Is CactusVPN Safe? - VPNTrends.com

Based in Moldova, CactusVPN is a virtual private network service that provides secure connections through a global network of servers. The VPN has high-quality features and a user-friendly interface. They use OpenVPN for stronger encryption and have a number of excellent security features including DNS leak protection and a kill switch.

So, is CactusVPN safe for anonymous internet connection?

Let’s look at some of CactusVPN’s key features to gauge the level of security provided by this VPN.

Table of Contents

No-Logs Privacy Policy

One of the best security features of CactusVPN is its no-logs policy. The VPN provider doesn’t collect or store your IP addresses, connection timestamps, traffic logs, session duration, or used bandwidth. You don’t have to worry about your online activities data being handed to any third party when you use CactusVPN.

However, the VPN company also states that they may send your data to third parties if you give them consent to or if they receive a request for the information from authorities. This means that they can disclose whatever information they have on you to law enforcement agencies if requested.

To ensure that you are sufficiently protected from government authorities, the VPN provider doesn’t keep any personal information about you or your online activities so there would be nothing to provide to any legal authority when they receive any form of a warrant or court order.

Solid Encryption

CactusVPN has a strong encryption standard on its Android and Windows VPN apps. However, it’s not the best encryption available today. They use OpenVPN together with AES-256-CBC, SHA256 HMAC authentication, and RSA-2048 handshake.

On Mac and iPhone, their VPN clients can only support IKEv2 encryption rather than OpenVPN, which is recognized as the best encryption protocol today.

Country of Jurisdiction

CactusVPN has its headquarters in Moldova, which is a country that doesn’t belong to any of the 5-Eyes or 14-Eyes Surveillance Alliance groups. Moldovans cannot be subjected to mass government surveillance by agencies from other countries. CactusVPN may be a comparatively smaller VPN provider but it focuses on providing secure connections while upholding the value of its customers’ privacy.

DNS Leak Protection

All CactusVPN apps have DNS leak protection. This feature is disabled by default but you can toggle it all easily from the settings screen. The VPN uses private DNS servers so you can be sure that Google and other third parties will not see your DNS requests. The VPN does not provide protection against IPv6 and WebRTC leaks but recommends that you disable both options completely.

Kill Switch

CactusVPN does not offer protection against WebRTC and IPv6 leaks but instead has a kill switch feature in all their desktop apps. The kill switch disconnects you from the Internet if, for any reason, your VPN connection drops.

This helps to keep your IP secure when the VPN suddenly becomes inactive. You can disable the kill switch if you wish from the settings screen of the app. They also have an App Killer feature which allows you to choose and close specific apps if the VPN connection suddenly drops.

The Most Secure Alternatives

CactusVPN is a safe VPN service with good jurisdiction (Moldova) and no logging policy. They allow p2p, do not impose data caps, and even provide an app-specific kill switch which is great for people who torrent. However, it has some drawbacks such as small server network, slow connection speed and no Netflix support. If you are looking for a more versatile and secure VPN, you may need to look at the following alternatives: