CYBERGHOST VPN REVIEW: The first-rate VPN 2020. Features overview

CyberGhost VPN is the largest multiplatform paid top-class VPN service that has a free trial period.

Dean Chester

Best for Torrenting and Netflix

It’s one of my favourite VPNs. It works properly, the apps are stuffed in a convenient way, the server network is wide. Its price is below average in the VPN niche.

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Its 5900 servers in 90 countries are incredible! These numbers are 50 to 100 times bigger than those of many VPNs that claim to be the best ones.

CyberGhost VPN is one of the best three providers not just thanks to the sheer size of its infrastructure. It also has all the much-in-demand modern features and technologies required by most users.

In this review, I will document all the pros and cons of CyberGhost VPN’s characteristics without any bias, tell you about its really flawless security test results, describe the performance of its mobile apps in complicated real-world conditions and give my recommendations on certain useful settings of it.

CyberGhost VPN has passed all our tests on every OS and proved its ability to provide 100% reliable protection even on the default settings.

I’d like to emphasize that this isn’t a puff piece and I’ve received no reward from CyberGhost VPN for writing it. I use a regular paid two-year subscription:

What makes CyberGhost VPN one of the best VPN services?

• access to a record number of servers;
• proven high level of security and reliability;
• support of every platform including TV, routers, etc.;
• consistent Netflix/other video services support;
• special server lists for streaming and torrenting;
• no-logs policy.

But these are just the basic features of the provider. Really, you’d be hard-pressed to find a task that CyberGhost VPN wouldn’t cope with.

What are some flaws that could be improved on?

• The Windows app “freezes” after exiting the sleep mode.
• The apps for iOS have barely any functionality besides server selection and Wi-Fi settings.
• The WireGuard protocol should be supported not only on Linux but on all the other platforms as well.
• Several payment methods should be added.

You can read on or use the quick navigation to go straight to the chapter you need:

• CyberGhost VPN: features and opportunities
• CyberGhost VPN free trial
• CyberGhost VPN pros
• CyberGhost VPN cons
• Plans and pricing
• Information about the company owner
• Conclusion

CyberGhost VPN: features and opportunities

Almost every characteristic of CyberGhost VPN is of the highest quality. This service is great for solving sensitive tasks that require reliable privacy protection as well as for entertainment such as torrenting and unblocking any geo-restricted content.

Here’s the list of the biggest strengths and weaknesses of the provider’s performance:

+ Free 24-hour trial period with no card required

+ 256-bit traffic encryption

+ High speeds

+ Kill Switch

+ OpenVPN (UPD and TCP), IPsec and L2TP tunneling protocols

+ 90 available countries (and the ability to choose a server within each of them)

+ Servers on which P2P (torrenting) is allowed

+ Servers for streaming

+ Split Tunneling

+ Autostart at launching the selected apps

+ Ad and malicious website blocking

But on the other hand:

- No obfuscation (to work in China or in other cases of VPN being blocked)

- Could’ve had more locations for Netflix (US, UK, and DE are currently supported)

- The iOS app visibly not as good as those of competitors

These three points should be emphasized:

1. 24-hour free trial period. Unlike its closest competitors, CyberGhost VPN offers a trial for every platform.
2. Supports 90 countries while being cheap. There are very few providers which support that many countries. At the same time, CyberGhost VPN is the cheapest of them.
3. Convenient Netflix support. Despite supporting only 3 major regions, this provider does it with guaranteed efficiency. CyberGhost VPN has special servers set up for streaming popular video services and TV channels.

Taking all its pros and cons into consideration, we can conclude that CyberGhost VPN is one of the three leading VPNs according to Cool Tech Zone.

CyberGhost VPN free trial

CyberGhost VPN has a fully-functional 24-hour free trial for desktops and a 7-day one for mobile devices.

However, the desktop trial doesn’t require a card while on smartphones, you’ll have to subscribe for a month.

The easiest platforms to make use of the free trial are Windows and macOS. To do that, you need to go to the bottom of the main page of cyberghostvpn.com and click on the link highlighted in the picture below:

What can free CyberGhost VPN do?

The free version has no limits. All of its functions and settings are identical to those of the paid one (we’ve discussed them in the previous chapter).

What peculiarities of the trial version do you need to know about?

1. The free trial doesn’t require a card on desktops only.
2. If you use the free trial on a mobile gadget, you’ll have to buy a disadvantageous 1-month subscription ($12.99).
3. To choose a better subscription on a mobile device after using the free trial, cancel the pre-selected 1-month subscription and get the one you want instead (without a free trial now).
4. The trial period can only be activated once.

I haven’t tested the trial version because I have a current two-year subscription. CyberGhost VPN, however, claims that it has all the features:

We have a free trial giving you access to all features, so go ahead and see if we’re the right VPN for you.

Can we say that the free trial of CyberGhost VPN allows you to test everything this service has to offer?

Based on my experience with getting acquainted with new VPN services, I can tell that it’s more than enough. Within one day’s time, you make a 100% accurate assessment of a VPN’s performance.

• Use our ranking of free trial VPN services to find a good VPN with a trial version available without a credit card for 1 to 7 days.

CyberGhost VPN pros

CyberGhost VPN has a lot more advantages than flaws.

I should point out the provider’s stance on traffic protection and privacy. It is likely one of the two VPN services that don’t allow turning a kill switch off not to lose traffic protection if a VPN connection fails suddenly.

Let’s dive into this and all the other advantages of CyberGhost VPN.

1. Good level of security

Full traffic protection

I was especially thorough in my tests of CyberGhost VPN security because it is one of the three leaders in our best VPNs ranking.

I used an objective method to test it - the interception of the computer’s traffic with CyberGhost VPN and its analysis.

I was very much satisfied with the results.

On all the platforms I’ve tested (Windows, Mac, and Ubuntu), CyberGhost VPN fully protects the incoming and outgoing data and the user’s location.

In the three screenshots, you can see the analysis of the traffic going through the Wi-Fi adapter. The VPN server’s IP address to which an encrypted connection was established is shown within the blue rectangle. No other outside VPN addresses were discovered.

It confirms the fact that CyberGhost VPN doesn’t allow any leaks of unencrypted traffic.

I should note that not every VPN service can pass this test successfully – especially with the default settings.

Passable protection of the visited addresses

Despite no problems being found by the traffic test, I used ipleak.net to analyze the route of DNS queries that contain the names of the websites I visit.

The thing is, the best solution for visited sites data protection is uniting of the DNS and VPN servers. NordVPN and Surfshark do it like that, for example. CyberGhost VPN, though, has a different policy and uses separate DNS servers.

Inside the red rectangles in the screenshot, you can see the IPs of the DNS servers my computer connected to for website name processing. It’s obvious that they don’t match the main IP address of the VPN server (shown at the top).

Is it bad?

It depends on whether CyberGhost VPN owns these DNS servers or not. If it does, then there’s nothing bad about it. But if it doesn’t, using third-party resources instead, then there is some potential risk (outside access, the extra risk of a breach, etc.).

I tried to find out what entity owns these DNS servers. As I’ve discovered, they belong to hosting companies (just like the IPs of VPN servers) while CyberGhost VPN merely rents them. I found a confirmation of this fact when I was configuring the VPN for a router. Some options there imply tweaking the DNS parameters, which is only possible if you have full access to a DNS server.

So, CyberGhost VPN protection of the addresses of the visited websites is passable. They are hidden from the user’s ISP and DNS queries are processed by the provider’s safe servers and not by third-party free ones even though they are located outside of the VPN locations used.

2. CyberGhost VPN supports Netflix consistently

CyberGhost VPN consistently supports Netflix in 3 regions and other streaming services and TV channels in 35+ regions collectively.

What regions are available for Netflix?

CyberGhost VPN unblocks geo-restricted Netflix content from the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany (US, UK, and DE).

On the one hand, it may seem insufficient. However, it is the US viewers who have access to the biggest number of movies, series, and shows on Netflix.

CyberGhost VPN offers a special list of servers for streaming:

It’s easy to use because the name of the available service is stated below every server.

Here you will find the servers for the following services:

Video of what quality does CyberGhost VPN allow you to watch?

The video quality directly depends on the speed of a VPN. I have measured the speeds of all three Netflix-permitting locations and put the results into this table:

Speeds of the Netflix servers*

*- I’ve measured speeds many times during my 6-month test of CyberGhost VPN

The recorded speed is enough for watching full HD and usually 4k video.

I’ve also checked if Hulu is supported.

CyberGhost VPN doesn’t support Hulu every time. When I was writing this review, Hulu was available on the US Netflix server. However, I’ve experienced Hulu blocking my viewing more than once during my tests.

Recently, the number of VPN services with Netflix streaming support dwindles. However, there are several providers that still have that support in a consistent and efficient manner.

CyberGhost VPN has been one of them since the very time when the struggle between VPNs and video services started. That’s why it is one of the best VPNs for Netflix, HBO, Amazon Prime, and many others.

• Sign up for CyberGhost VPN and get a 79% discount

3. Huge number of servers, and you can choose any of them

As I’ve said, CyberGhost VPN is currently the world’s largest VPN provider in terms of the number of servers. There are more than 5900 of them distributed between 90 countries.

But that’s not it! Unlike most of its rivals, CyberGhost VPN allows you to choose any single server you like and not just a general location where they are situated. The number of locations, by the way, is 112.

The full list of countries that shows the distribution of servers in each location can be seen on cyberghostvpn.com.

This service is primarily targeted towards the Western markets so a large part of its infrastructure is based in such countries as:

• United States (1059)
• United Kingdom (693)
• Germany (684)
• France (440)
• Canada (235)

I should note that CyberGhost VPN doesn’t only offer the general list of countries but also lists of locations used for special purposes:

1. Streaming
2. Torrenting

We’ve covered the first list in the previous section. The second one contains the countries that can be connected to with torrent clients and apps that provide free content based on P2P.

If you compare CyberGhost VPN to its closest competition, it has fewer special lists. It doesn’t, for instance, have a Double (MultiHop) VPN list and neither does it have one for Dedicated (Static) IPs. There are also no servers with obfuscation available.

You’ll find out more on the provider’s drawbacks in the CyberGhost VPN cons chapter.

4. Great speeds

CyberGhost VPN could have never become one of the best services were its 5900+ servers slow or had they trouble connecting.

I’ve tested the speed of more than 100 servers in different countries and almost every one of them was faster than average. You’ll find the speed test results for several popular locations in the table below. (Please note that these are servers from the general list so their speeds are different from those of the servers for Netflix that I measured separately).

The test showed perfect speed in 100Mbps channel*:

* the table shows average speed ranges because the speed was tested many times and on different servers located in different cities

• My subjective opinion about the speed of CyberGhost VPN is generally favorable. I mean not the test results but the regular use of browsing the Internet safely.

The general impression was slightly spoiled by reconnection issues after exiting the sleep mode on Windows. I’ll tell you about that in the next chapter which is dedicated to the cons of CyberGhost VPN.

5. Supports every platform (learn about all the differences)

So far, I’ve been giving you more general info that describes the provider’s performance as a whole. In this section, however, I’ll focus on the differences observed between the versions of CyberGhost VPN on various platforms. This information will be useful to you in terms of its practicality.

• My advice. Take a closer look not just at one platform but at all that you can use. I recommend that you do that because CyberGhost VPN lets you use up to 7 devices per subscription.

CyberGhost VPN for Windows

CyberGhost VPN for Windows has the biggest range of features and settings. All the functions I’ve covered so far in this review are available in the PC app.

What characteristics and options does CyberGhost VPN for Windows have?

+ Fullest functionality among all other OSs

+ Trial period with no card required

+ Proven safety

+ Separate specialized server lists for:

• P2P/torrenting
• Streaming

+ 90 available countries

+ Choice between UDP and TCP (UDP by default)

+ Kill switch always on

+ Optional blocking ads, malicious websites, and online tracking

+ Split Tunneling for certain websites

+ Starting the VPN at the launch of certain apps and vice versa

+ DNS Leak Protection (on by default)

-  Connection “freezes” after exiting the sleep mode or hibernation.

The most important thing on this list is the kill switch. You could turn it off in the earlier versions of the app but now it is constantly on. To use a VPN without this function can be unsafe if a sudden connection failure occurs. With CyberGhost VPN, you don’t need to worry about that.

On the negative side, several times, I’ve run into the issue of the app being unable to reconnect after the sleep mode or hibernation. At the same time, since the kill switch was always active, all my traffic was blocked. In these cases, I found out that to fix the problem, I needed to disconnect from the VPN and connect to it again.

You can download CyberGhost VPN for Windows and subscribe for it with a discount of 79% on cyberghostvpn.com.

CyberGhost VPN for Android

The functionality of CyberGhost VPN for Android is expanded but still slightly narrower than that of Windows. Its main upside is the reliable security protection it provides even when there are unexpected connection issues. It copes with this task even on devices running Android 7 and older.

It also is a good fit for streaming, has an always active kill switch, and reliably hides the user’s location.

The Android app has the following advantages and differences from the desktop one:

+ The kill switch works even on the older versions of Android (which are not supported by the main competitors).

+ It protects privacy effectively in any real-life conditions of use.

+ App Split Tunnel allows making certain apps work outside the VPN channel.

+ It has no connection failures.

- It has no separate server list for torrenting.

- You can’t choose a VPN protocol.

- A credit card is required to start the trial.

I’d like to emphasize that privacy and traffic are reliably protected in the real-life conditions of mobile device use.

To emulate problems that often happen when you use mobile gadgets, I used the Cool Tech Realtime IP Logger tool that puts down any changes of the IP address and internet connection. With its help, I emulated the following:

* temporary internet connection loss;

* the device moving from one access point to another;

* the device moving from a Wi-Fi network to the cellular internet and back.

As you can see in the screencap, there were no leaks of my real IP in all cases. The only visible IP address is that of the VPN.

It works even on the older versions of Android – something that many other VPNs don’t manage to do.

Keep in mind that the CyberGhost VPN app also has low energy consumption.

You can download CyberGhost VPN for Android from the Google Play Market after you bought a subscription with a 79% discount.

CyberGhost VPN for Mac

CyberGhost VPN offers a full-fledged app for macOS. It has all the main features that a cross-functional VPN should. Its functions are largely identical to the PC’s ones but you can’t pick a different VPN protocol than Apple’s standard IKEv2. Other than that, CyberGhost VPN for Mac is just as reliable and safe. A 24-hour free trial is available with no card required and the service has expanded server lists for streaming and torrenting as well as the always-on kill switch.

What peculiarities does CyberGhost VPN have on Mac?

+ It exits the sleep mode without problems.

- There is no choice of a VPN protocol.

Best VPN Zone puts CyberGhost VPN for macOS among the three leaders thanks to how convenient it is to access a lot of servers with it, its high level of security, good support of Netflix and other streaming services, as well as useful extra functions.

Download and install CyberGhost VPN for Mac from the official website after buying a lucrative subscription with a 79% discount.

CyberGhost VPN for iOS

CyberGhost VPN for iOS can hardly be called versatile despite its large number of settings.

Most of them don’t have any practical use. There are three settings that concern Wi-Fi networks but not a single expanded functionality one. There also isn’t a specialized server list for torrenting.

What peculiarities does CyberGhost VPN have on iOS?

- Only IKEv2 is available.

- There are no extra features that are available on other platforms.

- There’s no server list for torrenting.

- The app is noticeably not as powerful as the competitors’ software for iOS.

- A card is required to activate the trial period.

Despite the fact that the iOS app allows accessing more than 5900 servers, I can’t call it the best one. It’s convenient and it works well and efficiently. It also has a high level of Wi-Fi connection settings flexibility and lets you watch Netflix. However, it has fewer options and features than the apps of the rivals.

CyberGhost VPN for iOS is available in the Apple App Store. You can sign in and buy a subscription on cyberghostvpn.com.

CyberGhost VPN for Linux

CyberGhost VPN offers command-line software for Linux (available on Ubuntu and Fedora). It reliably protects data and location, unblocks geo-restricted Netflix and other services’ content.

The main feature of CyberGhost VPN on Linux is its support of the modern superfast WireGuard protocol. It is only supported on Linux.

The downside is that I couldn’t test it. The software raised errors and wouldn’t connect via WireGuard:

What peculiarities does CyberGhost VPN have on Linux?

+ Command-line software

+ Easy setup

+ Extra features

- Errors when connecting to regular and torrenting servers and via WireGuard

In the end, I only managed to connect to servers for streaming via OpenVPN on Linux. It was enough to verify that data and privacy protection was excellent but not enough to test all the features of the app.

You can subscribe at a 79% discount and download CyberGhost VPN for Linux archive from cyberghostvpn.com.

CyberGhost VPN for Chrome

I was disappointed by CyberGhost VPN for Chrome. It’s evident that this software hasn’t been updated in a while. An ad for the premium subscription – which has been long since discontinued – pulses annoyingly at the bottom of the extension window. It also speaks of 1300+ servers when almost 6000 are available now.

It also doesn’t have WebRTC leak protection, the single option usually present in browser extension VPNs besides the country selection.

It should be noted that CyberGhost VPN offers a proxy instead of a full-fledged VPN for Chrome just like most other VPN services. A proxy can only protect the web browser’s traffic.

Can CyberGhost VPN be used in Chrome?

It can. If you need full protection, though, you’ll be better off using the app for your OS.

The extension doesn’t require you to log into your account, by the way. Possibly, it can allow you to use it even after your subscription runs out. The fact that CyberGhost VPN doesn’t show that I’m using an extra device in the user account dashboard only supports this assessment:

At the very least, I’ll try to use the browser extension after my subscription is over.

CyberGhost VPN for TV platforms and other devices

CyberGhost VPN supports other modern platforms such as:

• Routers
• TV and set-top boxes
• Game consoles

It’s made possible by CyberGhost VPN’s two advantages:

1. Apps for Android TV and Amazon Fire TV/Fire Stick
2. Ability to set any other device up manually by using the service-provided configuration for OpenVPN, IPSec, L2TP, or PPTP.

CyberGhost VPN doesn’t only offer the VPN connection configs but also allows blocking malicious websites, online tracking, and (partially) ads.

So, the provider makes using modern platforms, routers, and other devices simpler and more functional than its competitors.

Sign up and get a 79% discount to access all the features and apps of CyberGhost VPN.

6. Efficient protection of torrenting

5 reasons why CyberGhost VPN is one of the best VPNs for torrenting:

1. Its security and traffic protection are proven.
2. It has an always active kill switch.
3. It offers a special list of servers for safe P2P on desktops.
4. Its speeds are high.
5. The prices start at $2.75 per month.

The only negatives of note are the not-as-convenient torrenting-friendly servers on Android and iOS and the absence of port forwarding (used for the maximum of the available peers and seeds).

7. Safe jurisdiction

CyberGhost VPN is based in Romania.

I’ll tell later on in the article that in truth, the service belongs to an international technology company called Kape Technologies, related to the United Kingdom and Israel.

But the Romanian jurisdiction in particular gives the customers amplified protection from risks of political and financial pressure on CyberGhost VPN. The reason for that is the really strict Romanian data privacy law.

8. No-logs policy

CyberGhost VPN cons

Does CyberGhost VPN have any significant cons? Are all the previously mentioned features available without any unfortunate downsides?

To answer these questions, we have to look deeper into the peculiarities found during the testing that affect the impression of this VPN provider negatively.

In my opinion, CyberGhost VPN doesn’t have any significant cons.

1. Possible problems after the sleep mode on Windows

While testing CyberGhost VPN on PC, multiple times, I ran into the situation when websites wouldn’t load and my entire traffic was blocked after my computer had been in the sleep mode or hibernation for a long time.

As you see in the image, the connection time exceeds 22 hours but the app can’t reconnect to a VPN server in the United States.

It happened quite often and the only way to restore my internet access was to manually turn the VPN connection off and back on.

This “problem” doesn’t in any way weaken the traffic protection but creates a certain inconvenience because you can’t tell at once that there’s no connection because of the VPN.

2. Underdeveloped iOS version

I’ve already mentioned that CyberGhost VPN doesn’t have as many features on iPhone and iPad as some of its competitors’ apps.

This drawback is not huge either because most VPN services offer pretty minimalistic functionality for this platform and it rarely has anything but the selection of countries and turning the VPN on with the IKEv2 standard protocol.

Nevertheless, since CyberGhost VPN is on our Top 10 VPNs, more requirements are imposed on it than on other services.

3. Other drawbacks as compared to the competitors

Compared to its closest rivals from the Top 10 list, CyberGhost VPN is worse in some aspects.

Here’s the list of features of other powerful VPNs that CyberGhost VPN doesn’t have:

• Obfuscation. This provider doesn’t support the ability to hide the use of the VPN on any OS from specialized devices that are being implemented in various countries more and more frequently. China is the most well-known example of that. VPN connections via regular protocols are discovered and blocked there.
• Double VPN. Sometimes, you need to use an IP address from a specific country but can’t connect to it directly for some reason. Alternatively, you may need to double your privacy protection. In this case, you’d want to use double VPN.

These, I guess, are the most significant differences I could find.

• My advice: If you need a VPN that has the enumerated features, I recommend NordVPN or Surfshark. However, Surfshark has a DNS leak on Linux. Other than that, these providers are just as good as CyberGhost VPN.

Plans and pricing

CyberGhost VPN’s price policy is pretty run-of-the-mill. The price of services depends on the subscription duration.

The most lucrative plan is the 3-year one ($2.75 per month + 2 months for free) and its price is really good.

The 1-month price, however, is one of the most expensive in the VPN market. But when you take the free trial and the service’s good prospects (more on those in the next chapter) into consideration, you can make use of the lengthier subscription plans.

What are the peculiarities of the CyberGhost VPN tariffs?

• A 14 to 45-day refund is guaranteed on every plan.
• The Dedicated IP extra function is available at an extra fee of $5 per month per IP address (5 countries available).
• You can pay via a credit card, PayPal, Bitcoin (through BitPay).

Is buying CyberGhost VPN a good investment?

If you consider its features, the size of its technical infrastructure, and use the longest subscription, then it is.

But if you’d like to save money even on a shorter plan, take a look at our best cheap VPN services ranking.

Information about the company owner

CyberGhost VPN was founded in 2011 by the German-Romanian company, CyberGhost VPN S.A. In 2017, the brand and the company were bought at 9.2 million euros by the Israeli company, Crossrider Group. This company is also related to England and Greece.

This fact would have remained unimportant if Crossrider hadn’t been caught for spreading adware. Later, the company had to change its name to Kape Technologies in order to “get rid” of its past.

In my last review, I said that the company value had decreased by two times and it could be a bad sign. However, the opposite occurred. In late 2019, Kape almost doubled the technical infrastructure of CyberGhost VPN as well as acquired another VPN giant, Private Internet Access. These actions led to a phenomenal climb of Kape Technologies shares. Their price reached a record high in a matter of a few days.

This time, I’m very optimistic about the company’s future and expect it to further develop and improve its VPN services.

Address of CyberGhost VPN S.A.:

70-72 Dionisie Lupu St.,

District 1, 010458

Bucharest, Romania

Website: www.cyberghostvpn.com

Conclusion

So, in my review, I tried to cover the most vital aspects of the VPN. In this section, I’m going to provide you with the pros and cons of the VPN.

1. As for me, the major pro of the VPN is its reliability. Why? Judge for yourself! The VPN uses the most advanced protocols and encryption method, doesn’t save logs, and has perfect customer support! Yes, I forgot to mention that.
2. Every time when I got some questions about the VPN protocols or others I used their live chat in order to connect with the CyberGhost VPN team. I am completely satisfied with their answers. They were full and useful. What is especially vital here is that I didn’t have to wait. The live chat box showed me that I was the second in the queue, but I got their answers immediately.
3. Their software is the second advantage that I cannot but mention. It is beautiful, simple, and intuitive. You can adjust the desired setting right here. Put your preferred servers into “favorite” in order to connect them quickly.
   The only minus of the app is that when I changed settings, for example, switched to the dark mode, the VPN software turned off and I had to launch it again. Also, it will be better if the app was more compact.
4. Extra security measures of the VPN are helpful. Kill Switch works well! Every time I disconnected from a certain server, my Internet connection was interrupted. It means all my data and my IP stayed hidden. Kill Switch is even automatic and you do not a possibility to turn it off.
5. The VPN has a lot of benefits. CyberGhost VPN is a good choice for torrent trackers and unblocking streaming services. It even owns special servers for these purposes.

As for the cons of CyberGhost VPN, they are insignificant and don’t affect the main functions of the VPN’s performance. The most important of them is likely the internet freezes after exiting the sleep mode on Windows.

So, it’s up to you to decide whether the VPN worth using or not. Though, my answer to CyberGhost VPN is “Yes”!

Leave your comments and questions about CyberGhost VPN! My colleagues and I are always happy to answer.

Further reading:

• Basics of Virtual Private Network
• How can I hide my IP?
• 10 best VPNs for Kodi (5 paid and 5 free)