McAfee SafeConnect VPN Review – Is It Any Good? [2021]
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McAfee Safe Connect for Windows and other devices is a file Easy to use VPN a program. It protects your online identity by encrypting data sent to and from your home or public network and masking your actual IP address and location. This helps Block web trackersHackers, the government and your ISP will be able to intrude on your Internet activities. It also allows you to Access to content from foreign countries which are usually blocked.
There is a trial version of McAfee Safe Connect to test, and it’s compatible Windows and Chrome OS Androidand iOS. However, there is no McAfee Safe Connect Mac support.
What else does the company offer? And how to use McAfee Safe Connect? Let’s find out!
McAfee Safe Connect VPN Features
Whether you’re a McAfee Safe Connect desktop user or on the go on your mobile device, here are the features you can expect:
Safe Reconnect
When doing this McAfee Safe Connect VPN review, I discovered the extreme lack of a kill switch. However, the functionality has now been quietly implemented in the Settings tab. it’s called Safe Reconnect And it works the same way, Maintain the privacy of your site and data until it is automatically reconnected to an applicable server.
The only problem is that it It does not turn on automatically. You may easily find yourself viewing real IP and Internet requests without knowing it if you are not an experienced user and do not understand the importance of a kill switch. So, install the Safe Connect app and hit that slider right away!
For those unaware, a kill switch freezes or protects your session if you disconnect from the VPN.
Auto Connect
You can set different rules for the VPN to run automatically under Security Preferences. This includes Automatically connect over WiFi and LAN Or WiFi only. In other words, whenever your computer or mobile device connects in this way, the VPN will start protecting it.
Note, however, that you need to set this manually, as it does not work by default.
split tunneling
What displeases me is that split tunneling is a feature only available on McAfee Safe Connect for Android. You can choose programs, applications, websites or files Traffic protected type Standard feature for most VPNs. In other words, some data passes through the encrypted tunnel while others do not.
This comes in handy when you’re not worried about your privacy or don’t want to deal with the speed drops that all VPNs create.
Simultaneous connections on multiple devices
You can use McAfee Safe Connect on mobile and desktop simultaneously, in total Five devices What kind is supported. Depending on your situation, this may suit a small family or a single user who is busy with a lot of home and work appliances.
This works on a first-come, first-served basis, so you’ll need to separate one app to run on another device if you hit the limit.
McAfee Safe Connect VPN Advanced Features
Most Safe Connect Plus reviews agree that there isn’t much in the way of advanced features. This isn’t a bad thing for inexperienced users, but it would be nice to see split tunneling across devices, more control over which servers you connect to, and choice of protocols. There is, too No multi-hop or double VPN Settings, so it’s not ideal for traveling or getting around China’s impressive firewall.
McAfee Safe Connect for Google Chrome
The McAfee Safe Connect extension for Chrome is the only form of split tunneling you’ll find on Windows. This allows you Turn on the VPN only when using the browser, which leaves all other programs vulnerable. Of course, you may not use this software and just want a simple way to protect your privacy while surfing the Internet. So, this is a great feature.
TCP bypass
TCP bypass It is an advanced feature It is only accessible on Windows version. This switches from the usual UDP connection method used by OpenVPN to another supported method called TCP. While it is slower, it saves a file More stable connection This should be your last resort if the connection continues to drop.
There can be various reasons why your connection cannot process UDP. The McAfee Safe Connect app itself may be under a heavy load. However, it usually has something to do with your calling and internet provider. It might be one of those days when it’s a little choppy, or your ISP is doing maintenance.
Moreover, some ISPs are getting smart about using a VPN and can recognize it UDP connectionsDeliberately slowing speeds in an attempt to limit usage. They can’t necessarily prove that you’re using a VPN, but they can “throttle” speeds based on the type of traffic you’re using.
You may only need this option temporarily, so remember to turn it off and test things again later.
Site Picker
You can choose the location of the VPN servers that McAfee connects you to. This is useful if you want to bypass certain geo-blocks, such as unblocking Netflix or to Get better speed. As a general rule, the location closest to home should be faster, but other factors such as load from other users can affect the speed as well. As a result, sometimes it pays to play around to find the fastest current location. While McAfee claims to do it for you automatically, it doesn’t always go as planned.
McAfee Safe Connect VPN Locations and Servers
Safe Connect VPN has a small number of sites compared to other service providers. you just get 23 countries With no individual city or server selected, which is disappointing.
However, McAfee Safe Connect servers have a good distribution covering New Zealand, Japan, US, UK, India, Brazil, Hong Kong, Canada, Mexico, Australia and Singapore. across these countries 2000 servers in total, which is above average.
It also has acceptable speeds, which make up for the below average number of sites.
In short, for such a giant in the computer security industry, McAfee Safe Connect is below par when it comes to locations, but at least it has a large number of servers that should not overburden users.
McAfee Safe Connect VPN Speed
The data must travel through encrypted servers, resulting in speed drops When did you use a VPN? To test the impact of McAfee, I used SpeedTest.net to compare the speed of an unprotected Internet connection with other servers provided by McAfee. My usual UK speeds came out as follows:
When you select the United States as the location using the McAfee Safe Connect desktop, In fact, the speeds increased, which indicates that some ISP throttling may be in progress. However, the ping was more than doubled, which could be a problem with game lag if it’s much higher.
When using France as the location (near the UK), the speeds were better without much difference in the connection test at all. This reinforces the idea that McAfee can bypass ISP throttling. On the other hand, if you have a particularly fast internet, the results may not be as impressive even if your ISP has artificially slowed the speeds.
As expected, moving halfway across the world to New Zealand resulted in the largest drop in download speed worldwide 31% and nearly seven times the ping latency. Meanwhile, the upload speed remained remarkably strong – even faster without the protection of MacAfee Safe Connect.
In conclusion, McAfee produces good speeds Within average for VPNs, although there are not many sites. Moreover, in obvious cases of ISP throttling, it provides great results. I can download faster from a server in New Zealand compared to not using a VPN at all.
McAfee Safe Connect VPN Privacy & Jurisdiction
McAfee Safe Connect’s security is what you’d expect from a VPN, but their logging policy is one of the worst. The cornerstone of a VPN is its ability to keep you anonymous. Not only does he fail to mention the logging policy at all, but in the course of our McAfee VPN review, I found out that he wants Home address and phone number, and not just payment information and email address like most providers.
Furthermore, it records private information, including:
- Session times
- Your IP addresses and geographical location
- Browser type
- Sites you visited before and after running the Safe Connect app
- And the most terrible – the requests you make while using the same McAfee Safe Connect server.
This doesn’t necessarily mean handing any of this over to anyone else, but it definitely goes against the principles of a VPN. You will struggle to find another provider that collects such information.
Even more worrisome is McAfee’s US headquarters. The country is a member of the Five Eyes Alliance, which requires companies to do so Handing over data to the government if requested. Most VPNs have strict no-logs policies, so there’s nothing to hand. McAfee doesn’t seem to like the privacy of the internet.
Of course, the old saying “If you have nothing to hide, you don’t have to worry about it” may be covered. Other McAfee Safe Connect reviews suggest that it may be attractive to its current mass customer base, who are not well versed in the concept of VPNs.
On the plus side, it uses what it calls bank degree 256-bit AES encryption. This is industry standard encryption across the VPN and is also used by the military.
McAfee Safe Connect VPN Protocols and Security
McAfee Safe Connect for PC and mobile uses a file Hydra . Catapult Protocol To encrypt and manage your private connection. This has been criticized because it is not as open source as OpenVPN and has security holes in the past.
Catapult Hydra is a proprietary protocol of Hotspot Shield, developed by AnchorFree. It is worth noting that this protocol Not compatible with routers and consoles.
McAfee isn’t open about the protocol, which is kind of a red flag. Another downside is that this is a file The only option availableThere are few adjustments or settings. You get what you get.
McAfee Safe Connect VPN Leak Test Results
According to McAfee, turning on protection means your ISP and others Can’t see your IP addressor DNS information or the sites you visit. I can confirm this using IPLeak.net. Clearly showing all US information, despite my real location within the UK. See the comparison below:
This proves that Safe Connect VPN works as it should.
McAfee Safe Connect VPN and Streaming Services
The McAfee Safe Connect Netflix scores aren’t quite on the same page. In the past, other McAfee Safe Connect reviews have avoided the service for failing entirely to unlock international versions of the streaming service.
While things have improved since then, I can still find Netflix conflict. Sometimes it will work fine. Other times, I found out I was using a VPN and stopped it in its tracks. The same thing happens with Disney+ and Amazon Prime. This does not say much about the reliability of the servers and how the applications were developed.
if you call, Speed is not a problem. But it’s a bit of trial and error, and it’s not fun if you want to unwind after a long day and watch some international shows.
youtube has no problems, But it’s not a particularly popular service when it comes to geo-restrictions on content in the first place. Moreover, every VPN can handle YouTube because there is very little protection on its end.
How good is McAfee Safe Connect VPN for torrenting?
McAfee Safe Connect torrenting and other P2P sharing is possible. You should be able to launch your favorite P2P . Application and receive Reasonable speeds, including when downloading, as long as you are securely connected. With the addition of a kill switch, even if there is uncertainty about their general privacy policies, which you can read below.
Can McAfee Safe Connect VPN Bypass Geoblocks?
We have to make it clear that VPN McAfee promotes itself as having absolutely no geo-restrictions. We have already seen that this is not always the case broadcasting services. However, it unblocks the swamp…
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