Panda VPN Review 2019
BEST FOR: Torrenting
- Excellent speeds
- No connection logs or activity logs
- Very easy to use
- Combines VPN with antivirus software
Panda VPN Overview
Panda Security is a well-known internet security company, with its flagship product being the Panda Antivirus. The company recently took its security to another by introducing the Panda VPN.
This VPN is provided within the Panda Dome suite, and it makes sense to combine the two important security tools. To bring you Panda VPN, the company has partnered with Hotspot Shield, a big player in the VPN market. The result is a super-fast VPN that can even improve your connection speeds.
Panda VPN’s major strength is that it combines its Panda AV’s device protection with internet protection to provide you with a secure offline and online experience. In this Panda VPN review, we’ll dig deeper into the VPN and see if it’s worth investing in.
Pros
What we liked
- Excellent speeds
- Easy to use
- Keeps zero logs
- Comes with an antivirus
- Free trial
- 24/7 Phone support
Cons
What can be improved
- No customization options
- Limited features
- Doesn’t work with Netflix, Hulu, or BBC iPlayer
Security & Privacy
Privacy
Panda Security is incorporated in Spain, which means that it’s within the EU. This is a bit tricky since the EU has been pushing for the storage of electronic telecommunications data to fight crimes.
Further, Spain is also a part of the 14 eyes surveillance agreement, which is known to abuse online privacy in the name of ‘fighting terrorism.’
Nevertheless, Panda VPN promises that “We do not collect any personally identifiable information. We do not collect, store, or share any permanent identifiers of users, including IP addresses. We do not keep any kind of activity logs for any of our users, whether they are free or Pro VPN users.”
This means that their privacy policy is trustworthy, and it’s also enhanced by the use of shared IP addresses. The fact that they do not collect any data means that even if the authorities come calling, Panda won’t be able to provide any data. After all, they don’t have it in the first place.
Security
Panda VPN encrypts your traffic using AES 256-bit encryption, an industry standard that can’t be breached. The protocol used is Hotspot Shield’s Catapult Hydra. While most security experts prefer the openly available OpenVPN, Catapult Hydra offers faster server connections, and its speeds are twice as fast. You however can’t run independent security checks on Catapult Hydra since it’s not open-source.
Unfortunately, Panda VPN doesn’t have a kill switch. This feature is usually very useful as it discontinues your internet connection whenever your VPN connection drops. This prevents users from being exposed to the ISP and any other snooping eyes.
Your security will however be enhanced by the accompanying Panda Antivirus as it offers quite a number of features.
Pricing & Payment
During this Panda VPN Review, we noticed that the VPN’s pricing, as well as currency, depends on your current region (determined using your IP address). The pricing for most regions is as follows:
- 1 Month subscription costs $9.99
- 3 Year subscription costs $106.8, which is $2.97 a month. This saves 70%
*Although we make every effort to ensure all prices are accurate, we cannot guarantee thet they are always up to date
Free Trial
You can try Panda VPN free for a whole month if you subscribe to Dome Premium. Note that this package is different from the initial VPN package, and you will need to select the number of devices you want to use.
Dome Premium for 1 device costs $13.99 a month but includes a free month trial. You won’t be charged anything at the time of subscription.
Note: This pricing also varies with the region.
Money-Back Guarantee
All Panda Security packages are protected using a 30-day money-back guarantee. This means that even after paying and using the product, it’s still possible to get reimbursed.
To ask for a refund, you just need to send an email to atencionalcliente@pandasecurity.com. According to their refund policy, you don’t even need to state the reason, and you will not incur any penalty.
This will come in handy if the VPN doesn’t satisfy your expectations or cover your needs.
Performance
During our Panda VPN review testing, we didn’t encounter any bugs or app failures. The VPN always connected to the server within an average of 7 seconds, which is quite commendable.
Speed test
To give you an idea of how fast Panda Dome VPN is, we conducted several speed tests.
The first speed test we did was without any VPN connection. This was meant to give us a benchmark on which to rate other tests while connected to the VPN.
After that, we connected to a nearby server.
We were surprised to see that the VPN instead of getting a speed cut, Panda VPN actually improved our speeds a bit. Only the ping rate was affected.
We then connected to various distant servers, and here is our average speed test.
You can see the Panda VPN still offers excellent speeds, and it’s therefore one of the fastest VPNs in the market. This can be due to the fact that the VPN uses Hotspot Shield’s technology, a VPN known for its great speeds.
The VPN offers unlimited server switches and unlimited bandwidth.
DNS Leak Test
We also tested whether Panda VPN was leaking our DNS using various servers and DNS Leak test tool. We were glad to see that the VPN doesn’t leak any DNS request.
There weren’t any IPv6 or Web RTC leaks either.
Get started with Panda VPN today to stay safe, private, and secure online!
Visit Panda VPNServers & Location
Panda VPN has servers located in 27 countries across the world. These include; Germany, Norway, Hong Kong, Russia, Japan, Denmark, France, Ukraine, Brazil, Sweden, Singapore, India, UK, Ireland, USA, Canada, Switzerland, Italy, Indonesia, Mexico, Spain, Argentina, Australia, Czech, Romania, Turkey, and the Netherlands.
The VPN however doesn’t say the number of servers in the network or the IP addresses used per server. You can’t connect to a particular city either.
Features
Panda VPN is a feature of Panda Security, and therefore the VPN doesn’t offer much when it comes to VPN features. Nevertheless, there are still some welcome additions.
Extra Antivirus Security
Though not really a feature, Panda Dome offers you extra security that a regular VPN wouldn’t. These include data protection, parental controls, cell phone locator, password manager, anti-ransomware protection, and Tune up.
Torrenting
Unlike some VPNs, Panda VPN allows you to use the VPN’s network for streaming and downloading P2P and torrent files. This way, you won’t have to worry about the data and privacy risk that comes with the technology.
However, while the website acknowledges that you can torrent safely through their network, they do not mention whether there are any specific servers for torrenting as most VPNs do. The app also doesn’t highlight any servers for this purpose, and so you just have to take their word and use any server.
No smart DNS
Panda VPN doesn’t offer Smart DNS service, and so it can’t be used on devices that do not natively support the installation of VPN services.
No .onion website version
Panda VPN doesn’t have a .onion website. You don’t need to worry though, as the VPN’s website is not restricted anywhere, even in China. You can therefore subscribe from anywhere.
No kill switch
The VPN doesn’t have a Kill Switch either. This would have been a great addition as the VPN supports torrenting. A kill switch prevents users from exposure, and it’s quite useful, especially in scenarios where a user leaves their device downloading torrent files.
Apart from torrent servers which are not highlighted, there are no special servers or open ports.
Panda VPN Setup & User Interface
Unfortunately, getting started with Panda VPN Security is not easy like with most VPNs. This is because the company offers it as part of Panda Dome Premium. There is a bit of confusion because you can buy the VPN as part of Panda Dome Premium, or buy the VPN specifically using the package Panda Dome VPN Premium.
The two packages vary in price with the former being more expensive, more featured, and directly accessible from the home page. To opt for the other package, you need to click “VPN” on the top right-hand side of the home page.
From there you’ll be able to choose between monthly, yearly, and 3 year subscription.
To get started with Panda Dome VPN:
- Choose a subscription period
- Provide your email, First name, Last name, and Zip/ Postal Code.
- Pay using PayPal or Credit Card
From there, you can confirm your account, and you’ll be good to go. You’ll get an option where you can download Panda Dome VPN for the device you want.
Ease of setup
On computers, Panda VPN downloads an installer of around 2 MB. This will then be used to install the Panda suite. Ensure that your internet connection is working for the installation to complete.
When the installation starts, you’ll be required to enter an activation code to continue. This code is available on the user control panel.
Once Panda Dome has installed, you’ll be required to activate the device to use the VPN. Activation can only be done up to a maximum of 5 devices unless you purchased more. To activate your device, you just need to confirm an email that will be sent to your email.
The whole process takes about 5 minutes.
Ease of Use
Panda Dome presents users with a very simple interface which is super easy to use. To open the VPN, you just need to click its icon, which is the central one.
You will then be given the option to choose the country that you want to connect to.
After that, all you need to do is click connect.
The same interface applies for all other devices, although in Smartphones the VPN is opened using the side menu.
Customization options
Unfortunately, Panda Dome VPN doesn’t provide any options you can choose to customize your connection. When you open settings, “Enable VPN after restarting my PC.”
This may be enough for some users, but power users will have to look elsewhere.
Compatibility
Since its launch, Panda has been releasing clients for various devices. The supported devices at the time of this writing are:
- Windows
- Mac
- Android
- iOS
Though these are the basic platforms, Panda VPN only started with Windows, so there’s hope more platforms will soon be supported.
Netflix
We tested various regions to see if Panda Dome VPN works with Netflix. Unfortunately, the VPN is completely blocked by Netflix, and there’s no region that works with the streaming service.
Hulu
Just like Netflix, Hulu blocks Panda VPN, and the same also applies to BBC iPlayer. If you want to use these services with a VPN, you’ll need to opt for a better option. You can however torrent safely with Panda VPN.
China
Panda VPN does not have any obfuscation technology, and so it’s not capable of bypassing the Great Firewall of China. To use a VPN in China or any other censored country, you need to opt for one that keeps updating its technology like ExpressVPN.
Customer support
There’s no live chat system that you can use to reach them, but they do offer 24/7 assistance through phone. To reach them, you can check up the number for your region on their website.
Their website also has a form that you can use to reach out to the support team.
Apart from that, there’ also a support page where you can get FAQs or join the Panda Security forum. You can also reach out to the team via Twitter.
While doing this Panda VPN review, we tested their support team using their online form and got a reply after 33 minutes. The Twitter support took 55 minutes to reply.
Conclusion
Panda Dome VPN provides a good security integration and lets you combine a VPN with a top Antivirus program. However, while this is good for users who just need the extra online protection offered by a VPN, the product isn’t satisfactory for expert VPN users. Otherwise, you’ll get a great combination of a fast VPN with a superb antivirus.
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