Intro Get Hidemyass Free
Hide My Ass! (HMA!) Is a company, with Its claim to fame being its huge number of subscribers — it has more than 400 million, today. This supplier has seen its fair share of controversy with respect. It made upgrades in the hopes of winning back the loyalty of its subscribers and redeeming itself support to it. Get Hidemyass Free
We took it For a test run to find out how much it has improved and if it is worth the money.
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What’s a VPN?
When you trigger a VPN, it generates an encrypted tunnel to Guard your data as it passes from your computer to a host controlled by the VPN. From there, your info releases onto the net that is open. It is a simple idea, but one with tremendous impacts for your privacy and security.
It prevents anybody in your neighborhood Network from intercepting or observation your activity. Though the airport or coffee shop Wi-Fi network looks safe (it might even be password-protected) it is not actually safe unless you are using a VPN. For another thing, a VPN may prevent your Internet Service Provider (ISP) from collecting information about your online activities so that it can sell anonymized user data to the highest bidder.
A VPN makes it difficult to correlate your Online activities with your own identity. Because your traffic is exiting in the VPN company’s server, you seem to have its own IP address, effectively hiding your true location. Additionally, it forces even the most determined attacker to test and sort through all of the visitors from other users on the same VPN server to find what they’re after. For these reasons, and more, you need a VPN on your life.
Be aware that a VPN only encrypts your traffic until it exits via the VPN server. Provided that the website your information must be protected all the way. Also, while VPNs can provide a modicum of anonymity, a tool such as the Tor network is much better at hiding your identity.
VPNs have long been used by journalists and activists To circumvent censorship in countries with repressive internet policies. They’re also handy if you are looking to circumvent geographic restrictions on streaming content. A VPN can spoof your current location, providing you with access to geographically restricted content such as BBC streaming or MLB TV. Some VPNs don’t appreciate these activities (which might be in violation of terms of support or even local legislation ) and content providers such as Netflix are breaking down on users that spoof their location and the VPN services they utilize to perform it.
There’s a Fantastic opportunity That you might not have ever laid hands on a VPN before. If that’s true, do not worry! We have got an entire feature on how best to prepare and use a VPN. Get Hidemyass Free
VPN Protocols
There are several techniques. My Preferred method uses the OpenVPN protocol, which is known for its speed and reliability. Additionally, it is open minded, and consequently has been picked over for possible vulnerabilities by anyone with the interest to do so.
Hide My Ass utilizes OpenVPN on Windows, using an older version That supports L2TP, and PPTP, too. Additionally, there are two different versions of this macOS app that, taken together, support IPSec (IKEv1 and v2), L2TP, and PPTP. Note that these older versions of the program are being phased out from the programmer. The iOS variant uses just IPSec, along with the Android app uses just OpenVPN.
That is a bit of a hodgepodge, and I am frustrated that Hide My Ass doesn’t provide OpenVPN on all platforms. That said, a number of this issue is with the programs. Apple requires developers to jump through extra hoops if they want to include OpenVPN within a program, but many are beginning to move in this direction. I’d love to see Hide My Ass do the same, across the board.
Your Privacy With Hide My Ass
With any safety item, you want to Be Certain that the Company behind it’s going to be operating on your best interests. This is particularly true for VPNs, which are supposed to improve privacy and security. If a VPN company is just as nosey as your ISP, there is not much point in using it.
When I review VPNs, I read the company’s privacy policy And talk with representatives to be able to better understand how your data is stored and used. In the instance of Hide My Ass, the corporation ought to be praised on its clear privacy policy. It says Hide My personal logs your username, the timestamp of connection and disconnection, the number of data transmitted, your real IP address, and the IP address of the host you connected to. This is not radically different from what’s provided by other providers. In reality, it’s quite similar to Golden Frog VyprVPN’s policy.
What is noteworthy is that Hide My Ass Will store this information for two to three months, while VyprVPN stores it for only 30 days. Other services hold less information, or they eliminate it immediately. Hide My Ass says that it keeps this data for this time period in order to enhance performance, prevent fraud, and prevent bad guys from using the VPN to send spam. The company, notably, also lists file sharing among the illicit activities it requires this information to stop, despite the firm being fine with the use of BitTorrent on some servers.
It May be possible that this advice could be used To correlate an individual’s identity to particular activity on the internet, but it will likely be very hard. Even with this information, an observer would have to know which VPN server to watch then compare that activity from Hide My Ass’s logs, and also be able to parse out the target’s traffic from everybody else using the exact same server.
The Hide My Ass privacy policy also clearly states that it Does not monitor or store the real content of your online activity. So, the service is not looking at your sites or the files that you’re downloading. That’s great, and just what you wish to hear from a VPN company.
In the past, some VPN companies monetized users by Injecting ads in their web traffic. Hide My Ass says that it doesn’t do this, and goes much farther. A business representative explained to me that the company does not gain from consumer data in any way.
The actual location of a VPN company also matters, as it Can inform what protections are afforded to customers. Hide My Ass has its own company headquarters in London, also works under the jurisdiction of England and Wales. Especially, the UK at large does have mandatory data retention laws. That is not ideal. Other VPN providers function in countries without data retention laws, or in ones that have privacy protections for consumers. Get Hidemyass Free
I don’t believe it is possible to make a decision Concerning a company’s benefits based on its own location. It is important to comprehend that the laws and policies on the job in a business with such intimate access to some own information. I encourage visitors choose a VPN service, and to consider this advice.
Servers and Server Locations
A key differentiator between VPN services is the number of Available servers and their geographical distribution. A great deal of servers means you’re more likely to locate a server that is not bogged down with other users. For its part, Hide My Ass has a very commendable 876 servers at its disposal. Nevertheless, NordVPN, Private Internet Access, and TorGuard VPN have over 3,000 servers. These are my benchmarks for robustness from the VPN server category.
Geographic distribution of those servers can be very important. Lots of locations means more to pick from for purposes, but also ensures that no matter will likely be a server for the performance. Hide My Ass has an extremely impressive 286 server places across some 220 countries. It’s easily the record one of the VPN services I’ve reviewed.
The list of available server locations offered by Hide My Ass is particularly noteworthy since regions ignored by other VPN businesses are covered by it. It has, as an instance, server locations that are numerous . It maintains servers in China, Russia, and Turkey, that have net policies that are especially repressive.
Some consumers might be concerned about a company’s Use of virtual servers. These are software-defined servers which make several servers are efficiently operated as by a single physical server. Virtual servers can also be configured to behave as though they are in one state when they are really in another, which is a problem if you’re worried about where your data is traveling.
I was told by A company representative this a full 225 of the 286 server places are virtual servers. Only 61 of the server locations are hardware, and 450 of Hide My Ass’s 876 servers are virtual. That is far beyond providers. NordVPN TunnelBear, IPVanish, and TorGuard utilize physical infrastructure for their host locations.
A business representative explained to me that majority of the Company’s physical server infrastructure is located in Amsterdam, Frankfurt, London, Miami, New York, Prague, Seattle, and Singapore. This doesn’t really jibe with what Hide My Ass lists on its website. I’d like to see future versions of Hide My Ass be clearer about when you’re connected to a virtual server.
Installation and interface
Obtaining Started with Hide My Ass! Is super simple and the updated apps are extremely user-friendly. As soon as you sign up for your account, you’ll be given a license key. It is possible to use this or your credentials (password and username ) to log into almost any app. For the purpose of this inspection, we’ve tested out the Windows client and the iOS program. Get Hidemyass Free
Desktop
Once you’ve Established the desktop and logged in, you’ll be greeted with the Success! screen. Click Got It! To get this app’s screen. Here you have Freedom Mode: Location Mode, Instant Mode, and three choices for modes.
In Immediate Mode, you can click the arrow And you’re going to be connected to the fastest server for your location.
In Location manner, you can choose which Server you connect to. Click Change Location to view your options. There is a drop-down list which enables you to choose servers based on different criteria. We all will show you an state list. Clicking on the arrow will show you specific locations within that country.
Speedy Access shows you a list of servers you have Recently linked to, as well as some choices that were recommended. Streaming will give you a choice of two servers suitable for unblocking popular streaming services like Netflix, one at the united states and one in the UK.
Peer to Peer shows You allow filesharing. Finally, there’s the Favorites option; to indicate a server the center can click .
Going back To the main display, the one alternative here’s Freedom Mode, which is targeted at users who wish to bypass censorship. This mode will link you to a server in the nearest country that’s regarded as free from censorship.
You can Access the Settings by clicking the menu icon in the top left-hand corner of the main screen and choosing Preferences. Here, you’ll see three tabs: General, Network Security, and Kill Switch. In the Generalscreen, you may change your startup options, like starting when you turn your pc on or if the app starts.
You also Have a Personal Privacy section housing one alternative that relates to Quick Access in Location Mode. If you want to conceal your recent history, you can uncheck the box.
Next, We’ve got the Network Security screen in which you may choose settings for wifi protection that is automatic. You can also turn on the IP shuffle feature which makes it more difficult for someone to detect where you are by periodically changing your IP address. One more option in this display lets you use TCP with OpenVPN. Nonetheless, this is only recommended if UDP is blocked or throttled. TCP is more secure, but UDP is generally faster.
The Tab will be the Switch tab, so that it works for many applications where you can toggle on this attribute. You could even add software and decide whether to use it to people.
This Is a app that is fairly robust and it both visually pleasing and searchable.
Mobile
Many Providers will have a mobile program that is unrecognizable compared to the desktop version. But, HMA! Has streamlined its product, and also the iOS app looks almost identical to the Windows version.
Once you’re You’ll get to the main screen, which is basically exactly like the primary screen in the background app. Here you can Pick from Location Mode, Instant Mode, or Freedom Mode.
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The Only real difference is that when you select Location Mode, your choices are presented in another method. You have three tabs: Nations, Cities, and Favorites, but lacking are the extra options found in the such as Streaming, Peer to Peer, and Quick Access.
To Get into the streaming servers from the app, you will have to visit the Cities listing and find the Liberty Island server under US, New York. The UK Town server may also be found on this list for access to UK Netflix and BBC iPlayer.
Moving on, The settings to the program can be retrieved by clicking on the menu icon at the top left-hand corner of the display and select Settings. There you have two options: Private privacy and Connection Rules.
In The Link Rules segment, you can correct wifi security preferences and choose whether to auto reconnect when wifi or mobile connections are disrupted.
The solitude section has One option: Share usage data with third parties for analytics, which will be your permission to”enable app and device use data to be shared with third parties for analytics.” Keep in mind that this is enabled by default so it may be among the first things you want to flip off.
Overall, This is a slick and intuitive app, but many users might be missing extra features like a kill button and also the choice to switch protocols.
Servers and functionality
The Hide My Ass! Network comprises over 850 servers. Some of these are virtual servers, but a customer support representative was unable to inform us just how many. Get Hidemyass Free
As we Discussed previously, HMA presents many choices for selecting the right server, including different modes and the ability to indicate servers as favorites. Servers that allow P2P are marked with a symbol that was P2P.
We tested Servers for performance in the usa and also the UK in terms of downloading, surfing, and browsing. In general, when browsing, there were no issues, besides there being a noticeable slowdown in page load times when connected to a UK server. This isn’t uncommon for geographically distant servers (the tests were completed in Toronto, Canada), but might be bothersome, particularly for users who have slow net rates.
We didn’t See any lag or streaming while streaming 1080p using any of those test servers and were able to play online games with no difficulties.
HideMyAss! and Netflix
Hide My Ass! unblocks Netflix! But don’t expect to simply link to any Waiter and go. We had no luck whatsoever, when we tested servers with US Netflix with the desktop client. But if you select the Streaming choice from the dropdown within Location Mode, then you will see two choices: a US host (USA, New York, Liberty Island) and a UK server (UK, Donkey Town). Note that in the program that is cell, you will have to obtain these.
Connecting To Netflix server gave us access Into the US with no difficulty. Connecting to the UK one allowed access to UK Netflix as well as BBC iPlayer. Many suppliers just focus on providing US Netflix access, so it is refreshing to see one that strives to give access to the UK library also. What is more, BBC iPlayer is breaking down on VPN usage, so the capability to unblock this support is a nice perk.
If you are You may need to go elsewhere. HMA! Is having difficulty unblocking this service at this time and a customer care representative advised us that there isn’t any estimated time for when it may be functioning again.
HideMyAss! in China?
Hide My Ass! Doesn’t operate reliably in China. It used to, but recent HMA! Answers in support forums have suggested that the support will function for some users. You can try your luck, but you’d best look elsewhere should you want a China VPN.
HideMyAss! Speed test functionality
For any VPN That can be used with our evaluation methods, ongoing speed tests which have been designed to be as empirical as possible are conduct by us. We utilize a test server to connect to VPN servers in the US, the United Kingdom, Australia, Hong Kong, and Germany. For every place, we download an evaluation file (50MB in size) in the US server. This is done four times every day. The average speed for every test is listed and the information is displayed.
You can view From the Simple graph below how HMA! Compares to the other VPN services we have been testing. While it doesn’t have the fastest rates, it is near the front of the pack when it comes to download rates.
By clicking on the comprehensive tab, you can see that the spread in outcomes isn’t as tight as a number of the evaluation VPNs. This means in regards to speeds that you might observe some inconsistency.
It’s Important to note that these tests aren’t definitive and can serve as an overall indication of the performance you may see. The internet’s inherent volatility adds a substantial factor of randomness. What’s more, you’ll probably see smaller or disagreements, and wait times using a slow connection. Get Hidemyass Free
Customer service
If you need Any aid whilst setting up or using the support, HMA! Has a couple of alternatives for you to select from. Clicking the Help tab you’ll find also a Knowledge Base along with a Getting Started section. These each house posts related to setting up, troubleshooting, and general queries. There’s some crossover so before searching for other alternatives you may want to explore both.
In addition, You’ll find a Community button which contributes to a forum section. This can be segregated into different topics; while others are active some seem to be out of date. There are a number of general FAQs.
If you don’t Discover what you’re looking for, or you simply want a quick response, you can click on the live chat button. The service is prompt and educated, and representatives were able to quickly solve issues we encountered. At one stage, a representative advised he’d escalate the problem as an email request and was not able to answer some safety questions. This has been responded to in under 2 hours that’s very quick for an email reply.
Security and privacy
Hide My Ass! Is based in the UK, which means it’s subject to data retention legislation. The UK can be a Five Eyes (and Fourteen Eyes) country, so it’s part of an alliance which allows monitoring by external governments. Plus, it is home to the Charter which imposes regulations of the Snooper.
For many VPNs, data retention laws in their home country are not really a problem. That is because they operate using a real policy that is no-logs where they don’t keep any traffic or link logs. Even if link logs are kept by them, they can not be tied to a single user.
Regrettably, HMA! Isn’t among those VPNs and has a privacy policy that users will find off-putting. For one, when utilizing the support, you can expect that your IP address will be logged, together with timestamps and the number of information used. This is a for VPNs generally. The fact is that information can and has been used to track the action of people although an IP address is considered to be information. IP addresses are used to help find and convict criminals. We’re pro-privacy while we certainly don’t condone activities, also it simply doesn’t cut. Get Hidemyass Free
Additionally, Hide My Ass! Logs the VPN IP address Attached into a session. This is the IP address when it is visited by you that a website operator can view and record. It might be possible to piece together all of a user’s online activity since both the real and VPN IP addresses are logged, involving the end and VPN site logs. You may have seen news of a 2011 FBI case involving HMA! Where it handed over logs that were utilized to track a hacker that is LulzSec down. This can be a black mark for privacy.
1 way to Make this less of an issue and to confuse matters a bit would be to make the most of the IP address shuffle attribute. When enabled in the Network Security screen of the desktop program, this transforms out your IP address for a different one. It would not cause you to squint but could put in a layer of obfuscation.
Privacy Problems apart, on the safety front, Hide My Ass! Fares fairly well. It uses. This perfect forward secrecy and is in combination with RSA keys. It uses exactly the OpenVPN protocol over UDP by default, however you can switch to TCP within the client. PPTP, L2TP, IPSec are also available, depending on what program you are using.
The background versions boast To work for particular apps. The connection will be killed by A kill button if the VPN link drop for some reason. This feature isn’t available in the mobile programs
A live chat Customer service representative informed us that there’s not any DNS leak security. However, a different company representative assured us that there is in fact DNS and IPv6 leak security, but no WebRTC escape protection. When the service was analyzed by us we did not observe any DNS leak issues other than leaks. HMA! Whereas ones would be preferable from a privacy standpoint does use public DNS servers.
1 handy Feature that Hide My Ass! Offers is wifi security, which can be customized in the in the Network Security part of the or the cell app’s Connection Rules tab settings.
Characteristics and pricing
Hide My Ass! Offers one merchandise with prices varying depending on the amount of term you sign up for. It is definitely not among the cheapest services available. A 12-month planwill put you back $6.99 per month, which is higher than the normal cost for a similar duration. What’s more, a lot of top VPN suppliers will supply an plan; for instance, a two- or three-year term with discounts. Get Hidemyass Free
If You’re not ready to sign up to get a term only yet, HMA! Does provide a six-month plan for $7.99 per month or you can cover a monthly basis for $11.99 a month. These prices are a bit above average if you compare to competitors.
Payment Choices include PayPal, credit cards, and UnionPay. For more privacy-conscious consumers, bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are payment methods. There’s a money-back guarantee, so you can have your payment refunded, if you are not entirely satisfied with the support.
So what do You get for the money? Hide My Ass! Has a network of over 850 servers in over 180 countries. Some are devoted to accessing streaming websites and specific servers permit P2P filesharing (read: torrenting). All plans have unlimited bandwidth and you can connect up to five devices simultaneously. Apps are available for Windows, MacOS, iOS, and Android. The VPN can be manually configured using a few routers and Linux. Routers can be found as an alternative.
From a Security perspective, HMA! Offers perfect forward secrecy, strong encryption wifi protection, and the desktop apps come with a kill switch. On the other hand, the policy problems which plagued the service remain, so privacy is an issue.
Conclusion
For the most part, HMA! Provides a support that is great. It’s speeds, infinite bandwidth, and an adequate community of servers. It’s able to unblock popular services like Netflix UK, Netflix US, and BBC iPlayer. Plus, it gives apps , powerful security, and customer support.
On the Surface, it feels like HMA! Would be a good alternative for torrenters, with no data Caps and some servers acceptable for P2P. The issues with the solitude Coverage are a concern in addition to any other privacy-conscious users. Really, this is the important turn-off for this Provider, but it’s a large one. Other concerns include the inability to operate Reliably in also the price tag and China. Get Hidemyass Free
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