VPN Blog

Good news for our iOS users – you no longer need to switch login screens to separately use our Smart DNS and VPN services.

Even better – you won’t need to use two different login credentials: your Smart DNS key and the VPN username and password.

We updated the iPhone & iPad apps, and there’s now just one single sign-in screen. To log in, you’ll only need the email address you use on your CactusVPN account, and the account’s password. Once you type those in, you can use and switch between services.

With nearly two million people using it, the Tor network is one of the most popular ways to anonymize your online browsing right now.

But you got to wonder – is Tor safe, actually?

VPNs are a great way to protect your Internet traffic and privacy from government surveillance, ISP snooping, and nosy hackers.

But did you know you can also expose yourself to VPN security risks if you’re not careful?

Here’s all you need to know about that.

VPNs are extremely useful. They make the web much more enjoyable, safer, and convenient.

But when you consider all of that, you probably wonder – “Should I leave my VPN on all the time?”

Well, there are specific situations when it’s a good idea to do that. If you want to learn more about them, keep reading.

Web browsers are easy to understand. You download them, install them, and bam – you can access the web with one click.

There’s just one problem – with so many options to choose from, how do you know which one is the most secure browser?

That can be a tough question to answer, and researching it can be exhausting. That’s why we put together this article to give you an idea of what the best browser for privacy might be for you.

When people think of incognito mode, they automatically associate it with being able to browse the web anonymously.

But is that really true? Is incognito mode safe, and can it actually offer you top-notch privacy?

We’re going to cover everything you need to know in this quick article.

Privacy is more important than ever nowadays – especially on the Internet. In fact, you’ll hear tons of people and read dozens of articles talking about how vital it is to hide your IP address when you’re online.

But what can someone do with your IP address, actually?

iPhones are pretty versatile and secure, and they’re convenient to use whenever you want to browse the web – at home, at work, or on the go.

But you’re probably asking yourself: “Do I need a VPN on my iPhone to enjoy an even better online experience?”

The quick answer is a resounding “Yes.” If you want to know why, read on.

VPN not working? Worried you can no longer protect your Internet privacy and bypass unfair restrictions?

No problem – here’s a list of VPN troubleshooting tips that might help you solve the problems you’re dealing with.

Joining the military can be a life-changing experience, but it also means spending long periods of time away from your lover, friends, and family, and not being able to browse the Internet without dealing with cyber security threats and content restrictions.

While there are plenty of online resources on how to deal with separation from those close to you, there isn’t enough info on how to solve the second issue.

No need to worry, though – we’ll show you how to use a military VPN to enjoy the web like everyone else.

Torrenting traffic used to be declining, but not anymore. It seems more and more online users have turned to BitTorrent traffic to escape the shackles of overpriced streaming platforms and exclusive content.

That’s pretty understandable. But if you’re one of those Internet users, you should learn how to torrent anonymously to make sure you don’t end up in any trouble.

If you’re not sure where to start, don’t worry – here’s everything you need to know about anonymous torrenting.

The UK entertainment scene is simply wonderful. You have tons of memorable, popular, and fun to watch shows like “EastEnders,”“Fawlty Towers,”“The Office,” and “Blue Peter.” Unfortunately, you can only enjoy most of that content on websites only available in UK.

If you are outside the country, tough luck – that seems to be the way content providers approach this topic.

Well, no longer. We’ll show you a list of UK-only websites, discuss why you can’t access them, and offer you easy ways to unblock them.

We’re happy to let all our Android users know that we’ve just rolled out a new update for our Android app. Now, you’ll have a single sign-in screen where you only need to use your CactusVPN website account email address and password to log in. Once you do that, you’ll have direct access to our VPN and Smart DNS services.

CactusVPN is proud to announce its partnership with Emsisoft, an award-winning anti-malware and antivirus software solution. While the partnership is temporary, we hope we’ll both be able to help our users enjoy a much safer Internet browsing experience.

We’ve listened to the suggestions our users have offered, and we’re happy to let everyone know that we have added a new location to our VPN server list – a Latvia VPN option.

We’re happy to announce that you’ll now be able to hide your IP and get rid of geo-blocks with CactusVPN’s proxy servers straight from your Firefox browser without having to manually configure any settings in your browser anymore.

VPNs are more popular than ever nowadays, but – despite that – there are still plenty of people who don’t know what such a service can offer them. Well, we’re going to be discussing the real benefits and disadvantages of VPN services in this article, so that you’ll have an easier time deciding if they are right for you or not.

We’re happy to announce that you’ll now be able to hide your IP and get rid of geo-blocks with CactusVPN’s proxy servers straight from your Chrome browser without having to manually configure any settings in your browser anymore.

We’re happy to announce we’re launching a new and improved version of our Windows VPN client. We urge all of you to update from the current version (v5) to the new version (v6) as soon as you can, since the new VPN client version comes with many improvements that make the app significantly more convenient to use.

To update, just download the CactusVPN App v6 for Windows and install it.
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US entertainment is beyond enjoyable. The country very often offers the best when it comes to music, movies, and TV series. It’s just a shame that most of that content is only available on US-only websites – meaning that if you live outside the US, you’re out of luck and can’t enjoy it.

If this is a topic that interests you, this article will be right up your alley. We’ll be discussing why some websites are only available in USA, how you can actually unblock them, and we’ll even offer a few select examples of US-only websites, and a whole US restricted websites list as well.

When you use a VPN, Google CAPTCHA might take you by surprise. One moment you’re freely looking up things you want on Google, and the next your screen is filled with the “We’re sorry …” message.

If you’re curious why this happens when you use a VPN, we’ve got you covered. Here’s all you need to know about that.

Did you ever want to browse a website you thought would be really great but weren’t able to connect to it (even though your Internet connection was fine) or just got a message telling you the content wasn’t available in your country/region?

You’re not alone – blocked websites is something people around the world have to put up with. No worries, though – we’ll show you exactly how to unblock websites in this handy guide.

Ever wondered if a VPN slows down Internet connection speeds? It’s a pretty popular topic – in fact, many people like to claim VPNs either slow down Internet speeds or speed them up.

Well, there are a lot of things you need to consider when thinking about VPN speed – and we’ll discuss all of them in this in-depth guide. We’ll also tell you which VPN speed tests you can use to see how your connections are doing.

HTTPS vs VPN services – what’s the better option?

This is a question we got asked lots of times by our users and other people online. So, we put together this article to showcase what HTTPS and VPNs actually are as well as what sets them apart, so that people can understand why it shouldn’t be a matter of HTTPS vs VPN tech since both of them work well together.

We’re happy to say that, as of today, you can start using the IKEv2 VPN protocol on your Android devices with CactusVPN. The setup process is pretty simple, but we put together a helpful tutorial to show you all the steps you need to take. Continue reading

We’re happy to announce that, as of today, CactusVPN will be offering support for VPN over ICMP (Internet Control Message Protocol, a supporting protocol that sends error messages if a service or a host/router can’t be reached/isn’t available) and DNS (Domain Name System, which is responsible for translating domain names into IP addresses, and vice versa). Continue reading

When it comes to debating Smart DNS vs. VPNs, it’s pretty much impossible to get a clear answer regarding which one is the better option. That’s because the answer solely depends on what you want to accomplish online.

Overall, it’s easier to think of a Smart DNS and a VPN as 2 services that are both useful for particular scenarios instead of 2 services that necessarily need to compete with each other.

With this article, we hope to give you a clear picture of what a Smart DNS and a VPN are, and how they are different in their own ways. We’ll also do our best to give you a straightforward answer regarding which one you should use.

Whether you’re a British expat living in Spain, a UK citizen on vacation there, or someone from Spain who just loves UK entertainment, you probably tried at one point to view UK TV in Spain only to quickly realize you just can’t do it.

Well, we’re going to use this article to address why that happens, and to offer you an easy workaround. After all, UK entertainment is simply amazing, and there’s no reason you shouldn’t be able to enjoy it just because you’re from a different country.

Chromecast is definitely an amazing device when it comes to modern entertainment. Though, all the convenience of being to cast your mobile screen on your TV does make you wonder – how secure is Chromecast actually?

Well, while there might be some concerns, you don’t need to worry that much. Making your device more secure isn’t really difficult. In fact, we’ll show you exactly how to secure Chromecast in this 4-minute article.

Want to test VPN connections to make sure everything is running as it should but not sure where to start?

No worries – we’ve put this guide together to show you exactly what VPN tests you should run to check your connections, and how to do it as well.

Not sure if you should use a VPN for travel during your next vacation? Don’t worry – we’ll tell you everything you need to know about this.

Now, the short answer is yes, you should definitely use a VPN when traveling abroad. In case you’d like to know exactly why, just read on or use our Table of Contents links.

Ever wondered what the benefits of VPNs are? Well, we aim to answer all your questions with this thorough article.

We’ll start out by showcasing the main advantages in a clear, streamlined list. For those of you who’d like a more in-depth look at the benefits of VPN services for specific scenarios, we’ve got you covered with the rest of this article – like how a VPN can help your business, how a VPN service can make traveling more enjoyable, and other interesting stuff like that.

A lot of people like to debate the topic of “VPN vs. firewall” or “VPN vs. antivirus,” trying to promote one solution over the other. But the truth is that VPNs, firewalls, and antivirus software work best in unison, not separately.

To help you better understand why, we’ll go ahead and explain what a VPN, a firewall, and an antivirus are, and how firewalls and antivirus software are different from VPNs.

Selecting the best VPN server location can be difficult if you are new to VPNs. Even people who have been using VPNs for a while can encounter difficulties sometimes.

Well, don’t worry – we’ll go ahead and explain what things you need to keep in mind when choosing a VPN server.

The Internet is full of amazing music streaming websites and apps. Some of the most popular examples would include Pandora Radio, iHeartRadio, Amazon Music, Spotify, Apple Music, Radio.com, SoundCloud Go, Napster US, and TuneIn Radio.

It’s just a shame that – quite often – you can only enjoy what they offer after you unblocked the music sites in question.

That’s right – depending on various factors – you might not have full access to any music streaming website or app you want.

Whether you’re just going on vacation or on a business trip, it’s extremely easy to spend anywhere between a few thousand dollars up to tens of thousands of dollars per year on airline tickets nowadays – depending on how frequent you fly, and where you fly to.

Things might not be this bad if airlines wouldn’t rely on online price discrimination so much. It’s actually why many frequent travelers have started using VPNs to get cheaper flights too.

Ever wondered if there are any worthwhile benefits to using proxy servers?

Well, as a matter of fact, there are a few decent advantages (but also drawbacks) you as an online user should consider when deciding whether or not to use such a service.

We recently patched an issue with our CactusVPN Windows client’s installer package. To our knowledge, our users haven’t been directly affected by this vulnerability. Also, if you have the Windows client already installed, you don’t need to worry as you are not at risk. Continue reading

Nowadays, you can’t really enjoy a quality gaming experience when you’re online without using a gaming VPN. And while you might think that VPNs are only used to secure people’s data and privacy, the reality is that they can do much more than that.

In fact, they can make playing online a more fun experience. If you don’t believe us, just take a look at the main reasons you need a gaming VPN in the first place:

Are there any major, noteworthy differences when it comes to comparing free VPNs vs. paid VPNs? Other than the price thing, obviously. After all, they’re both VPNs, so they should be able to offer you the same experience, right?

Not quite. In fact, when you start taking a closer look at the main disadvantages that set free VPNs apart from their paid counterparts, that’s when things really start to get interesting – but not in a good way, unfortunately.

Each month, there are over 2 billion active Android devices registered by Google, making it safe to assume that there are at least 1 billion monthly active Android users (if not more) on the market. That’s 1 billion people – or more – whose personal data, online privacy, and digital freedom is in constant danger – provided they don’t bother to hide IP addresses on Android devices they own and use.

The SEO industry has been making massive gains over the past years. More individuals and businesses rely on SEO to improve their branding, social reach, and online traffic – and the money spent on SEO backs that up. Back in 2016, the US alone accounted for $65 billion being spent on SEO, with the numbers being expected to rise to around $79 billion by 2020.

Spotify is a popular music platform that lets you access thousands of songs from a multitude of artists. It also allows you to tailor-make your own playlist and let it play for hours at a time.

But what about the restrictions against this service applied by your school? Or the regional licence agreements that prohibits access to the platform? In this post, we’ll look at how to get Spotify unblocked at school or anywhere else using a VPN service.

The CactusVPN macOS app has now been updated to version 6. This means that our customers will be able to enjoy higher levels of convenience and performance across the board, with the same high levels of privacy and security. The following changes have been made: Continue reading

We’re happy to announce that users of CactusVPN will now have the ability to unblock French websites using Smart DNS and stream new content. Our service is expanding, and we’re happy to provide you with access to a huge amount of French streaming sites, covering a wide range of genres. Continue reading

CactusVPN is proud to announce that we have set up five new VPN servers in Europe and Asia. Subscribers will be able to take their pick of a huge selection of streaming content previously blocked due to geo-restrictions, while maintaining the highest levels of privacy and security. Continue reading

We know you can’t get enough of the good news from CactusVPN, so we love bringing you more and more great news! Following the improvements we made to the Android TV and Amazon Fire TV login process, we decided it was time to extend that to all Android devices. Continue reading