TorGuard VPN – A Highly Secure VPN Optimized for P2P File Sharing and Torrenting
Owned by VPNetwork LLC, TorGuard is a VPN service provider that offers online privacy protection services through various VPN apps. In addition to its VPN apps, TorGuard also offers private emails, anonymous proxies, dedicated IPs, and other privacy protection software applications. Headquartered in Orlando, Florida in the United States, TorGuard VPN has a strict no-logs policy coupled with advanced data encryption and sophisticated security protocols.
Pros&Cons
TorGuard Pros&Cons | Check Positive and Negative Sides
Features table
TorGuard VPN Features Table Summary
| Headquarter | Florida, USA |
| No-log policy |  |
| Kill switch | |
| Number of devices with one license | 8 |
| Number of countries | 50+ |
| Number of servers | 3000+ |
| Torrent support | |
| Netflix support | Selected servers |
| Encryption type | AES-256 bit |
| Customer support | 24/7 support via email, ticket, and phone |
| Trial version | |
| Money-back guarantee | 7-days |
| Split tunneling | Only on the Android app |
| Multi-hop |  |
| Website | https://torguard.net |
Use cases
TorGuard: Use Cases
Despite its minimal design, TorGuard’s UI, in my opinion, is not as well designed as those of CyberGhost VPN or ExpressVPN. A cleaner interface with intelligent design could work wonders for TorGuard VPN apps as it will make them more user-friendly than they currently are.
Designed as a P2P-friendly service that enables smooth torrenting with leading Torrent clients, it comes as no surprise that TorGuard VPN was built for avid Torrent users. With proxy services, various security protocols, unlimited bandwidth, port forwarding, and dedicated servers, TorGuard VPN is an excellent choice for torrenting safely and securely.
Stealth VPN is a unique TorGuard feature that allows users to bypass deep packet inspection and stringent firewalls in countries that are notorious for blocking VPN servers. Stealth VPN masks the VPN traffic to make it look like unprotected regular traffic thereby making it impossible to block VPN servers. Anonymous proxy service, another TorGuard exclusive, can be purchased as an add-on feature for $5.95 per month. The company provides more than 3000 elite proxy IPs and supports SOCKS5 as well as HTTP/SSL Proxy. Using any VPN may slow down the speed of your internet connection depending on the server to which you connect. However, TorGuard lets users switch from the slower but more secure WireGuard and OpenVPN protocols to the faster but less advanced protocols like L2TP/IPSec and PPTP. You can also switch from the safer AES 256-bit encryption to the less secure but much faster AES 128-bit or Blowfish 128-bit encryption if you are feeling slowed down by the VPN connection.
Video guide
How to Setup TorGuard VPN on Android
Features overview
TorGuard Features Overview
Headquarters
TorGuard is located in Orlando, Florida in the USA. The USA is part of the 5/9/14 Eyes alliances and any information collected by US authorities can be shared with other countries in the alliance. As a founding member of the Five Eyes alliance, the USA is not known to respect VPN log policies and TorGuard unfortunately falls under the US data retention laws.
No-logs policy
TorGuard claims to have a strict no-logs policy that bars it from collecting any user data from its VPN apps or proxy services. However, the company collects certain information from the user when they purchase its products. All VPN service providers have to collect certain basic user information to process payments and allow users access to their apps.
Kill switch
TorGuard VPN provides an integrated kill switch that will immediately block the internet connection to your device if the VPN connection suddenly drops. TorGuard also offers an app kill feature that allows users to list the applications to be automatically closed in case of VPN connection drops. I tested the kill switch under several testing conditions and every time it managed to disconnect my internet at the slightest hint of my VPN connection dropping.
Connectivity
TorGuard lets you simultaneously connect up to 8 devices with one license. The company offers apps for common platforms such as Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, Linux, routers, and browsers. However, the features available on these apps vary based on the platform, and not all TorGuard VPN apps will have the advanced features that can be found on the Windows app.
Server Network
TorGuard boasts a global server network of over 3000 servers across more than 50 countries. While it has a higher server count than PrivateVPN (200+) and Proton VPN (1800+), TorGuard is nowhere close to the likes of NordVPN (5000+), PureVPN (6500+), or CyberGhost VPN (9200+).
Torrent
TorGuard is a VPN app optimized for P2P file-sharing and torrenting. Thanks to robust security protocols, WireGuard technology, and unlimited bandwidth, torrenting on TorGuard’s servers is smooth, hassle-free, and secure. I enjoyed fast and secure torrenting on most TorGuard servers thanks to such features as port forwarding and TorGuard’s proxy services.
Netflix
Netflix was a hit-and-miss with TorGuard mostly due to its inability to consistently unblock Netflix libraries from around the world. While many users and VPN reviewers I know have claimed that they were able to unblock Netflix US with TorGuard VPN, I was unable to do the same with TorGuard VPN. If streaming is your priority, I would advise you to look elsewhere for a better experience.
Encryption
Server speed tests
TorGuard Server Speed Tests
To find out how fast TorGuard VPN truly is, I connected to different TorGuard servers from around the world and used speedtest.net to test their speed. The standard download and upload speeds of my internet connection without any VPN connection were 47.53 Mbps and 11.01 Mbps, respectively.
On first connecting to TorGuard’s Amsterdam server, the download speed of my connection dropped by 14% to 40.79 Mbps. The upload speed increased by around 70% to 18.74 Mbps. The latency increased from 12 ms without VPN to 43 ms on the Amsterdam server. The decrease in download speed was negligible and did not affect any online activity, including torrenting or streaming.
When I changed to the London server, I recorded a decent download speed of 41.35 Mbps and an upload speed of 12.77 Mbps. While the download speed again dropped, this time by 13%, the upload speed was not as high as it was on the Amsterdam server. A latency of 124 ms may seem high but is expected at such distances. Thanks to the high upload speeds and low latency on several servers in Europe, torrenting was a smooth experience.
Next, I connected to servers in New York and Hong Kong because I wanted to check the speeds on distant servers. While the download speed on the New York dropped to 36.01 Mbps, it further dropped to 14.85 Mbps on the Hong Kong server.
Considering the distance between my physical location and Hong Kong, such a drop in speed was unremarkable. Upload speed on the New York was quite decent at 12.84 Mbps but the same dropped drastically to just 2.93 Mbps on the Hong Kong server.
Surprisingly, browsing and streaming videos on these two distant servers were still smooth and without any visible lags. However, torrenting on distant servers may be an issue due to the low upload speeds and high latency times on those servers.
Users’ Feedback
Users’ Feedback and Ratings
User reviews of a product or service on social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Reddit give us a fair idea of that product’s or service’s effectiveness. Social media users were divided in their opinion of the TorGuard VPN. While some users praised TorGuard for its features and servers dedicated to torrenting, other users criticized its UI and inability to consistently unblock geo-restricted content. Most users on Reddit were satisfied with TorGuard’s security features but did not like the pricing plans. Several long-term TorGuard VPN users were content with the advanced features offered by TorGuard but insisted that the UI was not as good as some other VPN apps.
I also checked several real user reviews on consumer review websites such as Trustpilot and SiteJabber to get unadulterated insights into the strengths and flaws of TorGuard VPN. TorGuard managed an impressive TrustScore 4.4/5 from over 2500 reviews on Trustpilot. Most users rated TorGuard highly for its reliable service, prompt customer support, and overall value for money. TorGuard’s “friendly and knowledgeable” customer support was the highlight of most of the reviews on Trustpilot.
Trends
Google Trends and Comparison with Competitors
Google Trends is an analytical web tool by Google that helps us understand the change in Google search volume of particular keywords over a specific period in a particular region. I used Google Trends to see the public interest in such search terms as “TorGuard”, “TunnelBear”, “TorGuard VPN”, and “PrivateVPN” within the USA.
On searching with “TorGuard VPN”, Google Trends displayed a graph that showed limited interest over the past 12 months. However, interest in the search term rose several times throughout this period and even peaked during February 2022, most likely coinciding with an update released by the company during the same time. On the other hand, interest in “TorGuard” has been much more consistent than that in “TorGuard VPN” throughout the same period and similarly peaked around February 2022.
On comparing “TorGuard” with “TunnelBear VPN”, I found that both the search terms had quite similar graphs with the interest rising and falling at regular intervals. Though the average interest in “TorGuard” was slightly higher than “TunnelBear VPN”, the projected interest in the latter is rising while that in the former is declining.
The result was even closer when I compared “TorGuard VPN” and “PrivateVPN”, two closely competing VPN service providers. While TorGuard VPN barely won the race, the graph reflected similar changes in interest in the search words over the past 12 months with “TorGuard VPN” slightly ahead of its competitor.
DNS leak test
TorGuard VPN DNS Leak Test
TorGuard VPN offers built-in DNS and IPv6 leak protection which is second to none thanks to the use of WireGuard protocol. Along with its comprehensive leak protection, TorGuard VPN also offers a STunnel obfuscation feature that hides the fact that a customer is using a VPN. The built-in leak protection is always active and prevents unwanted data or IP address leaks that can compromise the user’s privacy and security.
I checked for DNS, IPv6, and WebRTC leaks on several TorGuard servers with the help of DNSleaktest.com and ipleak.net. I was unable to detect any leak whatsoever on the different TorGuard servers to which I connected during my tests. TorGuard’s kill switch also actively disconnects the internet in case of any sudden drop in the VPN connection. The STunnel feature even allows users to bypass strict censorship in countries such as China and the UAE.
Conclusion
Should You Buy It?
TorGuard offers affordable VPN apps that offer fast servers and steady performance on various platforms. With an array of advanced features backed by robust AES 256-bit encryption and modern security protocols, TorGuard VPN provides strong Torrenting support, built-in ad-blocking, and reliable customer service. However, TorGuard’s insistence on offering dedicated IPs as add-on features leaves much to be desired when it comes to streaming and bypassing geo-restrictions. Overall, TorGuard VPN is a decent VPN app ideal for beginners and Torrent users looking to protect their online privacy.
