CyberGhost VPN - is it worth overpaying? Service overview, user reviews

Romanian CyberGhost VPN since its creation in 2004 has grown to one of the leading full-featured services providing access to virtual anonymous network. About 8000 servers in 90 countries are available for its users. Security and privacy are ensured thanks to reliable encryption algorithms, and technical features allow access to a variety of web resources - streaming platforms, torrents, live broadcasts, bypass geographical blocking. Let's find out whether it is worth buying the paid version, and what parameters make this service one of the best.

What is a VPN for?

IP address spoofing is used to preserve privacy and save personal data. It is appropriate when connecting to unknown networks, for example, Wi-Fi zones of hotels, restaurants, shopping centers. Attackers in such connections can calculate the owner of the data by IP. In addition, VPN hides geolocation, which protects from unwanted tracking. 

These kinds of apps are used for:

• getting full access to resources like Netflix, HBO Max, Amazon Prime Video;
• watching live broadcasts of sporting events, movie and music festivals at foreign venues;
• Online gaming - users use VPNs to bypass licenses and create networks for real-time team play.

In some companies, work processes are tied to foreign resources, and they need corporate access to those resources that are limited in the country for external and internal reasons. Among the unusual ways of using VPNs is bypassing the pricing algorithm in some marketplaces, where the price of goods may depend on the user's geographical location.

CyberGhost VPN features

The company's policy is aimed at flexible pricing with a wide range of service options. It is convenient and easy to operate, while having an impressive set of additional parameters. 

Access to popular platforms 

Streaming movies and TV series allows viewers to watch them before they are released on TV. At the same time, the demonstration of novelties in different countries does not take place simultaneously. With the help of VPN users can watch content at any time convenient for them due to connection to remote servers in other countries. CyberGhost VPN works with most platforms, including BBC iPlayer, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video. It opens access to American sports channels, where you can freely follow basketball, baseball, hockey championships. The download traffic is not regulated, so the amount of content you can watch is not limited.

CyberGhost for online gaming

The creators of the service claim its ability to bypass many blockages in the gaming space. Thus, you can avoid regional restrictions, bypass pre-orders and start enjoying the game in the country where it has not been officially released yet. IP spoofing can help you get back into the game if the player has been blocked. Buying new game products with VPN is more profitable and safer - prices may differ for users in different countries, and encryption protects payment data.

Save on purchases from other countries

Marketing is aimed at increasing profits, so the tool of geographic pricing is often used. For this reason, residents of different cities and even countries may see different prices for goods and services, including airline tickets, hotel rooms and car rentals. Cyberghost allows you to bypass dynamic pricing marketing algorithms and make purchases at the most favorable cost.

Secure file sharing

File sharing via torrents is restricted and controlled in many countries. In addition, file sharing sites like eDonkey, eMule, and uTorrent can be a breeding ground for malicious users collecting personal data. In order to be able to download files, CyberGhost VPN changes IP, disguises location and hides information about actions, so that safe downloading of movies, music, TV series at optimal speeds is possible. The necessary conditions for this are provided by the absence of log collection, IPv6 protection, blocking from DNS leaks. 

Bypassing firewalls

Firewalls, or firewalls, monitor incoming and outgoing traffic and block resources undesirable to certain networks. This is due to censorship, geopolitical aspects. Cyberghost creates a secure tunnel with encrypted data about the user, so the screen does not perceive such a connection as invalid. This allows you to bypass filters and blockades and browse inaccessible sites.

Data transfer rate and server location

When using a VPN, the connection speed is always slower than with a direct connection due to encryption processes. When testing CyberGhost, the maximum data transfer rates were up to 80-90 Mbps - a very high figure for a VPN.

Local servers

A distinctive feature of the Romanian service is the presence of its own local servers on the territory of Romania. The country is not affiliated with the NSA and has its own legislation on data storage, which indicates that the internal servers are highly secure. The only "but" is that they are available only as part of crowdfunding cooperation.

Remote servers

The percentage of speed reduction depends on the remoteness of the server. North American points during the tests show a minimal drop - only by 5-10%. Taking into account that many streaming resources are located exactly in the USA, CyberGhost can be considered a good tool for accessing their content. The Asian region has less attractive indicators. In addition, users can connect to servers in European countries and Australia.

The choice of the connection point should be based on the objectives of using the VPN. If you need access to a resource, the creators of which are located in any country, the localization of the server should also be tied to it.

Service Productivity

Cyberghost has unlimited bandwidth and high performance, so streaming is not slowed down by buffering. The service in general is characterized as stable and does not demonstrate serious failures and overloads. The average download speed is sufficient for sharing 4K files. The built-in ad blocker eliminates unwanted traffic consumption.

One of the most notable features is the instant connection to the server. It usually takes no more than 6 seconds to connect. Gamers will be pleased with the low ping of 4 milliseconds.

Protection of personal data

Even 5-10 years ago, VPN was considered an unnecessary and unjustified tool. With the emergence and progressive development of hacking, the protection of personal data online has become one of the primary tasks. Romanian jurisdiction CyberGhost VPN inspires confidence in many users by reviews. The company maintains a confident stance of non-saving logs, and no cases of breach have been identified so far. In addition, they themselves publish transparent reports on all detected incidents, which makes it easy to have no doubts about the privacy policy.

Military-grade encryption

According to AES standards, 256-bit encryption is considered one of the most reliable and is used in military technologies, so its use in VPNs indicates a high degree of protection of personal information. In addition, CyberGhost does not use publicly available pre-shared keys for L2TP connections, which has a positive effect on security.

Security protocols

Cyberghost supports major protocols that allow encryption of traffic: 

• OpenVPN is the most popular and widespread protocol characterized by versatility and optimal speed;
• IKEv2 is faster but incompatible with some devices and systems;
• WireGuard is the latest protocol with the highest performance and is rapidly gaining market share.

Information about them and control functions can be found in the settings section of the application. CyberGhost performs protocol selection automatically, but manual configuration is still possible.

Split tunneling

Thanks to the "Smart Rules" option, CyberGhost allows you to distribute applications and resources to different VPN servers or leave some of them on a direct connection. This technology is called split tunneling, and few services provide it. It is possible only under the following conditions:

• A robust data retention policy;
• a large number of servers;
• efficient unlocking of streaming resources;
• competent and prompt technical support.

Thus, one device is connected to several servers at once, through which actions of different nature are performed.

Wi-Fi protection

The VPN client application for Windows has a built-in Wi-Fi protection option. When activated, the system warns about connection to an unknown unprotected network and automatically enables IP spoofing and encryption. The service is relevant, as it is with public network connections that many thefts of users' payment and other information are committed.

HTTPS protection

CyberGhost provides clients with browser extensions for Chrome and Firefox. Through them, it is possible to connect to proxy servers in America, Germany, the Netherlands and Romania. The browser proxy add-on is able to unblock Netflix and open access to various sites. Encryption is carried out via the HTTPS protocol. According to the developers themselves, it does not fully protect against WebRTC leaks, but in practice no real cases of data theft have been detected. 

Free subscription options

The free version of CyberChost VPN can only be installed on one Windows device. Basic options will be available, and you can connect to a limited number of servers. Periodic manual reconnection may be required, accompanied by the viewing of advertisements. In terms of encryption reliability and security of personal information, the free version is not inferior to the paid subscription.

Benefits of a paid subscription

The full CyberGhost package opens users to a wide range of full-featured private networking options:

• access to servers dedicated to streaming services;
• file sharing via P2P servers;
• up to 7 devices can be used at the same time under one subscription;
• installation of an application for any operating system, including mobile IOS and Android;
• full-format leakage protection;
• additional options - Wi-Fi protection, connection blocking and others;
• self-customization of the application and technical support.

If you need to use the VPN regularly for a long period of time, buying a subscription is justified.

Subscription Fee and Money Back Guarantee

At monthly payment the cost of the package is 12,99$. The company promises to refund the money within the first 14 days if the service is not satisfactory to the client. An annual subscription will save at least 70% of funds, as in this case the price per month is reduced to 4,29$. A more favorable option is to buy CyberGhost VPN for 3 years. When calculated on a monthly basis, the cost will come out to only 3,25$. Even cheaper is the promotional package, in which it is recommended to add 3 more months to 3 years. This will reduce the price by almost a dollar more. All bundled subscriptions come with a money-back guarantee for the first 45 days of use.

User reviews about CyberGhost VPN

On the Internet about the service there are reviews of different nature. Among them:

• "I'm glad that you can use VPN on any platform - from Android to Macintosh - with one account. There are a lot of servers. Even in such small countries as Albania or Cyprus, there are at least 4 of them, so the choice is excellent;
• "That case when you can say that you paid, so you can now stick on the network at least 24 hours a day without restrictions. Excellent bandwidth. Not once in a year have I noticed any outages or buffering. Maybe I'm lucky, but I still tend to think it's the quality of the software."
• "It looks too heavy to me. On my laptop, it was a huge RAM hog. You should consider the capabilities of your device before buying it.

CyberGhost is positively characterized by about 65% users, which speaks about the functionality, performance of the service and its ability to meet the main demands for this kind of software.