Zenmate Review
ZenMate offers a secure and efficient solution to protect the privacy of your data and to bypass restrictions effectively. It started as a free privacy extension for Chrome, but it has evolved to become a full privacy solution. The primary function of the service is to help you to protect your identity online and to defeat censorship and blocks that prevent you from watching media content or accessing websites. Here we will find out more about ZenMate.
Privacy and Security
ZenMate uses the latest TLS 1.2 (RFC 5245) protocol with 128-bit AES-GCM encryption, RSA handshaking and strong SHA 256 for authentication. Perfect Forward Secrecy is also used to ensure that your data is protected. While 256-bit is stronger and many people look for this option, the truth is that 128-bit would be more than enough in most cases. As ZenMate mentions, the main benefit of AES 128 is that it offers good security, without having a major impact on speed. They also state that it is also more effective against timing attacks. In the end, it could be a personal preference, but the level of encryption can give you peace of mind.
The company is based in Germany, which in general has a solid approach towards privacy protection. However, it is important to note that while ZenMate doesn’t keep logs of your online traffic, there are some connection logs kept. Furthermore, the Terms of service mentions although they usually don’t monitor the services you access using ZenMate, which suggests that there are cases in which they may keep an eye on your traffic. This is only likely to happen if there is a legal or law enforcement request. Still, it is something that may concern some. If the privacy of your connection is your priority, you would be better off with a zero logs provider. Although they don’t refer to P2P in particular, their ToS state that access to copyrighted material is prohibited. In addition, Bitcoin is not accepted as method of payment.
Features
ZenMate supports multiple platforms including Mac, Windows, iOS and Android. It also offers extensions for popular browsers like Chrome, Opera and Firefox. The client focuses on simplicity and it displays helpful details about your usage of the service. You can get an easy overview of statistics and there is also a good selection of functions supported. The features include the option to start the service automatically with your PC, as well as a killswitch known as Eversecure, which will prevent that your real IP address is exposed, even if the VPN connection drops. The Smart Locations is a practical solution to connect to a server that is right for your needs. In addition, there is a Malware blocker available.
At the moment, ZenMate has servers in 29 countries including United States, Germany, Hong Kong, United Kingdom, Japan, Norway, Poland, Australia and Switzerland. Customers who use the free plan only get access to servers in Germany, Hong Kong, Romania and United States. In addition, the speeds of the Premium service are much better than the ones experienced by the free customers. Premium users will be able to enjoy seamless streaming and good performance for most websites and online services. No IPv6, DNS leaks and no WebRTC issues were detected during the test, which shows that ZenMate pays special attention to security, which does make it a great option to keep your data protected, particularly when you are using unsecured networks and public WiFi hotsposts.
Plans
The proxy extension/plugin works with Firefox, Opera and Chrome. While it is a practical solution, the extension only protects your browsing activity. The paid service on the other hand, adds security to all your traffic. One month of the Premium plan costs $8.99, if you opt for 6 months of service, the monthly cost is reduced to $7.49 as you pay $44.99 in total. As usual, the biggest savings come with the Yearly plan. This costs $59.99, making the price per month just $4.99. The Premium plan gives you access to all servers and it provides considerably better speeds.
Customer Support
ZenMate provides a good deal of information on its website. There is even an Academy section that aims to help customers to understand some important concepts about online privacy and security. The knowledge base will guide you through everything you need to be aware of in order to get started and to use the service. If you need additional assistance, you can get in touch with the Support team, but only via email-based support request. While a live chat would be a nice addition, the email support is available at all times and it is very efficient.
Conclusion
If you are interested in enhancing the privacy and security of your connection, specially when you are using public WiFi, or need to bypass geo-blocks to access content that is not available in your region, ZenMate is a good option. The customer support is professional and the software offers reliable technology. However, it is not the strongest solution if you are looking for the ultimate protection for your privacy, or if you want to use P2P applications.