In A Nutshell
To create this list, I assess a VPN provider’s quality of customer service, the reliability of their network, and their commitment to privacy. I also take into account customer feedback posted on forums.
I recommend these VPN providers:
The Best VPN For Privacy (based in the U.S.): Private Internet Access
The Best VPNs For Privacy (based in Europe): AirVPN (Italy), VPN.AC (Romania)
The Best VPN For Privacy (based in Asia): BolehVPN (Malaysia)
The Best VPNs For Torrenting: Private Internet Access, ibVPN, BolehVPN
The Best VPNs For Unblocking Hulu, Netflix and YouTube: IPVanish, PureVPN, Private Internet Access
The Best VPNs For iPhones/iPads: IPVanish, PureVPN, Private Internet Access
The Best VPNs For Android Devices: Private Internet Access, IPVanish
The Best VPNs for Bypassing Chinese Firewall: Private Internet Access, VPN.AC, BolehVPN
I no longer recommend these VPN providers:
EarthVPN: The service was recently hacked, and is apparently keeps logs, and may also be spamming it’s users
BTGuard: Numerous reports of slow connection speeds, and poor customer service.
StrongVPN: Fairly expensive, confusing sign-up options. Also they do not allow P2P/Torrenting, and they able to match an external IP address to a subscriber
I’ve also created a list of the VPN providers I do not recommend.
Some VPNs that I’m currently researching: Switch VPN, ibVPN and BlackVPN
What Is A VPN?
A VPN (virtual private network) is a service encrypts and redirects all the internet connections on your computer. This means all the data leaving your computer is encrypted, which adds a layer of protection against hackers and eavesdroppers. It is also very difficult for your ISP (Internet Service Provider) to monitor you or block your connections. A VPN service will also allow your to computer to appear to be Europe, the USA, or other countries at will. This is helpful if you want to access blocked media like streaming videos.
VPNs differ from web proxies because VPNs encrypt and redirect all of your computer’s outgoing network connections, whereas proxies will only usually only redirect particular protocols within an application.
Note that VPNs may slow down your internet connections to some extent. VPNs won’t really affect direct downloads, but they will affect web browsing and torrenting (basically anything that pulls data in lots of small bursts). Personally, I don’t notice a difference unless I’m connected a very remote server in Japan or Romania (from the US).
I don’t recommend using free VPNs because they are usually run by untrustworthy companies, and tend to sell your private information.
When signing up to VPN services, if you need a extra layer of privacy, I suggest using an pseudo-anonymous payment method such as Bitcoin or Liberty Reserve, and doing a DNS Leak Test when using a VPN. A VPN can provide you with a good level of privacy when browsing the web. If you are looking for industrial-strength privacy, I recommending using use the Tor Browser or Tails.
The Best VPN For Privacy (based in USA)
Private Internet Access
Private Internet Access is a VPN service that is highly regarded by privacy advocates. It remains our top choice for a privacy-oriented VPN service. In the online discussions I’ve been monitoring, the comments are almost universally positive. It also received a PC Magazine Editor’s Choice Award for VPN services.
The company operates out of the United States with gigabit gateways in the USA, Canada, UK, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. I’ve been testing their VPN service for about 12 months now, and I’ve had no problems. I use it continuously now, and I don’t notice any lag when browsing the web, or downloading files. They are also one of the least expensive private VPNs, with rates at $39.95 year, or $6.95 per month.
In regards to logging user activity, the company says:
We absolutely do not maintain any VPN logs of any kind. We utilize shared IP addresses rather than dynamic or static IPs, so it is not possible to match a user to an external IP. These are some of the many solutions we have implemented to enable the strongest levels of anonymity amongst VPN services. Further, we would like to encourage our users to use an anonymous e-mail and pay with Bitcoins to ensure even higher levels of anonymity should it be required. Our core verticals are privacy, quality of service, and prompt customer support. We will not share any information with third parties without a valid court order. With that said, it is impossible to match a user to any activity on our system since we utilize shared IPs and maintain absolutely no logs.
Their VPN service supports all the major platforms: Window, Mac OS X, Linux, iOS and Android. They support the following VPN protocols: PPTP, IPSEC, OpenVPN and L2TP. You can also configure Private Internet Access to work on a DD-WRT router or Tomato router (via SSL/OpenVPN) for constant security.
Their VPN client also has handy features like DNS leakage blocking and an “internet kill switch” (a feature that shuts off your internet connection if your VPN connection goes down).
For payment they accept credit cards, Paypal, Amazon Payments, CashU, Google Wallet, OKPay, Bitcoin, and Liberty Reserve,
The service costs $6.95 per month, or $40 per year.
Link: Private Internet Access
The Best VPN For Privacy (based in Europe)
AirVPN
AirVPN is a VPN provider located in Italy that puts a great deal of attention on providing a truly anonymous service. The company says “When we built our infrastructure we had in mind access from people who live in freedom of expression extremely hostile areas, where identity disclosure can lead to critical threats to physical safety and to personal freedom.”
Their servers are located in the Netherlands, Sweden, Germany, United States and United Kingdom, and in each country there’s at least a 1 Gbit/second server. The company says:
All servers come with dedicated uplink ports. IP addresses are shared with option to forward ports from the control panel. Servers exit-IP and entry-IP are different, against correlation attacks. No logs are kept, and there’s no traffic limit.
For payment, Air VPN accepts Bitcoin, Paypal and credit cards. The price of the service is 7 euros ($9) per month, or 54 euros ($72) per year.
Link: AirVPN
VPN.AC
VPN.AC is based in Romania. They have good VPN speeds, are committed to privacy, and allow torrenting. They accept Bitcoin, Paypal and CashU. They are owned by Netsec Interactive Solutions a company ten years of experience in internet security. VPN.AC hosts servers in 9 countries (US, UK, Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany, France, Romania, Hong Kong and Canada) capable of reaching gigabit port speeds and accommodating for the fastest internet connections. VPN.AC offers one VPN package, which grants you access to all of their international servers.
Link: VPN.AC
The Best VPN for Privacy (based in Asia)
BolehVPN
BolehVPN was founded 2007 in Malaysia, and it is now one of the largest VPN providers in South East Asia. BolehVPN does not log internet activity and they support P2P transfers. The company is known for their personalized customer support, and they have active community of customers. Aside from VPN services, they also provide game server hosting and Mumble hosting for customers in the South-East Asian region. The have 25 servers in 9 different countries, including one located in Hong Kong.
For payment they accept Bitcoin, PayPal, Liberty Reserve, WebCash, online banking transfer (Malaysian customers only) or even cash deposits (Malaysian customers only).
he cost of the service is $10.50 per month or $85.90 per year.
Link: BolehVPN
The Best VPN For Torrenting and P2P
Not all VPNs are BitTorrent friendly. In fact, some explicitly prohibit the use of file-sharing software. However, there are some VPNs that welcome torrenting and do not log your online activities, thereby preserving your privacy. If want to torrrent without being bothered, it is essential that the VPN you use does not track your online connections.
We now recommend these providers for torrenting and P2P:
Private Internet Access
VPN.AC
ibVPN
BolehVPN
Best VPNs For Unblocking Hulu, Netflix and YouTube
Hulu, the streaming service, requires that your IP address be located U.S., if you want to access their service. So if you are traveling in Europe and want to catch up on your favorite shows, you won’t be able to access them. To solve this problem you’ll want to use a VPN with servers in the U.S. Your internet connections will be rerouted to the U.S., and thus your computer will appear to be there.
For my recommended VPNs for Hulu, I’ve chosen VPNs with fast server connections in the USA and well as servers in a number of other countries:
IPVanish
A newcomer to the VPN scene, IPVanish started operation in 2012, and is headquartered in the USA. They have already earned a good reputation for privacy and fast connection speeds. According to the company there are “no restrictions on any legal use of the VPN”, and P2P services such as BitTorrent are not filtered. The service costs $10 per month or $77 per year. IPVanish has 90 VPN servers located throughout 41 countries giving 2,500+ potential IP addresses. They run their own tier-1 network, and the company claims that they have the fastest VPN connection speeds. IPVanish supports OpenVPN, PPTP and L2TP/IPSec protocols.
IPVanish offers a 7 Day Free Trial in the form of a money back guarantee. You will need a credit card to signup, but if you decide that you do not enjoy the service, email the IPVanish Support Team (available 24×7) and they’ll issue a refund.
The cost of the service is $10 per month, or $78 per year.
Link: IPVanish
PureVPN
PureVPN is a reliable VPN service which supports PPTP, L2TP and SSTP protocols, with over 300 servers in 26 or 27 countries. You are allowed to server switches as many times as you need with unrestricted speed across their entire network. The PureVPN Software installs easily, and includes traffic log charting, auto-reconnection and the ability to split select traffic through the VPN and other traffic through your local network, known as Split Tunneling.
PureVPN offers a fixed IP package and a decided IP package. Note that PureVPN limits your bandwdith to 30 GB per month, and they don’t support OpenVPN.
They accept PayPal, Credit Card, Debit Card, MoneyBookers, AlertPay, Ukash, paysafecard and WebMoney. Western Union and Bank Transfer options are available on orders above $100 USD.
Link: PureVPN
The Best VPN For Mobile Devices
A number of VPNs now support mobile devices like Android phones and tablets, iPhones, iPads and Windows phones. On most devices, you’ll be using the PPTP or the L2TP protocol, and you’ll have to enter your VPN connection information manually. We recommend using L2TP where possible, because this protocol is more secure than PPTP. Currently, you can’t use OpenVPN on iPhones and iPads, due to Apple restrictions. You can use the GuizmOVPN app on a jailbroken iPhone or iPad. On Android you can use FeatVPN app, or on a rooted device running Android 4, you can use the OpenVPN Settings app.
Our top picks here are those VPN providers that provide good documentation for setting up mobile devices:
IPVanish (provides step-by-step instruction for setting up mobile devices, note that they keep logs)
PureVPN (good documentation, keeps logs)
Private Internet Access (good documentation, doesn’t keep logs)
VPNs That I Do Not Recommend
EarthVPN
The service was recently hacked, and is apparently keeps logs, and may also be spamming it’s users.
HMA (Hide My Ass)
Keeps logs for up to 2 years, awful customer service.
BTGuard
Numerous reports of slow connection speeds, and poor customer service.
Astrill
Poor customer service, may keep logs.
StrongVPN
Fairly expensive, confusing sign-up options, and does not allow P2P and are able to match an external IP address to their subscribers
Witopia
They don’t support torrenting. They don’t respond to people’s questions.
Hotspot Shield
The software constantly generates banner ads and pop-up windows, and it forcibly changes your search engine to Bing. Also, many sites will still be blocked using Hotspot Shield, and the company makes money by tracking your online activities and reselling this information to third parties. They state on their privacy policy page (http://www.anchorfree.com/privacy.html):
AnchorFree allows other companies, called third-party ad servers or ad networks, to serve advertisements within the Hotspot Shield These third-party ad servers or ad networks use technology to send, directly to your browser, the advertisements and links that appear on the Hotspot Shield
. They automatically receive the virtual IP Address assigned by AnchorFree when this happens. They may also use other technologies (such as cookies, javascript, or web beacons) to measure the effectiveness of their advertisements and to personalize their advertising content. AnchorFree’s Hotspot Shield Privacy Notice does not apply to, and we cannot control the activities of, such other advertisers or other web sites visited by Users. . .
CyberGhost
Keeps logs, requires personal information when signing up.
StrongVPN
Keeps logs, they say they support P2P, but shut down account as soon as they receive DMCA notice.
VyprVPN
Declined comments about privacy, locks your accrount if you get a DMCA notice.
VpnTunnel
Awful customer service, constant disconnection issues.
TorGuard
Requires your personal info when signing up, doesn’t respond to request for refunds.
PROXY.SH
Essentially a scam, customer support non-existent.
NordVPN
Reports of poor customer service, request for refunds ignored.
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