilot. This makes its Trustpilot rating quite worthless.

CyberSilent-Trustpilot

CyberSilent Reddit Review

To my surprise, CyberSilent does not have a positive presence on the service itself. Users either did not seem to know the service and those that did not seem interested in the service itself.

CyberSilent-Reddit-1

However, of the few reviews that are available on Reddit, users seem to entirely satisfied with the service in terms of unblocking Netflix as well as offering the range of servers that it promises.

CyberSilent-Reddit-2

 

CyberSilent VPN Customer Support

This is probably the one aspect that left me thoroughly unimpressed with the service. CyberSilent promises that it offers 24/7 dedicated chat support. However, as the following screenshot shows, there were no agents available when I visited their site.

CyberSilent-Customer-Support

I visited the site frequently at an interval of 2 hours and only managed to find an agent online once. Additionally, when I did find an agent online, I was asked to sign-in via my Google or Facebook account.

As far as protecting users’ identities go, this is not a standard VPN provider practice. Other than that, the website itself appears to be up-to-date and easily navigable and users have easy access to valuable resources like tutorials and detailed FAQs.

CyberSilent VPN Alternatives

CyberSilent ticks all the right boxes, but sadly there is that troublesome bit about it reporting user activity that it deems to be a major crime but it shouldn’t worry a regular user.

In such a case, users may find PureVPN to be an ideal alternative.  It offers almost all the major features such as Chinese servers, unblocking Netflix, and affordable rates. What sets it apart is its iron-clad strict no-logs policy no matter the circumstances.

Do I Recommend CyberSilent VPN?

Yes, while the service is far from perfect, there aren’t some glaring issues that should repel users. The service can easily unblock streaming sites like Amazon Prime, and Netflix while it offers by far the most dedicated support for torrenting that I’ve seen from a VPN.

More importantly, it can unblock Chinese content thanks to its local Chinese servers. Of course, the service admits that it may report users. In case you do not feel convinced about your online privacy, you can always opt for a major upgrade in the form of PureVPN.

Compatible with device: Windows, Android, Apple, Desktop, ,

One Response to CyberSilent VPN

  1. Ryan says:

    CyberSilent deserves more recognition. It is fairly well-rounded and cheap too!

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