Contrary to popular belief, surfing the web is anything but anonymous. Your every move is tracked and analyzed, from what you buy on Amazon to what site you go to for music streaming.
The government, businesses, and hackers are all watching your movements for their own benefits. This truth can terrify anyone. There is no personal privacy on the Internet. But you do not have to feel so vulnerable.
Virtual Private Networks, or VPNs, serve to encrypt and code every bit of data that you send it, and can completely mask your online presence. You will become a truly anonymous, and will not need to worry about someone using your Internet movements as a way to find out who you are.
You can shop knowing that businesses will not use your purchases and website visits to plan a smarter ad campaign against you. You can feel comforted that the government cannot track your Internet searches. You can have the privacy on the Internet that you deserve.
But while there are many VPN services on the web today, not all of them are good for different devices, their operating systems and your personal purposes.
The same situation is with the country where you use a VPN service. Those VPN providers which are perfect for China can be not so good for the US, for example. That is why, it’s always important to take into account your location while looking for a VPN provider.
This time, our attention is focused on those who either live or travel to the motherland of koalas, dingoes and platypuses – Australia. Choosing the right VPN for Australia can be confusing, so we reviewed more than twenty services and picked only the best five.
Best VPNs for Australia:
1. NordVPN
Website: nordvpn.com
Review: www.best-vpn.net/nordvpn-review/
Protocols:
- OpenVPN
- L2TP-IPsec
- SSTP
- PPTP
Pros:
- Based in Panama
- Вouble data encryption
- Kill Switch
- Own DNS servers
- 6 simultaneous connections
- P2P is available
- Bitcoin payments
- 543 servers in 48 countries
- 30-day money-back guarantee
Cons:
- Double data encryption can slow down your speed
Creating the list of 5 best Australian VPN services, we took into account all possible factors which can affect the provider’s effectiveness in Australia – security, speed, compatibility, customer support and so on. According to all these issues, NordVPN is probably the most suitable provider you can find for Australia. This VPN service is located in Panama, what is already a perfect basis for developing a top-notch security.
NordVPN has a double data encryption and offers Tor over VPN which brings security to the highly new level.
NordVPN is one of those providers which truly lead no logging policy and do not expose your data to any third parties. In order to prevent any information leaks, this Australian VPN has got its own DNS servers and a Kill Switch widget which is always ready to save your privacy in case of any connection drops.
For those who need privacy at all levels, NordVPN also offers Bitcoin payments.
Trying to satisfy all possible users’ whims, NordVPN supports P2P file-sharing, offers up to 6 simultaneous connections and has more than 540 servers in about 48 countries. And that’s not everything this provider can surprise you with – you can read a full list of NordVPN options in our NordVPN review.
Nevertheless, despite all its great features, NordVPN is available for people with different paying capacity as it costs only $5.75 per moth. Moreover, in case you are not satisfied with its service, you can get your money back.
2. Express VPN
Website: www.expressvpn.com
Review: www.best-vpn.net/expressvpn-review/
Protocols:
- OpenVPN
- L2TP-IPsec
- SSTP
- PPTP
Pros:
- AES-256 bit encryption
- Based in the BVI
- Doesn’t keep any logs
- P2P is allowed
- Servers in 78 countries
- Unlimited speed, bandwidth and server switching
- 30-day money-back guarantee
Cons:
- High price ($8.32 per month)
- No free trial
Nowadays in the virtual world which is completely insecure it’s important to find a service which could shield you from irksome advert campaigns and devious snoopers. ExpressVPN belongs to the list of the top VPN providers and can guarantee you safety and privacy so many Internet users are looking for.
ExpressVPN has a high-leveled 256-bit AES encryption and 4096-bit and SHA 512 authentication. Being based in the BVI and keeping no logs, this VPN service is a great option for Australia where online privacy is also a rare thing. Furthermore, it supports Bitcoin payments and provides you with a new IP address, hiding your own one.
This Australian VPN has over 100 servers in 78 countries and is compatible with all the popular devices and operating systems. Moreover, it allows use of several devices at the same time, what is really great for business.
Though, ExpressVPN like NordVPN has a hefty data encryption, it won’t slow down your speed during P2P file-sharing, which is also available. Its only drawback is a high pricing policy (you can read more about in our ExpressVPN review), though we do realize that the characteristics they ask this money for are worth it.
3. IvacyVPN
Website: www.ivacy.com
Protocols:
- PPTP
- SSTP
- L2TP
- OpenVPN
- IKEv2
Pros:
- AES-256 bit encryption
- P2P is allowed
- Kill Switch
- IPv6 Leak Protection
- Split Tunneling
- 5 simultaneous connections
- 7-day money-back guarantee
- Low price (only $1.66 per month)
Cons:
- Customer support is not very as fast as other services have
- Bitcoin payments are not available
This Australian VPN has captured our attention with its price – just $1.66 per month. Obviously, we had doubts whether a good and reliable VPN service could be so cheap, but IvacyVPN proved that everything is possible.
Its 256-bit encryption, DNS and IPv6 Leak Protection show that the security of this VPN service is of the high level. Besides, IvacyVPN has also got Kill Switch to prevent any data leaks in case of the Internet connection troubles. Like the previous Australian VPNs, this service does not keep any logs, too.
Though, not all of the providers can boast of P2P, the subscribers of IvacyVPN can be sure that they will be allotted torrenting option with the unlimited speed. Besides, there aren’t any data transfer restrictions as it is completely unlimited.
Moreover, becoming IvacyVPN user you will have a possibility to choose which data can be routed with and without VPN shielding thanks to IvacyVPN Split Tunneling. This VPN provider has about 200 servers in 100 different locations around the globe and is ready to give your money back during the first week of your subscription in case of any technical problems.
4. VyprVPN
Website: www.goldenfrog.com/vyprvpn
Review: www.best-vpn.net/vyprvpn-review/
Protocols:
- OpenVPN
- L2TP
- PPTP
- Chameleon
Pros:
- Based in Switzerland
- P2P is allowed
- Kill Switch
- Bitcoin payments are available
- 700+ servers in 50 countries
Cons:
- 256-bit data encryption is available only in premium package
As a subsidiary of Golden Frog (a global internet consortium), VyprVPN can be proud of possessing a unique security technology called Chameleon.
Created by Golden’s Frog team of engineers, it codifies OpenVPN packet metadata to make sure it’s not recognizable via deep packet inspection. Besides, VyprVPN is located in Switzerland – a place which is lucky to be far away from NSA or EU data control. So, it is not under the pressure to reveal your personal information (it does keep some connection logs for internal processing) to any third parties.
Though VyprVPN has a hefty 256-bit OpenVPN encryption, it is available only for those who purchase a premium package. In case you choose a basic one, you will get PPTP encryption which is much weaker than OpenVPN. You can find more about the difference between these packages in our VyprVPN review.
VyprVPN is friendly for torrenting as it supports P2P file-sharing. It is also a highly compatible VPN service, though the number of possible simultaneous connection is not as high as NordVPN can boast of. Its basic package offers 2 and a package of a premium type – 3 simultaneous connections. However, VyprVPN has a vast server coverage which includes more than 700 servers in 50 countries all over the world.
5. IPVanish VPN
Website: www.ipvanish.com
Review: www.best-vpn.net/ipvanish-vpn-review/
Protocols:
- OpenVPN
- PPTP
- L2TP / IPsec
Pros:
- 256-bit encryption
- P2P is allowed
- 500+ servers in 60+ countries
- 40,000+ shared IPs
- 7-day money-back guarantee
Cons:
- Based in the US
- Only 2 simultaneous connections
IP Vanish VPN is a perfect tool for the modern Internet user, and has a strong Australian presence with 3 well optimized servers in Australia. On the whole, it offers more than 500 servers in 60 countries of the world. Such high number of servers proves that IPVanish is able to provide its users with a high speed.
Note that unlimited server switching is also available. Besides, it also offers P2P file sharing with unlimited data transfer.
This Australian VPN service claims that it doesn’t keep any logs, though we still have doubts concerning this issue, as its headquarter is based in the US which is under the NSA control.
Despite this fact, IPVanish has 40,000+ shared IPs and a powerful 256-bit AES encryption what can’t but point at a high-grade security. For an average price $6.49 per month you will be also offered a set of the most popular protocols, namely – OpenVPN, PPTP and L2TP/IPSec.
Though, IPVanish is compatible with different devices and OS, it won’t allow you to use more than 2 devices at the same time. You can find more information about this VPN service in our IPVanish VPN review.
More about online privacy in Australia
Since the year 2015 the Internet privacy of the Australian citizens has come under a serious pressure of the government control.
According to the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Amendment (Data Retention) Bill, passed by the Australian Parliament in spring, 2015 all communication providers (Internet service provides and telephone companies) must collect and store their users’ metadata (Internet activity, email and text messages, phone calls, etc) for 2 years.
Consequently, this information can be allotted to all the government organizations which will enquire for it. Nevertheless, nowadays only such Australian organizations have a full access to the users’ data:
the Australian Federal Police, State Police forces, the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity, Australian Crime Commission, Australia Customs and Border Protection Service, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, the Crime Commission, the Police Integrity Commission, the Crime and Corruption Commission of Queensland, the Corruption and Crime Commission and the Independent Commissioner Against Corruption.
Though such international services like Skype, Gmail and Facebook aren’t watched by the Australian government, we should admit the fact that these services carry their own spying policy towards their users’ online activity.
As a result of such privacy intrusion, there appeared a necessity of extra protection. So, the best way to stay private and secure while surfing the net is to make use of a reliable VPN provider which will encrypt your data and prevent any information leaks.