Kaspersky Secure Connection Review 2024: Is It Worth it?

Kaspersky Secure Connection Provides Amazing Speeds Even on Distant Servers

Based on my completely buffer-free streaming experience earlier, I had no doubt that Kaspersky would perform well in my subsequent speed tests. Nevertheless, I wanted to see it for myself. I tested it on nearby, midrange, and distant servers to see how much the speed would drop with distance and found that it performs exceptionally well on all three fronts.

Speed Test Results

Before I describe my speed test results, I want to tell you that I frequently travel between North America, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia. At the time I conducted this test, I was in Pakistan. This is important to know, so you have a clear idea of which servers were nearby, midrange, and distant for me.

First, I ran a speed test without connecting to the VPN. My baseline download speed was 10.86Mbps. After that, I connected to the VPN’s server in Pakistan and I got speeds of 10.82Mbps – a very small speed drop of 0.36%. That’s impressive, considering many other VPNs I’ve tried before gave me a speed drop of up to 15% on nearby servers.

Next, I tested Kaspersky’s speeds on midrange servers and connected to a server in the UAE. I got download speeds of 9.02Mbps, a 16.94% drop from my baseline. That’s not bad at all, and you can easily surf the internet and stream videos without any problem, especially if you have faster internet than mine.

Premium VPNs that provide fast speeds on short-distance and mid-range servers are common. The real test is how they perform on distant servers. I connected to a server in Chicago, US, and got download speeds of an impressive 8.95Mbps. That’s a 17.58% speed drop from my baseline and less than a 1% drop compared to the speeds I got on the midrange server.

I initially connected to a server in New York, but my IP was set to Dallas, Texas for some reason. I disconnected and reconnected multiple times, but the issue persisted. After that, I connected to Chicago and got an IP there without any problems.

Kaspersky also provides a Smart Connect feature that automatically finds the best server for your location. When I used it, I connected to a server in Sweden, which was odd since Sweden was far from my location. However, when I ran the speed test, I got download speeds of 9.45Mbps, more than what I got when connected to the midrange server.

Overall, I was thoroughly impressed by Kaspersky’s performance on my extensive speed tests. It provides little to no speed drops on nearby servers and minimal drops on distant ones, which says a lot about its superior infrastructure.

Is Kaspersky Secure Connection Fast Enough for Gaming? Yes, but only on Short-Distance Servers!

Kaspersky Secure Connection provides a superior user experience when connecting to nearby servers without any noticeable performance issues. However, using servers located far away, such as those in the United States, results in high ping rates of over 200 ms. This makes it unsuitable for playing fast-paced games like Fortnite and Apex Legends, although slower online games can still be played.

I also attempted to use Kaspersky Secure Connection for cloud gaming on PS Now and GeForce Now, but the experience was less than satisfactory due to the latency issues. The lag made controlling my character and responding to in-game actions difficult. Therefore, ExpressVPN is a better option for gamers due to its superior performance.

Server Network – Does the Job but Could Be Larger

Kaspersky has 2000+ servers spread across 70+ locations with most of them located in North America, South America, and Europe. Apart from having servers in major countries like the US, the UK, France, Australia, and Japan, Kaspersky also has servers in restrictive countries like Russia, Turkey, and the UAE.

Kaspersky uses Hotspot Shield’s server technologies but offers different features and pricing under the Kaspersky brand. These servers are spread across the world, which increases your likelihood of unblocking your home content when you’re traveling. However, I still feel a server network across 65 countries might not be enough for some users. If you want a VPN with a larger server network, you can try CyberGhost as it has over 11,670 servers in 100 countries.

Security – Provides Airtight Security

Kaspersky Secure Connection, while not boasting as many advanced security features as the leading VPNs in the market, still offers a sufficient level of protection to safeguard your data.

The security protocols include:

• Solid encryption – I dug around Kaspersky’s blog and found out that it uses AES 256-bit encryption, which is the strongest encryption out there and is used by military agencies to protect confidential data. Apart from that, Kaspersky adds an extra layer of security with Perfect Forward Secrecy. This means the keys used to encrypt and decrypt your internet traffic keep changing, so your data is almost immune to being hacked.
• Catapult Hydra and WireGuard protocol – in the Windows application settings, you have the choice between two protocols – Catapult Hydra and WireGuard. Catapult Hydra, used by Hotspot Shield and Kaspersky Secure Connection, is based on OpenVPN and uses TLS over UDP/TCP. WireGuard on the other hand boasts superior performance, speed, and reliability. Combining both protocols enhances the application’s performance, offering you the best of both worlds. However, it’s important to note that the Mac, Android, and iOS applications do not allow you to select a specific protocol.
• Kill switch – the kill switch disconnects you from the internet if the connection to the VPN drops for any reason, ensuring that you remain anonymous at all times. This ideally prevents accidental data leaks.
• Smart protection – Smart Protection concisely secures internet usage across networks, employing intelligent techniques to optimally safeguard online activities, especially on public networks, ensuring a seamless protection experience.
• Split tunneling – this feature selectively routes internet traffic through the VPN server, maintaining your regular connection for the rest. It reduces latency and offers targeted VPN protection, balancing security and performance.

In order to assess the security of Kaspersky VPN, I carried out a series of IP leak tests. Initially, I connected to a server located in Cambodia, which provided me with a Cambodian IP address. Next, to detect any possible leaks, I utilized the tools available on ipleak.net and dnsleaktest.com.

In the above screenshot, you can observe that the website shows my IP and DNS addresses as being in Italy, without any leaks. It is important to note that at the time I am writing this Kaspersky VPN review, I am actually in the United States, my home country. I also tested it for WebRTC leaks and found none. The displayed addresses, therefore, do not indicate my true location, demonstrating the effectiveness of the VPN.

Privacy – Good Privacy Features but a Questionable History

Kaspersky Secure Connection has a zero logs policy, which means that it doesn’t collect your internet traffic and, thus, can’t sell it to third-party advertisers. However, it hasn’t undergone a third-party audit, so you’ll have to take the VPN’s word for it.

Another thing that concerned me was that, although Kaspersky claimed it doesn’t store your information, its privacy policy states that it can store information such as what device(s) you’re using Kaspersky on, your subscription details, and wireless network specifications.

Apart from the caveats in its privacy policy, Kaspersky has a questionable history. I dug around various sources and stumbled upon a 2017 Bloomberg report that stated Kaspersky allegedly works for Russian intelligence, including Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB). Apparently, emails exchanged between Kaspersky and FSB point to the fact the two have a working relationship.

Overall, I wouldn’t recommend Kaspersky Secure Connection to someone who wants airtight privacy. Although Kaspersky’s privacy features are enough for the average user, its privacy policy has loopholes and the VPN’s alleged affiliation with the Russian government is a point of great concern.

To be safe, I kept the ‘Improved Experience’ box unchecked while testing on the off chance that it reveals my personal information. I urge you to do the same when using Kaspersky.

Torrenting – Lack of Specialized Torrenting Servers

When I initially browsed through Kaspersky’s list of servers, I didn’t find any information on which ones support torrenting. On the surface, it seemed like either all of their support torrenting or none of them do. I decided to dig into Kaspersky’s FAQs and Knowledge Base to find answers, but, unfortunately, I didn’t find anything. So, I decided to test its torrenting capabilities on my own.

I connected to a server in the US and downloaded a 3.5GB copyright-free file via uTorrent. It took about 8 minutes for the file to download. After that, I connected to the optimal server in Sweden and downloaded the same file again. This time, the file was downloaded in under 7 minutes.

Overall, the download speeds are adequate, but at times my connection got interrupted in between. That’s because Kaspersky doesn’t have any P2P-optimized servers, which it should. P2P servers have higher bandwidth and provide a fast and steady connection suitable for torrenting.

Having said that, my team and I don’t condone illegal torrenting, so it’s always wise to check the rules and regulations in the country you’re in.

Does Kaspersky Secure Connection Work in China? No

China has some of the strictest laws for VPNs, so it’s rare to find a VPN that works there. So, I inferred Kaspersky would probably not work there. However, when I was browsing through Kaspersky’s website, I stumbled upon a note underneath the pricing section that stated Kaspersky isn’t available for downloading or activation in Belarus, China, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Oman, Pakistan, and Qatar.

This was odd because I used Kaspersky in Pakistan, and it worked just fine. Although I didn’t purchase it there and had asked my colleague in Australia to buy it for me, I activated it in Pakistan. After this, I got curious that if it works in Pakistan, would it work in China?

Unfortunately, I didn’t have any of my colleagues in China who could test it out for me. So, I decided to contact customer support. I submitted a ticket and didn’t get a response from the team for the next 18 hours. After that, I spoke to a customer service representative via live chat, and he told me that Kaspersky doesn’t work in China.

Getting past China’s Great Firewall is no easy task, and only a few VPNs are up for the task. One of them is ExpressVPN. Just make sure you install ExpressVPN’s app on your devices before you arrive in China.

Please remember that using an unauthorized VPN in China is against the law, but so far, there have been no reported instances of tourists facing consequences for utilizing them. This is because the Chinese government primarily concentrates on employing technological measures to block VPNs rather than targeting individuals directly.

Kaspersky’s support options vary depending on location. If you’re in the US, you can use the virtual assistant tool (which is practically useless), live chat, and a ticket system.

I used the live chat, and it was cumbersome to use. I had to fill in multiple drop-down boxes and submit my email address before I could start the chat. However, the representative was available as soon as I entered the chat room, which was impressive.

Kaspersky provides an FAQ section and a Knowledge Base, which aren’t very detailed but will help you fix basic VPN issues. I found them a bit confusing and difficult to navigate, especially since you have to find your way through the Kaspersky suite of services to get to the correct FAQ page.

I also used Kaspersky’s ticket system, and the support team’s response time was slow. I received a response after 18 hours, which is not impressive at all. Other VPNs I’ve used before provided a response within a couple of hours. The fastest of all have 24/7 live chat — I tested ExpressVPN’s live chat support and got a reply almost immediately.