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The reviews published on vpnMentor are written by experts that examine the products according to our strict reviewing standards. Such standards ensure that each review is based on the independent, professional and honest examination of the reviewer, and takes into account the technical capabilities and qualities of the product together with its commercial value for users, which may also affect the product's ranking on the website.
CyberGhost VPN and Hotspot Shield both offer users a range of great features and benefits, however, their approaches to privacy are very different. While CyberGhost has a strict no logging policy, Hotspot Shield has been the subject of an investigation into its data collection methods and is recognized as keeping partial logs. When it comes to how secure your connections are, CyberGhost offers military grade 256-bit AES encryption, IP and DNS leak protection, and a kill switch. Hotspot Shield does not offer a kill switch and its encryption is either 256-bit or 128-bit AES depending on the operating system you are using. It does however, run OpenVPN, which is more stable and secure than either PPTP or LT2P. While Hotspot Shield does have more server locations than CyberGhost at the current time, CyberGhost boast around five times more servers. CyberGhost also offers users two more simultaneous connections per license than Hotspot Shield, with seven to its five.
Features
9.4
Pricing
9.0
Ease of Use
9.6
Reliability & Support
9.2
Features
8.0
Pricing
9.0
Ease of Use
9.0
Reliability & Support
8.6
Rating
Features
9.4
8.0
0.0
Pricing
9.0
9.0
0.0
Ease of Use
9.6
9.0
0.0
Reliability & Support
9.2
8.6
0.0
Reviews
Review by our expert
Matthew Amos
Cybersecurity Researcher
9.6
When I read that CyberGhost had been bought out by Kape — a company that used to be infamous for bundling adware into its downloads — alarm bells started ringing. I’ve recommended CyberGhost in the past as a trustworthy and easy-to-use VPN that suits beginners. But with its new ownership, I wondered if CyberGhost is even safe to use anymore.
I did a deep dive into CyberGhost’s ownershi...
Best So FarAll you need from VPN. CyberGhost VPN is a complete package that manages Security, Virus Protection, App Update features, and more. Lots of servers to choose from that work with your internet speed. Always confidence you're protected with CyberGhost VPN is on.
Latest negative user review
James Head
2.0
Unusable on Linux MINT 20.1 and didn't unblock 6play M6 FranceFirstly I tried to install it on the laptop I use for streaming, a four-year-old HP with 16Gb memory and 1Tb SSD running Linux Mint 20.1 but received error messages when trying to install the Linux MINT 20 App from their official website. It turns out they don't support this OS yet and had no idea when they would so their advice was to downgrade to Linux Mint 20,0.
I tried it on a Windows HP laptop but found that we were unable to access M6 6play in France. Being able to access this particular webpage, and the Molotov French TV site for streaming live TV from M6 in France was the main purpose of our getting a VPN (my wife is French). I verified that the sites were still accessible without going through the VPN, just with the content being blocked as we were in the UK.
Therefore this VPN doesn't fulfill our requirements.
Hotspot Shield is a popular VPN service with over 650 million users and multiple servers in 80+ countries.
In fact, the website claims it is the #1 grossing app for productivity in the US App Store. (When we checked the App Store source, it actually indicated #8, which is still an impressive ranking.)
One of the features that make Hotspot Shield special is its unique Catapult Hydra protocol...
Probably RecommendedI personally would recommend it, I have been using it for quite some times and it works perfectly for me both on Mac pc and phone, In fact, I always give them 5 stars when disconnecting, I don't know if that's why I get a full service, thanks for the service tho love it.
Latest negative user review
Steve
2.0
Too slow to be of any useI get 18 MPs without it but down to less than 5. Another VPN is much faster I now use an alternative which is giving around 12 to 14. I bought a lifetime membership a few years ago and since then it has steadily got worse.
When I read that CyberGhost had been bought out by Kape — a company that used to be infamous for bundling adware into its downloads — alarm bells started ringing. I’ve recommended CyberGhost in the past as a trustworthy and easy-to-use VPN that suits beginners. But with its new ownership, I wondered if CyberGhost is even safe to use anymore.
I did a deep dive into CyberGhost’s ownershi...
Hotspot Shield is a popular VPN service with over 650 million users and multiple servers in 80+ countries.
In fact, the website claims it is the #1 grossing app for productivity in the US App Store. (When we checked the App Store source, it actually indicated #8, which is still an impressive ranking.)
One of the features that make Hotspot Shield special is its unique Catapult Hydra protocol...
Best So FarAll you need from VPN. CyberGhost VPN is a complete package that manages Security, Virus Protection, App Update features, and more. Lots of servers to choose from that work with your internet speed. Always confidence you're protected with CyberGhost VPN is on.
Paite
10.0
Probably RecommendedI personally would recommend it, I have been using it for quite some times and it works perfectly for me both on Mac pc and phone, In fact, I always give them 5 stars when disconnecting, I don't know if that's why I get a full service, thanks for the service tho love it.
Latest negative user review
James Head
2.0
Unusable on Linux MINT 20.1 and didn't unblock 6play M6 FranceFirstly I tried to install it on the laptop I use for streaming, a four-year-old HP with 16Gb memory and 1Tb SSD running Linux Mint 20.1 but received error messages when trying to install the Linux MINT 20 App from their official website. It turns out they don't support this OS yet and had no idea when they would so their advice was to downgrade to Linux Mint 20,0.
I tried it on a Windows HP laptop but found that we were unable to access M6 6play in France. Being able to access this particular webpage, and the Molotov French TV site for streaming live TV from M6 in France was the main purpose of our getting a VPN (my wife is French). I verified that the sites were still accessible without going through the VPN, just with the content being blocked as we were in the UK.
Therefore this VPN doesn't fulfill our requirements.
Steve
2.0
Too slow to be of any useI get 18 MPs without it but down to less than 5. Another VPN is much faster I now use an alternative which is giving around 12 to 14. I bought a lifetime membership a few years ago and since then it has steadily got worse.
CyberGhost VPN has the greater number of servers, offers greater security with a kill switch, IP and DNS leak protection, and 256-bit AES encryption throughout. Both offer fast and reliable connections with unlimited bandwidth and can be used on all major operating systems. Both offer a 45-day money-back guarantee. CyberGhost and Hotspot Shield can both be used to access geo-restricted content, including Netflix, however, CyberGhost does run into problems with BBC iPlayer. Hotspot Shield’s users benefit from the vendors Catapult Hydra data compression technology; however, these need to be weighed against its logging policies and previous investigations into its use of data. You can get CyberGhost for a great price if you use one of these coupon codes.
CyberGhost VPN has the greater number of servers, offers greater security with a kill switch, IP and DNS leak protection, and 256-bit AES encryption throughout. Both offer fast and reliable connections with unlimited bandwidth and can be used on all major operating systems. Both offer a 45-day money-back guarantee. CyberGhost and Hotspot Shield can both be used to access geo-restricted content, including Netflix, however, CyberGhost does run into problems with BBC iPlayer. Hotspot Shield’s users benefit from the vendors Catapult Hydra data compression technology; however, these need to be weighed against its logging policies and previous investigations into its use of data. You can get CyberGhost for a great price if you use one of these coupon codes.
CyberGhost allows torrenting across specific servers and is registered in Romania, which does not have very strict censorship or surveillance laws currently. Hotspot Shield does not allow torrenting / P2P on any of its servers.
CyberGhost allows torrenting across specific servers and is registered in Romania, which does not have very strict censorship or surveillance laws currently. Hotspot Shield does not allow torrenting / P2P on any of its servers.
Both CyberGhost and Hotspot Shield work well with the Windows operating system and offer easy to download and install apps. Both offer unlimited bandwidth and stable connections. CyberGhost’s technology allows users to connect to the best server for their needs by setting up a distinct profile based on their main reason for using a VPN. Hotspot Shield users benefit from faster speeds through the use of Catapult Hydra technology. However, Hotspot Shield users have no live chat customer services option and user guides provided on the website are unclear.
Both CyberGhost and Hotspot Shield work well with the Windows operating system and offer easy to download and install apps. Both offer unlimited bandwidth and stable connections. CyberGhost’s technology allows users to connect to the best server for their needs by setting up a distinct profile based on their main reason for using a VPN. Hotspot Shield users benefit from faster speeds through the use of Catapult Hydra technology. However, Hotspot Shield users have no live chat customer services option and user guides provided on the website are unclear.
Both services work on Android and the app from Hotspot Shield allows users to automatically connect to a proxy browser. CyberGhost’s users benefit from excellent speeds, military grade encryption, and a 7-day free trial on this operating system.
Both services work on Android and the app from Hotspot Shield allows users to automatically connect to a proxy browser. CyberGhost’s users benefit from excellent speeds, military grade encryption, and a 7-day free trial on this operating system.
CyberGhost and Hotspot shield both offer apps for the Mac operating system. Both offer fast connection speeds and Hotspot Shield users have the additional benefit of Catapult Hydra technology to improve the speeds they can achieve. CyberGhost users, however, benefit from better security, strict no logging policies, and better customer services.
CyberGhost and Hotspot shield both offer apps for the Mac operating system. Both offer fast connection speeds and Hotspot Shield users have the additional benefit of Catapult Hydra technology to improve the speeds they can achieve. CyberGhost users, however, benefit from better security, strict no logging policies, and better customer services.
Both vendors provide native apps for iOS that are simple to set up and use. CyberGhost users have the additional benefit of a 7-day free trial for this operating system.
Both vendors provide native apps for iOS that are simple to set up and use. CyberGhost users have the additional benefit of a 7-day free trial for this operating system.
Both vendors have servers throughout the USA and both are able to bypass geo-restrictions to stream content, including US Netflix. However, CyberGhost users have the additional benefit of strict no logging policies and DNS leak protection.
Both vendors have servers throughout the USA and both are able to bypass geo-restrictions to stream content, including US Netflix. However, CyberGhost users have the additional benefit of strict no logging policies and DNS leak protection.
Both vendors offer fast speeds, stable connections, and easy to use apps for all major operating systems. However, CyberGhost offers the better security with 256-bit AES encryption, an automatic kill switch, strict no logging policy, and IP and DNS leak protection. Combined with its superior customer services approach, including live chat options and easy to follow guides, it is the clear winner between the two vendors.
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