Celo VPN Review

Over the last few years it has become clear that journalists and activists are not the only people whose online activities can be monitored by governments and large corporations. All internet users can become a target of online surveillance, not to mention that hackers and cyber criminals are also lurking on your connection. That is why it is important to take measures to protect your privacy. Celo is a VPN provider dedicated to offer users security and freedom to visit websites or use online applications without blocks. The name of the company comes from Latin and it mean to conceal or keep secret. This is exactly what this Australian provider aims to do:to hide your IP address and conceal your activities from eavesdroppers.

Privacy and Security

Celo.net offers a great selection of features that will keep your connection secure, even when you use public WiFi hotspots. They support OpenVPN, L2TP/IPSec and SSTP (only on Windows), which are trusted protocols that provide a good level of security. While OpenVPN is the strongest option to keep your data protected, LT2TP/IPSec and SSTP are good alternatives. Many providers also include PPTP support but since this protocol has many weaknesses, it’s good to see that Celo.net has left it out to focus on options that are really effective when it comes to protecting your online traffic. Top grade 256-bit AES encryption is used on all protocols to keep you safe from eavesdropping, hacking and online attacks. In addition, Celo.net offers a built-in Ad/Malware blocking solution that will help you to browse the internet securely and without hassle.

DDoS attacks are not rare these days, which is why Celo.net also offer DDoS protection that ensures that you are not affected by this security issue. Once you connect to a Celo server, the DDoS protection is activated and you will be able to enjoy a better experience when playing online games, streaming and more. It is also worth noting that two-factor authentication is enabled on all accounts to enhance security. Celo.net’s logging policy establishes that no activity logs are kept on any server. They do keep some connection logs but these only include the date and time you accessed the client area. Your online activities remain private and if you want to improve your online anonymity, you can pay using Bitcoin.

Features

Celo.net works on a variety of platforms including Windows, Mac, Linux, Android and iOS. Although there is no custom software available, this would be considered as advantage by many since it offers more flexibility. Celo.net uses the open source and free OpenVPN client, which works very well. You will be able to set up the VPN easily with the help of the convenient guides available on the Knowledgebase. You can even run the VPN on smart TVs and other devices by setting up Celo.net on your Asus, DD-WRT or Tomato router. The website offers detailed steps for every case and you will be able to start using your Celonet account within a few minutes. You can use up to 5 simultaneous connections on the same account.

Once you sign up for the service, you will receive an email with information that will help you to connect to the service and to get the most out of it. As previously mentioned, every account is protected with two-factor authentication. A second steps is required when you try to log in to your Celo.net account, which offers an additional layer of security. Overall, Celo.net is very easy to use and it gives you the possibility of bypassing blocks to access content, while keeping your data protected from online threats. The ad/malware blocker and the free DDoS protection are great additions that will allow you to browse and enjoy more content on the internet, without concerns.

With Celo VPN, you also get SOCKS5 Proxy to take the protection to your privacy even further. Another advantage of Celo.net is that it offers a reliable network of servers in a variety of locations. You can connect to servers in United States, Australia, Sweden, Japan, Switzerland, Romania, South Korea, Canada, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Russia, Germany and France. It is likely that they increase the list in the near future, but at the moment, this would be enough to access a plethora of content and to enjoy great speeds. Celo.net offers super fast servers that will help you to stream, play online games and download. In fact, the vpn service is P2P friendly and torrenting is allowed in all plans.

Plans

The price of the plans depends on the length of the subscription. One month of service costs $7, for three months you pay $18, which means that the monthly price is reduced to $6. You can save even more money with the six-month plan, which is priced at $35, making the monthly price $5.83. The best discount is available with the yearly plan, which costs $66 so you only pay $5.50 per month. All the plans are covered with a 10-day money back guarantee and Celo.net also has a free trial that lets you test the service for 2 days. The methods of payment accepted are cards, PayPal, Payza and Bitcoin.

Customer Support

Although the FAQ is not extensive, the Knowledgebase provides detailed information about the service, as well as practical set up guides. Customers who need additional assistance, can contact Celo.net via ticket system. There is also a live chat but it is likely that it is only available during business hours in Australia. One of the main aspects that many Celo VPN’s customers praise about the service is the patience and professionalism of the customer support team. They are committed to help customers with any issue and to provide help for new customers who may have issues setting up the service.

Conclusion

Celo provides a good set of features that combine security and the capacity to unblock online content from around the world. We’d like to see dedicated software and mobile apps as they would be more practical for new users. However, Celo.net offers helpful guides that make the installation process simple and the customer support is ready to help you in case you have any difficulties, while trying to connect to the service. While Celo.net is not the cheapest option in the market, the service is affordable and the 2-day trial and the 10-day money back guarantee will give you enough time to decide if it is the right option for you.