Some of The Most Important Windscribe VPN Features Explained
In my last article, I discussed some of the VPN features of Windscribe VPN. In this article I will discuss the pricing of the software and whether or not the VPN service has been able to live up to the hype. The biggest draw to this product is that it allows you to stream various media content from various locations across the world. The VPN service however provides additional capabilities that are useful for consumers. I will compare Windscribe VPN with other popular VPN services such as IPT, Private Internet Access (PIA), L2TP/IPsec and WiMAX. I will also look at the comparison between the software and the services offered by Cisco and Free VPN.
Unlike most VPN services, Windscribe does not restrict the network users and IP addresses that can access the internet. Many VPNs provide Socks proxy functionality, redirecting unencrypted web traffic through a Socks server. For some VPNs this actually works very well. Unfortunately, for all but the smallest VPN users this proved unfeasible for VPN users using the open ports of British and US servers.
The free version of the VPN service offers the basic encryption support and compression, but offers no guarantee of a working Windows port, SSL/TLS or other encryption standard. It is also limited to loading HTML pages with compressed fonts. The commercial version contains several advanced features, including support for Microsoft Office running inside of Windows, support for certificates, encrypted web traffic, VPN connectivity with SSL/TLS and a Windows port. The major feature difference is the fact that Windscribe offers a free VPN service while other services (such as Free VPN) require a monthly fee.
One of the primary selling points of the Windscribe VPN service is its capability to act as a bridge between your private network and the internet. As long as you have a properly functioning server (which can be either a dedicated machine or a shared one) and a broadband connection, you can configure your private IP address and route all your traffic through it. Your internet traffic is encrypted as it makes use of the IP Secured Web Services technology. This provides you with a highly secure tunnel through which to access the web.
In addition to offering high level encryption and secure web traffic, the Windscribe VPN service offers two other important features. Firstly, it offers great speed and reliability. It has an average of 45 mbps when using the Open Port option which is very fast. If you need optimal connection speeds you should ideally select the ‘Auto Config’ setting which will cause the VPN server to generate a unique address automatically whenever a new connection comes in.
It is also important to know that this service is not just limited to setting up tunneling links. You can also utilize the free version which has limited features. The free version does allow you to establish one tunnel but does not give you any control over other connections coming into the server. Some people may find this limiting as they want to establish more than one connection. But if you only intend on using the free VPN service for internal purposes only, then this option is for you. As it offers basic features, you can still increase its size quite easily by buying the service upgrade at a nominal price.
The next important feature of the Windscribe VPN service is the encryption feature that it offers. Unlike the standard IKEV2 standard, the Windscribe VPN server allows you to select an encryption method which is considered to be strong and secure. Available options are Blowfish, SSL and 128-bit encryption. These are great options to consider as you are unlikely to encounter any sort of connection failure or security related issue with this type of encryption. With Blowfish encryption, the protocol used is weaker than the standard so it becomes vulnerable to hacking methods. However, the level of protection is great as no one can force you to reveal your secret code.
Lastly, the Windscribe VPN service comes with a killer feature – the ability to use its desktop apps from anywhere in the world. There is no restriction as to how you will connect to the VPN because you are always connected to it using desktop apps. This is an amazing feature that will help you to quickly get connected to your VPN even when you are on the go. Although this kind of feature is not available with IKEV2, it is still one of the best VPN service offerings available today.
