TorGuard Review

TorGuard offers an app and a network kill switch. The app kill switch disconnects selected apps from the internet when the VPN connection drops. It prevents accidental traffic and data leaks, which can reveal your identity and allow hackers to access your device. 

On the other hand, the network kill switch blocks internet access on your device when the VPN connection drops. It provides always-on VPN protection that helps you keep cyber threats at bay when using unsecured networks.  

TorGuard supports app-based split tunneling on Android. Split tunneling is a useful tool if you want some apps on your device to use the VPN tunnel, while others access the internet directly. For example, you can make your torrent clients use VPN protection while letting banking apps use the internet unprotected. 

TorGuard only offers dedicated IP addresses in the U.S. A dedicated IP is exclusively yours, meaning you don’t share it with other users. This helps sidestep the “bad neighbor” effect, where online services block users on a shared IP for the misdeeds of others. 

While TorGuard covers the basics well, it misses some vital features you’d expect to find in a modern VPN provider. Some of these tools are as follows:

• Malware and ad blockers: These thwart malicious and ad-laden domains, letting you surf the web free from threats and interruptions. TorGuard advertises a malware blocker on its pricing page, but it’s unavailable on the apps. We contacted TorGuard to ask if the malware blocker is built in, but we still hadn’t heard from them at the time of writing.  
• Double VPN: This feature sends traffic through two servers, adding an extra layer of protection. It’s a critical tool for journalists, human rights defenders and political activists looking to share sensitive information online without jeopardy.

Installing TorGuard is an easy process. Whether you’re a first-time or seasoned user, you won’t struggle to install TorGuard on Windows, Mac, Android or iOS. If you hit a snag when installing and setting up the app, here’s a quick guide to help you out:

1. Get a TorGuard Subscription

   Go to TorGuard’s pricing page, pick your preferred plan and complete the billing process. To access the pricing page, click “get started” or “activate TorGuard now” on the official website’s homepage.

   

2. Download the Desktop App

   Go to TorGuard’s download page and download the app for your device. TorGuard offers desktop apps for Windows, macOS and Linux.

   

3. Install the TorGuard App

   Locate and double-click the installation file to start the installation. Follow along with the installation wizard to get TorGuard up and running on your desktop device. If you’re a mobile user, install the app from the Google Play store or Apple app store.

   

4. Configure TorGuard’s Settings

   Launch the app and log in using the credentials you created during the billing process. You can use TorGuard’s default settings, but if you need more control over your connection, then change the protocol, activate the kill switches and set up the stealth proxy. Click “save” to implement the changes.

   

TorGuard moved away from the old-fashioned design and developed an appealing, clutter-free home UI for Windows and Mac devices. The desktop user interface looks much better now, but that hasn’t improved its usability.

The home UI now features a large “connect” button in the middle, which turns green when a connection is established. The “connection” tab at the bottom displays the server you selected and the connection status — either connected or disconnected.  

The settings page is disorganized, which can be confusing for first-time users. Features you’d expect to be on the same tab, like the app and network kill switches, are tucked away in different places. 

The VPN protocols aren’t on the settings page, which is weird. They have their menu on the top left of the UI. While the protocols aren’t difficult to find, it would be better if everything was organized on one settings page. 

Some features have brief descriptions of how they work, while others don’t. For example, while TorGuard explains how the network kill switch works, it doesn’t explain the firewall settings tool. 

Even though TorGuard doesn’t offer a server search function on Windows, finding an optimal server is easy thanks to the “sort” and “filter” options. For example, you can sort servers by proximity to see the closest one to your location, or you can filter them by content or type. TorGuard also lets you create a list of your favorite servers. 

Buggy Windows VPN Client

Beyond the app’s design issues, we encountered other problems that ruined the user experience. Here are some examples: 

• The app took too long to disconnect or connect.
• It displayed the “not responding” error when we hit the “connect” button. 
• The app failed to connect, citing HTTP, network or driver errors. In one instance, we had to reinstall the app to make it work. 
• It blocked our internet connection while connected to the VPN. We deactivated both kill switches, but the issue persisted.

The “home” window designs are identical for the desktop and mobile apps. For this review, we mainly used TorGuard on an Android smartphone, but most of this info also applies to the iOS app as the two are very similar. 

The Android app features a large “connect” button in the middle and displays the selected server location at the bottom. The home UI has a modern look and feel, but the windows underneath don’t offer similar designs to match.

Unlike the desktop app, the mobile app’s settings are well organized, but the protocols aren’t on the settings page. All features have descriptions of how they work, making it easier for mobile users to configure the VPN settings.

TorGuard offers native apps for Windows, macOS and various Linux distros. The Android and iOS apps are also available on the Google Play store and the Apple app store, respectively. Beyond the desktop and mobile apps, TorGuard also offers browser extensions for Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge. 

However, TorGuard doesn’t offer a “smart DNS” feature, so you can’t set it up on smart TVs and other devices that don’t natively support VPN services. Thankfully, you can configure TorGuard on Tomato, DD-WRT, Merlin and OpenWRT routers to protect such devices. You can also buy TorGuard VPN routers, which are preconfigured with VPN software. 

Users on the Anonymous VPN plan get eight simultaneous connections, whereas those on the Anonymous VPN Pro plan get 12. The device connection limit is enough for most families, but it looks abysmal compared to the unlimited simultaneous connections offered by Surfshark and Private Internet Access (PIA). 

In this section, we’ll only discuss the VPN products. You can visit TorGuard’s pricing page for details about other product pricing.  

Anonymous VPN

The Anonymous VPN Standard or Anonymous VPN Pro plans will suffice for users looking for VPN protection only. Both plans have a lot in common, but the latter offers 12 simultaneous connections and a free dedicated IP address. Here’s how their pricing differs across various billing cycles: 

Secure Business VPN

The Business VPN suits businesses that want to improve the online security of their employees. There are four pricing tiers that offer identical features like user seats, private email accounts, dedicated IPs and simultaneous connections. However, the provider imposes different limits for these features across the business VPN plans. 

Anonymous VPN + Streaming Bundle

The Anonymous VPN + Streaming Bundle is ideal for VPN users looking to stream their favorite shows and movies with TorGuard. The bundle offers streaming IPs for unblocking streaming services in the U.S., the U.K., Germany, France, Japan and Spain. 

TorGuard’s free trial isn’t easy to find for two reasons. First, the free trial isn’t displayed on the pricing page; you can only access it on the “fresh start” promo page. Second, the free trial is only meant for users who are transitioning from other VPN providers. 

You get a seven-day free trial when you email TorGuard the most recent bill from your current provider. Alternatively, you can cancel your current VPN subscription and email TorGuard the proof to get a 30-day free trial. 

Regarding the refund period, TorGuard doesn’t offer any guarantees. The refund policy states that it will gladly issue refunds if a request is made within seven days from the purchase date. However, the provider further claims that it may only offer refunds on a case-by-case basis, and for VPN and proxy service purchases only.

Nearest Server Speed Performance

Location:	Download (Mbps)	Upload (Mbps)	Latency (ms)
🇰🇪 Thika, Kenya	9.16	10.3	43
🇿🇦 South Africa	6.69	3.89	510

Distant Servers Speed Performance

Location:	Download (Mbps)	Upload (Mbps)	Latency (ms)
🇬🇧 UK	7.25	1.12	319
🇺🇸 USA	3.16	6.81	624
🇸🇬 Singapore	7.05	5.3	502
🇧🇷 Brazil	7.9	6.42	665
🇦🇺 Australia	6.3	5.94	715
Global Average	6.332	5.118	565
Speed reached:	69.12%	49.69%	13 Times

Since TorGuard isn’t part of our automated speed tests, we did these speed tests manually on a 10-Mbps connection. We used the WireGuard protocol, which is the fastest, and chose seven server locations across many continents. We tested these locations by starting with the one that was closest to our test location in Kenya and then moving farther away. 

TorGuard’s near-distance speeds were poor. The fastest VPN providers lose between 1% and 10% of our unprotected speeds on near-distance locations. TorGuard lost 27% of our unprotected download speeds and an unforgivable 62% of our unprotected upload speeds. 

Interestingly, TorGuard was faster on long-distance connections. During our testing, the provider reached 69% and 49% of our unprotected download and upload speeds, respectively. 

Some locations like Brazil reached 86% of our unprotected download speeds despite being the second-farthest location. On the other hand, the U.S. server had the worst download speeds even though it’s the third-closest location. 

This performance indicates that TorGuard’s speeds aren’t affected by distance. Since the provider delivers faster speeds on longer distances, it’s ideal for users looking to access content and services abroad. 

Besides the basics, TorGuard offers a security feature called stealth proxy. This feature is ideal for Windows users in countries with strict censorship, like China or Russia. The stealth proxy encapsulates your VPN traffic with an SSL layer to blend it with regular web traffic, making it difficult to detect VPN use.

This enables you to evade deep packet inspection (DPI) censors, so you can use a VPN in countries that frown upon virtual private networks and anonymizers. Stealth proxy allows you to circumvent censorship in China and other restrictive regimes without fear of retribution.  

In addition to the “stealth proxy” tool, TorGuard offers an anonymous premium proxy. The proxy has servers in over 22 countries and uses protocols like SSL, Shadowsocks and SOCKS5 to bypass censorship. 

Notes From the Lab: VPN & Encryption Protocols

Protocol	Encryption	Platforms
WireGuard	ChaCha20
OpenVPN	AES 256-bit
OpenConnect	AES 128-bit

The OpenVPN, WireGuard and OpenConnect protocols had no IP or DNS leaks. They hid our IP addresses and DNS requests regardless of what server we used. This means TorGuard won’t let its guard down as you go about your activities online. 

TorGuard’s protocols also passed our WebRTC leak tests. If you use TorGuard to secure your video or audio communication on your browser, you can rest assured that your real IP address won’t be exposed. 

We combed through TorGuard’s privacy policy for details about the information that the provider collects. The truth is that TorGuard doesn’t collect, store or share user logs, browsing data or connection timestamps from the VPN or proxy services. 

However, TorGuard claims to collect Apache web server logs. The provider doesn’t clearly state whether these logs are collected when you use the VPN app or its website. Moreover, the policy doesn’t divulge details of how TorGuard uses the access logs, although it claims to purge them regularly. 

TorGuard hasn’t undergone any third-party audits, which doesn’t bode well for potential users to trust the product. Independent audits are all the rage these days as they help authenticate the VPN companies’ claims, like the no-logs privacy statement. 

We’ve seen the same “no-logs” song and dance from multiple providers, only for them to be caught doing the exact thing they said they wouldn’t. By failing to stay up-to-date with the third-party audit trend, TorGuard leaves no proof that the company abides by its no-logs policy. 

No, TorGuard doesn’t unblock Netflix. Despite making multiple attempts and switching servers to unblock Netflix, we always got the “wrong password” error. This error has become synonymous with VPN providers that can’t unblock Netflix. If Netflix is your go-to streaming platform, check out our best VPN for Netflix guide.  

TorGuard unblocked Amazon Prime Video and Max on the first attempt, but it needed multiple attempts to access Hulu. We watched full HD videos without lags or buffering, a surprising experience given TorGuard’s slow download speeds. Sadly, TorGuard couldn’t access Disney Plus and BBC iPlayer. 

Streaming App:	Status