A Kill Switch protects you from revealing your identity when the VPN connection drops accidentally. Currently, we have Kill Switch support only for Windows and Android. Skip to Android Kill Switch for Windows XP and later There is special software that we use for the Killswitch, which is very easy to configure, tiny in size (500KB) Kill Switch for VPN Read More ».
Full disclosure; Viscosity isn’t a normal VPN service. It’s a tool you can use to connect to OpenVPN servers; whether that’s one you’ve set up yourself or one you’re paying for.
This won’t be your typical VPN review; instead, we’ll look at how Viscosity performs when it’s attached to OpenVPN servers.
VPN Name | Viscosity |
---|---|
Leak Test | Leaks Detected |
Logging Policy | Optional |
Speed | Dependent on VPN Service |
Torrenting | Torrenting & P2P Allowed |
Netflix | Dependent on VPN Service |
Kill Switch | Does Not Have Kill Switch |
Anonymous Payment Methods | Crypto |
Free Trial | 30 Days |
Refunds | No Refunds (Conditional) |
Customer Support | Email, Forums |
Price Starting From | $14 |
Viscosity offers their service for free for 30 days with their free-trial and for $14 for a lifetime license. The free trial provides all the features a lifetime license has. Customers who are hesitant to commit to $14 can fully experience the ease and convenience of Viscosity.
The license gives customers a lifetime of ease and security with their data and internet browsing without additional purchases. However, additional licenses have to be purchased for additional computers.
Viscosity lets users use their service at a discounted price. Instead of buying a new one, Viscosity allows the license to be upgraded and be used by more computers.
The upgrade calculates the discount based on the number of users and additional slots to be bought. For example, if you want four copies for Windows, just increase the slots and it will cost $50. The upgrade feature isn’t available on single platform licenses but there is a discount to upgrade a single license platform to a cross-platform license.
Users who wish to make use of their service have three payment method options: PayPal, credit cards, and Bitcoin.
Including cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin means they’re aware of privacy issues. Fantastic.
Props to all VPN services that offer these choices! It’s not just Viscosity – take a look at PIA or Mullvad.
Viscosity is a simple and easy program to use from the beginning.
Their free trial download doesn’t require an account and is very easy to access. On their home page, a button for the free trial will be there waiting to be selected. It will take you to the next page where you can simply click for the file that’s yet to be installed.
An instruction manual is also provided on the same page as the download to further ease the process of installing the program.
The program is clean, straightforward and compact.
All of the buttons you will need are shown on the home page, the connections, editing the servers, advanced settings, and a few others. The font and icon sizes are big enough and easy to understand.
Adding and deleting servers can be done with ease due to the simple layout Viscosity offers users.
Switching servers is also easy to do in Viscosity, and is even accessible by opening the hidden icons tab on the bottom right-hand corner of your desktop. Selecting Viscosity will show your known connections and from there, you can choose which server to use.
Users are given the option to choose the encryption of their liking. They have the options ranging from 128-bit Blowfish up to 256-bit AES, which is considered military-grade encryption.
Setting the encryption settings can be done in the Commands area under their Advanced tab.
Viscosity is a VPN client that enables users to seamlessly switch from one connection to another.
The program itself doesn’t offer servers to connect to but it can connect to programs that are supported by OpenVPN, including popular and free commercial VPN providers.
For a list of VPNs that offer support to Viscosity users, visit their VPN Service Provider index under the knowledge base on their website.
Torrenting with Viscosity is possible but it comes with a risk.
Users reported that there are times when the server might drop while downloading torrents, temporarily exposing your IP address.
This is highly dangerous, and we do not recommend using Viscosity for any torrenting activity, ever.
Instead, go with a VPN that fully supports torrenting and has a built-in kill switch for dropped connections.
The Australia-based company complies with the NSW Fair Trading Act. Refund requests may only be given through writing and refunds will be deliberated by the SparkLabs Management.
ViscosityVPN offers service to users for free for 30 days. This is to ensure that the users are given enough time to explore and get to know the function and features of Viscosity. All the features are available in the free trial and are not restricted in any way.
Since this is the case, refunds will not be given if a customer changes their mind, if a customer believed the product performed a different job and if SparkLabs incurred support costs. If a refund is given, the license serial/key for the purchase will be disabled.
With a bit of research, we’ve learned that Viscosity collects the information of users from registration, purchasing a product and subscribing to their newsletter.
They may ask to collect your name, e-mail address, mailing address or phone number if deemed appropriate. However, users may still visit their website anonymously.
The collected information is used to improve their customer service, process transactions and send periodic emails. Viscosity assures their users that no information of theirs is sold, given or exchanged to outside parties.
Sensitive information such as credit card information is transmitted via Secure Socket Layer (or SSL) technology and then encrypted into their Payment gateway providers database that is only accessible to those authorized with special rights and are required to keep the collected information confidential.
Much to the dismay of many, Netflix is unavailable using Viscosity.
Skip the trouble and go straight to our top list of VPNs for Netflix!
The VPN is compatible with macOS (10.10 to 10.14) and Windows (7,8,8.1 & 10).
A lot of other devices aren’t offered by this VPN like Linux.
Viscosity has been designed from the ground up for both macOS (10.10 to 10.14) and Windows (7, 8, 8.1 & 10) users.
Viscosity does not have live chat support. Instead, they offer a knowledge base, community forums, and email to contact support contained in their website.
Contacting support can also be done using the program by clicking the “about” button which shows the links to contact support as well as the button for purchasing a license.
Viscosity can sometimes experience leaks during disconnections or torrent downloading.
We tested three countries, Canada, France and the United States and we’ve discovered that it’s generally leak-free except for disconnections and because of this, we aren’t very impressed with the performance, given this is a paid program, cheap as it may be.
Leaks during disconnects!
To compensate for the occasional leak of Viscosity, their support team has provided guides on how to prevent the leaks from happening using the command prompt.
Viscosity VPN also allows custom DNS servers and search domains to be accessed while connected, by integrating the VPN to Mac OS X’s advanced DNS system.
Sadly, Viscosity doesn’t offer a kill switch.
This can be problematic, especially when your network often disconnects or experiences drop-outs. We’ve experienced this problem first hand when running leak tests.
Being a paid program, we expected Viscosity to provide users with a kill switch – hopefully, it’s something they may update the software with soon.
The Australian company behind the VPN, Sparkslab, was found in the early days of 2008 and according to them, has been in constant pursuit of creating and developing user-friendly software ever since.
Not only do they have staff in Australia; they also have staff based in California, USA as well.
Viscosity VPN’s work focuses primarily on network security and strengthening user privacy. They claim to specialize in making attractive software that’s functional and easy to use at the same time. Looks are constantly emphasized, so it’s clearly a priority for them.
Seeing that Viscosity VPN was developed in Bathurst, the Australia-based VPN is under the 14 Eyes Alliance jurisdiction.
Viscosity is a VPN client that enables users to establish a connection with VPN servers and enables them to edit, create and control VPN connections.
This is ideal for users who enjoy customizing the software they use to their needs, while customers looking for a simple plug-and-play VPN experience may find it a hassle.
Netflix isn’t available and downloading torrents can be a bit dangerous but with the knowledge in creating, editing VPN connections, one can make the most of this program – if they know what they’re doing. Slow speeds and reported leaks are also concerns for users looking for speed and/or privacy.
The 30-day trial is a generous period for anyone trying to decide whether Viscosity is the right VPN client for them; and at $14 for a lifetime license, it’s not exactly expensive to buy.
Want to have a custom VPN experience, where you get the freedom to choose the servers you set up or have access to? Viscosity might just be the VPN tool for you.
But for those looking for a more full-service option that offers torrenting support and Netflix access while having a native app for all operating systems and devices, we recommend going with the best.
Skip to contentHikerBitch wrote:So far I'm pretty happy with viscosity during my 30 day trial and I want to buy it if I can get this issue sorted out.Your script worked like a charm buddy. after it rans, i have to click and turn wifi on, and then i have to manually click connect on viscosity.
Whenever I open my laptop and it wakes from sleep, I login to OS X and Viscosity is unresponsive and not connected. I can click on the toolbar icon and the menu appears but my connection is stuck on 'exiting'. None of the menu buttons work and I have to force quit through activity monitor and restart the program. Every single time I open my laptop.
I'm running Viscosity version 1.6.4 with PIA on OS X Yosemite 10.10.5. I've got an applescript running to kill the wifi on disconnect. I have the program set to connect to a server when viscosity opens and I'm sending all traffic over VPN.
Also worth noting...
A better wifi killswitch
The example listed on http://www.sparklabs.com/support/kb/art ... fic-leaks/ for turning off the wifi with applescript when the vpn disconnects causes my network card to completely shut off (blank wifi signal icon with an x in the middle), which requires opening the network settings, clicking the settings icon at the bottom, making the service active, and THEN turning the wifi on after accepting a system confirmation popup. This is way too many steps for reconnecting after a disconnect.
I found a command that turns off the wifi (blank wifi signal icon WITHOUT an x through it) and allows me to simply click the icon and select 'turn wifi on' instead of the convoluted multistage process required with the command listed on your website example. The script listed below also doesn't require storing your login and password in plain characters within the script (questionable from a security and privacy standpoint) that's listed in the website example. Even quicker still, I set a keybind in OS X to turn the wifi back on using the reverse of the script listed below ('on' substituted for 'off').
This script works much nicer as a wifi killswitch within Viscosity on VPN disconnect:
do shell script 'networksetup -setairportpower en0 off'
tell application 'Viscosity' to display dialog 'VPN CONNECTION DISCONNECTED' buttons 'OK'
HikerBitch wrote:So far I'm pretty happy with viscosity during my 30 day trial and I want to buy it if I can get this issue sorted out.This works well, nice job.
Whenever I open my laptop and it wakes from sleep, I login to OS X and Viscosity is unresponsive and not connected. I can click on the toolbar icon and the menu appears but my connection is stuck on 'exiting'. None of the menu buttons work and I have to force quit through activity monitor and restart the program. Every single time I open my laptop.
I'm running Viscosity version 1.6.4 with PIA on OS X Yosemite 10.10.5. I've got an applescript running to kill the wifi on disconnect. I have the program set to connect to a server when viscosity opens and I'm sending all traffic over VPN.
Also worth noting...
A better wifi killswitch
The example listed on http://www.sparklabs.com/support/kb/art ... fic-leaks/ for turning off the wifi with applescript when the vpn disconnects causes my network card to completely shut off (blank wifi signal icon with an x in the middle), which requires opening the network settings, clicking the settings icon at the bottom, making the service active, and THEN turning the wifi on after accepting a system confirmation popup. This is way too many steps for reconnecting after a disconnect.
I found a command that turns off the wifi (blank wifi signal icon WITHOUT an x through it) and allows me to simply click the icon and select 'turn wifi on' instead of the convoluted multistage process required with the command listed on your website example. The script listed below also doesn't require storing your login and password in plain characters within the script (questionable from a security and privacy standpoint) that's listed in the website example. Even quicker still, I set a keybind in OS X to turn the wifi back on using the reverse of the script listed below ('on' substituted for 'off').
This script works much nicer as a wifi killswitch within Viscosity on VPN disconnect:
do shell script 'networksetup -setairportpower en0 off'
tell application 'Viscosity' to display dialog 'VPN CONNECTION DISCONNECTED' buttons 'OK'