The latest IPVanish Windows client v 2.1 includes some widely anticipated features including VPN kill switch and IPv6 leak protection.  The IPVanish team took their efforts to another level by adding a LAN blocking feature which also stops your system from communicating over the local area network if the VPN disconnects.  The combination of VPN kill switch, IPv6 leak protection, and LAN blocking puts IPVanish well ahead of most the competition.  Members can download the latest Windows client update from their site.  Those new to IPVanish can sign up through our VPNSP promotion to save up to 63% off with unlimited VPN from just $4.54 a month.

As you can see from the image above, the new IPVanish client v2.1 for Windows has some new settings that you can enable.  Let’s take a closer look at each one and explain them in more detail.

• Enable IPv6 Leak Protection – without getting too technical, this feature will keep you from leaking information when a site uses IPv6.  While IPv6 isn’t popular yet it’s still important to your privacy protection to enable this feature.  A lot of VPNs still lack leak protection for IPv6 which leaves you at risk.
• Enable Kill Switch – we’re very happy to see IPVanish add a kill switch for Windows.  They now have the feature available for both Windows and Mac client users.  Enabling the kill switch will help protect your privacy by cutting off communication anytime the VPN drops until it reconnects.
• Block all LAN Traffic – this takes the kill switch feature to another level and is the first time we’ve seen a VPN service implement LAN blocking.  By enabling the feature you can ensure your computer will stop communicating with the local area network anytime the VPN disconnects.  This will stop both incoming and outgoing communication over the LAN until a VPN connection is reestablished.

There you have it.  We’ve been using the new IPVanish Windows app for a week now.  We wanted to put it through some testing to make sure the new features were ready for prime time.  I’m happy to share that each one of them works as intended.  One hint for those who enable the kill switch and LAN blocking features.  If you disconnect from the VPN on purpose and notice that you can’t communicate online anymore that’s as intended.  This can throw some users off until they get use to it.  The solution is to either reconnect to the VPN or disable the features when you don’t plan on using them.  I recommend you enable IPv6 leak protection all the time and the others based on your needs.  Give the new features a try and let us know what you think @VPNSP.

The latest version of the IPVanish Android app has a new feature to help those in restrictive countries like China avoid censorship and surveillance.  The new scramble feature will help users encrypt their connection in countries that would normally detect OpenVPN traffic through deep packet inspection and terminate the connection.  You can download the latest release directly from Google Play.  It requires Android 4.0 or higher.  If you’re not already a member you can sign up for IPVanish through our site and save up to 63% off.  Enjoy unlimited access to their network of 500+ VPN servers in 60+ countries from just $4.54 a month.

To enable the new scramble feature simply go into the settings and move the slider to the right.  As stated in the client, the scramble setting will add obfuscation capability to OpenVPN, allowing it to bypass network traffic sensors which aim to detect usage of a VPN and block it.  The other option you have is between using TCP and UDP.  As IPVanish explains, UDP is typically faster and is best suited for those connecting to a server in your continent.  TCP adds error control and is best for connecting to servers in other continents.  For example, if you want to connect to a server in the United States from China it would be best to use TCP.

In addition to the new Android v1.5.7 release and scramble feature, the IPVanish team has been very busy expanding their top tier network this year.  In the first quarter they added over 100 servers in key locations around the world.  Their network is consistently the fastest in our speed tests so it’s great to see IPVanish continue to add servers to keep up with the growth of the service.  We’ll circle back with a post on their latest network expansion.  In the meantime you can learn more about the service and everything they have to offer in our IPVanish review or you can sign up and try it out for yourself.  You’ll have access to custom software for Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android.  All new members are covered by their 7 day money back guarantee.

It may only be March, but the ExpressVPN development team has already packed in a full year of releases into the first quarter.  Since January they have launched new versions of the ExpressVPN apps for Windows and Mac.  Linux fans will be happy as well since ExpressVPN recently launched version 1.0 of their VPN client for Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, and CentOS.  Members have full access to all the new software.  Today we’re going to take a closer look at ExpressVPN 5.0 for Windows.  The new ExpressVPN 5.0 for Mac is very similar.  Want to test out the new apps for yourself?  I highly recommend ExpressVPN and am happy to share that you can sign up for unlimited VPN from just $8.32 a month during their current promotion.  All new members are covered by their 30 day money back guarantee so you have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Let’s jump right in to ExpressVPN 5.0 for Windows and take a look at the new interface.  As we mentioned earlier this month, we’re seeing easy of use as a trend in the latest VPN client updates.  So far this year we’ve seen new app releases from ExpressVPN and HideMyAss that take ease of use to another level.  Everyone will have their own opinion, but we like to see the simplified user interfaces.  It opens the service to a wider range of users.  For example, I feel comfortable recommending ExpressVPN to my parents now because I know they won’t be confused by the software.  That’s not the case with a lot of VPN providers.  We’ve tested plenty over the year’s that require a technical background to use.  Luckily that’s not the case with ExpressVPN.

The first set of screenshots above shows ExpressVPN 5.0 for Windows in action.  When you launch the app, it will recommend a server location.  In my case it recommended Chicago.  It couldn’t be any easier to encrypt your traffic.  Simply click the “Connect” button and wait a few seconds for the software to connect.  You’ll then be greeted by the picture on the right which shows a green locked symbol.  That’s how you know you’re protected.  That’s all there is to using the client for most users.  You don’t have to do anything else.  Of course you can always switch server locations.  Let’s tale a look at how to switch servers.

The ExpressVPN 5.0 client for Windows and Mac has a built-in location picker.  Click on the three dot icon in the upper right hand corner of the client to open the menu and then select “location picker” to see the screen above.  You can use this screen to easily select any of the 100+ server locations that ExpressVPN offers.  You have some sorting option to simplify the process even more.  By default the client will recommend servers based on your current location.  You can also choose to sort the server location list by region or by country name.

Want to find the fastest server location?  The new ExpressVPN 5.0 for Windows and Mac will help by testing the performance of each location.  You can use the speed test to find the best server by clicking on the “Run Test” button.  It will take 3-5 minutes for the test to complete.  I suggest you run a speed test the first time you launch the new client and then again if you connect from a different region.  As you can see their results will show a speed index, latency, and download speed.  I like the speed index as it gives you a good indication of the fastest server.  In the case of the speed index, the larger the number the faster you can expect the connection to be on that server.  As you can see Atlanta is my recommended server based on the speed index.

Power users will find some advanced features under the hood as well.  You can enable the network lock which acts as an Internet kill switch to help protect your privacy in case the VPN connection drops.  You can also launch ExpressVPN at launch and connect to the last location automatically.  I recommend you use the ExpressVPN DNS servers when connected which is the default setting.  This will help you avoid DNS leaks.  You can also switch between OpenVPN (UDP & TCP), L2TP/IPSec, PPTP, and SSTP protocols.  We’ll be updating our ExpressVPN review later this week with a full rundown of the features in the new ExpressVPN 5.0 for Windows.  In the meantime sign up for an account from just $8.32 a month and test the new app for yourself.  Let us know what you think @VPNSP.  I think you’ll be quite impressed.

Which VPN is the easiest to use?  That’s a popular questions among first time VPN users and those who don’t want to hassle with extra steps in configuring and connecting to a VPN.  In the past our list of “easy to use VPNs” was short.  That’s changing in 2016 as a number of VPN services focus on ease of use.  We’ve already seen client updates from popular VPN services that are focused on simple user interfaces.

Let’s take a look at ExpressVPN and HideMyAss.  Both VPN providers released new VPN software in February.  ExpressVPN v5 and the HMA Pro VPN client v3 beta are available to members so check them out for yourself.  Let’s take a look at the new user interface compared to the older versions of each client.

ExpressVPN (old version)

ExpressVPN (new version 5 release)

HideMyAss (old version)

HideMyAss (new version 3 beta)

As you can see both ExpressVPN and HideMyAss have gone to a more streamlined user interface.  In doing so they are opening their service to a wider range of users.  The days of having to configure the OpenVPN client to connect to VPN services is coming to an end.  There will still be a subset of users who prefer open source software and who don’t mind taking the extra steps to configure and use it.  The great news is that we’re seeing more VPNs put the choice in the user’s hands.  A majority of users will choose the custom apps.

Less is more seems to be a common theme in the new VPN client releases.  As the popularity of VPN continues to increase, ease of use is an area that can help providers like ExpressVPN and HMA stand out.  We look forward to seeing what other top VPNs have to offer as the year moves forward.  Has your VPN moved toward a more user friendly client interface?  If so please send us a before and after screenshot so we can add them to our post.  We look forward to sharing more client updates in the weeks to come.

You can contact us @VPNSP with any questions or feedback.  We’d love to know what you think.  Are you looking forward to VPN client’s that are easier to use or do you prefer more advanced features?  That’s not to say you can’t have both but ease of use normally has some trade offs for advanced users.  Those with more technical knowledge can still use popular VPNs to secure your entire network through a router.  We wouldn’t expect that to change.  The new easy to use software will help more users add privacy protection which is a win / win.