Private Internet Access is an online privacy service (VPN) managed by London Trust Media, Inc. While you might guess London Trust Media is located in England, they are actually based in the United States. Private Internet Access is very involved in the technical community. They sponsor a number of online privacy related groups and projects.
The Private Internet Access VPN service is known for their commitment to user privacy. They are a favorite of the P2P / file sharing community and highly recommended by TorrentFreak. Advanced client features like an Internet kill switch and DNS leak protection have earned PIA a great reputation. Their low price has led to rapid growth.
Pricing and Special Offers
Private Internet Access offers an all-inclusive plan. Members enjoy unlimited access to their network of VPN servers. There aren’t any restrictions on the amount of bandwidth you can use. In fact Private Internet Access welcomes you to use the service on up to five devices at a time with a single account. Adding even more value to the service.
Private Internet Access is currently running a special promotion. You can save up to 53% off VPN access. Their monthly plan is a great value at $6.45. If you want an even lower price then I suggest you consider the yearly term. The annual plan is an excellent value at just $3.25 a month. You can visit the Private Internet Access special page to save.
Private Internet Access supports a wide range of payment options. I like using PayPal for online services to have another place to manage the subscription. I also like that PIA offers bitcoin and gift cards as payment options. They also accept major credit cards (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover) and several other options.
Risk Free Trial Period
Private Internet Access understands that you need a chance to test their service to make sure it will work on all your devices. In response they offer a 7 day money back guarantee to all new members. That will give you plenty of time to test their service and the client software. If you’re not happy for any reason simply request a refund in the first 7 days.
PIA VPN Network and Server Locations
Private Internet Access doesn’t have the largest VPN network in terms of server locations. They offer a mix of server locations in important regions of the world with a very low price. Especially on annual sign ups. When it comes to server count Private Internet Access supports an expansive number of servers to support their large and ever growing customer base.
Countries
Locations
Servers
Protocols
17
27
3388
OpenVPN, PPTP, L2TP
While some VPN providers limit bandwidth, Private Internet Access offers unlimited data use. You won’t have to worry about any over usage fees. There aren’t any restrictions or limitations. You have full access to all the server locations on up to 5 devices at a time with a single PIA VPN account.
Private Internet Access manages a network of servers in the following countries: Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Israel, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Romania, Russia, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom and the United States.
Privacy and Security
Depending on your purpose for using a VPN service the logging policy can be very important. Private Internet Access makes it very clear on their site that they don’t keep any traffic logs. If you’re looking for a no-log VPN service then PIA is a fine choice.
The other side is security. The level of encryption offered is important. Private Internet Access supports OpenVPN, PPTP, L2TP/IPSec and socks proxy That gives the PIA service a good mix of security and compatibility.
Hands-On Testing
If you’ve read any of my reviews then you know I only consider VPN providers with nice client software. Private Internet Access offers one of the best Windows clients. They continue to add advanced features including an Internet kill switch to ensure you won’t communicate if the VPN ever drops. They also have DNS leak protection and the ability to control the level of encryption.
Connecting with the Windows VPN Client
Let’s start by taking a look at the PIA Windows client.
As you can see the PIA VPN client has a number of advanced features to help protect your online privacy. The service is very popular among P2P / torrent users. They rely on the VPN kill switch and DNS leak protection to better protect their privacy in case the VPN ever drops. Which is going to happen sooner or later with any VPN service.
Once you have the client settings the way you want them you can connect to any PIA server. Here’s a quick look at the user interface:
As you can see it’s nothing fancy to look at. Nor does it need to be. The client couldn’t be any easier to use. It presents a menu similar to the open-source OpenVPN client. You simply click on the server location you want to connect to and the client will make the connection.
Connect with the Mac VPN Client
In addition to their popular Windows software, Private Internet Access also has a Mac client. You can download the latest version from the setup area of their site. The client is compatible with Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard or above.
Connect with the Android App
Connecting to PIA VPN with your Android mobile phone or tablet couldn’t be any easier. You can download the app from Google Play for free. All members receive unlimited bandwidth regardless of what device your on. They allow five connections which is especially nice when traveling. I connect from my laptop and phone simultaneously with a single account.
The screenshot to the left shows the PIA Android data usage screen. The app is very simple to use. You just tap on any server to connect. After that you can view the server location, time connected and total data sent and received for the session. Private Internet Access accounts include unlimited bandwidth but the info comes in handy for those on a limited cell data plan.
Connect from iPhone or iPad
Private Internet Access doesn’t have an iOS app but they have simple instructions for iOS devices. You can easily set up your iPhone or iPad to connect to any Private Internet Access server using PPTP or L2TP protocol.
Here’s the L2TP set up instructions for iOS devices:
1) Generate a PPTP/L2TP password from the PIA client control panel
2) Open the Settings application
3) Click on General
4) Click on Network
5) Click on VPN
6) Click on Add VPN Configuration
7) Select L2TP
8) In the Description field, enter Private Internet Access
9) In the Server field, enter us-california.privateinternetaccess.com (or any server)
10) In the Account field, enter your supplied username
11) In the Password field, enter your supplied password
12) In the Secret field, enter mysafety
13) Ensure that Send All Traffic is set to ON
14) Click Save
15) Press the Home button
16) Open the Settings application
17) Click on VPN
18) Click on Private Internet Access
19) Set VPN to ON
When you tap the ‘ON/OFF’ button beside the VPN label you’ll connect and it will show status ‘Connected’.
Private Internet Access Speed Test
I tested Private Internet Access using OpenVPN which is the most secure protocol. I used OpenVPN UDP which is the fastest for downloading and streaming online sites like Netflix. As you can see my speed was slower on the VPN than it was direct to my ISP. You can expect some impact on performance using any VPN based on the overhead of encrypting your connection.
Conclusion
Private Internet Access is a great value. They manage a large VPN network in terms of server count. With a focus on anonymity that makes them very popular with the the P2P / torrent community. I especially like the advanced features of their client along with the very reasonable price of the service.
What I liked most about the service:
Advanced client features like the VPN kill switch
Support for OpenVPN, PPTP and L2TP protocols
Allows you to connect on 5 devices at a time
Bitcoin and gift card payment options
Term discounts on annual sign ups
Ideas to improve the service:
Offer a mobile app for iOS devices
Add more server locations
Consider dedicated IP as an add-on
I like Private Internet Access because they offer a lot for the price. While the network isn’t as large as some in terms of server locations they make up for it with advanced client features and a nice, low price. Not to mention their no-log policy. Regardless of which term you choose (monthly, 6 month, annual) Private Internet Access offers a seven day money back guarantee.
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