F-Secure Freedome
Security and simplicity are at the core of F-Secure Freedome, a VPN service from F-Secure, a Finnish company with over 25 years of experience creating products that protect users from online threats. F-Secure offers a great selection of security tools and the VPN is designed to provide effective protection for your privacy, as well as the option to access content that is subject to geo-restrictions. Apart from offering the benefits that you would expect from a VPN, F-Secure Freedome can protect you from phishing, malware and tracking attempts. This VPN is gaining a lot of attention thanks to its powerful, yet easy to use service and in this review, you’ll find out more about it.
Security/Privacy
As previously mentioned, F-Secure has a team of security experts committed to create solutions that help to keep your data protected when you are connected to internet. OpenVPN is supported in their Windows, Mac OS X and Android clients. The encryption used is AES-128 for data, SHA-1 for data authentication and 2048-bit RSA for handshaking, which is a strong level of security for most internet users. In iOS, IPSec AES 128 is used for data encryption, AES-256 for key exchange and SHA-1 for data authentication. While OpenVPN is the most secure standard, it is usually not available on iOS so in the absence of that option, IPSec is a good alternative.
F-Secure strives to offer a highly secure service that respects your privacy. Their commitment to privacy and their vast experience in security technologies are combined to create a VPN service that promises complete digital freedom. In accordance to this, they don’t keep any personally-identifiable logs or activities of their users. It has to be noted that F-Security is based in Finland, where the data retention directive allows authorities to access retained data without a warrant. However, this law is currently in review as it has been considered as a breach of privacy rights by the Court of Justice of the EU. Furthermore, since F-Secure doesn’t keep activity logs, they won’t have any information stored about your communications, browsing or other tasks completed online.
Their privacy policy is very clear and transparent and it outlines that while some connection data is collected in order to provide an efficient service, they separate this form other information collected when you use the service (such as your login details) in order to ensure that it is treated as anonymous. They can’t associate the metadata to an specific user and don’t monitor what you do online. F-Secure also claims that there are not backdoors in their services or software. Although F-Secure can offer a good level of protection for most user, it isn’t the right choice if you are after complete privacy. They don’t support Bitcoin and in order to use the service, you will need to provide some personal details such as full name and email address.
Features
One of the best things about F-Secure Freedome is that it offers a simple and appealing interface. The service is compatible with popular platforms like Windows, Android, Mac OS X and iOS. Unfortunately, Linux and other options are not supported at this time. It is also important to consider that the VPN service is not available in countries like China, Iran, UAE and Saudi Arabia, where users would greatly benefit from a VPN.
Like other VPNs, F-Secure Freedome encrypts your online traffic to keep you secure, even when you are using public Wi-Fi. You can also change your virtual location in order to access videos, websites or applications that are not available in your country. What makes F-Secure Freedome stand apart from other services is the fact that it offers protection against online tracking from websites and advertisers.
Freedome blocks intrusive trackers so you won’t be spammed with targeted ads. The Tracker Mappers allows you to record blocked tracking attempts and you can get an overview of them on an interactive map. This is an additional security measure that will also help yo improve your browsing experience. In terms of speed, F-Secure offers decent results and its performance will be enough to support browsing and streaming. The tests carried out showed no DNS leaks. Apart from VPN, F-Secure offers other security solutions such as anti-virus, Booster (complete cleanup) and password manager.
Servers
At the moment, F-Secure Freedome has servers in 21 countries including United States, United Kingdom, Italy, Hong Kong, Netherlands, Singapore, Germany, Mexico, Japan and Australia. Keep in mind that P2P has been blocked in most locations except Ireland, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Switzerland and Spain.
Plans
F-Secure Freedome only offers annual subscriptions and the prices vary according to the number of devices supported. If you choose one year of service for up to 3 devices, the price is €49.90, which is about $56 USD. For up to five devices, you pay €59.90 (around $68) and for up to seven, the total cost is €79.90, which is roughly $90. Compared to other providers, the prices are reasonable and they offer a 30-day money back guarantee, as well as a 14-day free trial.
Customer Support
In the website, you can find a knowledgebase, FAQ and Community forum to post questions and find previous threads. The Support Tools section includes useful guides and other information. They can also be contacted via chat (available Monday to Friday between 6 to 4 pm – GMT), phone and ticket support.
Conclusion
Overall, F-Secure Freedome is an effective solution that will allow you to enjoy high security and the possibility of accessing geo-restricted content without hassle. Their tracking protection is a great addition to the service and it will enhance your browsing experience. While the company is committed to protect your privacy, there are a few aspects that would raise concern. As a result, it may not be the first choice for privacy conscious users. In spite of that, F-Secure is a reliable service and would be a good choice for anyone who mainly wants to make their online traffic safer.
