Protocols: OpenVPN, PPTP Service: Mullvad offers an unlimited VPN service with servers in 22 countries. Software is available in Windows, Mac and Linux and you can also get a version for iOS and Android. The software is basic allowing you to choose which server to connect to and includes and auto-disconnect option. Mullvad accept Bitcoins and there is a limited free 3 hour trial.
Privacy: Mullvad don’t log any users activity. See their Our Thoughts: A small VPN network that is big on privacy but our test results were a bit disappointing on P2P with speed fluctuating wildly during download.
Mullvad strives to make internet mass surveillance and censorship ineffective. For support related questions: [email protected] Skip to content. Home Home Home.
No UK servers. Mullvad User Reviews. SpeedTest.net (Firefox) Location Ping Download Upload Not Using VPN United States 21 30.53 11.43 OpenVPN Germany 181 4.1 3.77 OpenVPN Sweden 213 4.19 0.58 Download Test (Curl) Location File Size Av. Speed/sec Time/mins Not Using VPN United States 845M 1605k 08:59 OpenVPN Germany 845M 898k 16:03 OpenVPN Sweden 845M 667k 21:36 P2P Test (Transmission) Location File Size Av. Speed/sec Time/mins Not Using VPN US 800.1Mb 1.96Mb 06:49 OpenVPN Germany 800.1Mb 0.79Mb 16:55 OpenVPN Sweden 800.1Mb 0.95Mb 13:58 Test PC #2 – United Kingdom – OS (Win 7) – ISP (Sky). SpeedTest.net (Firefox) Location Ping Download Upload Not Using VPN United Kingdom 41 10.56 0.93 OpenVPN Germany 125 7.54 0.98 Download Test (Curl) Location File Size Av. Speed/sec Time/mins Not Using VPN United Kingdom 783M 1228k 10:52 OpenVPN Germany 783M 1195k 11:10 P2P Test (uTorrent) Location File Size Av.
Speed/sec Time/mins Not Using VPN United Kingdom 753Mb 1.1Mb 11:24 OpenVPN Germany 753Mb 0.38Mb 34:05 Note: The handshake protocol (MSCHAP_V2) used by many PPTP connections has been cracked and therefore PPTP could now be considered unencrypted. For maximum security use OpenVPN or L2TP.
CONS: • Limited number of servers • Slow support Mullvad is one of the most privacy oriented VPN services on the market. It is also one of the most technically sophisticated, and offers a range of advanced anti-censorship technologies.
For all that, its software is simple to use. This means that more casual VPN users will also be happy with the service, although somewhat slow support is an issue.
Pricing and Plans Mullvad’s pricing could not be simpler. It costs €5 per month (approx. $5.75 USD at the time of writing), and that’s it.
Unlike most VPN services, there are no discounts for buying longer subscriptions. The only kink is that payment in Bitcoin gets a 10% discount “due to lower fees and less administration.” A rather short, three-hour free trial allows you to check that the service works as it should. In addition to this, Mullvad offers a 30-day money-back guarantee (except for payments sent in cash, due to anti-money laundering regulations). Mullvad accepts payment via credit/debit card (via PayPal), Swish, bank wire, and Bitcoin. It is also unique among VPN providers as it accepts cash sent by post. In addition to this, Mullvad accepts vouchers that can be purchased from certain stores, which can be paid for in cash.
This means that Mullvad has no direct contact with the purchaser. These almost unique payment options alone give Mullvad a good claim to be the most privacy-oriented VPN service out there. Features Mullvad offers the following features to all users of its service: • Five simultaneous connections • SOCKS5 proxy connections • Port forwarding • Port selection • OpenVPN protocol • P2P permitted • Obfsproxy and Shadowsock bridges (anti-censorship technologies) • Secure Shell (SSH) and Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) (stunnel) tunneling (anti-censorship technologies) • Multi-hop VPN • Full Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) routing • Severs in 22 countries Most servers are in Europe, but Mullvad also has servers in North America, Australia, and the UK. Compared to other, more commercial services, this is a somewhat limited, and may restrict Mullvad’s usefulness for users in places such as Asia. On the plus side, all Mullvad’s servers are (not Virtual Private Server instances) under the close control of Mullvad. You can connect up to five devices to Mullvad at once, which is generous.
It is also worth highlighting the fact that Mullvad is the only VPN service I know of to connections through the VPN tunnel. Most other good VPN services simply disable IPv6 in order to prevent.
This is not a major problem at present, but kudos to Mullvad for looking to the future here. Port Selection and Port Forwarding It is rare for VPNs to be blocked, but it happens in places such as China and Iran (although this is usually only partially effective). Mullvad allows you to counter such measures by running the VPN over almost any port (a few ports are blocked to address spam and security issues). The most common use for this is to run OpenVPN traffic over Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) port 443. This is the port used by, the encrypted protocol that secures websites. Without HTTPS, no form of online commerce, such as shopping or banking, would be possible. It is therefore very rare for this port to be blocked.