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CyberGhost Full Review: Smoothly Unblock Streaming Services
Last Updated by Moh'd on
May 06, 2021
CyberGhost is one of the top VPN services in our recommendation list as it provides top-notch VPN security services and features, and their ease-of-use and price make it an excellent VPN choice. CyberGhost is a Romania-based provider with an extensive network of 6,100 servers in 90 countries.
You can use CyberGhost on up to 7 devices simultaneously, with its 45-day money-back guarantee. CyberGhost has 24/7 live chat support, which is both prompt and helpful.
Quick Stats
CyberGhost is not just another VPN; it's one of the best. Why? Due to their top-notch security services and features, but there's a lot more to it than that.
Let's take a deeper look and find out what it's all about.
CyberGhost Speed
In this section, we checked how CyberGhost fairs against its competitors in terms of speed tests, number of servers, their geographic distribution, and their fastest available protocol.
1. CyberGhost in speed tests
CyberGhost is reportedly one of the fastest VPNs. It scores top points when it comes down to the speed it provides. Whether it's for streaming, torrenting, or gaming, CyberGhost makes sure you won't feel any lags or speed drops.
2. Number of servers and geographic distribution
Short explanation: CyberGhost has more than 6,700 servers in 90 different countries.
Long explanation: This gives you flexibility when choosing the ideal sever. Their servers are RAM-based servers (not hard drives), which means that your login data and information can't be retained or stored.
3. Fastest available protocol
Short explanation: WireGuard is the fastest available protocol by CyberGhost (recommended to use).
Long explanation: In the VPN world, many protocols exist, with differences between protocols making the difference in how secure a VPN is, how fast, and whether it can bypass geo-censorship. Typically, the trade-off is between speed and security, with the PPTP protocol typically being the fastest but the least secure.
Security and Privacy
CyberGhost has several security features. For example, NoSpy Servers are one of their most distinctive security features, which are basically a range of highly secure servers located at the company's headquarters in Romania. These servers are managed, maintained, and supervised by their internal staff.
The most important features regarding security and privacy include:
1. Encryption and protocols
CyberGhost VPN uses 256-bit AES encryption on all its servers, which is the same standard used by militaries and government agencies worldwide.
Are you new to VPNs?
For CyberGhost, use WireGuard protocol for speed, use OpenVPN protocol for security, and bypass geo-censorship (obfuscation).
Pro mode: CyberGhost offers three types of security protocols, OpenVPN, IKEv2, and WireGuard. All of the earlier mentioned security protocols are fast and secure. However, you have to note that each protocol is compatible with a specific operating system.
Pro mode: The protocols available for CyberGhost include:
WireGuard®, OpenVPN, and IKEv2 protocols.
| Protocols | IKEv2 | OpenVPN | WireGuard |
|---|---|---|---|
| Platform | Windows, macOS, and iOS | Windows, Android, Linux, and Fire TV App | Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, Linux, and Android / Fire TV App |
| Security | IPsec encryption | AES 256-bit encryption | ChaCha20 for symmetric encryption with poly1305 for message authentication |
| Firewall | UDP ports 500 and 4500, and ESP IP Protocol 50 | Uses 443 port (hard to block) | The port can be freely selected from the high ports range. If no port is specified, WireGuard uses 51820/UDP |
| Speed | Intermediate | Slowest in this list | Fastest in this list |
2. CyberGhost logs policy
Short explanation: CyberGhost has a true no-log policy.
Long explanation: CyberGhost has a true no-log policy (i.e., they gather no information at all, not even your email address or billing method).
3. CyberGhost kill switch
Short explanation: CyberGhost has a fully functional kill switch feature.
Long explanation: CyberGhost has built-in leak protection that prevents your data from leaking and your real IP address from becoming visible. CyberGhost VPN offers an automatic kill switch, which blocks all internet traffic and protects you from data leaks if your VPN connection temporarily goes down.
4. CyberGhost RAM-based servers
Short explanation: CyberGhost uses RAM-based servers (not hard drives).
Long explanation: A RAM-based server means that the data, instead of being saved to hard drives, is saved on RAMs instead. This is advantageous to security because RAMs are wiped clean every time the servers reboot.
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5. Based country
Short explanation: CyberGhost is based in Romania.
Long explanation: CyberGhost is based in Romania, which is outside the 5/9/14 Eyes Alliance. VPN companies based inside the 5/9/14 Eyes Alliance are considered a possible security threat as these countries are known to spy on their citizens and share information internally. (Read more on the 5/9/14 Eyes Alliance).
6. Warrant canary
Short explanation: CyberGhost doesn’t have a warrant canary system.
Long explanation: A warrant canary is an indirect method to warn customers of governmental attempts to subpoena where the presence of the warrant on the company’s official website means the local government hasn’t tried anything yet. If the warrant canary is removed from the company’s page, it means they were asked.
Being outside the 5/9/14/ Eyes Alliance, and with VPN being legal in Romania, CyberGhost doesn’t need a warrant canary system. In addition, CyberGhost offers quarterly transparency reports to keep its users satisfied.
CyberGhost in Practice
In terms of the applications of VPN in the real world, we dive further into how CyberGhost fares against the rest in the following categories:
1. Streaming
In Several.com, we recommend CyberGhost if you're considering a user-friendly VPN for streaming. It has enhanced servers for all the major streaming sites you're trying to unblock, helping you access their geo-restricted content.
The process is easy; you have to type the name of the streaming platform you're trying to access in the search bar. Then, you'll be given several server options to choose from, which they automatically picked based on the region's library you're trying to unblock.
Use the optimized streaming servers: These are optimized servers, enabling you to have a better experience while watching Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and other streaming sites. They made tested to make sure they can unblock the geo-restriction and are faster than others so as not to hinder the video buffering.
Netflix isn't the only thing they can unblock; other popular streaming platforms include; Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, ESPN, Hulu, Kodi, BBC iPlayer, and HBO Max.
2. Torrent
Short explanation: CyberGhost allows torrenting. Furthermore, CyberGhost has specialized torrent servers.
Long explanation: CyberGhost is a good choice for torrenting. It has optimized torrenting servers designed for P2P sharing. These servers guarantee total privacy and security while torrenting and can be found under the "For Torrenting" tab.
They use advanced encryption, with a strict no-logs policy, to ensure you're secure while torrenting. CyberGhost makes sure that none of your data is either collected or retained, so there's no way any information can be traced back to you.
CyberGhost has several torrenting servers in different countries, from the US and Australia to Germany and Mexico. This allows you to download files easily and quickly on any server you choose. You can choose which server to connect to from thousands distributed in more than 70 countries.
Each server location shows the number of users, load percentage, and the server's physical distance.
3. Gaming
Short explanation: CyberGhost has specialized gaming servers.
Long explanation: Do users really need a VPN for gaming? We won't go too in-depth on this topic. However, if you want to read more about it in detail, you can read our blog post on VPN and Gaming. However, the main points claimed by VPN companies regarding VPN and gaming are:
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DDoS attacks protection
Disrupted denial of service (DDoS) attacks are meant to overload your network with useless requests from multiple sources, causing lag spikes and crashes. Using a VPN means it won't be easy to pinpoint your location and send you these DDoS attacks while also having the ability to switch servers when needed.
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Geo-restriction
Some games have geo-restriction on their content, and using a VPN service can switch your IP location, granting you access to this game. In addition to games, this also includes DLC's and Exclusives.
Using a VPN will always slow down your internet connection. Having a middle man program transfer your data with encryption can't make your connection faster unless your ISP is throttling your connection.
4. CyberGhost dedicated IP servers
Short explanation: CyberGhost has dedicated IP servers.
Long explanation: This is a server assigned solely for your use, meaning you don't share an IP with others. A dedicated IP isn't something that is necessarily better than a shared IP. Whether you need a dedicated IP or not depends on your requirements.
A dedicated server is recommended in the following situations:
-
Business security
This comes to play when one needs to secure their business server access for the purpose of security. Typically, in a business service setting, you want encryption of data, as well as a select group of people to be able to login to your system. This is done by allowing particular IP addresses to log in. If your IP is shared and is not static, then this won't be possible. On the other hand, a dedicated IP means it's static and can be set as a log in condition.
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Secure online payment
You might be wondering why shouldn't I just pay with the standard shared IP VPN service? Now I want you to imagine this picture from the bank's viewpoint. Someone with the card number xxx has processed payments from 10 different countries around the world in the past week. For banks, that sounds like a sane reason to block the card marking it as suspicious activity. However, when having a static IP, this issue is avoided as you are paying from the same IP/location every time.
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Avoid getting blacklisted
The Blacklist effect, also known as the bad neighbor effect, revolves around how other people with the same IP address could do things that might end up banning the owner of that specific IP address. While you might have done nothing wrong. However, since you share the same IP as the person who got banned, you could get banned/blacklisted as well. Since a dedicated IP means it's yours and yours only, this wouldn't happen.
-
Avoid CAPTCHAs
Do you know these pesky bots with the audacity to question whether you're a bot or not? This CAPTCHA (Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart) system is a security measure to protect you from getting your password hacked, protect you from spam, and many other uses. With a dedicated IP, you are less likely to encounter a CAPTCHA.
Avoid using a dedicated IP for P2P sharing; instead, it's better to use a shared IP for that.
5. Geo-censorship bypass (obfuscation)
Short explanation: CyberGhost can bypass geo-censorship.
Long explanation: CyberGhost can bypass even the Great Firewall of China, making it very efficient at obfuscation. For the best results, use the OpenVPN protocol and use the NoSpy servers.
NoSpy servers: These are servers optimized for extra security measures, whether you are a journalist or in a high censorship country such as China, Iran, and Turkey. So what makes the no Spy servers unique?
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Server locations
Big companies such as CyberGhost have servers spread around the world. This includes countries inside and outside the 5-9-14 Eyes alliance. However, when considering a No Spy Server, they are strictly outside the 5-9-14 Eyes jurisdiction.
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Sensitive kill switch
The no Spy servers also have a more sensitive kill switch to ensure no data is leaked when surfing online.
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End-to-end server management
NoSpy servers are managed by the team at CyberGhost in an end-to-end manner, making sure it's as insulated as possible.
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Premium Hardware
With the NoSpy servers, the servers' hardware ensures your speed will be better as more advanced hardware and dedicated uplink are provided.
6. Split tunneling
Short explanation: CyberGhost has the split tunneling feature for mobiles and desktop/laptop devices.
Long explanation: Split tunneling is another security feature that enables you to choose which apps go through your VPN and which apps you regularly access (without VPN). This CyberGhost security feature is available on mobile and desktop apps.
7. CyberGhost Tor over VPN
Short explanation: CyberGhost has Tor over VPN support.
Long explanation: Torrent onion router (Tor) is a P2P program used to enter the dark web. Using a VPN adds an extra layer of anonymity, especially at the entry node, with the addition of data encryption.
CyberGhost Device Compatibility
CyberGhost is compatible with all major operating system platforms, including Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, Linux, and routers.
It also works on smart TVs, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Apple TV, and Roku. If you're installing the VPN on your router, you can get unlimited connections on a single subscription.
CyberGhost is compatibility summary:
- Windows
- macOS
- Linux
- Android
- iOS
- Chrome OS
- Fire OS
- Routers
- Playstation 3/4
- Xbox one/360
CyberGhost offers free Firefox and Chrome browser extensions to protect your browser traffic and data. As well as free and paid add-ons apps in the VPN app itself, such as; Secret Photo Vault to encrypt your sensitive photos and Password Manager to help save and generate your passwords.
Extention availability summary:
- Google Chrome
- Firefox
CyberGhost User Experience
In terms of user experience, CyberGhost provides.
1. Supported languages
CyberGhost supports the following languages:
- English
- French
- Italian
- Polish
- Portuguese
- Russian
- Spanish
2. Customer support
CyberGhost's 24/7 live chat support is quick and very helpful. You can also contact them through the site's ticketing system, and you will get a response from their customer support team within 24 hours.
There are plenty of FAQs in their help center, plus detailed guides to help you through the setup on different devices. Available forms of support summary:
- Live chat
- Knowledge base
- Email and tickets
- FAQs
Pricing and Payment
CyberGhost's plans start from $2.25 per month. As always, a long-term plan means the best value for money. You can connect up to 7 devices with their paid plan.
CyberGhost also offers a 45-day money-back guarantee, which allows you to get a full refund if you did not get the experience you wished for. This is quite generous compared to other services (usually 30 days).
You can get your refund by contacting their support team via the 24/7 live chat on their website.
CyberGhost accepts several payment methods, including PayPal, credit cards, and cryptocurrency payments, as well as Apple Pay and Google Pay.
Final Words
It makes sense that CyberGhost is very popular in the VPN market as it outperforms many of the well-known brands.
CyberGhost is a decent choice for streaming and torrenting, especially due to its affordable prices. On the other hand, you must be aware that CyberGhost doesn't operate in China despite being one of the best VPNs on the market; this could be a problem for many people.
All in all, we classify it to be one of the best VPN providers in the market. Enough about us, start now and get your own risk-free experience with CyberGhost's 45-day no-question asked money-back guarantee.