Kaspersky VPN Secure Connection Review

Here’s a table summarizing the information that Kaspersky VPN Secure Connection logs:

Some of the data Kaspersky VPN logs can help with the running of the VPN network, and to provide users with statistics on their VPN usage.

For instance, you can view your data usage by day, the locations you have connected to, and the timestamps of when you connected and disconnected.

However, most of the data Kaspersky VPN collects ultimately erodes your internet privacy. The reality is many VPNs operate more effectively and without requiring all this data.

What’s even more concerning is that there is no mention of how long Kaspersky retains this data.

If you are based in the EU, in line with GDPR legislation, Kaspersky will delete all your data but only when you delete your account.

Concerning Ownership & Privacy-Unfriendly Jurisdiction

Kaspersky VPN Secure Connection is owned by Kaspersky Lab, which was founded in 1997 and is still being run by Eugene Kaspersky.

In recent years Eugene Kaspersky has come under fire for alleged connections to the Russian government.

These allegations are concerning, because the Russian government doesn’t allow for a free and open internet.

What is certain is that Kaspersky was the only major VPN service not to pull its servers out of Russia following Russia’s new laws against VPNs.

The contents of Kaspersky VPN’s privacy policy is therefore critical. Anything data the software keeps may be subject to surveillance from the Russian government.

Kaspersky VPN Secure Connection performed keeps performing extremely well in our speed tests.

Since we last reviewed Kaspersky VPN Secure Connection, the VPN’s speed performance has further improved.

Here’s a table showing Kaspersky’s speed test results:

We experienced a 8% speed reduction when connecting to nearby servers. Although this isn’t as fast as the leading VPNs, it’s still an impressive result.

Kaspersky’s speeds are more than fast enough for data-intensive tasks, including: online gaming, torrenting, and 4K streaming.

Connections were also very stable, and never dropped out during out tests.

The international speeds above are exceptional. Not even top VPNs like ExpressVPN and Private Internet Access can match these results.

To demonstrate this more clearly, we’ve compared Kaspersky’s international speeds to the very best VPNs in the chart below:

The VPN service uses Hotspot Shield’s very fast Hydra protocol, which in part explains the impressive speeds above.

However, Kaspersky VPN’s latency (ping) suffered over longer distances, though. This means online gamers should avoid using this service, unless they’re connecting to a nearby VPN server.

Here’s a list of popular streaming platforms that Kaspersky VPN currently unblocks:

If you’re looking to stream HD video, Kaspersky VPN Secure Connection certainly has the speeds for it.

The VPN’s streaming capabilities are a mixed bag. The service works with some popular content platforms, but not with others.

In our latest streaming tests, the VPN unblocked popular platforms like Disney+, HBO Max, and Amazon Prime Video.

The VPN also worked with British TV services like BBC iPlayer, All 4 and ITVHub. We were surprised Kaspersky VPN unblocked BBC iPlayer – many VPNs fail to achieve this.

However, we couldn’t stream Hulu or any Netflix region. Kaspersky VPN used to occasionally unblock Netflix USA, however it hasn’t done so in recent tests.

Here’s a quick summary of how Kaspersky VPN performed in our torrenting tests.

Kaspersky VPN allows P2P traffic on all its 2,000 servers.

When we tested the VPN for torrenting, we recorded very fast torrent speeds, found no IP or DNS leaks, and verified the kill switch works effectively.

Despite the positives we’ve identified above, Kaspersky’s is not a good VPN for torrenting.

The issue we have with the VPN service is its over-the-top logging practices.

Sadly, the VPN logs too much activity and device data, which could reveal a file-sharer’s identity if it landed in the wrong hands.

It would therefore be risky for a torrenter to use Kaspersky VPN to download or upload torrent files.

Kaspersky VPN has never worked in our China VPN tests, using our test server in Shanghai.

This isn’t surprising at all, since the VPN uses Hotspot Shield’s Hydra protocol, which doesn’t work in China.

Kaspersky even admits its VPN can’t be installed in the following countries due to legal limitations:

• Belarus
• China
• Iran
• Oman
• Pakistan
• Qatar
• Saudi Arabia

Kaspersky VPN does work in Russia, though, since it complies with Russia’s new censorship legislation.

The company is Russian, after all, and still operates VPN servers in the country. We therefore assume that it’s allowing Russian authorities to check server logs.

It’s very bad for a VPN to agree to actively facilitate censorship. It’s in fact one of the worst things a VPN could do, which is why we don’t recommend using Kaspersky VPN in Russia.

As we’ve mentioned before in this Kaspersky VPN review, the service uses Hotspot Shield’s proprietary Hydra VPN protocol.

Hotspot Shield states that Hydra VPN is based on TLS 1.2, uses 128-bit AES encryption, 2048-bit RSA certificates for server authentication, and includes perfect forward secrecy (PFS).

While we would prefer Kaspersky VPN to use either OpenVPN or WireGuard, Hydra VPN is in our experience a secure-enough choice of protocol.

Kaspersky VPN also passed our IP and DNS leak tests. The screenshot below shows us connecting to a Ukrainian server:

Kaspersky passed all of our leak tests.

Unfortunately, the VPN’s applications lack many advanced security features we expect to see. This is disappointing.

Just about the only option available through the Settings menu is toggling off Kaspersky’s additional data collection, which we absolutely recommend doing.

Kaspersky’s settings menu.

At the very least, there is a VPN kill switch that worked well in our security tests. This tool prevents your IP address from leaking during sudden VPN connection drops.

The desktop application also includes a setting to automatically connect to the VPN when you join an insecure WiFi network.

Our experience using Kaspersky VPN’s customer support was disappointing. Sadly, it just isn’t up to scratch with the leading VPN service providers.

The main downside is that there is no live chat support. Instead, you have to rely on online resources, or a slow ticketing system.

The VPN’s online customer support resources are comprehensive, but difficult to find and navigate. In many cases we found them more confusing than helpful.

If you send a query via the ticketing system, it generally takes at least a day to receive a reply. On one occasion we were even told to call an operator instead.