User-friendly VPN client offering simplified, no-logging privacy with browser integration and globally distributed servers
User-friendly VPN client offering simplified, no-logging privacy with browser integration and globally distributed servers
Pros
- Very easy to install and set up
- Lots of options made easy for novice users to understand
- Browser extensions and user software available as separate packages
Cons
- Requires payment for faster access
- Free users' country selection is significantly restricted
Zenmate is a VPN service and software to support users of the service. The company provides both browser extensions and user software for easy access to the VPN service. The service offers "free" and "paid" tiers.
In general, Zenmate is a steadfast VPN service. With better load times than average and a decent collection of locations around the world, it's a good choice. It has also simplified VPN setup, making it easy for novice users to have privacy around the world. Its business model is a bit different than most VPN providers. Zenmate does provide a free service, but the location selection is severely limited. Free users can only select a few countries. Additionally, the speed of the free service is highly reduced. It can still be used for things like checking email at unsecured WiFi hotspots, but not for watching Netflix abroad.
The software itself is extremely easy to set up. Whether or not users have a paid subscription, they can install and run it with ease. It comes with a variety of options and allows users to store their favorite server information for easy and fast connections. Zenmate's app is also regularly updated to fix security flaws. For example, there is a WebRTC exploit that allowed unscrupulous website operators to gain access to any VPN user's true IP address. Zenmate patched this within their VPN client much sooner than most providers did.
Pricewise, Zenmate is about in the middle for paid users. There are some cheaper services, but it's hard to beat the convenience and ease of use of Zenmate's client. Of course, users can still use more generic alternatives like OpenVPN to connect. However, Zenmate's target audience is not the networking and privacy enthusiast community. Its no-logging VPN is geared towards users who either don't know how to securely set up VPN connections or do not wish to spend the time to do so. Either way, the company's rigorous testing and user experience surveying of their VPN client shines.
Pros
- Very easy to install and set up
- Lots of options made easy for novice users to understand
- Browser extensions and user software available as separate packages
Cons
- Requires payment for faster access
- Free users' country selection is significantly restricted
Pros
- Easy to configure and use
- Fast surfing speed
- Protects your privacy online
- Allows access to blocked websites
Cons
- Small number of countries supported
- Private browsing requires an email address
ZenMate VPN is a powerful yet easy-to-use proxy switcher for Windows versions of Chrome and Firefox.
ZenMate VPN is a browser add-on, which means that it’s not a standalone application. Rather it runs inside of the Chrome or Firefox web browser. Since the purpose of ZenMate is to protect your privacy while surfing online and accessing other Web-services, an add-on is a good fit. The downside is that it doesn’t support other browsers, such as Microsoft Edge, but the upside is that you don’t have to worry about calibrating it to work with a particular browser. It just works.
A VPN is a virtual private network. You connect to a VPN, and then, you can request webpages, video streams and other online resources without exposing your identity. This helps protect your privacy online, but it can also provide you access to blocked websites by circumventing geo-restrictions. For instance, BBC won’t feed you video if you’re in the U.S. and Hulu won’t provide its TV shows if you’re connecting from Germany, but if you’re connecting through ZenMate, these services can’t tell.
A common downside to proxy services is the effect they can have on your connection speeds, but this is where ZenMate really shines. The service doesn’t noticeably affect surfing or streaming speeds, and that’s somewhat surprising for a service provided at no cost. Another common downside to VPN services is that they require knowledge of proxies, VPNs and other technical areas, but this is another area where ZenMate shines. It configures itself well, and using it is as simple as choosing a country. Whatever country you choose, that’s where you’ll appear to connect from.
Switching between proxies is simple as a button click, which is nice when you finish watching a show from a U.S. service and want to switch over to a France-based one, for instance. But country selection brings us to one of the limitations of ZenMate. There aren’t many to choose from. The good news is that most large Western countries are supported, so this may not be an issue for many users, but if you’re hoping to connect to a service that requires a presence in one of Europe’s smaller countries, you’re out of luck.
Streaming and access to other web services doesn’t require an account, but private surfing of the Web does. Accounts are free, but you will need to provide an email address, which may be a concern for some users. ZenMate does have a privacy policy in place and promises to only use that email to provide you information about ZenMate VPN and its other products.
Pros
- Easy to configure and use
- Fast surfing speed
- Protects your privacy online
- Allows access to blocked websites
Cons
- Small number of countries supported
- Private browsing requires an email address
