By Julia Newman 5 days ago, Apps and Software
Atlas VPN
Verdict: When I was choosing a VPN service, the data protection level and the variety of servers in different countries were important to me as a photographer. This program offers more than 750 servers in 39 countries. In terms of data protection, Atlas VPN provided high anonymity and kept my data safe when I connected to public Wi-Fi.
I travel a lot and want to keep access to the websites and platforms that I used to work with being in the US. What’s more, Atlas VPN is also a perfect tool to unblock streaming services such as Netflix and BBC iPlayer. It also comes with an ad block feature and a robust data breach checker that prevents your data from being leaked.
Atlas VPN is a great option for anyone who needs to use multiple devices at once, while not being limited in speed and connections. You won’t have any compatibility issues: the VPN supports Android, iOS, Mac, and Windows, along with almost all types of devices. Noteworthy is the advanced and high-speed cryptographic capabilities of this VPN provider.
The Atlas VPN team provides around-the-clock support, tools to block ads, trackers, and malicious websites. I especially appreciated the 'Kill Switch' option. The working principle is the following: when the VPN connection fails, this feature temporarily blocks the Internet connection of your device and resumes it when the failure problem is fixed. Therefore, when asking the question “Is Atlas VPN safe”, be sure – yes. This useful feature protects your data from leakage as much as possible.
Atlas VPN is a full-scale VPN solution with a solid feature set at very reasonable prices. The main options include the fast WireGuard protocol and the SafeSwap option, which constantly changes your IP address when you connect to the same server while guaranteeing complete anonymity. Useful extra features include an ad blocker, a malware blocker, and a data breach monitor that will alert you if any of your data is found on the dark web.
This VPN for USA provides switching between different VPN locations and servers to move across the world with no need to leave the home. What’s more, the list of locations and servers is constantly updated – more than 750 points are now available in 39 countries around the world.
When users connect to a server, they can try the SafeSwap feature. When using it, your traffic will be routed through several IP addresses. Thus, your data becomes almost impossible to trace. The connection of all servers is as fast as possible, and you can perform any action without loss of speed. Regardless of where you connect from, you will enjoy the best connection quality thanks to speed optimization.
As for Atlas VPN free services, you can try 3 server locations such as Amsterdam, LA, and New York.
The speed of this VPN increased due to the WireGuard tunneling protocol. Now your speed is reduced by only about 20% by the average downloading speed. This figure was expected, as WireGuard is known as one of the fastest protocols available on the market. The loss in average uploading rate was only about 6%. The ping value remained at the proper limits and only increased according to your distance.
With Atlas VPN, you will have access to various services and content. This VPN for streaming will give you access to blocked streaming platforms, social networks, news platforms, and other applications and live streams.
It was interesting to test some popular but limited resources. I decided to start with Disney+, which is unavailable in several countries. Immediately after connecting to a suitable server, the channel was unblocked. Then, I moved on to BBC iPlayer and Atlas VPN did a great job with it too. Everything worked perfectly, with no failures or buffering troubles.
Then I decided to test how the program would handle Netflix and was truly impressed. Well, in the end, I tried to open DAZN. This platform is known for its complex protection that cannot be easily bypassed. Alas, Atlas VPN couldn’t outperform most of its competitors here, and also failed to cope with this challenge.
This product is also an excellent VPN for travel whose high privacy is provided by WireGuard, AES-256 encrypting, kill switch, and private DNS. Additional protection options include changing IP addresses, and tools blocking ads and tracking.
I decided to try Kill Switch, blocking the connection to a router. The function worked as expected; it terminated the connection while blocking access to the server. However, I did not like that there is no notification of the switch actuating. I also appreciated the possibility to restore the Internet connection by disabling and re-enabling the kill switch.
Atlas VPN claims to log neither user activity nor data. All data required to create a VPN connection is deleted immediately after a user disconnects. Also, the privacy policy ensures that neither IP addresses nor customer activities are collected by the company. The only information that the company gets is data about the use of the product and the devices used (i.e. device model and OS version).
The company location is of great importance for data protection. Local laws regarding the storage of user data may differ depending on where it is located. In regards to such obligations, I can assure you that Atlas VPN is under a US jurisdiction that doesn’t have data retention laws.
This VPN provider also offers the SafeBrowse feature (for macOS and iOS it’s SafeBrowse Plus). It is located on the security settings tab and is optional, i.e., you can activate it if you need to block malicious websites. This means that when using a VPN, you will not be able to access a blacklisted website.
With this option, you can find out if your data has been leaked. However, it is not included in the free plan, so you need a paid subscription to activate it.
In case your data is in a breach, you will obtain bullet points with the type of leaked data. This makes it possible to find out what data was leaked – an email address or passwords in particular.
Another strong point is Atlas VPN good mobile version. As for me, some aspects are more functional than in its desktop version. Conveniently, the countries are displayed according to continents, and you can sort them alphabetically. You can also use a ready-made list of streaming servers. I believe such a list ensures a decrease in buffering, which is another difference from the desktop version.
The main features in general are the same as in the PC version, in particular kill switch and WireGuard and IKEv2 protocols compatibility. On the Assistant page, you can find the option to block tracking and monitor data leakage, and a few more features that are not available in this version of VPN for Windows 10. Enabling Tracker Blocking will protect you from some trackers, and entering your email address into the Data Breach Monitor will help in detecting several breaches that may have compromised your credentials.
I can’t characterize this VPN for public WiFi as an outstanding torrent solution. The product does not have dedicated P2P servers, as well as no feature set advertised. However, I declare that the torrent works.
In my case, Atlas VPN download speed was from 3 to 7 MB/s. I downloaded a file a little over 1GB in size and it took about 4 minutes. In your case, the speed may be different, since many factors affect its value, in particular seeders and leechers.
There are several ways to get help from the Atlas VPN team:
The FAQ section is available both in the mobile application and in the desktop version. It contains answers to fairly simple questions, so it is unlikely to help you much.
Therefore, I decided to send an email to see how fast this method would be. Of course, the answer was not instant, but the staff helped me properly.
Atlas VPN is one of the most affordable options on the market. The most profitable offer is a plan for three years. It costs only $71.49 for the entire period, which equals only $1.99 per month.
You can also purchase a 1-year plan that costs $39.42 for the whole year, which is $3.29 per month. If you are interested in just trying the product, you can download Atlas VPN with a plan for only 1 month, it will cost you $10.99.
