| VPN | Surfshark |
| Based in | The Netherlands |
| Logs | No logs |
| Price | $2.21/mo. |
| Support | 24/7 live chat |
| Refund | 30 days |
| Website | Surfshark.com |
Surfshark is an up-and-coming VPN service that officially launched in 2018. And despite being a relative newcomer in the VPN space, Surfshark is gaining serious attention. And as we discovered in tests for this Surfshark review, this VPN is putting up impressive test results with fast speeds and advanced security features.
But there are also a few drawbacks we discovered. Keep reading to see if Surfshark is a good fit for your needs, or if you should consider other options.
Here is an overview of our Surfshark review findings:
Pros of Surfshark
- Support for all operating systems and devices + Unlimited connections
- Strong privacy protection policies
- Secure encryption and leak protection features
- WireGuard support (with fast speeds)
- Passed an independent security audit
- Large, secure server network operating in RAM-disk
- CleanWeb (ad blocker) and Whitelister (split tunneling) features
- Surfshark works with Netflix and other streaming services
- Multi-hop VPN, plus extra features
- Excellent prices and money-back guarantee
- 24/7 live chat support
Cons of Surfshark
- Slower OpenVPN speeds
- Limited VPN router support
Additional research findings
- Does Surfshark work for torrenting?
- Does Surfshark work in China?
Now let’s get into the details…
Pros of Surfshark VPN
Here are the pros (advantages) of Surfshark.
Support for all operating systems and devices + Unlimited connections
Despite being a newer VPN service, Surfshark already has a great lineup of apps that cover all major operating systems and devices. This is indeed important, especially with the growing popularity of streaming content online with various types of devices. In this area, Surfshark delivers with apps for all types of devices.
You can use Surfshark with:
Desktop and Laptops
- Windows
- Mac OS
- Linux
Phones and tablets
- Android
- iOS
Browsers (This is a browser extension)
- Chrome and Chromium-based browsers
- Firefox
Smart TVs (This is smart DNS)
- Amazon Fire TV
- Apple TV
- Other Smart TVs (see website for details)
Gaming consoles (This is smart DNS)
- Playstation
- Xbox
Note: Do not confuse the Browser Extensions or Smart DNS for the dedicated VPN client on your operating system. In short, a browser extension only works within the browser, rather than encrypting all traffic on your operating system like a VPN. And a Smart DNS is simply modifying your DNS settings rather than encrypting all traffic. We discuss this distinction more in our guide on the best VPN for Chrome.
Unlimited number of connections
Another big advantage you get with Surfshark is an unlimited number of simultaneous connections. In the VPN industry, most services limit you to about five simultaneous connections, give or take a few. While Perfect Privacy also offers an unlimited number of connections, it is significantly more expensive than Surfshark.
Here is the official policy from their website:
We offer an exclusive service to our customers – our VPN enables you to connect all your devices at once, without a limit on simultaneous connections!
This policy really sets Surfshark apart from other major VPN services, as we noted in the IPVanish vs Surfshark report.
Strong privacy protection policies
Surfshark does a great job at ensuring customer privacy remains protected. Previously, this VPN was based in the British Virgin Islands, just like we saw in the ExpressVPN review. However, in October 2021, Surfshark announced they would be relocating to The Netherlands, primarily for business reasons.
We strongly recommend avoiding the US and UK jurisdictions (and other 5 Eyes countries), while other European countries are less concerning. Having closely examined privacy laws, as well as real-world privacy test cases, we still recommend services (particularly secure email services) based in other European countries, such as Belgium, Germany, and The Netherlands, all of which are officially part of the “14 Eyes” group.
With Surfshark now being legally based in The Netherlands, we do not find this concerning, since the country does not have any data retention laws and is overall favorable from a privacy standpoint. If Surfshark moved to the US or UK, we would have serious concerns, but that is not the case. Surfshark also notes on its website:
We’re based in the Netherlands, so we play by their rules (which are pretty great when it comes to user privacy). As there is no obligatory data retention law, we do not have to store logs, and it makes for a perfect location for a VPN provider.
Now on to the next important question…
Does Surfshark keep logs?
I read through the Privacy Policy and Terms of Service for this Surfshark review. Both are rather verbose. Here are some important takeaways:
- Surfshark does not keep any logs that could identify a user or their activities online. (No IP addresses or usage data is recorded.)
- SurfShark apps have a “crash reports” option to report diagnostic info if the app crashes. This is anonymized and it can be easily disabled in the settings.
Note that many VPN services have an option to send crash reports in the apps. If you find this concerning, just disable the option in settings. The Surfshark mobile apps may also contain an advertising ID. Again, if you find this problematic, then you can just disable it in the settings.
And while we’re on the topic of VPN logs, be sure to avoid VPNs with a history of providing logs to authorities. This was an issue we noted in the IPVanish review and also the PureVPN review.
Surfshark Warrant Canary
Surfshark maintains a warrant canary to alert their customers to any government action that could infringe on customer privacy. Looking at the Surfshark warrant canary at the time of this review, we see
0 National Security letters;
0 Gag orders;
0 Warrants from a government organization.
Looks good! You generally do not see warrant canaries with US VPN services, which are subject to data requests and gag orders that prevent any disclosure.
Secure encryption and leak protection features
For encryption, Surfshark utilizes the industry standard of AES-256-GCM (Galois/Counter Mode) cipher with an RSA-2048 key exchange. Additionally, Surfshark offers the following VPN protocols:
- OpenVPN – OpenVPN is generally considered the “gold standard” with VPNs because it offers good performance, is open source, and is considered very secure.
- WireGuard – WireGuard is the newest addition to Surfshark and offers the fastest speeds and latest encryption technology.
- IKEv2 – This is considered to be a very secure protocol with excellent performance. While it usually outperforms OpenVPN, it is not open source, which is a drawback.
Depending on which Surfshark app you are using, you can select from the available VPN protocols right in the settings area. Surfshark currently supports the WireGuard VPN protocol on Windows, Mac OS, Android, and iOS. With Linux, WireGuard support will be coming out later in the year.
Surfshark kill switch
The Surfshark kill switch feature will block traffic if your VPN connection drops. This ensures your location and IP address remain protected, even if the VPN connection fails (for any reason). You can see the kill switch in the settings. Here is the Surfshark Windows app that we tested for this review, with the kill switch enabled:
The VPN kill switch feature is available with Surfshark apps for Windows, Mac OS, Android, and iOS. I tested the kill switch with the Surfshark Windows VPN app and everything worked well.
Surfshark leak tests (no leaks found)
For this Surfshark review, I also ran the Windows and Mac OS clients through some basic VPN tests and checks. I could not find any IP address leaks or DNS leaks. In short, everything with Surfshark worked well in our tests.
The SurfShark Mac OS app also did well in our tests, with no leaks or bugs identified.
Read about Surfshark’s security features here >>
WireGuard support (with fast speeds)
One of the biggest updates to this Surfshark review is the implementation of WireGuard.
With the latest version of the SurfShark VPN apps, you can easily enable the WireGuard VPN protocol right in the settings, as you see below.
WireGuard is supported directly in the apps for Windows, Mac OS, Android, and iOS. WireGuard support with Linux will be available in the coming months, according to a support person I chatted with.
There are many advantages to using the WireGuard VPN protocol:
- Very fast download speeds
- Instant connections (handshake)
- Seamless transition between networks, without losing the VPN connection
- The latest upgrades in encryption technology
- Small code base, which is easier to audit and update than other VPNs
In our tests, we found all of these benefits to be on full display with Surfshark. So let’s get to the speed tests.
Surfshark speed test results with Wireguard
We ran all tests on a 500 Mbps connection using the latest Surfshark VPN apps with the WireGuard protocol. All tests were carried out in our US lab testing Surfshark servers in the US, Canada, and Europe.
First I tested a Surfshark VPN server in Los Angeles (USA) and was able to get 346 Mbps.
At well over 300 Mbps, this is an excellent speed test result.
Next I tested a Surfshark VPN server in Seattle. Once again, the results were excellent at 308 Mbps.
Even though the Surfshark Seattle server is not as fast as the previous Los Angeles server, 308 Mbps is still great.
The last Surfshark server I tested in the United States was in New York. This was the most impressive speed I found, at 397 Mbps.
At nearly 400 Mbps, this puts Surfshark in the league of the fastest VPNs we have tested here at Restore Privacy.
We also ran some speed tests with Surfshark servers in Canada. Here was a server in Toronto at 360 Mbps:
Surfshark is one of the best VPNs for Canada that delivers consistent performance.
Lastly, I tested servers in the UK. Once again, the performance was excellent with this Surfshark server in the UK: 330 Mbps.
If you want the fastest VPN speeds with Surfshark, simply use the WireGuard VPN protocol. We found it to offer very similar speeds to NordVPN in our Surfshark vs NordVPN comparison.
Aside from fast download speeds, WireGuard also offers these benefits:
- Near-instant connections (no more waiting 10+ seconds for the VPN to connect)
- Improved mobile performance
- Better battery life
- More reliability (fewer dropped connections)
We did notice that OpenVPN speeds were nowhere near the level of WireGuard performance, but we’ll discuss that more below.
Note: Due to Surfshark’s support for WireGuard on the Android operating system, and all the benefits this offers for mobile users, we rate it as one of the best VPNs for Android.
Passed an independent security audit
Many VPNs are working to build trust in a rapidly-growing industry by undergoing external audits. Surfshark is going along with this (positive) trend. It underwent an audit by Cure53, a reputable cybersecurity firm based in Germany. Cure53 had this to say:
As the extremely low number of findings and their limited implications clearly indicate, the results of this Cure53 assessment of the Surfshark VPN extensions position the product in a very good light. Two members of the Cure53 team, who examined the scope in November 2018, can only conclude that the tested applications make a very robust impression and are not exposed to any issues, neither in the privacy nor in the more general security realms.
For a third-party security audit, this ready very well. Note, however, that the audit was limited to the Android and iOS browser extensions. You can read the full audit report here.
There are also a few verified no logs VPNs that have undergone external audits to verify their logging policies. (Surfshark has not done this yet.) Some of the larger VPN services have undergone third-party audits to verify the no-logs status. We discuss two examples of this in our NordVPN vs ExpressVPN comparison.
Large, secure server network operating in RAM-disk
Over the past year, Surfshark has grown quickly and added hundreds of servers to its network. It now boasts a large network of 3,200 servers spread across 63 countries.
As you can see above, all Surfshark servers run Private DNS, are P2P-friendly, and comply with a no-logs policy.
Does Surfshark use virtual server locations?
First, let’s define what we’re talking about. A virtual server location is when a VPN server announces a location, such as Chile for example, when it is in fact located somewhere else, such as in the US. We’ve examined the issue of virtual server locations before, and there are pros and cons to doing this.
For the purpose of this Surfshark review, we can clearly see that Surfshark uses some virtual server locations for remote regions. Surfshark is transparent about this fact and clearly announces the virtual locations in the apps (unlike HideMyAss for example). You can identify the virtual locations within the Surfshark client because they are marked with a “V” for virtual.
Note: Using virtual server locations is not a dealbreaker. ExpressVPN and others also use virtual locations in a limited number of cases to support remote regions. Like ExpressVPN, Surfshark also discloses all virtual locations, which we covered in the ExpressVPN vs Surfshark.
CleanWeb (ad blocker) and Whitelister (split tunneling) features
Surfshark comes integrated with some cool features that I tested out for this Surfshark review. First we’ll examine the CleanWeb feature.
CleanWeb filter to block ads, trackers, malware, and phishing domains
Surfshark has a useful filtering feature called CleanWeb. This feature blocks ads, trackers, malware, and phishing domains, as well as “suspicious links” that are on a blacklist. There are some nice advantages to VPN ad blockers, which can efficiently block domains at the VPN server via DNS requests, rather than relying on browser extensions.
You can enable CleanWeb in the Surfshark settings. This feature is available in the Windows, Mac OS, Android, and iOS apps. Here is the CleanWeb feature I tested out for this review with the Windows client and it worked well.
I tested this out by visiting some ad-infested websites with CleanWeb enabled. It looks to be working very well as all ads were effectively blocked.
Other VPNs also offer ad-blocking, such as with the CyberSec feature that we tested in the NordVPN review.
Whitelister (split tunneling) feature
Like with CleanWeb, the Whitelister feature is also activated directly in the Surfshark app settings area. This tool allows you to “Select apps or websites & IPs to bypass VPN.” You can see other VPNs with split tunneling here.
This may be useful in certain cases. For example, if you have a streaming service that blocks the VPN, then bypassing the VPN with only that app may be helpful. This is another feature that we also see being offered by other VPNs, as we noted with our ProtonVPN review.
Surfshark works with Netflix and other streaming services
If you need a good VPN for Netflix, Surfshark is a solid choice. They offer access to 16+ Netflix regional libraries, including all of the most popular regions, such as Netflix US, UK, Canada, Germany, France, Japan, Korea, and more. I decided to test out Surfshark’s ability to unblock the US and UK Netflix libraries and everything worked perfectly. Below you can see me streaming UK Netflix through Surfshark’s server in London:
Streaming quality was also perfect without any interruptions. This is to be expected given the fast speeds and reliable connections. Surfshark certainly outperforms other VPNs with streaming, as you can see in the CyberGhost vs Surfshark comparison.
Beyond Netflix, Surfshark is a great all-around VPN for streaming, with many other services supported including BBC iPlayer, Disney Plus, Hulu, DAZN, and more. In the most recent update to the VPN for BBC iPlayer guide, we found Surfshark to be one of only a few services that was still getting through.
Multi-hop VPN, plus extra features
Surfshark offers a multi-hop VPN feature, which will route your traffic over two different VPN servers. As of the time of this Surfshark review, there are fourteen different double-hop server configurations available. These can be selected directly within the Surfshark client under Locations > MultiHop.
This can be a good feature if you are looking for more encryption and privacy above and beyond a single-hop connection. However, speeds will likely be slower than single-hop servers.
We have a multi-hop VPN guide that dives into this topic more if you are interested.
Extra (paid) features
Surfshark also offers a few additional features, beyond what we’ve covered above. These features are:
- Surfshark Alert – Get real-time alerts when your emails & passwords are at risk of being hacked.
- Surfshark Search – The real incognito mode for searches you don’t want anyone to see.
- Antivirus feature – Surfshark is also offering an antivirus feature.
Surfshark One – If you want to get everything together, Surfshark also offers the “Surfshark One” option, which includes everything the VPN as well as the Alert, Search, and Antivirus add-ons. This add-on costs an extra $1.49 per month, on top of the VPN subscription price.
You can see these features on the checkout page and they can be incorporated into your VPN subscription.
You may find this package to be useful and worth the monthly (added) price. However, there are many different private search engines available that are free of charge. There are also identity theft protection services, but they can be quite expensive.
Excellent prices and money-back guarantee
Surfshark is probably the cheapest VPN that I would still consider to be a high-quality service. It is a great value at only $2.49 per month with the two-year plan. So your total price is only $59.76 for a two-year subscription.
At $2.49 per month, Surfshark is cheaper than nearly all other leading (high-quality) VPN services.
Surfshark supports all major payment options: credit cards, PayPal, Google Pay, Amazon Pay, and cryptocurrencies.
Note: Check out our page on VPN coupons for other deals and discounts.
Surfshark 30-day refund policy
Surfshark offers a 30-day refund policy on all plans. This is a great refund window as many VPNs restrict refunds to only one week.
Reading through the terms and conditions, there are a few exceptions for mobile apps and gift cards.
We can refund you on the basis of our 30-day money-back guarantee. Except if you signed up via iTunes/App Store or with a prepaid card/gift card. These are out of our hands.
These exceptions are pretty standard. You can see the respective mobile stores for their refund policies.
The 30 day refund window basically acts as a free trial VPN, since you can cancel any time within the window for a full refund.
Live chat support available 24/7
In working on this Surfshark review, I had many interactions with their support team. I found the support to be fast and helpful. You can access the live chat support directly through the website and it is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
I also found the Surfshark website to have lots of good info. There is a dedicated support domain with dozens of tutorials and guides.
Cons of Surfshark VPN
Now let’s examine the cons (drawbacks) of Surfshark VPN.
Slower OpenVPN speeds
I ran lots of speed tests for this Surfshark review. The test results for the WireGuard protocol were excellent and are all posted above.
There is one drawback with speeds however. I found the OpenVPN protocol to not offer the best performance. While anyone can use WireGuard, some may prefer to use OpenVPN for various reasons. OpenVPN is also the only protocol supported with Linux as well as the multi-hop feature.
Below you can see that OpenVPN speeds were not great in a few locations.
Here was a server in Los Angeles with the OpenVPN protocol and I’m getting around 81 Mbps.
Similarly, the OpenVPN protocol with a UK server was also not very impressive at 79 Mbps.
We can expect OpenVPN to not perform at the same level as WireGuard. With that being said, you can typically get speeds of over 150 or 200 Mbps with OpenVPN using a fast VPN service. For example, I can usually get speeds of over 200 Mbps using NordVPN.
If you don’t need to use OpenVPN, then you’ll be better off with WireGuard, which is more than adequate with Surfshark.
Note: This is still faster than many other popular VPNs, as you can see in our recent Private Internet Access review.
Limited VPN router support
Another drawback I found with Surfshark is that there is no VPN router app. Some VPNs, such as ExpressVPN and VyprVPN, offer a dedicated app that can be used with some routers, with the right firmware. This makes it very easy to get the VPN up and running, assuming you have the right router.
With Surfshark, however, there is no dedicated VPN router app. However, you can still use Surfshark with a router, but it may be more complicated. Here are some options for using Surfshark with a router:
- Get a preconfigured VPN router from vendors such as Flashrouters, Sabai Technology, or Vilfo.
- Get a VPN-enabled router that comes with full support for OpenVPN. My top recommendation for this is the latest models from Asus.
- Flash your existing router with a firmware that will work with VPNs. This can be tricky and it also comes with some risk. Proceed with caution.
As you can see, there are still many options for using Surfshark with a VPN router, but it’d be great if they developed a dedicated VPN router app to make that even easier. See my VPN router guide for more of a discussion on this topic.
Additional research findings
Here are some additional research findings and test results for this Surfshark VPN review.
Does Surfshark work for torrenting?
While it may not be the best VPN for torrenting, Surfshark is still an excellent choice
According to the Surfshark website, all servers are P2P friendly.
With great speeds (using WireGuard), good leak protection settings, no logs, and safe, secure apps, Surfshark is a good option to consider.
Torrenters may also find peace of mind knowing that Surfshark is not forced to comply with DMCA laws because they are based in The Netherlands. Therefore legal notices and copyright demands should not affect Surfshark users in any way. With copyright violations sometimes resulting in jail time, it’s good to use a safe and secure VPN at all times.
Does Surfshark work in China?
Surfshark has a built-in feature called NoBorders, which they developed to help users get around VPN blocks and restrictions. This will be useful in China. VPNs use different names for this feature, such as the Chameleon protocol with VyprVPN.
The Surfshark NoBorders feature can be enabled directly in the app. This should allow you to use the VPN in areas where VPNs may be blocked, such as in China.
With this feature built into the Surfshark apps, it is probably a good VPN for China if you need to get through the Great Firewall.
Note: Surfshark also has a “Camouflage mode” feature that obfuscates VPN traffic. This feature is enabled with the OpenVPN protocol (UDP and TCP). While this is similar to the “NoBorders” feature, they are separate.
Does Surfshark work for gaming?
Many people use VPNs to improve their experience for gaming — but there are many variables to consider. For a VPN to work well with gaming, it needs:
- Fast servers
- A large network that can deliver consistent speeds
- Reliable VPN apps for all gaming devices
As we have seen in this Surfshark review, this service meets all three of these conditions. It is a great VPN for gaming and should work well.
Surfshark review conclusion
Despite being a relatively cheap VPN that is relatively new to the VPN world, Surfshark packs a punch. It delivers serious value when you consider all of the features, preferences, and performance, all for only $2.49 per month.
As a brief recap, here are the highlights of Surfshark VPN:
- Great apps for all major devices and operating systems
- Unlimited number of connections
- Based in a safe offshore jurisdiction (BVI) with a good no logs policy
- Good leak protection features (kill switch) with strong encryption
- Multi-hop VPN servers (13 to choose from)
- CleanWeb feature to block ads, trackers, malware, and phishing domains
- Split tunneling feature (Whitelister)
- Works well with Netflix and other streaming channels
- 24/7 live chat support and a 30 day money-back guarantee
Overall Surfshark is one of the better VPNs I’ve tested and is currently one of our top recommendations.
If you want to give Surfshark a try, get the best prices with the coupon below:
Surfshark Holiday Discount
Get 81% off Surfshark VPN (drops the price down to $2.21 per month) plus 3 months free.
(Coupon is applied automatically.)
Alternatives to Surfshark
Below are a few great alternatives to Surfshark that we have tested and reviewed. Check out the review or grab the discount for the best savings. Additionally, these VPNs have a 30 day money-back guarantee.
You can also check out our guide on the top VPN Services for other recommendations.
In comparison to other VPNs, Surfshark usually does pretty well. Here are our Surfshark VPN comparisons:
Surfshark vs CyberGhost
Surfshark vs PIA
Surfshark vs NordVPN
ExpressVPN vs Surfshark
Surfshark vs IPVanish
If you have used Surfshark VPN, feel free to leave your own review below (good or bad) to help others decide.
This Surfshark VPN review was last updated on November 11, 2021.
When I check my IP address while connected via Surfshark, I see what I expect for IPV4. For IPV6 address, though, it is either blank or it shows my actual real-life IPV6. My previous VPN (Hide.me) supported IPV6 and hid mine behind their own. Does Surfshark not support IPV6 protocol, and what is the importance of this? In terms of speed and privacy, is it important whether they do or not? I am considering cancelling Surfshark and going with a VPN that supports IPV6 protocol, unless Surfshark in fact does support it – or does it not matter for the sake of speed and security? Thanks.
We also ran Surfshark through these VPN tests and did not discover any IPv6 leaks. Surfshark blocks IPv6 but does not currently support IPv6. If you want a VPN with full IPv6 support (so you will get an IPv4 and IPv6 address) then you may want to check out these options:
Perfect Privacy (see our Perfect Privacy review)
OVPN (see our OVPN review)
Surfshark will stop supporting Shadowsocks:
https://surfshark.com/blog/surfshark-will-stop-supporting-shadowsocks
Surfshark is good but I have some doubts.
ExpressVPN is bought by Kape on the second week of September. Surfshark moves to the Netherlands on the third.
They were both based on the British Virgin Islands.
Coincidences?
Surfshark’s updated ToS says they’re moving to Netherlands from October 1st, 2021 which is a terrible change IMHO. Netherlands is bang in the middle of 9Eyes and has a track record of server seizures of VPN companies so they’re not privacy and VPN friendly at all. I really want to know why Surfshark decided to do this and nuke their reputation out of nowhere.
We’re investigating the situation and have reached out to Surfshark for more information and clarification. We’ll post our findings in this review and perhaps also a dedicated news article.
❤️
Here’s Surfshark’s view on 5/9/14 eyes countries issues
https://surfshark.com/blog/5-9-14-eyes-and-vpn
I agree with most of the commentary in this article, and I’m not even very concerned about the 9 or 14 Eyes. But the real big issue is avoiding the 5 Eyes, which are on record as the worst abusers of privacy. I’m talking about the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. The US has forced many VPNs to start logging users for various three letter agencies. Examples of privacy services that were forced to give up logs for the US government include: IPVanish VPN, PureVPN, HideMyAss VPN, Riseup Email and VPN, and going even further back in 2013 is Lavabit, which shut down the service when the US government demanded encryption keys and access to everything.
Looking at other 5 Eyes, we see both the UK and Australia rolling out draconian surveillance laws. In Australia, the government can legally force any privacy-focused business to create a backdoor and break encryption to help the police spy on people using the service.
So there are very real dangers of using a VPN (or other service) located in 5 Eyes. The article concludes with, “At the end of the day, a VPN being established in an -Eyes country doesn’t mean anything.” But this ignores reality and a long list of cases where VPNs or email services established in 5 Eyes were forced to abuse their users’ privacy.
So I stand by my claim to avoid 5 Eyes and have a big list of examples to prove my point. And it doesn’t look like the author of this article bothered to research this issue very much because he doesn’t mention a single one of these real-world cases, but instead just gives you his personal theory and opinion on the matter, which is disconnected from reality and history.
I agree with your view, Sven. However, the main question here would be: do you, as a company, break your contract with the customer(s) if you change your policy whenever you like? Maybe the majority of your customers wouldn’t agree on that, but you don’t care, there’s always an excuse and some silly explanation? For me, that is wrong, morally if nothing else. It seems the best way is to buy monthly VPN contract.
Here in point 3 you mention Surfshark utilizes AES-256-GCM cipher. However, if you download a manual server configuration file, provided to set up a manual connection, you’ll find one of the lines saying “cipher AES-256-CBC”. So, Surfshark utilizes AES-256-GCM or AES-256-CBC?
It may vary depending on operating system; you could verify this with Surfshark.
I read about the Cure53 audit on last May. Together with the previous one on 2018, both servers and browser extensions have gone through an audit. However, desktop and mobile apps have never been audited, right?
If I’m right, they should make this a priority. At the end, it’s the app and the VPN protocol the ones who must “resist” the ISP eavesdropping intentions.
Surfshark recently released their “Surfshark One” package that features their 2FA, Search, and new antivirus. I’ve tested it out on my Android and it works just fine. Too early to tell how it stacks up against other anti-malware services and I am on the fence about giving a VPN app access to the contents of my device (Especially an app that uses Google/Appsflyer) but it COULD be a good option for those who want an all-in-one solution.
Thoughts?
Yes, this is an optional, paid add-on. With more reports of malware and ransomware in the news, antivirus tools have been growing in popularity.
Never let any Antivirus software spy as access to your files and any content in your devices….. most of the antivirus are only for spying
I have a simple question, regarding privacy of some of this VPN’s servers. Website browserleaks reveals (by clicking on whois ip address) that some servers are registered by Surfshark, with all of the details. That means that anyone interested can easily block these addresses or compromise your privacy, as they are easily recognized as VPN, right? Anyone can check this. I’m interested to hear your opinion on this matter…
“easily block these addresses or compromise your privacy”
Two things.
Regarding your first statement, sure, any website can block any IP address. But that is all the more reason to use a VPN with thousands of IP addresses and servers, such as Surfshark. We see this sometimes with Netflix blocking VPN IP addresses, but then VPNs rotate and acquire new IPs that will get through. Surfshark is continually doing this and offers access to a huge Netflix library with many different regions.
Regarding your second statement, how does anything “compromise your privacy”?
Your IP address, location, and identity are still hidden behind Surfshark’s VPN server and IP address. Your traffic is still getting encrypted between your device and the VPN server, which also prevents your ISP (and their surveillance partners) from spying on you and recording every website you visit.
Thank you, Sven. Overall, I’m really satisfied with this VPN service. You can’t find anywhere so much features for the money.
Has anyone verified the no logs policy and their claims to be located in the British Virgin Islands?
There has been some chatter online that Surfshark is affiliated with Windscribe and using many if not the same servers.
Surfshark has undergone various security audits, including a recent audit back in May.
I have seen no evidence that Surfshark is in any way associated with Windscribe, which is based in Canada. There are many differences between these two VPNs. Notably, they run their VPNs and infrastructure completely differently. Windscribe has never been audited, does not run their servers in RAM, and recently suffered a security breach because they left servers in Ukraine unencrypted.
I joined Surfshark after a thorough search and stayed with it for over a year now. I mainly use it on my laptop and I think the desktop app and their whitelister feature is very easy to use (important, as I am definitely not an IT guru). My speeds have been decent too! I think it’s a great bargain and haven’t had any regrets so far.
I’ve been with Surfshark for a few years now and I’m coming here to inform you that there’s been constant DNS leaks happening. If you have Surfshark, connect to a server, do a DNS check, then change the server, do a DNS check. Do it a few times and you’ll see your IP and ISP DNS showing up.
I was horrified when I saw this the first time yesterday and I have been able to replicate it every single time.
Protocol I was on : IKEv2
I’m not able to replicate this and have not found any leaks with Surfshark. Are you sure it was an actual DNS leak with your ISP’s DNS servers showing up? Do you have screenshots or any evidence? What operating system are you using? What Surfshark app version?
Yes, I’m on Windows and using the latest Surfshark windows app on IKEv2. My ISP’s DNS showed up and I’ve submitted screenshots to Surfshark.
The first few times I noticed the leak, I thought it was a fluke. But every time I changed a server, my ISP DNS kept showing up. So this was definitely not a one-off mistake.
I’ve emailed them my finding and I’m waiting for their reply. Once they provide me with an explanation/patch, I’ll update it here.
So any update FoxyMoxie?
Been using Surfshark for 7 months now. Works great for streaming sites such BBC iPlayer and UK Netflix. Being a British TV enthusiast these platform are definitely my go-to’s. Have had some issues with websites loading time slowing down, however their customer support team were very quick to respond and offer advice. In my opinion, a great VPN for an excellent price.
I’m testing surfshark at the moment. First impression is overall okay compared to my NordVPN I don’t notice that many differences. Except for the fact that when I use the Surfshark OpenVPN UDP Protocol on my debian router that acts as a VPN gateway for a my devices in my LAN network I notice a lag in the page load. So for example when I use the Surfshark OpenVPN UDP protocol and try to visit your website for instance the pages load very slow, it takes a few seconds before the page is loaded. But when I use my NordVPN openVPN UDP protocol with my debian router the pages I visit are loaded instantly (as it should be).
When using the Surfshark apps on multiple devices I don’t have any problems with page load. And even the speed is high just as good as my NordVPN speed.
Any thoughts on why the pages loading speed is much slower with Surfshark when using it via a Router?
Used Little Snitch software on Surfshark and found that they make connections to Google analytics directly from my Mac. This seems a little hypocritical as use the slogan “Think Google knows to much about you?” to market their clean search product. Not sure what information they are sending to Google for analytics but for a VPN provider, any information to Google is too much information.
This sounds like it’s related to the option to send crash reports, which can be collected through Firebase Crashlytics. Just disable the option to send bugs and crash reports in the app preferences.
I agree with what’s been said in this review, especially about Surfshark delivering serious value when it comes to price versus features comparison. I haven’t tried other VPNs but I chose this one by reading around and didn’t see others offering the same amount of extras for such a cheap price. I do occasionally have minor issues like having to connect to a different server for it to be faster, but again, reading around that seemed to be true with any such product. I am yet to have to contact customer support even though I’ve been using it since somewhere around Halloween.
I don’t like this company. I thought I would email them asking how many servers they have in a few countries which interests me. They replied back they don’t have this information. I asked the question again but formed it differently and sent it a few days later. I finally received a different response stating they can’t inform me due to privacy reasons. This is troublesome.
Surfshark claims they have 3200+ servers in 65 countries. This would mean they have (on average) 49 servers per country. On reddit I was informed that is BS. They have very few servers, perhaps several in the US but like Express VPN, they don’t have many servers in one location. Only NordVPN has many servers to choose from in one location. NordVPN has no issue letting you know if you ask. And I’m not promoting Nord, just saying they are being transparent, SurfShark is not. I can’t help wonder what else are they misinforming us about?
I have same idea. I can’t choose the server to connect; they said that this is to optimize data traffic.
But if it was true, it was no necessary to have 2 or more locations for nation. So you have the same limited IP range (consider nations with only one location). DAZN is not supported everywhere but only in some locations (see their websites).
Wireguard is not working for different european nations.
The price is good but nordvpn has no one of these drawbacks
I’ve had Surfshark for a few months using Windows 7. The only protocol that works for me is OpenVPN, none of the others will connect. With the Kill Switch off I get excellent download speeds. With the Kill Switch on the speeds drop drastically. Have you noticed a difference in speeds with the Kill Switch on or off? I also have had sudden disconnections at the most inopportune times with the Kill Switch off and gotten DMCA emails from my ISP, so leaving the Kill Switch on is a must. Also, the Kill Switch must be turned off before you disconnect the VPN or you will wonder why the next time you start your computer why you’re not connecting to the internet (I had a near freak-out experience the first time this happened until I realized what the problem was.) I guess I’m spoiled having been a PIA customer for several years but they have dropped support for Windows 7 so I was forced to move to a different VPN. With PIA I could have the Kill Switch on all the time and reconnect without any issues, it seemed more stable plus the download speeds were better. Surfshark’s 24/7 tech chat support is excellent though.
Hi Sven,
Thank you for all the info on your website. It is very useful to those of us concerned with privacy.
However, I just can’t understand how you are ranking SurfShark highly, and even mentioning that not logging IPs is “minor” in one of the comments below. Surely, you can’t be serious.
And how can you leave out Mullvad? This has to be one of the best around, and the only one recommended by Privacytools.io.
I understand Mullvad does not any pay/have any affiliates. So promoting Mullvad might not be in your interest, despite how good it is. Thank you.
Hi Gerald, looks like you are misquoting me. I was specifically referring to not having an audit being a minor issue. I trust Surfshark remains true to their no logs policy, and I understand they are working on a verification audit that will be released later this year. Mullvad does look good and we need to get a Mullvad review done this year.
I signed up with Surfshark only to find the kill switch is not fully implemented on Mac – their support team indicated the kill switch will automatically reconnect on Mac but not suspend internet activity if the VPN drops. This even though their website says it will suspend activity. Any providers you can recommend that fully supports the kill switch on Mac?
NordVPN offers this.
I would add one big thing to Cons list for Linux users:
Wireguard not yet on Linux app, atleast deal breaker for me as main PC just running on Linux.
I have been using Surfshark for almost 1 year now and it’s okay as an overall experience. OpenVPN Protocol(s) work slowly, so you have to use Ikev2 or Wireguard for streaming etc. There are some issues from time to time, e.g. their App for Android TV is working unreliably (Kill Switch doesnt always work etc.) and connection speed is slow, no matter the protocol used. Also I have had some issues using Windows 7 with Kill Switch and their App crashing unexpectedly and suddenly.
For those concerned about who runs the company here is some info off the SurfShark “about us” section:
https://surfshark.com/about-us
The CEO Vytautas Kaziukonis is Lithuanian, and currently lives in England. He also appears to have had one other failed business venture:
https://www.companieslist.co.uk/07570251-chip-monk-ltd
I have not been able to find anything about it but I am sure someone in this market would have by now. On the surface I do not see anything that would really raise any eyebrows.
SurfShark is also a founding member of the VPN Trust Initiative (Whatever value that adds) as well as supporting orgs such as the EFF. The CEO himself appears to be somewhat active in the cybersecurity scene. Given the highly competitive nature of this market and all the smear campaigns I’m sure we’d know by now if the guy was shady or had ties to intelligence communities, etc. It appears to me that he is a businessman who values his privacy.
He recently wrote this:
https://www.toolbox.com/security/network-security/guest-article/how-covid-19-turned-a-new-page-for-cybersecurity/
Hello everyone ! I`ve tested SurfShark a few days but unfortunately is not fit for me . When i`m trying to view Romanian IPTV from Norway i get geolocation error 🙁
Same story if I want to acces Romania HBO from another country…
Pros: Great speed with Wireguard protocol
Cheap ( before i used ExpressVPN which is too expensive)
I had the same problem(s) with Netflix, it is being recognized as IP from US by Netflix.
It’s really slow in Asia. CleanWeb feature is inferior to CyberSec in my testing. NordVPN is much faster then Surfshark at my location.
If you are a user in Asia-Pacific, I would recommend following-
NordVPN> ExpressVPN> Perfect-Privacy> IVPN> Surfshark
I still don’t get why this VPN is one of the top ones.
I mean I get the fact that it offers more streaming libraries, but this is probably just because the VPN is quite new on the block and Netflix hasn’t targeted it yet, which will be for sure in the future.
Secondly, browser extension audit isn’t that much of an audit at all, because that is not the main use case for a VPN service, and for sure that should not be the first thing to be audited, as it only raises more questions like “Why did they audit it at first, is there something they haven’t yet figured out on VPN side?”
Thirdly, I do get the fact that Wireguard offers great performance, but in most countries ISPs don’t even give you speeds over 100, thus the performance boost is great for something available in the future, but not at this point in time. Moreover, OpenVPN is still better in terms of privacy, and most routers (speaking of Asus routers) don’t offer Wireguard out of the box (Asus doesn’t offer it at all, and there is no way of changing the firmware on it), and the fact that OpenVPN performance is quite bad is not a Con, but quite a major issue for a lot of users.
I mean the only real advantage I see here is the price, but that alone doesn’t come close to making this VPN service number 2 in the top VPN lists…
But that’s just my personal opinion.
Most of our readers are in the US, although we do write for a global audience, and internet speeds in the US are pretty decent. It seems speed and performance are bigger factors with people. With our recent review update, we were very impressed with Surfshark’s speeds and full implementation of the WireGuard VPN protocol. It also offers many useful features, such as CleanWeb to efficiently block ads and trackers on your operating system. And while the audit was limited in scope to browser extensions, it is still more than most VPNs have done (zero audits).
Overall, the biggest reasons that Surfshark earned a higher spot in our overall rankings are are as follows:
– Full WireGuard support
– Much faster speeds than our previous tests (thanks to WireGuard)
– Continues to work really well with streaming
– Lots of features
– Low price
The strong argument here is the low price for now, however if you buy it n Black Friday/Cyber Monday, VPN.ac has lower price for 2 years.
Speaking of Wireguard, I do understand the hype around it, but unless the implementation is audited, we can expect a simple tweaked version of it. Moreover, we cannot even be sure if they attend the IP logging issue properly.
Sure, they did at least one audit, but when you are a VPN provider, auditing a proxy extension should be the least of your concerns, as opposed to the main “money-bringer” of the company, the VPN infrastructure itself (or at least the software), and considering they did the audit more than 2 years ago, that should ring a bell in favor of being skeptical about the company.
In addition, OpenVPN is still the most widely-used protocol, so in my opinion, that is the one that should be wrinkled out first, before going after Wireguard, especially considering that OpenVPN is basically available out-of-the-box for custom router firmwares, as opposed to Wireguard, and if OpenVPN speeds are somewhat lagging behind, this is another bell ringing.
I take issue with the ‘Full Wireguard Support’ statement as Wireguard isn’t supported in Linux. I don’t see anywhere on their site (I haven’t paid for an account) where I can even generate .conf files to use Wireguard in a Command Line or in the Network app, which does support Wireguard. (I know, becuase that’s how I use VPN.AC’s wireguard)
Thanks for pointing that out. I just checked and confirmed, and yes, only OpenVPN UDP and TCP are supported on Linux at this time. But a support representative said WireGuard support for Linux will be available in the coming months.
Hi , sven
In top you said surfshark and in down of page you change it from express vpn
surfshark vpn not proven and audited !!!
Why you offer it to all????
Please prove your comment in here thanks .
I have no idea what this comment means or asks.
Hi , sven this guy say right (vikky)
Why expressvpn is lower than surfshark , is new of exprience
And never audited , second surfshark perhaps logs ! , because we donot know about it 100% , expressvpn is the first vpn in the world did audited and did run on ram servers , what is answer of you about above ?
We have adjusted the overall rankings for many reasons:
– Surfshark now supports the WireGuard VPN protocol on all major devices and operating systems. (ExpressVPN does not)
– Surfshark is very fast in our recent tests, with speeds up to 400 Mbps. (ExpressVPN is much slower.)
– Surfshark unblocks streaming sites around the world without any issues. (ExpressVPN is getting blocked by many streaming sites right now, including BBC iPlayer.)
– Surfshark offers more features than ExpressVPN and better performance for a much lower price.
It simply outranks ExpressVPN, and the no-logs audit is just one minor consideration.
While Surfshark has not undergone a no-logs audit, they have passed a security audit conducted by Cure53. And as an offshore (safe privacy jurisdiction), no-logs provider with a good track record, I have no reason to doubt their claims.
Sven, both Surfshark advertise servers in 65 countries but only 22 are shown on their website with no link to the remaining 43. What gives?