The kill switch does not work for ProtonVPN on windows 10 using the current ProtonVPN 1.11.0. I was using windows 10 on the current ProtonVPN 1.11.0 and was connected to a selected premium server using UDP under a configured profile and with the kill switch enabled. There should be an option to force you to manually disable the kill switch to access the internet again without using the vpn, even if this is not the default behavior it should be an option or even an option under advanced options, however a manual kill switch should be the default option as you will see why as you read this post.
The default and only behavior is not this and even that does not work. The default and only behavior is to use the kill switch when you lose internet access and to disable it when you select disconnect from the server. The kill switch seems to generally work under those conditions, but it does not always.
After some amount of random time, maybe 12-24+ hours connected or just being connected for a long time you can get a pop up windows that says “there are no servers available for your configuration”. This window has a button that says “okay”.
When this happens you are disconnected from the server and all internet data is now going through your normal connection and the kill switch does not do anything, if the default behavior was a manually disabled kill switch I assume it would work in this situation.
When this happens even before you click the “okay” button on the pop up window that says “there are no servers available for your configuration” your internet traffic is going through your default connection without you pressing “disconnect”. I do not know anything about programming, however I suspect this could be potentially related to when a vpn profile needs updating and in a period like this there would be “no server available for your configuration” or a behavior of ProtonVPN when a server reaches 100% load. The probability whether or not you get this pop up windows that says “there are no servers available for your configuration” may differ if you select a single server or a country, this happened to me when the vpn was selected to a single server in a country.
After this happened which happened twice during my trial I double checked both times and the kill switch was enabled in settings. This is not acceptable or in line with the way ProtonVPN advertises it self
"Kill Switch and Always-on VPN
ProtonVPN applications offer a built-in Kill Switch feature or the Always-on VPN feature. In the event that you lose connection with the VPN server, Kill Switch blocks all network traffic, while Always-on automatically re-establishes a connection to a VPN server. These features prevent a VPN server disconnect from inadvertently compromising your privacy by revealing your true IP address."
In my case we can see, “These features prevent a VPN server disconnect from inadvertently compromising your privacy by revealing your true IP address.” is not true as it happened twice and another time when my free trial ended. Before anyone asks, no I am not another VPN company I am just a disappointed consumer who tried ProtonVPN after being disappointed by another VPN company that was recently in the news.
After my ProtonVPN trial ended this happened again, as the kill switch does not work in this situation. As soon as your trial expires without your knowledge or confirmation your internet data is going through your normal internet connection exposing users to risk, instead of being required to hit a disconnect button to use the internet again and this can easily happen if you are away from your computer when your subscription or trial expires.
I went with ProtonVPN after researching different VPNs features and trustworthiness, user reviews and a popular vpn comparison site. If ProtonVPN worked as well as the consensus I got from researching VPNs I would recommend it, however it this state I cannot.
I’m glad I did not subscribe before trialing ProtonVPN.