A VPN is all well and good, but what if you could reap all the benefits of a VPN without having to download an additional software on your system, or logging in everytime you wish to connect? That’s what the Surfshark VPN extension aims at solving.
Digital anonymity and privacy have gone to their graves in the 21st century, every E-mail you write, every chat message, every video you watch and every site you ever click on is being recorded, monitored and most of the time can be linked back to you.
That’s where the Surfshark VPN extension comes to the rescue, in this review I’ll bring forward all the intricate details about the extension, what it is, what it does and how effectively.
What is Surfshark?
In case you aren’t yet acquainted with the tool, Surfshark VPN extension is a browser extension, which can be added to a number of browsers and operating systems.
It basically is a VPN which can be installed and used simply by adding the extension to your browsers without the need to download a complete software as is the case with general VPN software.
With Surfshark you can mask your IP address, add encryption to your general browser traffic, download torrents, access blocked websites and bypass censorships and restrictions.
Surfshark is currently available for Google Chrome, Mozilla, as well as Android devices. They’ll soon be releasing their iOS, Mac and Windows versions as well.
Surfshark VPN Extention Features
Not everyone needs the same features, some may prefer speed over security, others are fine with a slow speed but need Fort-Knox like encryption, well fortunately Surfshark seems to offer quite a few features, if they fit your needs or not is for you to decide.
1. User Interface
One of the prime benefits of it not being a software and rather just an extension is that the user-interface is extremely simple.
You simply download the extension for your browser from their official website, click on the extension icon on the browser and here’s what the screen looks like.
As you can see, there isn’t any confusion or hurdle as to how to connect to the VPN. There’s that big green button for that very purpose. It auto-selects the best location for you, or you can optionally click on “Optimal location” option to choose your preferred country.
Bottomline? Even if you’ve never used a VPN before, you’ll not get lost with Surfshark.
2. 14+ Countries, 100+ Servers
The more countries a VPN supports, the more IP addresses you get and can choose from, also the speed is effected as more countries mean more IP addresses and hence there’s no overload.
As for Surfshark it has over 100 servers in different parts of the world, along with a long list of countries which include:
- USA
- London
- Austria
- Hongkong
- Singapore
- Switzerland etc. to name just a few.
Additionally, some countries such as USA have multiple locations for you to choose from such as Dallas, New York, Los Angeles etc.
3. Security
After anonymity, the next most important feature in line is security, isn’t it? How secure is the encryption and algorithm? Very, it seems.
For starters it uses AES-256bit military grade encryption which is one of the most secure and heavily encrypted security protocols available at the moment.
Then it also is compatible with OpenVPN protocols and IKEv2 which are already popular for their unbreakable encryptions.
And finally, public hotspots being the easiest targets for hackers, via which they may gain access to your system and devices Surfshark provides guard against those too by specially encrypting your network when using WiFi.
It also has advanced features such as IPv6 leak protection which ensures that in no situation does your browser ignore the VPN and leak your DNS (which does happen if your VPN doesn’t have IPv6 leak protection) along with WebRTC protection.
4. Speed
One of the most common problems with a VPN? It reduces speed, well Surfshark doesn’t, or it does but not enough for most of us to notice.
Its servers are specially optimized for video streaming which is rare when talking of a VPN. It lets you stream Netflix, HBO Now, ESPN, Hulu, ABC etc. to name a few of its supported services.
That been said, here’s real-life data of my Internet speed before and after using Surfshark which should give you a much better and transparent idea of its speed.
As is evident, the speed is indeed reduced which is natural and expected but it’s not a nose-dive and the speed reduction wouldn’t even be noticed had I not been measuring it with Ookla.
5. Unlimited Data and Speed
Unlike other industry leaders which limit or cap your bandwidth or speed after a certain amount of data has been used, Surfshark has no such strings attached.
You can use the VPN as much as you want and need without having to worry about your data-limit being reached or speed being capped.
6. Unlimited Simultaneous Connections
It’s probably the only VPN I’ve ever seen which provides for unlimited simultaneous connections, meaning once you purchase any Surfshark plan, it protects as many devices for you as you want without any additional purchases.
So, you can protect all of your devices (computers, cell phones, tabs etc) and that of your family and friends’ with one single account.
7. No Logs Policy
I wouldn’t scribble this Surfshark review down if it didn’t have the no logs policy, for me personally any VPN which stores log is never a good option, well fortunately Surfshark doesn’t.
So which IP address you connect from, or connect to, how much bandwidth you use, which websites you visit or any other such log isn’t recorded or stored with the company, it truly is anonymous.
8. 24/7 Customer Support
There aren’t many “browser extensions” out there with as good a support team as Surfshark! They can be reached by submitting a ticket, E-mails, as well as live-chats.
I tested out their live-chat and it took less than 1 minute for one of their reps to connect to me and help me out with my query. Also, they reply to E-mails within 24 hours at best which I believe is commendable.
Surfshark Pricing
Okay so finally let’s talk about the Elephant in the room, if it’s so feature-rich, it also probably will be pocket-breaking, right? Not quite. In fact, it costs less than what we spend on our monthly coffee (literally).
Surfshark has three plans:
- 1 Month: $5.89/month.
- 6 Months: $4.95/month.
- 12 Months: $3.95/month.
The pricing is at par with what other VPNs are charging, in fact I’ve paid as high as $7/month for a VPN with much lesser features, so in a nutshell it’s affordable and reasonably balanced with its pricing.
Final Words
So that’s a wrap as far as this Surfshark VPN extension review goes folks. My final verdict is if you need a lightweight solution to your privacy and anonymity on the web, it surely is worth a try.
Oh and their 30-day moneyback guarantee makes sure you aren’t losing anything in case things don’t work out for you, so the least you can do is go check them out for yourselves and form an opinion of your own.
But anyway, do let me know what you think of this Surfshark VPN extension review, as well as the tool in general in the comments.
