NVPN Review 2020

NVPN is a relatively unknown VPN provider that doesn’t impress too much at first glance. However, the service provides some excellent features like dedicated support for all P2P sharing purposes via their SOCKS5 proxy, as well as the military-grade 256-bit-CBC encryption.

Additionally, the service is based out of Bosnia, eliminating any worries of users about potential inquisitive eyes of intelligence sharing alliances as well as invasive national data retention laws. The service also tested free of any IP, DNS, and WebRTC leaks.

However, users may be left disappointed to know the service cannot do much for you in terms of unblocking Netflix, or any other popular VoD platform. Similarly, the lack of Chinese servers means that users should not expect it to get them across the notorious Great Firewall of China either.

In the end, NVPN keeps users completely anonymous online and shows no signs of leaving users’ identities exposed online. For me, this is enough to recommend the service.

In case this slew of features is not enough for users or if they feel the service doesn’t offer much value for their money, I would highly advise going for a more robust, user-friendly, and reputable VPN provider like PureVPN.

Rating Criteria

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

Jurisdiction: Where Is NVPN Located?

NVPN operates out of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The country has no contentious past with regards to data retention that should worry users. The primary piece of legislation that addresses Personal Data Protection is the Law on Protection of Personal Data (‘Official Gazette of BIH’, nos. 49/06, 76/11 and 89/11)

While the country is not a member of the European Union, it has an objectively strict law that deals with users’ data protection online. Users have the choice to opt-out of sharing any valuable information related to their location with websites.

But what counts as a major plus point for this service is that Bosnia is not a member of the 5/9/14 Eyes alliance. Hence, users can be assured that they’re safe from the prying eyes of the intelligence agencies of other countries.

Security: Is NVPN A Safe Option?

Yes, the service appears to be a safe option to opt for. Users will be protected via the strongest military-grade encryption that should ensure that users never have to fret about their identity being exposed online. Additionally, there are no hidden viruses or leaks that should have users worried about the reliability of this service either.

Hazy Logging Policy

The service is suspiciously quiet about its exact logging policy. In my experience, services that don’t keep logs are vocal about it in their marketing, while the ones that are evasive about it are usually the ones that store extensive logs.

As there was no way to ask the service itself about its logging policies, I had to do my own bit of research. In the end, the only bit of information I got about their logging policy was in their privacy policy that stated that the service does not store users’ original IP, session duration time and dates, traffic amount, as well as the browsing history. The only information the service does retain includes users’ email and payment transaction ID.

NVPN Encryption & Protocols

Users can expect to be protected via the military-grade 256-bit-CBC encryption. This comes with SHA512, adding a layer of protection to a user’s connection. Alternatively, users can also opt for the 128-bit Blowfish-CBC/SHA1 to secure their online connections.

Users are also given the choice between 5 of the most popular tunneling protocols such as OpenVPN, L2TP/IPsec, IKEv1 & IKEv2, Squid proxy, and the SOCKS5 proxy. The latter two ensure the optimum torrenting experience for users while the others offer a variety of distinct features to users. Furthermore, if users wish to add another extensive layer of protection to their connections while using OpenVPN, SOCKS5, and Squid, they can tunnel via “sTunnel” for enhanced encryption.

NVPN 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.

Here is the result:

As users can see, there aren’t any viruses or infected files that users need to be worried of.

Leaks: Are Your IP, DNS & WebRTC Safe?

While NVPN does not give off the impression of a completely secure VPN service, I didn’t want to judge it by the looks. Hence, I put it through the standard leak test. Using ipleak.net, I connected to a Canadian server. I then conducted different tests and got the following results:

Evidently, users can be assured that their IP, DNS, and WebRTC are completely safe online.

Servers: How Many Servers Does NVPN VPN Have?

The service offers users a total of 5512 IPs located in 69 countries. While NVPN itself does not specify how many servers they have, I found out through some digging that they offer a total of 54 servers.

However, there is a catch. Unless users upgrade to the premium plan that costs $10 a month they will not be able to access the other 52 servers except for the ones based in the US and Canada.

Does NVPN VPN Support P2P/File Sharing?

Surprisingly, NVPN offers an impressive amount of support for P2P sharing. Squid and SOCKS5 proxy allow NVPN to optimize the user experience when it comes to torrenting. The service does so without throttling a user’s internet bandwidth or compromising their connection.

However, I would personally advise users to be careful in selecting an IP as a lot of these have rather strict anti-piracy laws that could still land users in a lot of trouble.

Does NVPN Work in China?

No, NVPN fails at properly unblocking the internet from inside China. Recent years have seen internet censorship rise in China because of the introduction of newer and stricter regulations by the Chinese Communist Party.

The primary victims of these regulations have been VPN providers. Only a few VPNs still offer unrestricted access to the internet from and into China.

Hence, if you’re an outsider stuck in China and fed up with the harsh digital censorship or just an expat that misses watching geo-restricted Chinese content, I’m afraid you’ll have to continue looking for a VPN that can work in China.

Streaming: Can NVPN Unblock Netflix?

NVPN cannot unblock Netflix at all. To be fair, the service does not claim anywhere on their website that they do offer this service so I wasn’t expecting it to.

However, considering how unblocking the US library of Netflix has almost become a benchmark to judge how well a VPN performs, this counts as a major disadvantage for NVPN. I tried unblocking all the other major streaming sites like Amazon Prime, Hulu, Hotstar, BBC iPlayer, and Disney+ but just as I had anticipated, no luck.

Speed: How Fast are NVPN VPN Servers?

While the overall server count may not have been enough to impress me, I still conducted a speed test to see whether this service can make up for quantity in terms of quality.

Hence, I put the service through the standard speed test. On a 100 Mbps connection, I connect to two standard and 3 random servers located inside the US, Canada, France, Germany, and South Africa.

Here are the results:

Compatibility: What Devices Can I Use NVPN On?

The service does not appear to be a user-friendly option when it comes to being compatible across all major devices and platforms. While users will be able to use the service on Windows, Mac, Android, Linux, the dedicated client only exists for the Windows version.

Additionally, the dedicated client itself has a redundant GUI that does not elevate the overall customer experience at all.

Pricing: Is NVPN An Affordable Option?

As far as pricing goes, it is hard to categorize the plans on offer. Unlike most other VPNs, NVPN does not offer the traditional weekly, monthly, and yearly packages. What it does offer is a choice between shared and dedicated IP. Users can then choose between either a monthly or yearly plan for either of those.

• Monthly Shared IP ($6.00 per month)
• Monthly Dedicated IP ($8.00 per month)
• Annual Shared IP ($40 per year)
• Annual Shared IP ($60 per year)

NVPN Payment Methods

NVPN offers a generous amount of payment options. Users will be able to pay via their VISA/Mastercard credit and debit cards, Perfectmoney, Skrill, Webmoney, Yandex, Paymentwall as well as PayPal. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the service also supports payments via Amazon gift cards.

While all these options are impressive, the service distinctly lacks support for Bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies.

NVPN Refund Policy

NVPN only offers a rather strict 3-days money-back guarantee.

A 30-day money-back guarantee has become almost an industry staple because it is considered the optimum time frame where a user will have judged whether the service is suited to their needs or not. However, 3 days may not be enough and does not give users enough time to objectively judge the merits of the VPN service.

Trustworthiness: What Do Other Users Say About NVPN?

Setting aside what I think of the service, I feel the best way to judge whether the service is able to keep the promises it makes is to ask what its own existing customers feel about it on Trustpilot and Reddit. Additionally, I also looked at its own customer support to see how well can the service continue helping its users after they’ve bought their subscription.

NVPN Trustpilot Review

The service has an extremely poor rating on Trustpilot. While the average may seem decent, the reviews are 100% bad. However, I wouldn’t be too quick to give too much credibility to this rating.

As bad as the service might be, there are only two reviews for the service. Such a low count means that these ratings cannot be given too much weight. However, among the problems that reviewers raise include bad IP connections, speed throttling, as well as false advertising in terms of full refunds.

NVPN Reddit Review

Just like on Trustpilot, NVPN does not appear to have a favorable or notable presence on Reddit. There was a visible lack of users that even knew the service even existed. Of the users of the service that did comment on it, none of the comments seem favorable.

For instance, one user claims that the service was unable to achieve the speeds promised by the service. What irked this user the most was the pathetic support for torrents in addition to almost abrupt disconnections.

However, there were the occasional users that appeared to be happy with the service as it fulfilled the specific purpose, they bought the VPN in the first place.

NVPN Customer Support

NVPN’s customer support reminded me of what the customer must’ve been like 20 years ago. The outdated GUI further adds to the overall unimpressive customer support elements on their website. I was so thoroughly disappointed that the lack of a 24/7 live chat support didn’t even surprise me. There are just two ways users can expect any support from the service i.e. the Ticket System and the Knowledgebase (FAQs).

However, the service still managed to sink beneath my already low expectations when it turned out that the service does not have an email that you could write to for support either. It seems that for all intents and purposes, once you buy NVPN, you’re on you own and shouldn’t expect any kind of assistance. Not from NVPN, at least.

NVPN Alternatives

NVPN left me completely underwhelmed in terms of offering some important VPN features. While users are fairly safe online with the service, it’s vagueness about the specifics of its logging policy could be a bit too sketchy for some users.

With that in mind, PureVPN would be a great alternative to opt for instead. Users are not only assured of absolute anonymity via an ironclad no logs policy, but it also unblocks Netflix, and has a much simpler and more affordable payment plan that should match most users’ needs.

Do I Recommend NVPN VPN?

Yes, while there are some obvious issues like a mundane GUI and the lack of dedicated clients but ultimately it has all the essential features that any VPN should have. Users are assured of maximum security thanks to the strong AES-256-bit encryption as well as additional “sTunnel” support for additional security.

Similarly, users can also expect support for their torrenting needs thanks to the SOCKS5 protocol in action. While I have concerns about the service’s inability to unblock streaming services or give users access to China, I don’t think these should negate the service’s merits completely.

However, users might feel like streaming and access to China are invaluable features that a VPN must have. Such users may find PureVPN to be the best option as it delivers on all major fronts as a reliable and dependable VPN provider.