Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Windscribe VS netcat

Compare Windscribe VS netcat and see what are their differences

Note: These products don't have any matching categories. If you think this is a mistake, please edit the details of one of the products and suggest appropriate categories.

Windscribe logo Windscribe

Windscribe is a desktop application and browser extension that work together to block ads and trackers, restore access to blocked content and help you safeguard your privacy online.

netcat logo netcat

Netcat is a featured networking utility which reads and writes data across network connections...
  • Windscribe Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-10-05
  • netcat Landing page
    Landing page //
    2018-11-19

Windscribe features and specs

  • Generous Free Plan
    Windscribe offers a free plan with up to 10GB of data per month, with additional bandwidth available through various promotions.
  • Strong Security and Privacy
    The service provides strong encryption, a strict no-logs policy, and various secure protocols (OpenVPN, IKEv2, WireGuard).
  • Wide Range of Features
    Includes features such as R.O.B.E.R.T. (ad and malware blocker), multiple hop connections, and a secure hotspot.
  • Cross-Platform Support
    Windscribe has applications for Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, and browser extensions for Chrome, Firefox, and Opera.
  • Unlimited Devices
    Allows usage on an unlimited number of devices with a single account.

Possible disadvantages of Windscribe

  • Limited Server Network
    Compared to some competitors, Windscribe has a smaller network with servers in fewer countries.
  • Medium Speed Performance
    While generally reliable, Windscribe's speed may not be as fast as some top-tier VPN providers, especially on long-distance connections.
  • Free Plan Limitations
    The free plan has limitations on server locations and features, pushing users towards upgrading to a paid plan.
  • Inconsistent Customer Support
    Customer support is primarily via email and ticket system, with no live chat available, which may lead to slower response times.
  • Geoblocking Issues
    Some users report difficulty accessing certain geo-restricted content, such as streaming services from specific countries.

netcat features and specs

  • Versatility
    Netcat can be used for a wide variety of network-related tasks, including port scanning, file transfers, and working as a backdoor.
  • Simplicity
    Netcat operates with simple command-line arguments, making it easy to use for those familiar with command-line interfaces.
  • Speed
    Netcat is lightweight and performs network operations quickly, without the overhead associated with more complex tools.
  • Scriptability
    Netcat is highly scriptable, allowing users to automate network tasks by including it in bash or other scripts.
  • Cross-Platform
    Netcat is available on multiple operating systems including Unix, Linux, and Windows, making it a versatile tool for different environments.

Possible disadvantages of netcat

  • Security
    Netcat can be misused, as it is often favored by attackers for creating reverse shells and other malicious activities.
  • Lack of Encryption
    Netcat does not natively support encrypted connections, meaning data transmitted can be vulnerable to interception.
  • Minimal Logging
    Netcat provides minimal logging capabilities, which can make it difficult to track usage or troubleshoot issues.
  • Basic Functionality
    Netcat provides core networking functions but lacks advanced features found in specialized tools.
  • Cannot Handle High Load
    Netcat is not designed to handle high traffic loads effectively, making it less suitable for some enterprise use cases.

Analysis of Windscribe

Overall verdict

  • Overall, Windscribe is a solid VPN option that balances usability, affordability, and a strong privacy stance. It is particularly noted for its free plan and flexible pricing options, though some users report that the speeds can be variable depending on the server location. Despite this, its comprehensive feature set makes it a worthwhile consideration for privacy-conscious users.

Why this product is good

  • Windscribe is considered a good choice for a VPN due to its strong emphasis on privacy and security features, such as robust encryption and a strict no-logs policy. It also offers a feature-rich free tier, which is relatively generous compared to other VPN services. Windscribe provides a wide range of server locations and allows for unlimited simultaneous connections, which is appealing for users with multiple devices. Additionally, it offers compatibility with various platforms and devices, including Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, browsers, and routers.

Recommended for

  • Users looking for a privacy-focused VPN with robust security features
  • Individuals who need a VPN with a generous free tier to test before committing
  • People requiring a VPN that supports multiple simultaneous connections
  • Travelers who need access to a wide range of server locations globally
  • Users who want a VPN with a simple user interface and multi-platform support

Analysis of netcat

Overall verdict

  • Yes, Netcat is considered a valuable tool in network troubleshooting and testing. Its simplicity and efficiency have garnered it a positive reputation in the networking community.

Why this product is good

  • Netcat is a versatile networking utility that is often described as a 'Swiss-army knife' for network engineers. It can be used for reading and writing data across network connections, making it perfect for port scanning, banner grabbing, or as a simple web server. Its lightweight nature and ease of use make it a popular choice among IT professionals.

Recommended for

    Netcat is recommended for network administrators, cybersecurity professionals, system engineers, and IT enthusiasts who need a flexible and straightforward tool for network diagnostics, data transfer, or security testing purposes.

Windscribe videos

100% HONEST Windscribe Review 2020 ?

More videos:

  • Review - WindScribe Review - HONEST VPN REVIEW 2019!
  • Review - Windscribe VPN | A Full Comprehensive Review

netcat videos

Linux Terminal 101: Netcat

More videos:

  • Review - Advanced Netcat and TCP Fun - Hak5 1922
  • Review - Netcat 101: Remote Shells in Windows, HakTip 86

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Windscribe and netcat)
VPN
100 100%
0% 0
Monitoring Tools
0 0%
100% 100
Cloud VPN
100 100%
0% 0
Log Management
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Windscribe and netcat

Windscribe Reviews

Best Top 20 OpenVPN Alternatives (Pros and Cons)
Windscribe is a Canadian-based VPN alternative that comes with a paid version and a free tier with 10GB bandwidth per month. This software cannot assure the fast performance of NordVPN and others,but has many advantages too.
Best Ad Blockers in 2023: Adblock Plus vs AdGuard vs uBlock Origin and More
R.O.B.E.R.T. comes with all Windscribe plans, although the free plan will only allow you to add three custom online ads rules. It will, however, help with blocking overlay ads and avoid spyware-infected ads as well. If you’re already using Windscribe, R.O.B.E.R.T. is a worthy addition, though we aren’t sure we would go out of our way to get it as a stand-alone product.
10 Best Free Online Proxy Server List of 2022 [VERIFIED]
Windscribe offers the solution of VPN and Ad Block. It offers the solution as a desktop application and as a browser extension. It will let you browse privately and unblock the geo-restricted content. Your activities will be encrypted with Windscribe. The pricing plan starts at $4.08 per month.
Best NordVPN Alternatives
Windscribe, like ProtonVPN, offers a high-quality free VPN app alongside its paid version. However, unlike the competition, it has a monthly bandwidth limit of 10 GB. Despite all that, Windscribe remains a public favorite. This is mainly because the VPN works wonders circumventing geo-blocks and content filters, even in China. Furthermore, it offers torrenting on every...
Source: vpnwired.com
10 Best NordVPN Alternatives – Safe & Fast VPNs in 2022
This one is pretty much similar to the TunnelBear VPN listed above. Like TunnelBear, Windscribe also offers 500MB of free data every month. It has over 2000 servers spread across 36 countries. It also has a strict no-log policy, IP Stamps, etc.
Source: techviral.net

netcat Reviews

9 Best Angry IP Scanner Alternatives Reviewed 2021 (Free & Paid)
Netcat lacks a lot of the documentation you can easily find with software like AngryIP or Nmap which in my opinion is its biggest drawback. If you’re thinking about trying out Netcat, check out our Netcat Cheat Sheet to quickly pull up powerful and useful commands. Netcat is compatible with Windows, Linux, and macOS systems.
Top 5 Best Port Scanners
Netcat is one of the oldest network tools in the "Unixverse", it's been there since 1995, and the last official version is from 2004. Although it has many forks and variants that work pretty well on modern operating systems, like ncat from the Nmap suite, or this alternative Netcat version from Mike Frysinger.

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Windscribe seems to be a lot more popular than netcat. While we know about 140 links to Windscribe, we've tracked only 7 mentions of netcat. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Windscribe mentions (140)

  • How to Make an Argentina Steam Account in 2023 – Tried and Tested
    Windscribe (offers a free plan, with the option to purchase Argentina servers). Source: almost 2 years ago
  • So Windscribe's Android app is being recommended as a secure client against the TunnelCrack exploit.
    "In case you use OpenVPN servers and profiles, then you can use the open-source Windscribe client and load your OpenVPN profile in Windscribe. You will then be able to use Windscribe with your own server. At the time of disclosure, the Windscribe client was secure against all attacks on all the platforms that we tested (Windows, Android, macOS, Linux, iOS). In contrast, during the disclosure we were not aware of... Source: almost 2 years ago
  • Windscribe Voucher 2023 - Free 1GB of VPN Data - Use this link https://windscribe.com/yo/inae8osm - New Customers Only
    And here’s a non-referral link too: https://windscribe.com/. Source: almost 2 years ago
  • Blocked IP
    If "Sorry, you have been blocked. You are unable to access windscribe.com" ? Source: almost 2 years ago
  • The ongoing protest should include ad-blocking and anti-tracking
    To block ads entirely: AdGuard or Windscribe VPN. Source: almost 2 years ago
View more

netcat mentions (7)

  • could not connect to the rhel-9 from putty in windows machine
    If you don't like using telnet, that's fine. Don't use it. There are plenty of other options available. Use netcat. Or use netcat. Or use netcat. Or read and write directly to /dev/tcp/hostname/port using shell constructs. Or run openssl s_client if you suspect something complicated is listening on the other end. There is more than one way to do it and ways that are not your way still work. Source: almost 2 years ago
  • The HTTP crash course nobody asked for
    Reminder, there are many different netcats, here are some of the most commons: - netcat-traditional http://www.stearns.org/nc/ - netcat-openbsd : https://github.com/openbsd/src/blob/master/usr.bin/nc/netcat.c (also packaged in Debian) - ncat https://nmap.org/ncat/ - netcat GNU: https://netcat.sourceforge.net/ (quite rare) To prevent any confusion, I like to recommend socat: http://www.dest-unreach.org/socat/. - Source: Hacker News / over 2 years ago
  • Gaining remote access to a computer with a reverse shell attack in Node.js
    A common tool to execute a reverse shell is called netcat. If you're using macOS, it should be installed by default. You can check by running nc -help in a terminal window. - Source: dev.to / almost 3 years ago
  • Programm to send and receive TCP/UDP Packets
    You could try using Ncat on Windows or netcat on Linux, though it's a command-line only tool if that matters. Source: about 3 years ago
  • Is there a way to copy a file from a remote shell to local without using scp?
    If you have netcat, you can easily set up a transfer from one machine to the other:. Source: almost 4 years ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Windscribe and netcat, you can also consider the following products

ProtonVPN - ProtonVPN is a security focused FREE VPN service, developed by CERN and MIT scientists. Use the web anonymously, unblock websites & encrypt your connection.

Wireshark - Wireshark is a network protocol analyzer for Unix and Windows. It lets you capture and interactively browse the traffic running on a computer network.

OpenVPN - OpenVPN - The Open Source VPN

tcpdump - tcpdump is a common packet analyzer that runs under the command line.

Psiphon - Psiphon is circumvention software for Windows and Mobile platforms that provides uncensored access to Internet content. Read more about Psiphon.

Ettercap - Ettercap is a suite for man in the middle attacks on LAN.