Decent VPN software is a must these days if you are concerned with privacy and security. I never connect to a public WiFi network if I can avoid it. But if I have to, then I use a VPN service to protect myself. Wangle is an Australian made VPN app and service that had its origins in network optimisation. I chatted to their CEO, Sean Smith, and CTO Cam Worth about the company and their new mobile VPN product.
Wangles’ life started through an acquisition. The initial focus was on hardware that was used for network optimisation. But that early iteration of the company found that software was crucial. That lead to a change in business direction as they started looking at ways to get the most out of point-to-point connections.
From there, they refocussed on consumer products leading to the creation of Wangle VPN.
Worth says many of the VPN products on the market today offer little more than “traffic transference”. OpenVPV is often used as it gives developers a quick and easy route to developing and deploying solutions.
And while it’s possible everything is encrypted, you still need to ask questions about how the companies are managing keys.
This is one of the principle challenges regarding VPN software today. With the market being flooded by providers, it’s hard to know who is reputable and whether they are fulfilling their regulatory obligations and protecting customers.
Some providers use techniques such as proxies and they rewrite webpages and other content, on the fly, in order to speed things up. Worth said Wangle doesn’t do this as they have developed their own, proprietary VPN which optimises performance.
Smith noted many of the new VPN providers on the market are driven by commercial models and include adware in order to make money. This is something Wangle doesn’t do, he says.
The regulatory side is interesting and not something I’d considered previously. Smith says VPN services are considered to be carriers under Australian law. That means they are subject to the Telecommunications Act that is regulated by ACMA. But while they are compelled to retain metadata, there are not holding the content of any communications.
The company says they will be the first Australian VPN that is compliant with those laws.
Wangle’s VPN technology is proprietary. They have points of presence established globally so you can connect from almost anywhere. The data centre capability is provided via Rackspace and AWS and their global comms network is delivered through Equinix.
As far as performance, Wangle has had some testing done by PwC. They say Wangle increases data upload speed on average increase by 90%, increases data download speed on average increase by 45% with peaks of 100% and compresses data by around 19%.
The first stage of their product roadmap is a mobile product for iOS and Android.
This will be followed by a “family protection” product later this year with enterprise products to follow.
Wangle VPN is available to trial for free for 30 days on both Android and iOS mobile devices, and then on subscription for $4.99 per month.
I’ll be testing Wangle over the next couple of weeks and will report back with a review then.
Comments
One response to “Aussie Made Wangle VPN Promises Performance And Compliance”
This may be a stupid question but why would you want your VPN to be compliant with metadata retention laws? Is it purely a perception thing for a business or politician for example.
You really wouldn’t want to be compliant with metadata laws. Whats the point of the VPN. As per this guide on torrenting http://www.bestvpnaustralia.com.au/vpn-torrenting-ultimate-vpn-torrent-guide-aussies/ if your VPN is keeping logs you’re gonna have a bad time! Now I know not everyone is torrenting, but I figure if you’re in the market for a VPN you would want one that allows you to do everything you want, without worry?
I’d agree to kentuckyfunky. No point of having a VPN which is based in one of those countries who have meta data laws snooping into their consumers. A hong-kong or sweden based would work well. I’m on Pure vpn and they are based in Hong Kong. Also to know more on Australian Meta Data retention go here: https://www.purevpn.com/blog/why-data-retention-in-australia-is-worse-and-how-vpn-can-protect-you/
That report just raises my concern when the lab test details have been removed.
What vpn provider or server were they using for the Openvpn tests and why no tests against other protocols like IPSEC ? Apple has introduced IKEv2 a couple of updates ago as well.
What level of encryption does Wangle actually offer ? – they just don’t say.
Also i can’t find anything about that “WeNAM” line speed testing tool anywhere on the internet.
It’s a detailed test report minus some serious details.