Surfshark VPN Test (2024)

Surfshark VPN Test 2024 – No log files, unlimited devices and perfect streaming at a glance.

Surfshark VPN is a comparatively young VPN service that was founded in Vilnius, Lithuania, in 2018 and is committed to the anonymity of its users by masking their IP addresses. We have continuously tested the service since it was founded and share our experiences with you in this review. Surfshark is particularly characterised by its ability to enable TV streaming despite geographical blocks abroad.

However, the extensive range of functions offered by this service makes our test report somewhat more comprehensive than usual. As a special highlight, we were even able to visit the VPN service in person in Vilnius, Lithuania, and get an idea of its operation on-site. This enabled us to verify the information provided by Surfshark itself and strengthen our trust in this provider.

Our experience with SurfsharkVPN

Surfshark attaches great importance to security and has developed special functions such as “Multihop VPN” and “Ram-Disk Server” in order not to store any data about users and to guarantee their security. Nevertheless, user-friendliness takes centre stage and all applications are available in German. Surfshark offers the possibility to use the service directly on Smart TVs and supports a variety of VPN routers. In addition, you can use Surfshark on as many devices as you like at the same time. The low price of this VPN service is deceptive, because Surfshark offers extensive functions and high speeds at an extremely attractive price.

Surfshark Advantages & Disadvantages

How much does Surfshark cost?

Try Surfshark for free!

One recommendation we can give is that you can also test the service for free, in that you can easily cancel the VPN service at any time within the first 30 days via the live chat and get back the full amount you paid in advance.

Is there a Surfshark trial version?

With the money-back guarantee, Surfshark also offers a risk-free trial version. This is guaranteed and not a big hassle. This means that you can use Surfshark free of charge for 30 days or test it extensively.

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Save money with Surfshark

If you use Surfshark, you can save money on an online subscription to streaming services. We have tested many VPN services with SurfsharkVPN and found that the savings quickly make you forget the costs of the tariffs. If you have any additional questions about how you can save even more money with Surfshark, for example when booking flights, please feel free to contact us directly at any time.

Background on the company

Surfshark (The VPN Shark) was founded in 2018 in Vilnius, Lithuania, by Vytautas Kaziukonis (Par Kaz). Since then, the company has experienced significant growth and currently already employs more than 200 people. We visited the Surfshark company’s office in person and were able to talk freely with all employees and departments for two days. The VPN provider, therefore, stands for full transparency in person and therefore also has our “trust”. The future of Surfshark lies in its developers, who are currently developing additional services such as anti-virus protection that is cheaper but more secure than most other popular VPN services or antivirus solutions on the market.

Like many other VPN companies, Surf shark has its legal domicile in the British Virgin Islands to avoid data retention laws. Billing takes place via a subsidiary in the Netherlands.

Speed with Surfshark VPN?

In our regularly conducted tests, we check the transmission speed of VPN services under defined and always identical conditions. Therefore, the Surfshark values we present here are also comparable with other providers. Thanks to the Wireguard protocol used, the service is now also one of the fastest VPN providers on the market and beats more expensive competitors such as ExpressVPN!

Fast VPN protocols – not yet for all devices

Wireguard or Shadowsocks as used VPN protocols is of course required to use the maximum Surfshark performance. These VPN protocols can be selected in Surfshark’s applications. For VPN routers, SurfsharkVPN is currently working on enabling this with the native standard Wireguard clients.

Stable high speed via the servers

The speed tests we recorded show that Surfshark VPN does a consistently good job and does provide very high data transfer rates. Surf shark is one of the fastest VPN providers on the market.

Speed tests of other VPN providers

In a direct comparison with other VPN services tested, it quickly becomes apparent in our Surfshark VPN review, that Surfshark offers one of the fastest VPNs on the market despite the very low price. In addition, we have observed over time that SurfsharkVPN is constantly putting more servers into operation to reduce the load on the servers and to be able to continue to provide every user with the maximum bandwidth.

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Frequently asked questions about Surfshark VPN

Many questions we receive about Surfshark can be summed up in a few points. The following questions will help some quickly find the expected answers about Surfshark.

Privacy & Data Protection

Additional technical Surfshark features that guarantee privacy:

• Own DNS servers: Surfshark operates its own DNS servers that process DNS queries directly on the servers, which increases security and privacy.
• Multi Hop VPN: By using multi-hop VPN cascades, data is transmitted via multiple VPN servers, further protecting user privacy.
• New Dynamic MultiHop: Surfshark offers Dynamic MultiHop, which allows users to select server pairs according to their individual needs, increasing connectivity, security and speed.
• Ram-Disk Server: Surfshark’s VPN servers are operated in a virtual environment that runs in the servers’ temporary memory. This means that all data is deleted when the server is restarted and protected against confiscation.
• Warrant Canary: Surfshark offers a Warrant Canary website that is updated daily and provides information on whether official requests could jeopardise the security of user data.
• An out-of-court settlement for torrenting in the USA (January 2022): Surfshark has reached an out-of-court settlement in which the VPN service will stop torrent usage on US servers. However, this has no impact on the identity or activities of users.
• Deloitte confirms the no-logging policy: The auditing firm Deloitte has tested Surfshark’s no-logging policy and confirmed that Surfshark does not log the actions of its users and adheres to the highest data protection standards.
• How the audit was conducted: Deloitte examined Surfshark’s server configuration, privacy policies and IT systems and confirmed the implementation of the no-logging policy.Surfshark promises to continue to conduct independent audits to verify its security and privacy measures.

An out-of-court settlement over torrent in the USA (January 2022)

In autumn 2021, VPN Surfshark and several other VPN providers were sued in a US court for allegedly encouraging torrent users to download protected content.

In January 2022, Surfshark reached a settlement with the plaintiffs, which stipulates that the VPN service will prevent torrent sites and torrent use on US servers in the future. However, according to Surfshark, this circumstance does not affect the identity or activities of the users. SurfsharkVPN itself still has no data about these activities of the users and therefore cannot and will not provide information about them. The fact that VPN Surfshark also provides transparent information, in this case, should also be seen as positive.

We continue to assume that torrent users are very safe with Surfshark.  Note: We have published more information about this in our torrent comparison article.

Deloitte confirms Surfshark’s no-logging claim

One of the largest auditing firms, Deloitte, has tested Surfshark’s no-logging policy and confirmed that Surfshark VPN does not log the actions of its users and adheres to the highest privacy standards.

Deloitte reports a positive result

“Working in an industry that highly relies on trust and transparency, we understand that it takes more than just words to validate our efforts. The positive result from Deloitte’s no-logs assurance report provides factual evidence to our users and future customers that Surfshark operates on the highest privacy and quality standards,” says Justas Pukys, VPN Product Owner at Surfshark.

How the audit went

Deloitte examined Surfshark’s server configuration and deployment process, reviewed the company’s privacy policy with the capabilities and actual use of configuration management system roles related to VPN infrastructure, VPN server configuration, API (VPN infrastructure-related Infra micro-service servers), SDN (software-defined network), and conducted interviews with responsible personnel.

The stated policy is in line with reality

“Based on the procedures performed and the evidence obtained, in our opinion, the configuration of IT systems and management of the supporting IT operations is properly prepared, in all material respects, by Surfshark’s description of its no-logs policy,” the report concludes.

Surfshark VPN promises not to stop there and will continue to conduct various audits to obtain independent verification of its security and privacy measures.

Streaming with Surfshark

Download & Torrent with Surfshark

Use a VPN router

Applications and apps from Surfshark

In just a few months, the provider has created apps and software for all devices and also very good illustrated instructions for external devices such as routers. This is very remarkable because the quality and handling of the apps have also been significantly simplified in the meantime. The apps offer good to even excellent level of security-related functions. Install Surfshark VPN.

Different platforms and operating systems

Surfshark Android TV

Surfshark FireTV

The implementation of Surfshark for Fire TV sticks has also been particularly successful. The application can be found in the Amazon Appstore and offers almost the same range of functions as the applications for Android. For example, you can also define there that only certain other apps should use the VPN connection and others not. This is ideal because you often use Fire TV with different streaming services and may not want to use Surfshark with each one.

Surfshark SmartTV (with Smart DNS)

Surfshark’s SmartDNS function is also very special, as it allows you to use devices on which you cannot install VPN applications. The function is intended to make content that is otherwise blocked by geographical barriers available on the SmartTV device.

Surfshark SmartDNS geht mit allen Geräten wie Samsung TV, LG TV, Apple TV und vielen anderen Streaming Geräten ohne Probleme! Man braucht nicht immer einen VPN Router um geografische Streaming Sperren umgehen zu können!

Online Games with SurfsharkVPN

Travel with Surfshark

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Surfshark functions and technology

Surfshark’s range of functions has grown unbelievably since we were able to test the provider for the first time. At present, from our point of view, this is already almost no longer entirely perceptible, the many advanced features have become too extensive and thus almost confusing. However, we will try to briefly present the most important functions in the following:

Private DNS: own DNS servers

Almost as important as logfile-free VPN servers are the DNS servers located directly on the servers. This means that DNS queries are requested and processed locally on the server itself and are subject to the same protocol-free conditions as the data transmission itself. We were able to technically verify this circumstance ourselves and can therefore also confirm this.

The new Dynamic MultiHop

The new Dynamic MultiHop will give you full connectivity, better security and improved speed. This is because you will be able to create server pairs with the servers that work best for you. The options for your unique server pairs are almost limitless.

Ram Disk Server

The servers are not operated via the conventional hard disks, but within a virtual environment that is operated in the temporary memory of the servers. The advantage of this is that if the server is restarted, or simply if there is a power failure, all data that has ever been used on it is deleted. An assumed legal “seizure” of a server, therefore, does not lead to access to data, for example.

Surfshark product suite

In addition to the popular VPN service, Surfshark has something else to offer you.

Surfshark Search™

Surfshark Search allows you to search the internet without a search engine being able to track your activities or assign them to a user.

Surfshark Alert™

This service, which has only recently become available, allows personal data to be searched for known publications on the Internet. New searches for data leaks that have an impact on personal data are also carried out on an ongoing basis and users are actively informed about them.

“Surfshark One”

Virus protection and malware scanner directly in one Surfshark application. The optional SurfsharkOne service protects all devices against viruses at a truly excellent price. The virus scanners used are from Avira, which are highly efficient and up-to-date. “Surfshark One” is an optional function that must be ordered separately!

Incogni

It requests data brokers on your behalf to delete the data stored about you, helping you to free yourself from the clutches of internet marketing while preserving your right to privacy.

Customer support Surfshark VPN

Customer service is of course very important even if everything is simple and done in different languages.

Customer service gives direct feedback to other departments

Among other things, this is so that problems are also communicated to the service department quite quickly via service requests. Customer service is therefore not only important for solving problems for individual users but is crucial for the service quality of the entire service.

100% own staff / 24 hours a day

Surfshark VPN has also understood this and therefore offers its customer service, the employees sit directly at Surfshark’s office and can therefore also communicate with all other departments quickly and over short distances. Therefore, solutions to problems are usually found faster than users notice.

 

Alternatives to Surf shark VPN

Although there are many providers on the market, it is not so easy to find a comparable service. Alternatives should be on par with Surfshark in terms of price and features. However, we would describe the following VPN providers as viable alternatives to Surfshark, even though they offer a slightly different range of functions:

Erstellt am: 5. July 2022