Proton VPN is a VPN service from Proton, the company behind Proton Mail. Its no-cost tier protects one device at medium speed, with server countries chosen for you.
Secure Core is Proton VPN’s double VPN, designed to prevent MITM and timing attacks. NetShield is a DNS filtering feature that blocks malware, ads and website trackers. A kill switch in all its apps keeps your IP address from being exposed if the VPN connection drops. Split tunneling lets you send selected apps or IP addresses through the VPN while leaving others out, and port forwarding can improve peer-to-peer performance. Tor over VPN lets you visit .onion sites from your regular browser.
Proton VPN says it is used by journalists, activists and people facing real-world threats in high-risk environments. Its Stealth protocol, based on WireGuard, is built to defeat many forms of advanced censorship. Paid plans let you stream TV shows and movies while you’re away from home. The apps are open source, and Proton VPN says that under Swiss law it can’t be obligated to start logging. Proton also offers a VPN for business.
Proton VPN runs on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, Android TV, Apple TV, Chromebook and Amazon Fire TV, and there are browser extensions for Chrome and Firefox. You can also set it up on routers running OpenWRT, AsusWRT, DD-WRT or pfSense, which protects devices that don’t support VPNs. Anyone on a paid Proton VPN plan can use live chat support. The support site also has a troubleshooter and a support search.
VPN Plus is the paid VPN plan, available monthly or on longer prepaid terms. Current prices are in the pricing box above.