IPVanish Secure Browser is a new security tool that the company has developed to bolster its already formidable VPN. It is available to customers who opt for its new Advanced Plan, which gives users access to its unlimited-use VPN and Livedrive Cloud Storage service.
The Secure Browser is a useful tool that allows you to browse the web in a sandboxed environment. This makes your searches invisible to local networks and your ISP, and your device is protected from any malicious sites you might encounter. This makes it perfect when surfing sites that you are worried might contain malware.
The idea of a sandboxed browser isn’t necessarily new. Browser isolation and cloud-based sandboxes have been used in enterprise security for some time. However, providing this kind of service to consumers as part of a VPN is very interesting because it gives a lot of value to users who want that extra layer of protection while browsing.
In this guide, we test the new browser to see how easy it is to access and use.
What are the main advantages of IPVanish Secure Browser?
Paying for an IPVanish Advanced account will instantly allow you to load an internet browser not hosted on your local machine. This means that all your browsing is being carried out remotely.
The server hosting the browser lets you interact with the Internet without downloading web traffic to your machine. This is similar to using remote control software such as Team Viewer or AnyDesk to use another PC remotely. However, with IPVanish Secure Browser, you will use the Secure Browser hosted on IPVanish’s servers.
Below, we have included some of the advantages of using this secure, cloud-based browser:
- Blocks malware, spyware, viruses, harmful links, and malicious downloads
- Prevents session tracking, cookies, targeting, and digital device fingerprinting
- Stops ISPs, advertisers, and others from seeing your browser activity
- Adds a layer of protection if you’re using a computer or device that doesn’t belong to you
How much does IPVanish Secure Browser cost?
The new IPVanish Advanced plan makes it cheap to access a VPN with cloud storage and a Secure Browser. We have agreed on an exclusive deal for our readers that reduces the monthly rate from $14.99 to $8.99.
This is an amazing deal for anybody in need of a monthly VPN. The price is locked in until you decide to cancel your account, so you can keep saving $6 every month for life if you want to.
The advantage of a monthly plan is that you can cancel anytime. This is why most of our readers prefer to pay a bit more for a monthly VPN rather than shell out for a one—or two-year subscription.
Longer Plans – Bigger Discounts
Of course, if you become so impressed with IPVanish that you decide to commit long-term, you can always switch to a two-year plan to make even bigger savings.
A two-year plan costs $78.96, equivalent to just $3.29 per month. This is impressive, considering it has an unlimited-use VPN, a Secure Browser, and a terabyte of secure cloud storage.
If committing for two years feels too long, you can opt for a one-year plan instead. This will set you back the equivalent of $4.49 per month (payable in a single installment of $53.88).
This is still excellent value if you need the extras it comes with (particularly 1 terabyte of cloud storage, which is priced extremely competitively). Consider, for example, that with Google Cloud, 2 terabytes of storage costs $10 per month.
This means you pay less per terabyte to store data with IPVanish and get a VPN and Secure Browser for free. When you consider this, opting for IPVanish Advanced becomes a no-brainer.
Ease of Use
Once you have paid for your IPVanish subscription, accessing the Secure Browser is extremely easy. Simply log in via: securebrowser.ipvanish.com, and once inside the member’s area, click on Secure Browser on the left-hand side.
Next, you will see the screen where you can launch the browser in the cloud. Click the orange button that says Access Secure Browser to get started. There are also extensions for Chrome, Firefox and Edge, making it even easier to spin up your secure environment.
Once it has launched, you can monitor how long you have left at the top. Each user gets 30 hours of secure browsing each month, enough to watch around 15 movies and plenty of time for secure browsing in countries where making some searches might raise suspicions or get you in trouble.
Now, you can start surfing the web via the sandboxed browsing environment.
If you want to visit a specific website, enter the URL directly into the search bar to get started. If you need to search, enter the URL for Google into the search bar. Click the Browse button, and Google will launch.
Overall, we found setting up the Secure Browser extremely user-friendly. This makes it a fantastic option for beginners wanting to combine the use of a VPN with an additional tool that keeps all browsing activities hidden.
Why use IPVanish Secure Browser?
The internet is jam-packed with malicious links, and if you click one, your device could become infected with malware, spyware, or viruses. This danger is heightened around the holiday season when consumers are hunting online for bargains. For example, Black Friday scams are notorious for costing Americans millions of dollars.
The most important thing is always being aware of the sites you visit. Consider the URL you are visiting, and if it looks suspicious, close the tab and ensure you access the legitimate version of a website.
Of course, even the most conscientious internet user may click on a bad link from time to time. There is plenty of evidence to show that some of the adverts appearing at the top of Google are scams. This makes it easy to end up on a dodgy site that could infect your spyware or some other malware variants.
So, what can you do? Unfortunately, using incognito mode or private browsing won’t cut it. This feature is only designed to keep your activity hidden from others on your device. They don’t block malicious websites or protect you from malware.
Use a VPN
The most important step for added security and privacy online is to use a VPN like IPVanish. A VPN encrypts your internet traffic and masks your IP address, removing a pervasive layer of tracking online. It hides your IP address from the websites you visit and stops your ISP from knowing which websites you visit.
Use IPVanish Secure Browser for an added layer of protection
For anybody who wants to level up your protection, IPVanish now has a powerful new option. The Secure Browser can be used alongside the VPN to help you stay even safer online.
Using the IPVanish Secure Browser will hide your searches from ISPs and search providers like Google.
When you make a search via the IPVanish browser, Google cannot track your IP address and cannot attribute your swatches to your Google account or profile. This is perfect if you want to search for a medical condition without it being added to your profile (which could affect your privacy and even the cost of medical insurance).
Avoid censorship without repercussions
For people living in countries where websites and services are restricted, browsing using the IPVanish Secure Browser adds another layer of privacy to your activities. Along with using a VPN to encrypt your traffic, you can use the browser to make sensitive searches in the cloud.
This makes it impossible for your ISP to know which websites you visit. This is perfect for people who want to escape censorship but want to read foreign news sites without potentially getting in trouble.
How does IPVanish Secure Browser work?
The IPVanish Secure Bowser is an easy-to-use tool that operates entirely in the cloud. It creates a temporary, virtual browsing environment that safely contains all browsing activities.
Using this ‘cloud sandbox,’ you can freely explore the web without worrying about dangerous websites. The data will not be transmitted to your machine if you accidentally click a risky link. Instead, the data is processed by IPVanish. Even if you visit a website that contains a dangerous popup or malware, IPVanish Secure Browser protects you.
IPVanish Secure Browser also wipes out tracking, cookies, targeted ads, and digital fingerprinting, ensuring your sessions remain private. These benefits are extremely useful when you want to surf the web carefree and safe in the knowledge that nobody knows what you’re doing.
Some examples of when to use IPVanish include:
- Public wifi: When on a public wifi network, such as in a coffee shop or airport, IPVanish Secure Browser ensures your browsing remains private. Remember to use a VPN for open networks to protect all your device traffic and apps.
- Accessing sensitive information: Whether checking your bank account or accessing personal records, IPVanish Secure Browser adds an extra layer of security.
- Stop local networks tracking your web visits: Are you Worried about the local wifi network using network analysis or router logs to track you? You can use a Secure Browser alongside a VPN to keep your browsing activities confidential.
- Avoiding ad trackers: Use the browser when you want to shop online without being followed by targeted ads or tracked by marketers. IPVanish Secure Browser blocks cookies and trackers from being attached to your browser.
- Exploring unfamiliar websites: If you visit unknown or lesser-known sites that might carry security risks, IPVanish Secure Browser protects you. It prevents malware or other threats from affecting your device.
- Bypassing geo-restrictions: If you want to browse international websites without leaving a trail, IPVanish Secure Browser allows you to access content worldwide while preserving your anonymity.
- Getting around censorship: If you live in a country that implements many blocks and censorship, you can use IPVanish Secure Browser. Not only will it help you bypass blocks, but it will also prevent local networks and ISPs from knowing that you visited that content.
How does IPVanish Secure Browser perform?
In our tests, the IPVanish Secure Browser worked as advertised, allowing us to search the web in a sandboxed environment. However, it currently has a few pitfalls that are worth considering. Due to how it works, HD streaming isn’t a great experience. Our tests revealed a sharp drop in quality when watching 4K video. Note, this isn’t a flaw – the service has been created specifically for ‘secure browsing’ (the clue being in the name), not for HD streaming. If you want to stream content, your best bet is to fall back to the included VPN and do things the old-fashioned way.
It is also worth noting that the IPVanish Secure Browser causes Google and other services with strong bot protection to serve a lot of captchas. This means you often need to complete a Captcha each time you launch the Secure Browser and start a search. This is a touch frustrating.
Pop-up windows
We also had some trouble when visiting websites containing many popups. When using a regular browser like Chrome, popup pages open in a new tab. When this happens, you close the tab and return to the first tab to continue browsing.
Unfortunately, the IPVanish Secure Browser does not support multiple tabs. Instead, the pop-up page opens in the same tab, and you cannot click back to return to the previous page.
Beware the timer
Another important caveat is that you need to be wary of leaving a session open. Your countdown begins as soon as you launch a session and visit a website in the Secure Browser tab. The counter will continue if you launch a session and forget to close the tab. This means you will use up more of your 30-hour monthly allowance.
This means you must close the IPVanish tab (in your regular browser) as soon as you have finished using Secure Browser. If you leave it open, even inactive, you will eat into your monthly allowance.
I didn’t realize this initially and accidentally left the tab open while working. When I went back on Secure Browser, my time ran down by a few hours, even though I had only actually used it for around 20 minutes.
Should I opt for IPVanish Advanced plan?
Whether you decide to go for IPVanish Advanced over the IPVanish Essential plan depends on whether you need the additional features. We think paying such a small amount extra for 1 TB of secure cloud storage is worth it. Having access to an innovative feature like Secure Browser is just icing on the cake.
We did experience a few issues when using the Secure Bowser. However, this is a brand-new product and something no other provider is currently doing. It’s refreshing to see a VPN provider innovating in a market that has become quite same samey in terms of the features on offer. We expect IPVanish to iron out any kinks over time. Our verdict?
Anybody needing a reliable VPN and cloud storage should consider getting IPVanish Advanced. As far as we are concerned, the fact that you also get the Secure Bowser, which is probably the closest thing you’re going to get to true anonymity in an off-the-shelf product, and its threat protection feature (with ad and tracker blocking via DNS blocklists when using the VPN) really seals the deal.
IPVanish Secure Browser FAQs
What is a sandboxed environment?
A sandboxed environment is a virtual space that you can use to isolate activities without affecting the rest of the system. People use sandboxes for testing, or to carry out any activities that they think might negatively affect their machine.
In the case of IPVanish Secure Browser, the “cloud sandbox” means your browsing is conducted remotely and safely. The web browsing activities are displayed on your screen despite the fact that they are actually happening remotely. As a result, no data other than the image is being transmitted to your computer. This prevents any malware or harmful website elements (trackers, third-party scripts, etc) from affecting your device.
How does IPVanish Secure Browser differ from Incognito Mode?
Incognito or private browsing only hides your activities from others using your device, but it doesn’t protect against malicious sites or tracking from ISPs and advertisers. IPVanish Secure Browser, however, provides a higher level of protection by isolating your browsing in the cloud and blocking harmful elements.
){kind=link}