13th May 2015
Summary:
Today I reviewed VPN Master to see how they compared to some of the competition out there.
Pros:
- 24/7 customer service
- unlimited bandwidth
- cheap service plans
- simple software
Cons:
- limited time frame for refunds
- only one connection per account
- unreliable customer service
Overall Score: 50.5/100
This score is much lower than the 97/100 scored by our top rated VPN – Express VPN.
Ultimately VPN Master was a bit of a draw. There are some perks, like low prices, but significant drawbacks that may turn some customers off.
To get VPN Master, sign up here: VPN Master
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In a world where everything from shopping to working is done online, identity theft and fraud are quickly rising to the top of the charts as the fastest growing crimes in the world.
As people access their personal information over public Wi-Fi networks, they are inadvertently putting themselves at risks to become victims of these increasingly common crimes.
Many have turned to VPNs to solve this problem.
Easy to use and cost-effective, VPNs offer secure, encrypted connections.
Also, IP address-blocking that will get you through content blocks – even those put in place by government censorship programs in places like China and the UAE.
The problem is, there are so many VPNs out there, it’s hard to really know which ones are worth the money.
I’m going to show you how to shop like a pro for your online security, as well as review VPN Master to see how they stack up in today’s review.
Will VPN Master Work on My Operating System?
This is the first and most basic question you should ask yourself when you start looking around for a VPN.
You want to make sure that the VPN’s software is going to work on all of your devices, so that you can protect everything from your tablet to your iPhone without having to get a different provider.
VPN Master works on every major operating system, from Linux to iOS, so you can use it on all of your devices completely interchangeably.
Rating: 5/5 – Will work on any device
What Kind of Features Does VPN Master Have?
Now to get into the technical details. The next step in picking out a VPN is to see which one has the most features for the best price.
This is a pretty broad category, and can vary a lot from service to service, so I’ve broken it down for you here.
Feature #1: Multiple Connections
This refers to the number of simultaneous connections you’re allowed to have under one service plan.
This is important, because most people access the internet, as well as sensitive personal information on their home and mobile devices.
If you want to protect both, you’ll need a VPN that allows you to have at least two connections.
Surprisingly enough, VPN Master only allows one connection per account, so users will have to sign up for additional service plans to cover more than one device.
Rating: 1/5 – Only one connection allowed
Feature #2: Money Back Guarantee
One of the biggest indicators of a great VPN is also one of the most subtle.
A company that offers their customers a money back guarantee can usually be trusted to provide the services they’re promising.
VPN Master doesn’t have the greatest refund policy, but they do allow their customers to collect a full refund and cancel the service within the first 24 hours if they aren’t 100% satisfied.
Just keep in mind that server traffic can vary a lot between weekends and weekdays.
Additionally, 24 hours may not be a substantial enough amount of time for you to really gauge if their service is going to work for you.
Rating: 3.5/5
Feature #3: Number of Servers
Though it can be hard to gauge whether a company has enough servers to accommodate their customer base, the more they have, the better your chances are for a fast, smooth connection.
And of course, make sure they have them where it counts: in the countries with the most access.
VPN Master has servers in 14 countries, with a total of 25 servers altogether to choose from. This is a little on the low side, and users could experience problems with them getting bogged down.
Rating: 3/5 – Only 25 servers
Feature #4: Referral Program
It’s no secret that word of mouth is some of the best advertising there is.
Some VPN providers will actually reward users that send business their way with free or discounted service through referral programs.
This isn’t a terribly common feature, and not one that VPN Master offers their customers.
Rating: 0/5 – No referral program
Feature #5: Data Logging
Most people that shop around for this kind of thing are interested in either security or accessibility, so it pays to know whether or not your privacy is truly protected.
If a VPN provider does any kind of data logging, pass them by – that’s not anonymous browsing.
VPN Master doesn’t do any logging or tracking of their users’ internet activity.
The only records that are maintained are that of your account number, e-mail address, and payment information for customer service purposes – no internet logs.
Rating: 5/5 – Completely anonymous browsing
Feature #6: Bandwidth
When you look at bandwidth with a VPN, you’ll want to keep in mind that this is your limit on data capacity, or what a server connection can handle.
Limitations on it can impact browsing activities like streaming and downloading, so pay extra close attention to this feature if that’s something you do a lot of.
VPN Master includes completely unlimited bandwidth with all of their service packages, so you never have to worry about hitting a monthly cap.
Rating: 5/5 – Endless bandwidth for all
How Secure Is It?
VPNs are all about security, and their encrypted connections are what give users their protection from hackers and identity thieves, and even government surveillance.
Good encryption gets the job done at 128-bit. Great encryption is military grade 256-bit and offers multiple protocols to suit your needs.
The stronger the encryption, typically the slower the connection, so this gives customers the option to optimize their connection for speed or security.
With VPN Master, you get 128 bit encryption with their PPTP protocol, which is more than secure enough to protect you from your everyday identity thieves.
However, it’s not the strongest encryption on the web, and there’s only one protocol to choose from.
Rating: 3/5 – Only one security protocol
What’s the Set Up Process Like?
Though VPNs are rapidly rising to the forefront of online browsing, many people are still pretty new to this technology.
A complicated set up is a surefire way to turn off new customers, and frustrate those wanting the supposed convenience of this software.
With VPN Master, set up is as easy as download and install – that’s it.
Just grab the software from their website that’s compatible with your operating system and run through the installation wizard after you’ve downloaded it.
There are no manual configurations to worry about.
Rating: 5/5 – Basic, easy set up
Is it Easy to Use?
Once you get the software set up, connection should be as simple as point and click. If it’s not, you’re going to be continually frustrated by the process as you hop on and off the network.
VPN Master has very simple, straightforward software. Connecting is as simples as selecting a server and clicking a button.
However, you do have to keep the software open the whole time to use it, rather than just running the program in the background.
Rating: 4/5 – Straightforward software design
Logging In
With VPN Master, each time you close and reopen the program, you’ll have to log back in.
While you can absolutely save your login credentials in the fields themselves, it still means an extra step in the process.
Changing Servers
I did love how easy it was to change servers with VPN Master. Everything is just simple and well laid out with their software.
All you have to do is disconnect from your current server, then select a new one from the drop down menu on their software dashboard.
However, there is no way to see the real-time traffic on those servers, so you just have to connect and see how it goes.
What If I Need Help?
With online services, great customer service is absolutely vital.
You’re getting a product that is rendered completely virtually, and no matter how great the software, you’re bound to run into an issue at some point that will require tech support.
Companies get points for their punctuality and availability.
24/7 Support?
Since these are services that are used around the globe, it’s important that you be able to contact customer service at any time.
If they’re only open during their time zone’s business hours that can seriously limit the speed with which you get customer service.
VPN Master has 24/7 customer support, so no matter which time zone you’re in, you can get assistance within a reasonable time frame.
Well, in theory. In my actual experience with them, you can wait days and still receive no response.
Sometimes they get to you in a matter of hours, but other times the wait never ends – not really indicative of 24/7 support.
Rating: 3/5 – Round the clock support
Channels
This category refers to the ways in which you can get in touch with customer service. Some communication get you faster responses than others.
The real winner in this category is a live chat feature, so keep your eyes open for that one in particular.
VPN Master actually has very well-rounded customer service, with support available through live chat, e-mail, and by phone.
This means you can contact them in the way that best suits the urgency of your problem. It would be great if they all worked, but their phone support only has one line, which is always busy.
In addition, either their live chat feature isn’t always working right, or their service representatives aren’t.
Many times the chat will close itself after you’ve started a conversation, and on more than one occasion I’ve been unable to get any response at all, even when the feature says they’re online.
Rating: 3/5 – Poor service, despite well rounded channels of support
Customer Support Test
The best way to really see just how effective a company’s customer service is is by running a few tests on them yourself, so that’s just what I did with VPN Master.
I wanted to see how their customer service compared both during peak and off business hours. Here I gauged both the speed of their response and the quality of their service.
E-mail Support Test #1-Friday/10:41 a.m.
How frustrating. My first inquiry was sent to this company in the morning hours of a week day, and I was hoping for a pretty fast response.
However, after checking my inbox three days in a row and still not seeing a response, I gave up. It’s only 24 hour service if you actually get to your services requests in 24 hours – sheesh.
Result: No response
Rating: 0/5 – Completely unresponsive
E-mail Support Test #2 – Friday/11:36 p.m.
My next inquiry with VPN Master was later in the evening – well outside of typical business hours.
I wanted to see if their service was as fast in the middle of the night – at this point any response at all would have been an improvement.
This time I only waited 36 hours, but still never heard back from them.
Result: No response
Rating: 0/5 – Zero customer accountability
Live Chat Support Test #1 – Friday/10:43 a.m.
I initially contacted VPN Master’s live chat support in the late morning hours, inquiring as to whether or not they maintained logs of their users’ activity.
Though I got a pretty quick response, it was a bit of a roundabout answer. After a couple more questions I got the answers I needed.
Result: 1 minute 13 seconds
Rating: 3/5 – Fast response, but not the most helpful
Live Chat Support Test #2 – Friday/11:37 p.m.
My second round with VPN Master’s live chat feature was later in the evening, and I was hoping for a little bit better of a response time and service quality this time around.
No such luck.
I’m still not sure what the deal was here, but after trying over the course of a few hours to get a website to load unsuccessfully (see speed test), I contacted customer service with questions.
Not only was I never connected with a service representative, but the chat window kept closing, and I kept having to re-enter my contact information to reopen the chat.
After four failed attempts, I threw in the towel.
Result: No response
Rating: 0/5 – Chat session kept closing!
Phone Support Test #1 – Friday/12:56 p.m.
I was really curious as to how fast VPN Master’s phone support was, so I gave them a call in the afternoon to see how quickly I got waited on.
It looks like they only have one phone line though – I got a busy signal, and no service.
Result: Busy signal/No response
Rating: 0/5 – No service response
Phone Support Test #2 – Friday/11:38 p.m.
I was hoping to get the chance to really see how VPN Master’s phone support was with this next call, but again, I got a busy signal.
While it’s nice that they have the option, I’m not sure how helpful it is when the line is always busy.
Result: No response
Rating: 0/5 – Busy signal, AGAIN
As far as VPN Master’s e-mail support goes, I was blown away by their complete lack of response.
The only time I was able to actually communicate with a service representative was through live chat, and the session was pretty useless – I never got the answers I needed.
I was really optimistic about their service because of all the options they offered, but it’s clear that customer satisfaction isn’t much of a priority to VPN Master.
Overall Support Rating: 3/30 – Customer service was non-existent
How Fast is VPN Master?
It seems that every VPN out there has the fastest connection on the web, and by now you’ve probably realized that that’s just not true.
How do you know which ones are going to give you the fastest connection? The only way to really know is to put them to the test.
Here I planned to run speed tests, one on my connection with VPN Master, and the other with my regular home internet connection, to see how the VPN compared.
Oddly enough, at no point while using this VPN was I able to connect to the speed test website.
Thinking the site was having problems, I tried with my home internet connection, and the page instantly loaded.
Even after switching servers and contacting customer service multiple times, this site would absolutely not load at all when connected to VPN Master.
It was downright irritating, and kept me from checking their speed here. In addition, customer service was either unresponsive or at a loss as to how to help.
Rating: 0/5 – Couldn’t even RUN the speed tests with this VPN
How Much Does VPN Master Cost?
Finally, make sure that you’re not settling for a high monthly rate when you choose a VPN. There are plenty of fish in the sea, and great deals abound.
The high side of average for these services is around $15 a month, so look for anything at or below that amount.
VPN Master is really affordable.
As you can see, their plans start at just $3.95 per month when you purchase a year all at once, and then only get up to $7.95 a month.
That’s well below average, and all of them have the same great features.
Rating: 5/5 – Low monthly rates
Conclusion
Alright, we covered a lot of ground there. Let’s recap and see how VPN Master did in our review.
Pros:
- compatible with all operating systems
- unlimited bandwidth
- 24 hour refund policy
- no data logging
- easy set up
- easy to use
- 3 different ways to contact support
- low monthly rates
Cons:
- only one connection per account
- limited time for refunds
- no referral program
- limited server locations
- support is completely unreliable
- not the strongest encryption out there
Overall Score: 50.5/100
So as you can see, it’s kind of a 50/50 split with these guys. On the one hand, you have simple software that anyone can use, and some extremely low monthly rates.
On the other, you’re only allowed one connection per service plan, in addition to having access to a pretty small pool of servers.
It’s a great deal, just be aware of what you’re getting before you decide VPN Master is right for you.
Thank you for a most informative review, You focused on all the critical elements.