Alex Rivera

My Experience

My writing journey started in 2012 and has taken me through various niches, but my main focus has always been on tech. I contributed to several growing PC hardware and software sites, focusing on gaming, peripherals, and privacy.

As the amount of information we put out on the internet has grown, so have the threats and the tools we use to combat them. With VPNs gaining traction in the late 2010s as a tool for the public instead of just an option for business security, I found myself reviewing countless options in this continuously changing landscape.

This led to my role as Lead Security Analyst at CompareVPNList, after honing my knowledge of VPNs and privacy tools across leading security portals where I oversaw independent testing methodology. I led a talented team of fellow writers and editors to evaluate VPNs, password managers, antivirus, and parental controls.

Areas of Expertise

The Technology & Lab Tools I Use

To conduct objective VPN performance benchmarking, my laboratory setup includes a dedicated 10Gbps fiber-optic test bench. I run automated speed and latency tests across dual multi-gigabit hardware routers (Asus ROG Rapture GT-AXE16000 and pfSense custom firewall appliances) to evaluate native VPN router configurations, WireGuard throughput, and OpenVPN CPU load.

For deep security and privacy verification, I rely on industry-standard packet inspection tools like Wireshark and tcpdump to analyze encrypted traffic packets, verify kill-switch fail-safes, and ensure no DNS, IPv6, or WebRTC queries leak outside the encrypted VPN tunnel during sudden network drops.

Because VPN performance varies significantly across operating systems, I maintain a multi-device testing suite including Windows 11 Pro workstations, macOS Sequoia MacBooks, Ubuntu Linux servers, iOS/Android mobile devices, and dedicated streaming hardware (Amazon Fire TV 4K Max, Apple TV 4K, and Nvidia Shield TV Pro) to test real-world 4K Ultra HD streaming unblocking and app stability.

For malware inspection and virtual environment isolation, I deploy VirtualBox and VMware Workstation Pro virtual machines to safely inspect VPN installer packages, check background telemetry services, and run automated geo-location verification scripts across global server endpoints.