BolehVPN was launched in Malaysia in 2009. The main idea behind this VPN was to circumvent local ISP throttling and content blocking, which serves as a perfect intro to our today’s topic. Even though they’re smaller than other popular VPNs, they’ve carved out a considerable reputation on the Asian VPN market thanks to their commitment to anonymity, belief in the free Internet, and personalized user support.
All that aside, the main thing you should demand from your VPN of choice is to provide maximum online security. We’ve put BolehVPN through our rigorous testing circuit and here are the final results of its performance.
Logging Policy
Even though BolehVPN operates from Malaysia and Hong Kong, they’re actually registered in the Seychelles. This means they’re not subject to any data retention laws, which is music to the ears of any VPN user. This also exempts them from the US Patriot Act and EU laws regarding data retention.
BolehVPN maintains a firm no-logging policy with one exception. They will temporarily keep some logs in order to identify unusual activities spread across their servers (excessive number of connections, high bandwidth, and so on). This might sound scary at first, but it’s the only way for the company to keep their legitimate users completely safe. If you want 100% anonymity, though, this might pose a problem for you.
Encryption
BolehVPN uses both OpenVPN and L2TP protocols. We would personally recommend OpenVPN, but both of them come with certain benefits.
They utilize AES-256 encryption to ensure complete user privacy alongside the 128-bit iteration for the surfing/streaming servers. We don’t like seeing AES-128 anymore, since modern VPN services have predominantly moved on to the 256-bit version. We can debate the pros and cons of both, but we still prefer AES-256. BolehVPN also uses RSA-2048 handshake encryption with SHA-512 hash authentication.
Moreover, they also sport a neat xCloak feature, which further scrambles your traffic, making it even harder for ISPs to recognize it.
P2P
BolehVPN is a real treat if you’re looking to engage in any activity requiring P2P connections. The company fully supports it and also offers unlimited bandwidth. The company currently operates servers in 12 countries spread all over the world. Notable mentions include the US, the UK, Germany, France, and Switzerland.
DNS Leaks
BolehVPN client comes with dedicated DNS leak protection, which means you’ll never have to worry about any kind of DNS requests going through your ISP. The service also features a kill switch, which makes things even easier and far more secure.
Conclusion
BolehVPN is definitely a service that can compete with the biggest players out there. Keeping logs of suspicious activities is nothing to worry about unless you’re a hacker, so we would fully recommend BolehVPN as one of the safest companies on the market.