UFO VPN is a well-liked Hong Kong-based VPN supplier which claims to have amassed a 20-million sturdy consumer base throughout the globe.
The web site lists specs that are a little bit higher than common in some areas, although not distinctive. UFO's community is an honest dimension at 2,000+ servers throughout 50 international locations, plus there's assist for unblocking Netflix, Disney Plus and BBC iPlayer, and a kill swap prevents you sending unprotected visitors if the VPN drops.No less than, that is what the corporate claims. More on the fact later.At first look, app protection appears to be like good, too, with shoppers for Home windows, Mac, iOS and Android (you may join as much as 5 of your units concurrently).
You'll be able to't truly obtain the app from Google Play, and we are able to guess why that could be (Picture credit score: UFO VPN)
However there's an issue, too. Though UFO VPN's Android web page has a 'Get it on Google Play' button, clicking this does not open a web page on the Play Retailer. As an alternative, it merely downloads the app's uncooked APK file.
We searched Google Play manually, and located an Android app named UFO VPN. This had a distinct icon and developer's title, however its web site was virtually similar, and linked to the identical iOS app as the unique UFO VPN.
Why would the outdated app not be on Google Play, and what would possibly persuade an organization to arrange a brand new web site and use one other developer title? The primary UFO VPN web site would not say, however we now have an thought.
UFO VPN logs uncovered
In 2020, Comparitech reported discovering a publicly accessible log containing hundreds of thousands of data on UFO VPN customers.
Particulars included the IP addresses of consumer units and VPN servers, connection timestamps, geo-tags, machine traits, VPN session secrets and techniques and tokens, and more.
The databases additionally reportedly included passwords in plain textual content, maybe permitting anybody who discovered this database to hijack consumer accounts. UFO VPN denied this, however a researcher claimed to confirm the issue by setting a password for their very own account, and watching it seem within the database.
UFO VPN instructed Comparitech that the majority of this information was nameless and could not be used to establish customers. Whereas it is definitely not as unhealthy as preserving a full browser historical past and associating it with an account, it's a type of session logging. And it isn't one thing defined by the privacy policy.
UFO's no log coverage appears at odds with real-world findings (Picture credit score: UFO VPN)
The coverage claims 'UFO VPN doesn't acquire, monitor, or log any visitors or use of its Digital Personal Community service, underneath any circumstances, on any platform.' Accumulating machine identifiers, seeing while you join, your individual IP deal with and the server you are accessing feels lots like utilization logging to us.
We're undecided if this story is why UFO VPN's app is not accessible on Google Play, and there is a new UFO VPN on a separate web site, and the corporate is not saying. As we write, its final Fb submit is dated January 2021, its weblog and Twitter accounts have not seen any exercise since 2020, and we did not see something addressing the issue.
Regardless of the causes, the unique UFO is not on Google Play proper now, and you could manually set up the app to apply it to Android.
UFO VPN helps card and cryptocurrency funds (however not PayPal) (Picture credit score: UFO VPN)
UFO VPN pricing
UFO VPN's monthly billing is $11.99, a little bit greater than most. Unusually, you may join a one-off week, though as that is nonetheless $7.99, we would not suggest it. The annual plan is a greater deal at an efficient $4.17.
The two-year plan wins out, although, at solely $2.91 a month. That is means beneath a lot of the competitors, though there are a handful of cheaper offers round. Ivacy asks solely $2.45 a month for its two-year contract, as an illustration (and throws in 2TB of cloud storage totally free), whereas Personal Web Entry has a three-year plan at simply $2.19 a month.
Though the web site mentions PayPal assist in a few locations, it wasn't accessible throughout the evaluation. Funds are taken by card and Bitcoin (through Coinspayments) solely.
The positioning claims there is a 30-day money-back assure. Sounds good, however we checked the small print, and there it mentions a 7-day refund interval solely.
Accounts are set as much as mechanically renew, however this may be dealt with through UFO's cost supplier, FasterPay. We obtained an e mail instantly after signing up with a cancellation link, and used this later to shut our account in a few clicks.
UFO VPN additionally has a restricted free model, apparently, with slower servers and fewer locations. This did not set up for us, however perhaps you may have higher luck. Observe the Android Fundamental obtain link on the positioning, however bear in mind, it isn't accessible on Google Play: you could set up the APK file manually.
(As we talked about earlier, the second UFO VPN website does have link to app on Google Play. It is unclear how the 2 websites are related, although, and we would suggest you don't set up it.)
UFO is way from clear when offering particulars of its VPN protocols (Picture credit score: UFO VPN)
Privateness
UFO VPN's information breach makes it troublesome to take the corporate severely on privateness.
Even when we ignored the difficulty of breaking its personal logging coverage, did UFO VPN actually retailer consumer passwords in plain textual content, as reported? If that's the case, that solely leaves us questioning what different gaping safety holes there could be elsewhere.
We figured we would give the corporate an opportunity, although (hey, it is our job), and browsed the remainder of the web site. The Options menu features a Protocols web page, which sounded fascinating. Perhaps this might have reassuring explanations of all of the modern protocols UFO VPN helps.
Effectively, no. 'UFO VPN supplies 4 protocols for customers at current', the web page defined, earlier than describing them as 'Protocol A', 'Protocol B', 'Protocol C' and 'Protocol D'. Huh?
Should you're anticipating particulars on ciphers or key alternate, overlook it. The web page states that 'protocol A is designed to work with the quickest velocity, ' 'Protocol B is specifically designed for making video calls' and so forth, however there's nothing that can assist you assess any of this in privateness phrases.
UFO VPN helps Home windows and Mac, in addition to Android and iOS mobiles (Picture credit score: UFO VPN)
Setup
Signing up appeared straightforward, at the very least initially. UFO VPN had no issues taking our money, and an e mail from the cost supplier confirmed the subscription was arrange.
The corporate was slower to supply any account particulars, however round half-hour an e mail (complicated titled 'ufo unregister pay success e mail') gave us our account password. It additionally included the cellular obtain link, however solely the iOS URL labored (the Android link pointed to the now-dead Google Play web page). One other signal that nobody has cared about UFO for fairly a while, perhaps.
Thankfully, the obtain link are straightforward to search out on the web site, and inside a few minutes we have been prepared to start testing.
The Home windows app is painfully easy and gives little by way of tweaking (Picture credit score: UFO VPN)
Home windows
The UFO Home windows app may be very, very primary. There is a massive Join button; a plain textual content listing of nations; a selection of three cryptic protocols (A, C and D); and On/Off switches for the kill swap and a 'Launch on Startup' possibility. That is it.
The situation listing caught our eye. Partly as a result of it was so restricted, with no server info, ping occasions, Favorites system, Just lately Used listing or something faintly superior. However largely as a result of, regardless of UFO VPN's web site claiming to supply 50 international locations, the app solely listed 21.
UFO VPN's web site says it covers 50 international locations, however you do not get that degree of assist within the app, sadly (Picture credit score: UFO VPN)
There is not any excuse for not delivering what prospects have paid for, however UFO VPN does at the very least provide city-level areas in some international locations (the US has 10).
We selected one, hit Join, and the app related to our server inside 10 seconds. That is not unhealthy, and it gave us an opportunity to take a look at the way it was defending our visitors.
We did not analyze this in-depth, however first impressions weren't good. UFO VPN makes use of elements from an outdated open supply package deal referred to as BadVPN (we're not making this up), which hasn't seen any updates in a few years and is now listed as 'not being maintained by the creator'.
Perhaps UFO VPN has taken over the challenge? Would not appear to be it. The BadVPN part bundled with the app was dated 2019 and never digitally signed.
Configuration seemed simply as primary as we anticipated. A top quality VPN runs its personal DNS servers to scale back the possibility of others seeing the websites you are visiting, as an illustration. UFO VPN seems to redirect your queries to Google DNS. (It does route them by the tunnel, although, so these aren't seen to your native community.)
The kill swap proved troublesome to check, as we have by no means come throughout UFO VPN's customized protocols earlier than. We tried a few checks and located the app accurately blocked our web every time. There is not any automated re-connect, so we needed to shut the connection manually and hit Join once more to get again on-line. However at the very least it protected our visitors, and in comparison with UFO VPN's efficiency in the remainder of this evaluation, that is an absolute triumph.
UFO VPN guarantees lots, however would not ship on the unblocking entrance, with Netflix and different companies (Picture credit score: Netflix)
Netflix and streaming
Level your browser on the UFO VPN web site and the headline you may see is 'Unblock Any Web site.' Advertising spin, or does the service actually ship?
UFO VPN scored a right away hit with BBC iPlayer, getting us entry with all three UK areas.
It missed with US Netflix, sadly. Regardless of having a specialist Netflix server in Los Angeles, we weren't in a position to stream US content material.
The Disney Plus location did not ship, too. It is based mostly in Japan, and once we related and tried to entry the Disney Plus website, it gave us a easy 'Disney Plus is unavailable at your location' message.
We completed by checking Amazon Prime Video, however that was one other miss. The positioning detected what we have been doing, displayed its common 'Your machine is related to the Web utilizing a VPN or proxy service' error, and demanded we 'disable it and check out once more'.
Should you actually do wish to 'unblock any web site', then, UFO VPN is not going to assist. Our assessments present you may get a lot better outcomes with suppliers together with CyberGhost, ExpressVPN, Disguise.me, Personal Web Entry, ProtonVPN and Surfshark, all of which unblocked every thing of their newest opinions.
UFO VPN shocked us with some first rate velocity check outcomes, however we have been left questioning if there could be a catch (Picture credit score: nPerf)
Efficiency
We measure VPN speeds from US and UK areas, utilizing a number of efficiency testing websites and companies (SpeedTest's web site and command line app, TestMy.internet, Netflix's Fast.com and more). We verify obtain speeds at the very least 5 occasions from every website, then once more utilizing one other protocol, earlier than repeating this another time in a night session.
UFO VPN's US obtain speeds weren't unhealthy in any respect at 180-290Mbps with its Mode A protocol. It was even quicker within the UK at 410-420Mbps. That is more than simply about anybody else manages with OpenVPN, though it may't match the efficiency we have seen from WireGuard and comparable connections (CyberGhost, IPVanish, NordVPN and others reached 700Mbps and more).
Whereas UFO VPN deserves some credit score for this, understand that we have no thought how its Mode A protocol works, and so we do not know if these are truthful comparisons. There's an opportunity the service is gaining some efficiency benefit as a result of it isn't doing as a lot encryption, or omitting different steps that preserve you secure.
UFO's buyer assist was very poor in our expertise (Picture credit score: UFO VPN)
Help
UFO VPN's assist begins on the web site, with a really, very primary FAQ. This has only a few questions, and the solutions you get are brief and don't have any actual element.
Should you've points getting the service engaged on Android, as an illustration, you would possibly assume the article 'Methods to begin up UFO VPN on my Android?' would assist. However that is the complete article, unedited: 'If you join VPN on the first time, there can be a default popup home windows that asks to your permission to permit UFO VPN so as to add VPN configuration in your machine, simply click on alright to proceed.'
There is a search field, however that wasn't a lot assist, both. We entered widespread key phrases comparable to protocol, velocity and encryption, however the search engine did not discover any matching outcomes.
The app features a Suggestions field the place you may ask questions, and it claims: 'We'll reply to you inside 24 hours of working days' (no, actually – readability is not UFO VPN's sturdy level). We despatched a easy message asking why the Home windows app did not have half the areas listed on the web site, however two weeks later, we nonetheless hadn't obtained a reply.
UFO VPN would not have reside chat, however there's a Help e mail deal with, so we tried that, as a substitute – 10 days on, nonetheless with no reply, we lastly gave up. Should you’re in search of customer support, this is not the VPN for you.
UFO VPN evaluation: Closing verdict
UFO VPN's speeds aren't unhealthy, however the service has so many purple flags that we're struggling to care. That logging scandal, the ineffective assist, claims of fifty international locations coated however the app lists simply 21, the Android app not being on Google Play, no weblog or social media posts for months, and non-standard, undocumented protocols – all that is earlier than we even get to the 2 web sites, the poor unblocking efficiency and lack of options. Do not waste your time, you may be higher off elsewhere.
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