I used VPN for over a decade, and tasting each offering, I was always struck by the difference between each one.
After all, you’d expect a VPN to be pretty simple: move data through another server, anonymizing it and adding security.
What more could they add? Turns out it’s a lot.
I’ve found that, recently, Surfshark has really outdone itself in this regard, offering not only a solid VPN, but a number of special features that really set it apart from the competition.
Here are six of my favorite Surfshark features.
Multi-hop servers
What’s better than just one VPN? Two! Well, two VPN servers, to be precise.
When you use a VPN, it sends your traffic through a VPN server, making it harder for your location to be traced and your data to be stolen.
This is a solid way to keep yourself safe online, but Surfshark has doubled down on that by doubling the number of VPN servers you use as part of its MultiHop feature.
It’s a simple feature: instead of sending your data through one VPN server, it goes through two, making it even harder to track your data and making you even more secure.
This will intensify any lag you experience, since your data now passes through two servers instead of one. So keep this when you are more vulnerable than usual, such as when connected to a public network.
GPS replacement
A VPN’s ability to change where you appear is one of the most crucial elements of any VPN. This is one of the most used parts of any VPN, and we all know what it is used for most of the time.
But there are many legitimate uses for IP spoofing. For example, Imgur was recently blocked in the UK because of new laws, which can be very painful. Luckily, VPNs help you get around this by pretending you’re somewhere else by spoofing your IP address and GPS location.
There is a downside to this. If you want to use Uber or any app that uses your live GPS location, that’s a problem when you appear to be Kuala Lumpur.
Luckily, Surfshark thought about it and introduced a GPS replacement. Again, this is a pretty simple feature. This just means it won’t change your GPS location for certain apps, which is handy if you need to call an Uber while staying safe on public WiFi.
Whitelisted split tunneling
Similar to the feature above, split tunneling allows you to choose whether or not an app uses the VPN.
So if you have a reliable app, like a secure messaging application Like Signal, you can disable your VPN just for this app, while keeping it enabled for others.
This keeps traffic to the trusted app nice and fast, while preserving your VPN’s bandwidth for the apps you need it for.
A static IP address so websites know it’s you
One of the problems with VPNs is that they use a different IP address each time.
This means you trigger unknown location protection for every secure app or website you visit. This means your banking app will need to ask you questions or send a text or email to confirm it’s you.
It is very safe and we approve of it. Yet it’s also extremely annoying to have to do it every time while you’re still on the same phone or browser.
Choosing Surfshark’s static IP address allows you to connect to the same server every time, meaning it looks like the same device over and over again, eliminating those annoying extra hurdles.
Circumvent censorship
Some countries, like China, have severe censorship of the Internet, which means that the Internet you see in China may not be the same as what you see elsewhere.
Surfshark’s NoBorders mode puts an end to that. When enabled, these censorship barriers disappear, providing access to the Internet as intended: wild and free.
This feature has been removed in macOS, which may mean it’s on its way out – and that would be a shame.
Integrated search
If you care about your privacy, then you probably don’t like how much data Google searches gleaned from your usage.
Surfshark has its own built-in search engine, based on the Bing API. Formerly known as BlindSearch, Surfshark Search (come on folks, “Searchshark” was right there) removes trackers you hate and removes ads for good measure.
Surfshark is more than just a VPN
Surfshark is a good VPN – a very good VPN, in fact. But it’s not just a VPN. It is a complete ad blocker, search engine and privacy shield. And honestly, I didn’t really expect it to be as strong as before.
That said, you’ll need to be in the top two tiers to access the majority of these features, and costs for this start from $18 per month. If your privacy is worth protecting, it’s worth paying for.
