How To Use SurfShark VPN 2023

In this SurfShark Setup Tutorial, I will show you the step by step process of how to purchase your VPN at the best price, how to use SurfShark with the correct settings and gain secured access to streaming & Torrenting sites. Lastly, I will show you some cool and unique features that SurfShark has to offer. 

Now, let’s get started!

1. Pricing

First, you can click on the link in the description or type this into your browser. It will take you to my special SurfShark discount page where you will get the best deal currently available.

Now let me give you an overview of SurfShark’s pricing and how their discounts work.

You can get SurfShark for $12.95 per month but if you want to be practical, you can get the six-month plan for $38.94 and save almost 50 percent. If you’re going to be using a VPN long-term then the two-year plan with three months bonus is going to save you the most money as it will only cost you $59.76 which is the equivalent of just $2.21 per month. This will save you almost 83 percent and that’s massive. So, if you are satisfied with the performance of this VPN provider, then after your free trial or during your first month of using it, I recommend choosing or continuing with the longest plan as this is the most budget-friendly plan that SurfShark offers. 

If the performance doesn’t meet your expectations and needs, then you can request a refund and get your money back within the first 30 days from your subscription, regardless of the plan you signed up for.

Currently, you can pay via credit or debit card, Paypal, Google Pay, Amazon Pay, or bitcoin if you prefer the cryptocurrency method of payment to become even more anonymous.

Once you are done registering and verifying your email address, you’re ready to install and start using the software!

2. Open and Connect

Once you open SurfShark, you will land directly to the “start a connection” page where you will also see an option to connect to the “fastest server”. This button will instantly find the fastest server for you based on your location but you can still explore and use other servers from the options on the left side.

SurfShark is also one of the few providers that offer Double VPN. Through its feature called Multihop, you can connect at two servers at the same time to add an extra layer of security to your Internet activities.

SurfShark has more than 3,200 servers in 65 countries. For your convenience, you can save a server that you like by clicking the star icon on that server to include it on your Favorites.

3. Unblocking Netflix

Let’s try opening Netflix without using VPN first. So, my original location now is in the Philippines and what I’m going to do is search for a series that is only available on the US server, Twin Peaks, for example. Obviously, we won’t be able to find it since this series is blocked in other countries except in the US.

Now, let’s do a test using the US server so we can trick Google that our location is in the US, obviously. Our goal here is to search for Twin Peaks to see if SurfShark can really unblock US Netflix shows using its server. Let’s check Netflix now while we are connected to the VPN and as you can see, it is still working fine. Let’s search for Twin Peaks again and there you go, it already reveals the series we want to find which is only available in the US. If you want to find other shows that are only available in certain countries, try connecting to other streaming-optimized servers for that country and let us know in the comments section below if it works!

Aside from Netflix, you can also unblock other streaming platforms such as Hulu, BBC iPlayer, HBO, Disney +, ESPN, Amazon Prime, and Hotstar.

4. Torrenting

Not all VPN providers allow peer-to-peer or P2P file sharing and torrenting but SurfShark absolutely does. If you’re planning to get a VPN that supports torrenting and P2P file sharing, SurfShark is a great choice. It supports many torrenting software such as uTorrent, BitTorrent, Torrentz3, qBittorrent, Transmission, and Deluge. I tried connecting to one of their servers and it turns out to be working perfectly with the movie I’m downloading using BitTorrent.

5. Key Features

Let’s dive into some of its specific key features. If you want to prioritize certain apps on your desktop to use the VPN every time you launch them, you can do so with the feature called “Whitelister”. Now, this unique feature is a notch above its competitors’ split-tunnel features since it also covers VPN access management over websites, not just applications.To enable this, just go to Features on your desktop app. Just click the button and then you can just easily choose the apps and websites that will use or bypass the VPN.

Do you like the level of detail I am providing you in my tutorial so far? If so, make sure to like my video and hit that subscribe button for more high quality content about tech which I release every single week.

SurfShark also has a feature called CleanWeb that blocks ads and malware before they can even load. This means you can surf in a clear, cyber ocean a lot faster without trackers nor phishing attempts.

It also has a selection of protocols that helps VPN safely send your data through the Internet. It offers IKEv2, OpenVPN, WireGuard, and Shadowsocks. Each protocol varies in speed and you can also let SurfShark automatically choose the best protocol for you depending on your location, though Shadowsocks is the top choice in restrictive countries like China to bypass the Great Firewall. You can view this setting and make adjustments on it by clicking on the Settings or the gear icon below and selecting the Advanced option under General Settings. You will see the different protocols on the drop-down menu and from there, you can modify how SurfShark goes about selecting a protocol to secure your data encryption for you. 

Accidents are inevitable and in cases where your VPN connection drops unexpectedly, the kill switch will pause all Internet activities and protect you from all possible leaks until the VPN connection is reestablished. Take note that you need to turn on the kill switch feature first with SurfShark since it’s not automatic unlike other VPN providers like CyberGhost. Under the General settings, just click on Connectivity and there you can enable the kill switch. Don’t worry, if you suddenly connected to a server without enabling the kill switch under Settings, there is still a quick option to turn on the kill switch on the homepage right after you connected to a server. But I highly encourage you to always turn the kill switch through the Settings just for extra security.

6. Customer Service

SurfShark only has 24 7 live chat and email support channels. Not really good news for those who prefer speaking to a real person over the phone but their customer service level is actually good. So, in cases where you have questions while using the VPN, you can just click the Support button located on the lower-right corner of the desktop app or go to their website. Here, I typed in “HackLock and BlindSearch” for example and I got a list of articles I can read. Since I want to show you how their live chat support system works, I clicked on the Live Chat button and I waited until I got Mike, but then it seemed like I was transferred to Jimmy again whom I have chatted with before. I’ve tried chatting with their team multiple times and though technical difficulties could happen, they are always quick to respond. In fact, their average response time is 2 minutes. They respond promptly and the representatives seem knowledgeable about any issues.

Summary

Now, If you’re ready to try SurfShark, the special discount link is in the description below. But if you’re not happy with SurfShark and want to know about my number one alternative which I recommend and use myself then check out this article. 

Lastly if you have already decided on a VPN provider and want more tips and tricks on VPN’s then this next video will help you do just that, so check it out and I’ll see you over in that next tutorial.