<s>
ExpressVPN	B-Application
is	O
a	O
VPN	B-Application
service	I-Application
offered	O
by	O
the	O
British	O
Virgin	O
Islands-registered	O
company	O
Express	O
Technologies	O
Ltd	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
software	O
is	O
marketed	O
as	O
a	O
privacy	O
and	O
security	O
tool	O
that	O
encrypts	O
users	O
 '	O
web	O
traffic	O
and	O
masks	B-General_Concept
their	O
IP	B-Protocol
addresses	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
of	O
September	O
2021	O
,	O
ExpressVPN	B-Application
is	O
owned	O
by	O
Kape	O
Technologies	O
and	O
reportedly	O
has	O
4	O
million	O
users	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
ExpressVPN	B-Application
's	O
parent	O
company	O
,	O
Express	B-Application
VPN	I-Application
International	O
Ltd	O
,	O
was	O
founded	O
in	O
2009	O
by	O
Peter	O
Burchhardt	O
and	O
Dan	O
Pomerantz	O
,	O
two	O
serial	O
entrepreneurs	B-Application
who	O
were	O
also	O
Wharton	O
School	O
alumni	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
parent	O
company	O
does	O
business	O
as	O
ExpressVPN	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
January	O
25	O
,	O
2016	O
,	O
ExpressVPN	B-Application
announced	O
that	O
it	O
would	O
soon	O
roll	O
out	O
an	O
upgraded	O
CA	B-Architecture
certificate	I-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
Also	O
in	O
December	O
,	O
ExpressVPN	B-Application
released	O
open	B-Application
source	I-Application
leak	O
testing	O
tools	O
on	O
GitHub	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
July	O
2017	O
,	O
ExpressVPN	B-Application
announced	O
in	O
an	O
open	O
letter	O
that	O
Apple	O
had	O
removed	O
all	O
VPN	B-Application
apps	O
from	O
its	O
App	B-Application
Store	I-Application
in	O
China	O
,	O
a	O
revelation	O
that	O
was	O
later	O
picked	O
up	O
by	O
The	O
New	O
York	O
Times	O
and	O
other	O
outlets	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Senators	O
,	O
Apple	O
stated	O
it	O
had	O
removed	O
674	O
VPN	B-Application
apps	O
from	O
the	O
App	B-Application
Store	I-Application
in	O
China	O
in	O
2017	O
at	O
the	O
request	O
of	O
the	O
Chinese	O
government	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
December	O
,	O
ExpressVPN	B-Application
came	O
into	O
the	O
spotlight	O
in	O
relation	O
to	O
the	O
investigation	O
of	O
the	O
assassination	O
of	O
Russian	O
ambassador	O
to	O
Turkey	O
,	O
Andrei	O
Karlov	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Turkish	O
investigators	O
seized	O
an	O
ExpressVPN	B-Application
server	O
which	O
they	O
say	O
was	O
used	O
to	O
delete	O
relevant	O
information	O
from	O
the	O
assassin	O
's	O
Gmail	B-Application
and	O
Facebook	B-Application
accounts	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Turkish	O
authorities	O
were	O
unable	O
to	O
find	O
any	O
logs	O
to	O
aid	O
their	O
investigation	O
,	O
which	O
the	O
company	O
said	O
verified	O
its	O
claim	O
that	O
it	O
did	O
not	O
store	O
user	O
activity	O
or	O
connection	O
logs	O
,	O
adding	O
;	O
"	O
while	O
it	O
's	O
unfortunate	O
that	O
security	O
tools	O
like	O
VPNs	B-Application
can	O
be	O
abused	O
for	O
illicit	O
purposes	O
,	O
they	O
are	O
critical	O
for	O
our	O
safety	O
and	O
the	O
preservation	O
of	O
our	O
right	O
to	O
privacy	O
online	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
ExpressVPN	B-Application
is	O
fundamentally	O
opposed	O
to	O
any	O
efforts	O
to	O
install	O
'	O
backdoors	O
 '	O
or	O
attempts	O
by	O
governments	O
to	O
otherwise	O
undermine	O
such	O
technologies.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
December	O
2019	O
,	O
ExpressVPN	B-Application
became	O
a	O
founding	O
member	O
of	O
the	O
VPN	B-Application
Trust	O
Initiative	O
,	O
an	O
advocacy	O
group	O
for	O
online	O
safety	O
of	O
consumers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
May	O
2020	O
,	O
the	O
company	O
released	O
a	O
new	O
protocol	O
it	O
developed	O
for	O
ExpressVPN	B-Application
called	O
Lightway	O
,	O
designed	O
to	O
improve	O
connectivity	O
speeds	O
and	O
reduce	O
power	O
consumption	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
October	O
,	O
Yale	O
Privacy	O
Lab	O
founder	O
Sean	O
O'Brien	O
joined	O
the	O
ExpressVPN	B-Application
Digital	O
Security	O
Lab	O
to	O
conduct	O
original	O
research	O
in	O
the	O
areas	O
of	O
privacy	O
and	O
cybersecurity	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
September	O
13	O
,	O
2021	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
reported	O
that	O
ExpressVPN	B-Application
had	O
been	O
acquired	O
by	O
Kape	O
Technologies	O
,	O
an	O
LSE-listed	O
digital	O
privacy	O
and	O
security	O
company	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
the	O
time	O
of	O
the	O
acquisition	O
,	O
ExpressVPN	B-Application
reportedly	O
had	O
over	O
3	O
million	O
users	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
ExpressVPN	B-Application
announced	O
in	O
September	O
2021	O
that	O
they	O
would	O
remain	O
a	O
separate	O
service	O
from	O
existing	O
Kape	O
brands	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
September	O
,	O
ExpressVPN	B-Application
CIO	O
Daniel	O
Gericke	O
paid	O
a	O
$	O
335,000	O
fine	O
for	O
previously	O
carrying	O
out	O
computer	O
network	O
exploitation	O
on	O
behalf	O
of	O
the	O
U.A.E	O
government	O
without	O
having	O
a	O
valid	O
export	O
license	O
from	O
the	O
US	O
government	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
April	O
28	O
,	O
2022	O
,	O
Indian	O
Computer	O
Emergency	O
Response	O
Team	O
(	O
CERT-In	O
)	O
under	O
the	O
Ministry	O
of	O
Electronics	O
and	O
Information	O
Technology	O
issued	O
a	O
new	O
directive	O
that	O
asked	O
the	O
VPN	B-Application
providers	O
to	O
collect	O
and	O
store	O
user	O
data	O
for	O
up	O
to	O
five	O
years	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
response	O
to	O
the	O
new	O
VPN	B-Application
rules	O
that	O
require	O
private	O
network	O
providers	O
to	O
store	O
user	O
information	O
,	O
ExpressVPN	B-Application
announced	O
it	O
will	O
move	O
its	O
India-based	O
servers	O
to	O
Singapore	O
and	O
the	O
UK	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
June	O
2	O
,	O
2022	O
,	O
ExpressVPN	B-Application
officially	O
announced	O
that	O
it	O
"	O
refuses	O
to	O
participate	O
in	O
the	O
Indian	O
government	O
's	O
attempts	O
to	O
limit	O
internet	O
freedom.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
ExpressVPN	B-Application
has	O
released	O
apps	O
for	O
Windows	B-Application
,	O
macOS	B-Application
,	O
iOS	B-Application
,	O
Android	B-Application
,	O
Linux	B-Application
,	O
and	O
routers	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
apps	O
use	O
a	O
4096-bit	B-Architecture
CA	I-Architecture
,	O
AES-256-CBC	B-Algorithm
encryption	I-Algorithm
,	O
and	O
TLSv1.2	O
to	O
secure	O
user	O
traffic	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Available	O
VPN	B-Application
protocols	O
include	O
Lightway	O
,	O
OpenVPN	B-Language
(	O
with	O
TCP/UDP	O
)	O
,	O
SSTP	B-Protocol
,	O
L2TP/IPSec	O
,	O
and	O
PPTP	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
software	O
also	O
features	O
a	O
Smart	O
DNS	B-Application
feature	O
called	O
MediaStreamer	O
,	O
to	O
add	O
VPN	B-Application
capabilities	O
to	O
devices	O
that	O
do	O
not	O
support	O
them	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
router	B-Protocol
app	O
,	O
allowing	O
the	O
VPN	B-Application
to	O
be	O
set	O
up	O
on	O
a	O
router	B-Protocol
,	O
bypassing	O
unsupported	O
devices	O
such	O
as	O
gaming	B-Device
consoles	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
ExpressVPN	B-Application
is	O
incorporated	O
in	O
the	O
British	O
Virgin	O
Islands	O
,	O
a	O
privacy-friendly	O
country	O
that	O
has	O
no	O
data	O
retention	O
laws	O
,	O
and	O
is	O
a	O
separate	O
legal	O
jurisdiction	O
to	O
the	O
United	O
Kingdom	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
ExpressVPN	B-Application
's	O
parent	O
company	O
also	O
develops	O
leak	O
testing	O
tools	O
,	O
which	O
enable	O
users	O
to	O
determine	O
if	O
their	O
VPN	B-Application
provider	O
is	O
leaking	O
network	O
traffic	O
,	O
DNS	B-Application
,	O
or	O
true	O
IP	B-Protocol
addresses	I-Protocol
while	O
connected	O
to	O
the	O
VPN	B-Application
,	O
such	O
as	O
when	O
switching	O
from	O
a	O
wireless	B-General_Concept
to	O
a	O
wired	O
internet	O
connection	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
December	O
2021	O
,	O
ExpressVPN	B-Application
modified	O
its	O
product	O
to	O
protect	O
against	O
Log4Shell	O
,	O
updating	O
its	O
VPN	B-Application
to	O
automatically	O
block	O
all	O
outgoing	O
traffic	O
on	O
ports	O
used	O
by	O
LDAP	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
January	O
2022	O
,	O
ExpressVPN	B-Application
launched	O
Parallel	O
Connections	O
,	O
a	O
backend	O
feature	O
which	O
simultaneously	O
runs	O
multiple	O
methods	O
of	O
connecting	O
a	O
user	O
to	O
a	O
given	O
server	O
,	O
automatically	O
picking	O
the	O
one	O
that	O
connects	O
a	O
user	O
first	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
ExpressVPN	B-Application
launched	O
Aircove	O
,	O
a	O
Wi-Fi	O
6	O
router	B-Protocol
that	O
includes	O
a	O
built-in	O
VPN	B-Application
,	O
in	O
September	O
2022	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Aircove	O
permits	O
speeds	O
up	O
to	O
1,200	O
Mbps	O
(	O
600	O
Mbps	O
for	O
2.4GHz	O
and	O
1,200	O
Mbps	O
for	O
5GHz	O
)	O
,	O
covers	O
areas	O
up	O
to	O
1,600	O
sq	O
feet	O
,	O
and	O
offers	O
a	O
quad-core	B-Architecture
64-bit	B-Device
processor	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
April	O
2019	O
,	O
ExpressVPN	B-Application
announced	O
that	O
all	O
their	O
VPN	B-Application
servers	I-Application
ran	O
solely	O
on	O
random-access	B-Architecture
memory	I-Architecture
(	O
RAM	B-Architecture
)	O
,	O
without	O
the	O
need	O
of	O
hard	O
disk	O
drives	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
theory	O
,	O
as	O
soon	O
as	O
a	O
computer	O
is	O
shut	O
down	O
,	O
all	O
information	O
on	O
the	O
server	O
vanishes	O
and	O
cannot	O
be	O
recovered	O
;	O
the	O
next	O
time	O
the	O
server	O
reboots	O
,	O
a	O
fresh	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
VPN	B-Application
infrastructure	O
is	O
spawned	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
was	O
the	O
first	O
example	O
in	O
the	O
VPN	B-Application
industry	O
for	O
such	O
a	O
server	O
security	O
setup	O
,	O
and	O
was	O
referred	O
to	O
as	O
TrustedServer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
February	O
2022	O
,	O
ExpressVPN	B-Application
announced	O
a	O
$	O
100,000	O
bug	O
bounty	O
for	O
anyone	O
who	O
was	O
able	O
to	O
hack	O
its	O
in-house	O
technology	O
,	O
TrustedServer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
of	O
August	O
2022	O
,	O
ExpressVPN	B-Application
's	O
server	O
network	O
covered	O
94	O
countries	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Lightway	O
is	O
ExpressVPN	B-Application
's	O
open	B-Application
source	I-Application
VPN	B-Application
protocol	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Launched	O
in	O
2020	O
,	O
it	O
is	O
similar	O
to	O
the	O
WireGuard	B-Application
protocol	O
,	O
but	O
uses	O
wolfSSL	B-Protocol
encryption	O
to	O
improve	O
speed	O
on	O
embedded	B-Architecture
devices	I-Architecture
such	O
as	O
routers	B-Protocol
and	O
smartphones	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
does	O
not	O
run	O
in	O
the	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
's	O
kernel	B-Operating_System
,	O
but	O
is	O
lightweight	O
to	O
support	O
auditing	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
reportedly	O
2.5x	O
as	O
fast	O
as	O
OpenVPN	B-Language
and	O
other	O
older	O
protocols	O
,	O
improves	O
reliability	O
by	O
40%	O
,	O
and	O
supports	O
TCP	B-Protocol
and	O
UDP	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
August	O
2021	O
,	O
ExpressVPN	B-Application
announced	O
the	O
full	O
public	O
release	O
of	O
Lightway	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
full	O
open-sourcing	O
of	O
Lightway	O
’s	O
code	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2020	O
,	O
ExpressVPN	B-Application
announced	O
its	O
new	O
digital	O
security	O
research	O
initiative	O
Digital	O
Security	O
Lab	O
,	O
which	O
investigates	O
digital	O
rights	O
and	O
security	O
issues	O
while	O
educating	O
consumers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Research	O
found	O
that	O
the	O
large	O
majority	O
of	O
all	O
these	O
apps	O
provided	O
third	O
parties	O
,	O
including	O
Facebook	B-Application
,	O
Stripe	O
,	O
Inc.	O
,	O
and	O
Google	B-Application
,	O
access	O
to	O
user	O
data	O
.	O
</s>
