ExpressVPN

ExpressVPN is one of, if not the, top Virtual Private Networks (VPN) in existence. They continually rank at the top of all lists and the security they provide is second to none. They have some tough competition from a few others, but keep ranking right up there with the best of them. They have also just announced their ExpressVPN Identity Defender Suite. It is a must have product.

ExpressVPN’s privacy policy has been validated again in a new independent audit by KPMG. TrustedServer, the core server technology, also received validation just recently. KPMG International Limited is a multinational professional services network, and one of the Big Four accounting organizations, in the world. The name “KPMG” stands for “Klynveld Peat Marwick Goerdeler”. They are one of the top security auditors in existence.

With this latest assessment, KPMG has tested and verified ExpressVPN’s no-log policy and implementation of TrustedServer services. This means ExpressVPN users can be confident that their online activities remain private. We do not have sensitive information to share. This is true even if compelled to do so. 

ExpressVPN leads the industry with 18 independent third-party audits completed to date. We continue to prioritize transparency and trust across all services.

This is your go-to if you’re looking for the best VPN in terms of usability. It also has a strong commitment to transparency and privacy. You may want a VPN that is easy to use with no complications. ExpressVPN is ideal for streaming content and is where you should look.

This is a perfect option for people who want to stream, watch sports, and play video games. You can download content, publish content, and do anything else you can think of online.

We apologize for this review kind of jumping all over the place. We wanted to hit the high spots. We also aimed to go in-depth a bit in something that was not long and boring. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to use the Contact Us page and fire away.

One thing we don’t like is that they are not outside of the agreements of Five Eyes. However, this is not a deal breaker. They are also part of other organizations.

Location, Location, Location

Being located in the British Virgin Islands, it remains within the Five Eyes, Nine Eyes, and 14 Eyes jurisdiction. For people who don’t know, these are groups of countries. They have agreed to work closely together. These groups pool massive surveillance data and share it with the relevant parties. These countries are not monitored by any agency. Therefore, they have permission to spy on people in the other countries Jurisdictions in the alliance.

The Five Eyes, or FVEY for short, is a group of countries. These countries include the USA, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The Five Eyes gave rise to other alliances. The major ones are the Nine Eyes and Fourteen Eyes. Members of the nine eyes include the Five Eyes’ nations plus Denmark, Netherlands, France, and Norway. The Fourteen Eyes alliance consists of countries in the Nine Eyes alliance plus Germany, Italy, Belgium, Spain, and Sweden. All alliances actively share on matters of international intelligence. However, their relationships may not be as tight as that of the countries in the Five Eyes.

These organizations developed after the Cold War started and have never ended. They were created to spy on the Soviet Union and other Communist nations. These countries were originally sourced to decrypt Soviet intelligence information. As we all know, these groups never are disbanded and continue on doing what they do.

Is ExpressVPN Worth the Money?

ExpressVPN is more expensive than many of its competitors. However, it is definitely worth the cost if you spend a decent amount of time online. Even if that is just online shopping. All your information needs to stay safe. They have such a broad range of products and services, there is virtually a price point for everyone.

ExpressVPN is owned by Kape Technologies and reportedly has 4 million users. It is a Hong Kong company that is registered in the British Virgin Islands. This makes sense with Britain controlling Hong Kong for a century.

All of the security and speed tests were mostly great that have been done by 3rd party auditors. There has been a couple of speed issues and DNS leaks, but ExpressVPN acted quickly and corrected all the concerns. With hacking the way it is today, there is noway that a company can’t have a few hiccups. The bad guys are always a step ahead.

You can find VPN’s that are faster and a lower cost, but not in overall security and reliability. With over over 3,000 servers in 105 countries there is a server in almost every geographic area one would need. Whether you live somewhere or travel for a living. ExpressVPN has you covered.

We also recommend not having many browser tabs or windows open with any VPN. Doing so will slow down the speed and possibly affect your experience. Express is also a little slower when running AppleTV.

Payment Options for ExpressVPN

ExpressVPN, as you can see above, has a multitude of options to purchase its plans. Cryptocurrency is getting more popular and this company has been on that train for a while now.

The company also has its Aircove Router that allows you to connect unlimited devices to the service. Otherwise you are limited to eight simultaneous connections.

Many companies are going to unlimited connections and I am sure Express will eventually. But for now that is one of the things you may have to consider. The Aircove router will protect everything in your home. It will also protect everything where you travel. That is a great bonus for many who travel.

ExpressVPN Has new Multi-Tiered Plans that started at the end of October, 2024. Get even more savings with the current Black Friday Deals going on.

1 Year & 2 Year Plans

On 25th October, for US customers, we are launching our 2Y plan at our lowest monthly price point. Ever. Together with 4 months free, that’s a massive 61% saving!  One year plans can be seen in the chart below.

ExpressVPN’s new 2 year plan now offers:

• More choice: Customers now have an additional option to suit their long-term privacy needs
• Greater affordability: This plan provides our best value yet. It makes our best-in-class VPN protection more accessible to a wider audience. There is an increased discount of up to 81% off.

ExpressVPN Launches Credit Scanner to Protect Identity and Finances for Users

ExpressVPN is doing more to bring online protections to our customers, with even more features and lower prices. Today they to announced the launch of Credit Scanner and provide an update on our renewal prices.

Empowering ExpressVPN subscribers to monitor their credit

Research shows that many Americans have a hard time managing credit. Credit has moved online, and so people need digital skills to track scores, manage accounts, and protect their information. Without this, they can fall victim to scams or data breaches, impacting their credit and finances.

To help combat this issue, we’re thrilled to introduce Credit Scanner. It’s the latest addition to our Identity Defender suite. Credit Scanner is a credit monitoring service designed to help U.S. users monitor their credit scores and identity, and will be included free of charge for U.S. customers who sign up to a 1- or 2-year plan.

Identity Alerts, Insurance Protection and More ExpressVPN’s Identity Defender comprises three products: ID Alerts, ID Theft Insurance, and Data Removal. Together, they provide a comprehensive solution for users.

ID Alerts are personal information monitoring tools, included in all subscription plans:

• Change of address monitoring: sends users alerts for any changes to their address and the subsequent redirection of their mail- to alert you to any unexpected or unauthorized address change activities.
• Dark web monitoring: monitors references to a user’s personal information on hidden and unsearchable websites.
• Social Security number (SSN) real-time monitoring: helps protect users from potential fraud by looking online for appearances of their SSN and other personally identifiable information (PII)

ID Theft Insurance provides coverage of up to $1 million for identity theft and includes assistance with restoring stolen accounts. It is powered by Assurant. The insurance reimburses users for expenses related to:

• Fraud or embezzlement
• Theft of personal information and financial data
• Forgery of checks or promissory notes
• Data breaches that result in misuse of personal information
• Stolen identity events, including those involving the internet
• It also reimburses expenses that arise from efforts to restore the user’s identity after an identity fraud incident

Data Removal has two major functions: scanning for and subsequent removal of personal information collected by data brokers

It informs users about which data brokers and people-search websites hold information about them. Additionally, it helps users remove/opt out of these websites on their behalf. The service continuously monitors to verify whether the information has indeed been removed and assists in removing or opting out of any newly exposed information.

ExpressVPN’s Identity Defender is seamlessly integrated into the ExpressVPN mobile app interface, allowing for a quick and easy setup process in just minutes – no complicated settings required

For more information about ExpressVPN’s Identity Defender, please visit the dedicated pages on the ExpressVPN website for ID Alerts, ID Theft Insurance, and Data Removal

Optional Add-Ons

Introducing Identify Defender. It is a suite of identity theft alert and protection solutions. It adds an extra layer of protection against fraud, stolen identity, and data breaches. It helps monitor for these issues. It also aids customers in removing their data from sites that hold information on them. Identity Defender includes three products: 

1. ID Alerts (included in all subscriptions) 
2. ID Theft Insurance
3. Data Removal

More information will be available at ExpressVPN in the coming days. 

• Pricing 

Below is the summary of pricing and offerings based on the plan that customers choose:

Plan	1-month plan	1 year plan + 3 months FREE 48% off	2 year plan + 4 months FREE 61% Off
Pricing	$12.95/month	$99.95 ($6.66/month)	$4.99 was $12.95 /mo Billed $139.72 for 28 months, then renews yearly Code: SPECIALDEAL
VPN	Yes	Yes	Yes
Password manager	Yes	Yes	Yes
Advanced protection (ad blocker, tracker blocker, etc.)	Yes	Yes	Yes
ID Alerts (scanning tools – Dark Web, SSN, Change of Address)	Yes	Yes	Yes
ID Theft Insurance	No (but available as an add-on for $7.99/month)	Yes	Yes
Data Removal (scanning, removing, monitoring data broker removal service)	No (but available as an add-on for $7.99/month)	No (but available as an add-on for $4.39/month)	Yes
Dedicated IP	No (but available as an add-on for $7.99/month)	No (but available as an add-on for $4.39/month)	No (but available as an add-on for $3.49/month)

ExpressVPN offers several deals. We aim to provide the best offer available at the time. They have some really good offers around the holidays, Black Friday, Cyber Monday and other times of the year. We use the Sportsbook field for offers on VPN’s as it makes the most sense. Sports gambling and VPN’s go hand in hand.

ExpressVPN provides malware blocking and other security with all of its plans. It’s password manager is as good as any you can find anywhere.

Express uses OpenVPN as well as Lightway (Its own) as VPN Protocols. Lightway and OpenVPN are supported on their Android, Linux, Mac, and Windows apps. Both are also available for routers configured to use ExpressVPN. The ExpressVPN iOS app only supports OpenVPN and IKEv1/2. The macOS and Windows apps have legacy support for L2TP, but we advise using this older protocol. The ExpressVPN Windows app also supports IKEv2.

We recommend the new and more lightweight Lightway protocol over OpenVPN. Open has some issues slowing speeds down on machines that run Windows.

ExpressVPN is available on Windows, MacOS, Linux, iOS, Android, Fire TV, Apple TV and routers.

Top Gaming VPN

A gaming VPN is a secure tunnel, or connection, between your gaming device and the internet. Gaming online with a VPN can help with optimizing speed. It improves stability. A VPN provides security against DDoS attacks. It also protects against ISP throttling.

ExpressVPN has some of the quickest ping’s in the industry.

Ping (latency) is the time it takes for information to be sent from your machine to a server. It also includes the response time to your requests. Ping is measured in milliseconds, so the lower the ping number, the faster the connection.

Shorter connection routes between your device and gaming servers are preferable. By lowering ping as the player can reduce any noticeable delays between your actions and what happens in-game. A quality VPN can help you shorten this route. It connects to a VPN server closer to the gaming server.

Below is a good starting point to understand the current situation. It will also help you determine if you will have a good gaming experience.

You can get ExpressVPN for virtually all gaming devices and operating systems. ExpressVPN offers easy-to-use apps to enhance gaming on your platform of choice. The ExpressVPN app for compatible routers lets you secure every device in your network. This includes gaming consoles that can’t install a VPN directly.

No matter if you use a desktop, laptop, XBox, Playstation, Switch, Steam, Meta Quest, Discord and many others. It is also compatible with all operating systems that are used. Android, Mac, iOS, and Linux are all compatible.

Our Recommendation

It is impossible to go over everything that ExpressVPN offers to its customers. There is just so much. You can have your own personal router to use at home or travel with. You will know you are secure when streaming shows, sports, and other things. It is just well worth the extra few bucks a month to get this service.

Don’t let a few dollars keep you from getting max protection and peace of mind. If you have ever had your identity stolen then a VPN is a must. Shoot, even if you haven’t there is no need to take a chance. There are other great options out there, but overall this is the best option you can find.

This VPN is worth it. It is located within a group of nations that have agreed to spy. They share information if they get it. It is well worth what you pay.