VPN Proxy Master Review: Mid-Tier VPN With DNS Leaks
VPN Proxy Master is a popular VPN service launched in 2018 by a Singaporean company called Lemon Clove PTE. Limited. With more than 150 million downloads worldwide, it definitely merits a closer look.
We tested VPN Proxy Master to discover what made it so popular. Does it offer a great price-to-value ratio? Maybe its user-friendliness trumps all other competitors. Is its security package so far ahead of modern VPN trends?
Read our full VPN Proxy Master review with extensive hands-on testing to find the answers to all these questions.
VPN Proxy Master Short Review
Pros
- AES-256 encryption
- Good speeds on nearby servers
- Acceptable logging policy
- Automatic kill switch
- User-friendly apps
- Large server network
- Split tunneling
- Torrenting is allowed
- 30-day money-back guarantee
- Crypto payments accepted
- 24/7 live chat
Cons
- DNS leaks
- Low speeds on distant servers
- Expensive
- Diffcult subscription cancellation
- Doesn't unhblock Netflix and other streaming platforms
- No dedicated IP
VPN Proxy Master was launched back in 2018 and has since amassed millions of users. It’s incorporated in Singapore, which is known for its censorship and invasive privacy laws. Fortunately, its owners have implemented a good privacy policy that guarantees minimal data logging.
VPN Proxy Master features a decent security setup with OpenVPN, AES-256 encryption, an automatic kill switch, Wi-Fi protection, and other safety tools. Notably, we’d like to see WireGuard on this list in the future as well. However, during our tests, we experienced constant DNS leaks, which is a major flaw that needs to be addressed ASAP.
The company currently offers 6,000+ servers worldwide, but they’re mostly rented from Digital Ocean and other IaaS platforms. In other words, the servers used are not as high-quality as proprietary servers operated by top-tier providers. Consequently, your speeds will go down as you move further away from your physical location.
The aforementioned DNS leaks have shattered VPN Proxy Master’s geo-unblocking capabilities, so it won’t work with Netflix and similar platforms. The current prices for the subscription plans offered are a bit too high, but the customer support team is good (not overly tech-savvy, though).
With all that in mind, we gave VPN Proxy Master an overall score of 6.3/10. This makes it a mid-tier VPN provider, which isn’t all that bad, but can we honestly recommend it? Keep reading to find out.
| 💵 Price | From $3.75 a month |
| 📱 Operating systems | Windows, Mac, iOS, Android |
| 💻 Connections | 6 |
| 💳 Payment methods | PayPal, Other, Credit card, Cryptocurrency |
| 🔒 Protocols | OpenVPN, IKEv2 |
| 📥 Torrent options | Torrenting allowed |
| 📅 Money-back guarantee | Money-back guarantee, 30 Days |
| 📋 Logs | Connection Logs |
| 🎬 Works with |
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Speed – How Fast Is VPN Proxy Master?
The fastest VPNs out there manage to encrypt your traffic without major speed drops. That’s why we test the speed of every VPN service we review. Based on our results, VPN Proxy Master gets a 7/10 for performance.
Here are the main takeaways based on our testing circuit:
- VPN Proxy Master was very fast on nearby servers.
- The day-to-day operation was smooth and lag-free.
- We experienced problems and connection issues on several servers.
Speed test results for VPN Proxy Master
For this VPN Proxy Master review, we tested its Windows app from our office in the Netherlands. We first checked our speed without a VPN and then compared it to the results we got with VPN Proxy Master’s servers.
Here are the results of our VPN Proxy Master speed test:
| Server | Download (MBPS) | Upload (MBPS) | Ping (MS) |
|---|---|---|---|
| No VPN | 94.47 | 94.39 | 3 |
| Fastest Server (Germany) | 91.99 | 90.68 | 20 |
| Netherlands (Amsterdam) | 91.3 | 91.02 | 25 |
| Germany (Frankfurt) | 91.42 | 90.62 | 11 |
| United Kingdom (London) | 91.83 | 90.52 | 19 |
| United States (North Bergen) | 55.33 | 89.71 | 89 |
| United States (Los Angeles) | 33.72 | 85.92 | 168 |
| Canada (Toronto) | 70.68 | 81.59 | 96 |
| Brazil (Sao Paulo) | 23.18 | 15.21 | 192 |
| South Africa (Johannesburg) | 22.56 | 48.33 | 350 |
| Australia (Sidney) | 16.08 | 83.26 | 547 |
As you can see, VPN Proxy Master performed quite well on nearby servers. We were glad to see that the German server recommended to us was actually the fastest one. The pings were acceptable, and the connection times ranged from 5 to 12 seconds.
As we moved away from the Netherlands, though, the speeds started dropping, and the pings went up. VPN Proxy Master managed to retain only 17.02% of our speed in Australia with an outrageous ping. The results in Los Angeles, Brazil, and South Africa were underwhelming as well. Moreover, the connection times on these servers skyrocketed to 30+ seconds. If you need lightning-fast performance in these countries, we recommend going with Surfshark instead.
We also experienced some problems during our speed testing:
- Japan: We were unable to connect to any servers in Japan.
- Montreal: Our IP Checker was still showing our Dutch IP.
- Johannesburg: This is probably a virtual server from Hong Kong, but we also got a Hong Kongese IP.
VPN Proxy Master should meet your needs on servers close to you. However, if you want to go truly worldwide and avoid errors and IP issues, we recommend sticking with Surfshark.
Speed during daily use
On servers that were at a closer distance to us, we had no problems streaming YouTube clips and shows on Netflix. However, if your connection is not fast enough, you might experience lag when trying to connect to distant locations. Regular low-impact browsing went without a hitch, regardless of the server we were using. Note that high-security browsers might drop your speed a bit further.
During our testing for this VPN Proxy Master review, we played MTG Arena and Minecraft. Arena is not that bandwidth-hungry, so we didn’t see any lag there. Minecraft, on the other hand, lagged quite a bit when we used distant multiplayer servers. The ping values were just too high for uninterrupted gameplay. So, VPN Proxy Master is not ideal for multiplayer games on faraway servers. Instead, we recommend picking one of our fastest VPNs for gaming.
The story remains the same with torrenting. If you want snappy downloads, stick to servers closer to your location.
Safety – How Secure Is VPN Proxy Master?
The primary purpose of a VPN is to anonymize your browsing and keep you safe online. This is achieved by hiding your real IP, encrypting your online activities, and steering clear of invasive logging. With all that in mind, VPN Proxy Master gets a 5/10 for online safety.
Here’s why:
- VPN Proxy Master supports OpenVPN, IKEv2, V2Ray, and SSR protocols.
- The company implements a decent logging policy.
- VPN Proxy Master comes with an automatic kill switch.
- We experienced DNS leaks during our tests.
- We had to provide our email, country/zip code, and payment method during registration.
Protocols
Protocols supported by your VPN will determine its speed, security, and ability to bypass online censorship. VPN Proxy Master supports the following VPN Protocols:
- OpenVPN (TCP/UDP): The most popular VPN tunnel, thanks to its excellent privacy and security. The TCP connection is slower but more resilient to VPN filters and obstacles like the Chinese Firewall. UDP is faster but blocked more easily.
- IKEv2: A protocol with excellent reconnection capabilities, which makes it popular among mobile users and frequent travelers.
- V2Ray and SSR: Filler protocols you can use if OpenVPN is unavailable for whatever reason.
Naturally, we recommend using OpenVPN and steering clear of V2Ray and SSR. We don’t understand the inclusion of these protocols and haven’t seen them used in any other top-tier VPN. We’d prefer to see them replaced with WireGuard in the near future.
IKEv2 can help you switch between mobile and Wi-Fi connections without dropping your VPN protection. This makes it ideal if you’re dealing with many unsecured public Wi-Fi networks.
Security Tip!
We don’t recommend letting the client pick the protocol automatically, since it can leave you vulnerable by employing a subpar tunnel.
VPN Proxy Master uses AES-256 encryption, which is the best cipher we currently have. It’s also known as “military-grade encryption,” and institutions like banks and hospitals use it as well.
The V2Ray protocol, on the other hand, supports AES-128-CFB, AES-128-GCM, and ChaCha20-Poly1305 cipher. VPN Proxy Master doesn’t say anything about the encryption chosen for their V2Ray implementation, and we couldn’t get a clear answer from the customer support team.
Logging and privacy
VPN Proxy Master is located in Singapore, which is known for its online censorship and broadly phrased legislation. The government can compel any company to hand over the retained data without a judicial warrant. They can also instruct ISPs to monitor their users and share the obtained information. However, there’s still no mandatory data retention aimed at VPNs. ISPs and telecom operators, on the other hand, have to record user data if they want to keep their service licenses.
Although not an official member of the Eyes Alliance, Singapore is still collaborating with it. Other unofficial partners include South Korea, Japan, and Israel. Naturally, this is not good news for VPNs incorporated in Singapore.
Fortunately, if a Singaporean VPN maintains a strict no-logging policy (which they are allowed to do), there’s nothing to hand over to the authorities. In other words, VPN Proxy Master can keep its users completely safe if they refrain from any questionable logging.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at their privacy policy. VPN Proxy Master records the following:
- Data you provide: Email address (during registration) and all other info obtained through direct communication
- Diagnostic and analytic data: Versions of VPN Proxy Master apps, successful VPN connections, used VPN servers, your country, your ISP, the amount of data transferred, and anonymized data for network diagnostics (speed tests, crash reports, and connection failures)
This is a solid logging policy that doesn’t include anything that could identify you as an individual or trace your online traffic back to you. VPN Proxy Master won’t monitor or log your browsing history, traffic destinations, DNS queries, and data content. Furthermore, they’ll never collect your IP address, assigned IP, connection timestamps, and session durations.
Kill switch
A kill switch is a fail-safe that cuts your internet access the moment your VPN stops working. In other words, it’s there to prevent your IP and other sensitive info from leaking out. VPN Proxy Master comes with an automatic kill switch that blocks all internet access when you’re not connected to one of its servers.
We usually call this a permanent kill switch, which is also featured by services like Proton VPN, for example. When active, this tool doesn’t allow you to go online without VPN protection. The kill switch is disabled by default, and you’ll have to activate it manually.
We’re not huge fans of this perma kill switch-only approach since it can interfere with split tunneling. We prefer having a “regular” version as well for some added flexibility.
Does VPN Proxy Master leak your data?
During our testing, we regularly saw DNS leaks, which defeats the purpose of using a VPN. This means that your ISP can monitor your traffic. Moreover, this will also affect your ability to geo-spoof Netflix and similar platforms. For this VPN Proxy Master review, we performed our independent tests from Serbia and the Netherlands.
As you can see, some of our DNS requests were routed through the servers of our Serbian ISP. Apart from the aforementioned problems, this will also make it impossible to deal with online censorship. If you want bulletproof protection paired with excellent geo-unblocking capabilities, we recommend going with NordVPN instead.
What information does VPN Proxy Master need?
The info you’ll have to provide during registration depends on your chosen payment method. As always, we don’t recommend going with credit cards since you’ll have to state your country, zip code, and of course, credit card info. Cryptocurrencies or PayPal remain the most anonymous payment method, so you should use them if available. If you do, all you’ll have to provide is an email address.
Anonymity Tip!
You can always create a burner email without any personal identifiers. We don’t recommend using your personal or business emails to purchase VPNs or any other services.
Usability – How User-Friendly Is VPN Proxy Master?
A good VPN should also be easy to use, even for complete beginners. Having advanced options is fine, but the basic functionalities should be accessible to everyone. With that in mind, VPN Proxy Master gets an 8/10 for user-friendliness.
Here are the main takeaways:
- VPN Proxy Master’s website is fairly simple to navigate but lacks a lot of important info.
- The installation is quick and effortless.
- VPN Proxy Master apps are easy to use.
- VPN Proxy Master offers split tunneling for apps and sites.
- The prices are rather steep for what you are actually getting.
- The customer support team answers quickly, but they’re not overly tech-savvy.
VPN Proxy Master’s website and installation process
VPN Proxy Master’s website is well-designed, so you’ll have no trouble finding your way around. However, we did not appreciate the number of promotional pop-ups we were getting. The homepage was informative enough and painted a pretty good picture of their product.
After purchasing a subscription, dealing with some annoying CAPTCHAs, and logging in, you’ll gain access to your personal dashboard. Here, you can get some general info about your account, manage the connected devices, and change your password. In other words, it’s not a super-rich user space, so you’ll have to manage most of your settings through the VPN Proxy Master client.
The installation is fast and simple, but note that you can’t download the installation files through your personal dashboard. You’ll have to use the “VPN Apps” tab at the top of the homepage instead.
VPN Proxy Master has native apps for Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS. You can also set up its Smart DNS service on various smart TVs. Lastly, there’s also a secure browser extension for Chrome.
For this VPN Proxy Master review, we primarily tested its Windows client. To install the VPN provider, you must follow these steps:
- Visit VPN Proxy Master’s official website.
- Click on “My Account” in the top-right corner.
- Pick your subscription plan and payment method.
- Set up your password.
- Log in with your chosen credential.
- Download the installation file from the website.
- Click on the downloaded file to start the installation.
- Follow the instructions provided to you.
After purchase, you’ll get an email receipt from VPN Proxy Master. It may end up in your spam folder, but it doesn’t hold any relevant information anyway. You might want to hold onto it, though, as proof of purchase in case of potential problems.
During your purchase, you can choose whether you’d like to use VPN Proxy Master on six or up to 20 devices. Naturally, the prices go up if you pick the latter. Six simultaneous connections should be more than enough for most users, but it’s always nice to have extra options.
VPN Proxy Master’s appearance and ease-of-use
VPN Proxy Master’s clients are easy to navigate. They offer decent options but don’t have any super-advanced tools aimed at power users.
The main window features a prominent on/off button with a shortcut to the server list right underneath. There’s an expandable menu on the left side and a premium indicator on the top. Once you connect, you’ll also see your current location and some info about your connection and speed.
The hamburger menu in the top-left corner allows you to:
- Inspect your account
- Provide feedback
- Access the Settings menu
- Download VPN Proxy Master Android and iOS apps
- Access live chat
Oddly enough, there’s a separate button for accessing the Settings menu right underneath the hamburger icon. In the settings, you can:
- Access general settings (start on launch, auto-connect on app launch, and language)
- Enable Wi-Fi protection
- Modify your split tunneling setup
- Enable the kill switch
- Pick a VPN protocol
- Enable Smart DNS
VPN Proxy Master’s client supports 13 languages at the moment, and their website can be viewed in 11. We’d definitely like to see a wider variety of languages in the future.
Split tunneling
Split tunneling allows you to exempt trusted apps and sites from VPN protection. In other words, you can allow them to access the internet directly. For example, you can keep your uTorrent inside the VPN tunnel while letting your online banking app go around it.
VPN Proxy Master implements the so-called inclusive split tunneling. This means that you have to create a list of trusted apps and websites. Once they’re on the inclusion list, they’ll be able to bypass VPN protection.
However, we also have to mention the interaction between split tunneling and the permanent kill switch. Namely, if you activate the kill switch, you won’t be able to access the internet outside of the secure VPN tunnel. This also applies to trusted apps you have allowed to do so.
This brings us back to our talk about the benefits of having a “regular” kill switch. As it stands, you can’t use VPN Proxy Master’s kill switch and split tunneling at the same time.
Pricing and payment methods
VPN Proxy Master is not the cheapest VPN out there by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, it’s rather expensive, considering what it brings to the table. CyberGhost is a much better VPN, for example, and you can get their longest subscription for only $2.19/month. FastestVPN costs only $0.66/month, and the list goes on.
With that out of the way, here are the VPN Proxy Master’s Premium packages:
- VPN Proxy Master 24 months $3.75mth Deal View offer
- VPN Proxy Master 15 months (3 months free) $5.33mth View offer
- VPN Proxy Master 1 month $12.99mth View offer
At the moment, VPN Proxy Master accepts the following payment methods:
- Credit cards (VISA, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, and UnionPay)
- PayPal
- Cryptocurrencies (Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tether, and Lightning Bitcoin)
- Regional payment methods (QIWI, OVO, DOKU, OXXO, Alfamart, etc.)
As always, we recommend buying VPNs with crypto. If that’s not an option for you, PayPal is your second-best choice. We suggest avoiding credit cards since you’ll have to share too much private data. If you’re extremely privacy-conscious, services like Mulvad VPN accept anonymous cash payments as well.
VPN Proxy Master offers a full 30-day money-back guarantee with every purchase. This is great, as the VPN provider gives you the opportunity to claim your money back if you are not satisfied with the services provided.
Important note!
Your payment will auto-renew at the end of your subscription period. There’s no way to cancel your subscription apart from contacting VPN Proxy Master’s customer support.
Customer service
VPN Proxy Master’s customer support structure is decent but not great. The official website features a modest FAQ section and a blog with some interesting articles. However, the FAQs are rather general and, apart from setup guides, don’t have much to offer.
On the other hand, VPN Proxy Master offers a 24/7 live chat where you can contact an agent in minutes. The support team is friendly and willing to help but does not have a lot of technical know-how. In other words, they won’t be able to tackle any complicated problems you might experience. The agents also tend to skim your questions and give arbitrary, irrelevant answers, but you’ll get what you need most of the time.
Note that the live chat interface will prompt you to provide your name, which you should never do. This is completely optional, as are all other fields. You should never volunteer any private info you don’t have to. We especially advise against using your social media accounts to log into live chat. Oddly enough, even the space for your message is optional, which is just funny.
You can access the live chat through the official website or directly from your VPN Proxy Master app.
Server Network – Can VPN Proxy Master Unblock the Internet?
The bigger, the better, has always been our golden rule when it comes to server networks. A VPN with more servers can provide higher speeds, a better geo-unblocking experience, and less lag overall. With that in mind, VPN Proxy Master gets a 5/10 for its current setup.
Here are some important points to keep in mind:
- VPN Proxy Master has 6,000+ servers across 30+ countries.
- It doesn’t unblock regional versions of Netflix or any other streaming service.
- The company allows torrenting (and offers dedicated P2P servers).
- You can’t get a dedicated IP with VPN Proxy Master.
Number of servers and locations
At the moment, VPN Proxy Master operates more than 6,000 servers in 30+ countries (they claim 50 on the site, but we saw only 30+ in the client). This is an impressive server network that rivals some of the best VPNs on the market. So, we can’t exactly blame the number of servers for our poor results on distant server locations.
You can access the list of available servers by clicking the globe icon on the left side of the client.
Every server comes with a handy real-time load indicator. You can also create your list of favorites by clicking the stars next to each server. We’d also like to see ping indicators added in the future since we know how much they mean to serious gamers.
The full list of VPN Proxy Master server locations includes:
- Americas: Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Mexico, the US
- Asia and Pacific region: Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Australia, New Zealand
- Europe: Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Latvia, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Russia, Spain, Switzerland, Ukraine, UK
- Africa: South Africa
If you’re not sure about the best server for your location, you can let the VPN Proxy Master app pick one automatically. We’re glad to say that this is a rare example where the automatic choosing actually works as it should.
VPN Proxy Master and streaming (Netflix, Disney Plus, Hulu, BBC iPlayer)
As already mentioned, VPN Proxy Master is not great at geo-unblocking. This means that you will probably not have a satisfying streaming experience. With constant DNS leaks, you’ll either get a proxy error or just your local version of Netflix, for example, if you are trying to access this platform.
Here are the actual results of our streaming test:
| Platform | Can VPN Proxy Master Unblock it? |
|---|---|
| Netflix | ✖ |
| Disney Plus | ✖ |
| Hulu | ✖ |
| BBC iPlayer | ✖ |
| Amazon Prime Video | ✖ |
If you want to unblock the best streaming catalogs, we recommend going with one of our best VPNs for Netflix. These VPNs will also unblock all the other popular platforms. VPN Proxy Master simply can’t compete with these providers with its current setup.
The most unfortunate thing is the fact that VPN Proxy Master actually has servers dedicated to streaming. You can find them under the aforementioned globe icon on the left side of the app.
We tested all of these servers and saw DNS leaks on every single one. The image below shows the test results for their server dedicated to unblocking Netflix US.
If VPN Proxy Master fixes its DNS leaks and ups the count of streaming servers, we believe it could become a decent geo-unblocking tool. Unfortunately, it’s not even close at the moment.
VPN Proxy Master and torrents
VPN Proxy Master allows torrenting across the board and even has three server locations dedicated to P2P filesharing. Unfortunately, DNS leaks will make your torrenting unsafe and leave your P2P traffic unprotected.
If you want a flawless P2P experience without any lag or danger, we recommend picking one of our best VPNs for torrenting instead. In order to compete with them, VPN Proxy Master would have to eliminate DNS leaks and increase the speeds on distant servers.
Dedicated IP address
As you might imagine, VPN Proxy Master doesn’t offer any dedicated IPs. Having an IP address tied to individual accounts is very costly to maintain, and Proxy Master is a relatively small VPN provider.
If you want the benefits of a dedicated IP address, we recommend going with Private Internet Access. You’ll be able to avoid annoying CAPTCHAs and IP blacklisting by using this VPN provider.
Our Experience With VPN Proxy Master
After evaluating the information shared in this VPN Proxy Master review, we don’t believe this service has done enough to justify its popularity and pricing. Its security setup would be decent if not for DNS leaks. As it stands, we still recommend going with NordVPN for optimal security.
VPN Proxy Master’s speeds are good on nearby servers but start to drop significantly when using distant locations. Inconsistent speeds paired with DNS leaks prevent this service from mustering any geo-unblocking capabilities whatsoever. In other words, you won’t be able to unblock Netflix and similar platforms or deal with online censorship. Torrenting is also not recommended when your DNS requests are leaking out. Surfshark remains our solid favorite when it comes to raw speeds, P2P downloads, and geo-unblocking.
The apps are beginner-friendly without too many advanced features, so power users won’t find much in this VPN. Split tunneling is somewhat hampered by the company’s decision to include only a permanent kill switch. CyberGhost, for example, is just as user-friendly as VPN Proxy Master while offering much more security.
Lastly, we’re talking about a pretty costly service that does very little to justify its prices. Even the free version of Proton VPN offers better security and a wider range of options, in our opinion.
Without all these problems, VPN Proxy Master would be a solid mid-tier service. With these issues, however, we’re talking about a downright dangerous VPN. It could leave you vulnerable to online threats while dropping your connection speed for nothing. So, we recommend sticking with top-tier VPNs instead of risking your online safety with VPN Proxy Master.
Want to know more about VPN Proxy Master? Just click on one of the FAQs below and read the answer.
No, VPN Proxy Master is not entirely safe. We saw constant DNS leaks during our testing, which means your ISP and other online entities could monitor your traffic and steal your private data. The rest of its security setup is quite decent so solving this problem could actually make VPN Proxy Master a good VPN provider.
VPN Proxy Master has the potential to become a good VPN. There are some decent elements but also serious flaws like DNS leaks and inconsistent speeds. It can’t unblock geo-restricted streaming platforms or deal with any type of online censorship. With that in mind, we recommend going with one of the trusted providers from our list of the best VPNs for this year.
VPN Proxy Master is a VPN service launched in 2018 and incorporated in Singapore. It offers some decent features that are largely overshadowed by a couple of serious flaws. In spite of that, it boasts over 150 million downloads across the globe. You can learn all about this service and its features in our comprehensive VPN Proxy Master review with hands-on testing.
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