Transferring large files, sending email, and using VoIP services over the same data connection can quickly use up all available bandwidth. By prioritizing outgoing data, the VPN client ensures that specific user-defined applications like VoIP, which demand high-quality bandwidth management, can maintain a clear and stable connection.
“The new QoS module ensures that active applications can access the maximum outgoing bandwidth allocated to them and that inactive applications do not hog resources," said Patrick Oliver Graf, CEO of NCP engineering.
NCP has also extended IPv6 support in its VPN client, enabling the use of both IPv4 and IPv6 protocols within the VPN tunnel. Split tunneling can be configured separately for IPv4 and Ipv6 protocols.
The Home Zone feature is a special user profile for home office scenarios. Clicking the Home Zone button automatically enables special firewall rules which have been set up by the administrator and only apply while the device is connected to the home office network. This means that the user can conveniently access other devices such as printers or scanners on their home office network. When the user leaves the Home Zone network, the previous firewall rules are reactivated.
In version 12.0, NCP has extended this feature with a new option to temporarily set the Home Zone. Previously, the NCP Secure Client recognized the Home Zone automatically after it had been set once. If the new option is enabled, the Home Zone is forgotten after restart, standby, or change of connection, and must be enabled again by the user.
NCP has improved the handling of different connection media by adding two new options to the Connection Management feature of its Windows clients including "Disable mobile network if LAN cable is plugged in" and "Disable mobile network when Wi-Fi connection is established". Now, instead of the client connecting automatically to all available data networks, users have more granular control over which connection medium is used.
All NCP Windows clients above version 12.0 are compatible with Microsoft Windows from Windows 7 up to Windows 10 version 1903.