Background Hidemyass Google Addon
Hide My Ass! (HMA!) Is a UK-based company, with Its claim to fame being its massive number of subscribers — today it’s more than 400 million. This provider has seen its fair share of controversy with respect to user privacy. It made upgrades to it support in the hopes of redeeming itself and winning back the loyalty of its subscribers. Hidemyass Google Addon
We took it To get a test run to see how much it’s improved and if it’s well worth the money.
Click here to sign up for Hide My Ass! Today!
What’s a VPN?
It creates an encrypted tunnel to when you activate a VPN Guard your data as it moves from your computer to a server controlled by the VPN. From that point, your data exits onto the open internet. It is a simple concept, but one with tremendous impacts for safety and your privacy.
For starters, it prevents anyone lurking on your local Network from intercepting or monitoring your action. While the airport or coffee shop Wi-Fi network looks safe (it may even be password-protected) it is not reallysecure unless you are using a VPN. For another thing, a VPN may stop your Internet Service Provider (ISP) from gathering information about your online activities so that it could sell anonymized user information to the maximum bidder.
A VPN makes it more difficult to correlate your Online activities with your own identity. Because your visitors is exiting in the VPN company’s server, you seem to have its own IP address, effectively concealing your true location. It also forces even the most determined attacker to test and sort through all of the visitors from other users on the exact same VPN server to obtain what they are after. For all these reasons, and much more, you need a VPN on your lifetime.
Note that a VPN only encrypts your visitors till it exits via the VPN server. Provided that the website your data should be secure all the way. Additionally, while VPNs can offer a modicum of anonymity, a tool like the Tor system is far better at hiding your identity.
VPNs have long been used by journalists and activists To circumvent censorship in countries with repressive net policies. They are also useful if you are looking to circumvent geographic restrictions on streaming content. A VPN can spoof your current place, giving you access to geographically restricted content like BBC streaming or MLB TV. Many VPNs don’t appreciate these actions (which may be in breach of terms of support or even local legislation ) and content providers such as Netflix are also cracking down on users who spoof their location and the VPN services they use to do it.
There is a Fantastic chance That you may not have ever laid hands on a VPN before. If that’s true, don’t worry! We’ve got a whole feature about how to set up and use a VPN. Hidemyass Google Addon
VPN Protocols
There are several techniques. My Preferred method employs the OpenVPN protocol, which is known for its speed and reliability. It’s also open minded, and therefore 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 PPTP, and L2TP, too. Additionally, there are two distinct versions of the macOS app that, taken collectively, support IPSec (IKEv1 and v2), L2TP, and PPTP. Note that these old versions of the program have been phased out from the programmer. The iOS version uses just IPSec, and the Android program uses just OpenVPN.
That’s a bit of a hodgepodge, and I am frustrated that Hide My Ass doesn’t offer OpenVPN on all platforms. That said, a number of the issue is using the programs. Apple requires programmers to jump through extra hoops if they wish to include OpenVPN within a program, but many are beginning to move in this direction. I would like to see Hide My Ass do the same, across the board.
Your Privacy With Hide My Ass
With any security item, you want to Be Certain that the Business behind it will be working on your best interests. This is especially true for VPNs, which are supposed to improve privacy and security. If a VPN company is simply as nosey as your ISP, there’s not much point in using it.
When I review VPNs, ” I browse the company’s privacy policy And talk with agents to be able to better understand how your information is stored and used. In the case of Hide My Ass, the company should be commended on its privacy policy. It says that Hide My personal logs your own username, the timestamp of connection and disconnection, the amount of data transmitted, your actual IP address, and the IP address of the host you connected to. This is not radically different from what’s offered by other services. In fact, 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 weeks, while VyprVPN shops it for just 30 days. Other providers hold less info, or they eliminate it immediately. Hide My Ass says it retains this data for this period of time in order to improve performance, prevent fraud, and stop bad guys from using the VPN to send spam. The organization, notably, also lists document sharing among the illicit activities it takes this information to stop, regardless of the company being fine with the use of BitTorrent on certain servers.
It might be possible that this advice could be used To correlate a user’s identity to specific activity on the internet, but it will likely be very hard. In spite of this information, an observer would need to know which VPN server to watch and then compare that action from Hide My Ass’s logs, and also be able to parse out the target’s visitors from everyone else using the exact same server.
The Hide My Ass privacy policy also clearly says that it Does not track or store the actual content of your internet activity. So, the support isn’t looking at your websites or the documents that you’re downloading. That’s great, and exactly what you want to hear by a VPN company.
In the past, some VPN companies monetized users by Injecting ads into their web traffic. Hide My Ass says it does not do that, and goes much further. A company representative explained to me the firm does not profit from consumer data at all.
The actual place of a VPN company also issues, as it Can notify what protections are given to customers. Hide My Ass gets its own company headquarters in London, and works under the legal jurisdiction of England and Wales. The UK at large does have data retention legislation. That is not perfect. Many VPN services function in countries without compulsory data retention laws, or in ones which have privacy protections for consumers. Hidemyass Google Addon
I do not believe it is likely to make a determination Concerning a company’s benefits based on its place. However, it is very important to comprehend policies and that the laws on the job in a company with intimate access. I encourage visitors choose a VPN service, and to consider this information.
Servers and Server Locations
A key differentiator between VPN providers is the number of Servers that are available and their distribution. A great deal of servers means you are more likely to locate. For its own part, Hide My Ass has an extremely respectable servers in its disposal. Nevertheless, Private Internet Access NordVPN, and TorGuard VPN have over 3,000 servers. These are my benchmarks for robustness in the VPN server category.
Geographic distribution of these servers is also quite important. A great deal of locations means more to choose from for purposes, but also ensures that no matter will be a server for your performance. Hide My Ass has an extremely impressive 286 server locations across some 220 countries. It’s easily.
The list of accessible server places offered by Hide My Ass is particularly noteworthy since it covers places often ignored by VPN businesses. It’s, for example, numerous server locations . It also maintains servers in China, Russia, and Turkey, that have net policies that are repressive.
Some customers might be concerned about a company’s Use of servers. All these are servers that make servers that are several are effectively operated as by a single server. Virtual servers may also be configured to act as though they are in 1 state when they’re really in a different, which is a problem if you are concerned about where your information is traveling.
I was told by A company representative this a complete 225 of the 286 server locations provided by Hide My Ass are all virtual servers. Only 61 of the server locations are hardware, and 450 of Hide My Ass’s 876 servers are all virtual. That is far beyond other providers. NordVPN TunnelBear, IPVanish, and TorGuard only use physical infrastructure.
A company representative explained that bulk of the Firm’s physical server infrastructure is located in Amsterdam, Frankfurt, London, Miami, New York, Prague, Seattle, and Singapore. This doesn’t quite jibe with what Hide My Ass lists on its site. I’d like to see future versions of Hide My Ass be clearer about when you are linked to a virtual host.
Installation and interface
Getting Started with Hide My Ass! Is super easy and the upgraded programs are very user-friendly. You’ll be given a license key, As soon as you sign up for your own account. You can use this or your credentials (username and password) to log into any program. For the purpose of this review, we’ve tested the Windows client as well as the iOS app. Hidemyass Google Addon
Desktop
As Soon as You’ve Logged in and Established the client, you will be greeted with the Success! screen. Click Got It! To access the main screen of this program. Here you have three choices for modes: Instant Mode, Location Mode, and Freedom Mode.
In Instant Mode, you can click the arrow And you’re going to be linked to the server for your existing location.
In Location mode, you can choose which You link to. Click Change Location to view your alternatives. There is a list which enables you to select servers based on various criteria. We all will show you an state list. Clicking the arrow to the left of each nation name will show you locations within this country.
Quick Access shows you a list Recently linked to, as well as some recommended options. Streaming will give you a choice of two servers suitable for unblocking popular streaming services like Netflix, one at the US and one in the UK.
Peer to Peer shows You all servers that permit P2P filesharing. Ultimately, there’s the Favorites choice; to indicate a server as a popular, you can click the center to the right of the server name.
Going back To the main screen, the one other option here is Freedom Mode, which is targeted at users that wish to bypass censorship. This mode will connect you to a server in the closest state that is deemed to be free from censorship.
You can Get into the Settings by clicking the menu icon in the upper left corner of the main screen and choosing Preferences. Here, you will find three tabs: General, Network Security, and Kill Switch. In the Generalscreen, you can change your startup options, like starting when your pc turn on or if the app starts.
You also Have a Personal Privacy section home one option that relates to Quick Access in Location Mode. You can uncheck the box if you want to conceal your history.
Next, We have the Network Security screen in which you can 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. An additional option in this screen lets you use TCP using OpenVPN. However, this is only recommended if UDP is blocked or throttled. TCP is more stable, but UDP is typically faster.
The Tab is the Kill Switch tab, so that it works for all applications where you can toggle on this feature. You can even add software and choose whether to apply it to people.
This Is a app that is fairly robust and it is definitely both visually pleasing and searchable.
Mobile
Many Suppliers will have a mobile program that is unrecognizable compared to the desktop version. However, HMA! Has streamlined its product, and also the iOS app looks almost identical to the Windows version.
Once you’re Logged in, you’ll get to the main screen, which is the same as the primary display in the background program. Here you can choose from Freedom Mode, Location Mode, or Immediate Mode.
Click here to sign up for Hide My Ass! Today!
The Only real difference is that if you pick Location Mode, your options are presented in a different method. You’ve got three tabs: Nations, Cities, and Favorites, but missing are Quick Access, and the extra options found from the client, such as Streaming, Peer to Peer.
To Access the streaming servers in the program, you will have to go to the Cities list and locate the Liberty Island server under US, New York. Even the UK, Donkey Town server may also be located on this listing for access to BBC iPlayer and UK Netflix.
Moving on, The settings to the app can be accessed by clicking on the menu icon and select Settings. There you have two options: Private solitude and Connection Rules.
In The Connection Rules section, it is possible to adjust wifi security settings and decide whether to auto reconnect when wifi or cellular connections are disrupted.
The privacy section just has One alternative: Share usage data with third parties for analytics, which will be your permission to”enable app and device usage data to be shared with third parties for analytics.” Keep in mind this is enabled by default so that it might be one of the things that you want to flip off.
In General, This is a slick and intuitive program, but many users may be missing extra features like a kill button and the option to change protocols.
Servers and functionality
The Hide My Ass! Network comprises over 850 servers. A number of them are virtual servers, but a customer support representative was not able to inform us just how many. Hidemyass Google Addon
As we Discussed earlier, HMA offers many choices for choosing the ideal server, including distinct modes and the ability to indicate servers as favorites. Servers that allow P2P are indicated using a emblem that was P2P.
We analyzed Servers for performance of downloading, streaming, and browsing. Aside from there being an obvious lag in page loading times when connected to a UK server, when browsing, there were no significant problems. This isn’t unusual for geographically distant servers (the tests were carried out in Toronto, Canada), but might be frustrating, especially for users with slow internet speeds.
We didn’t See any lag or buffering whilst streaming 1080p with any of the 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 connect to any Server and go. We had no luck whatsoever, when we tested servers with US Netflix using the desktop client. But if you choose the Streaming option from the dropdown within Location Mode, you’ll see two choices: a US host (USA, New York, Liberty Island) and a UK server (UK, Donkey Town). Note that in the cell program, you’ll need to obtain these.
Connecting Server gave us access to Netflix with no difficulty. Linking to the UK one allowed access to BBC iPlayer as well as UK Netflix. Many suppliers just focus on supplying US Netflix access, so it’s refreshing to see one that strives to provide entry to the UK library also. What is more, BBC iPlayer is breaking down on VPN usage, so the ability to unblock this service is a nice perk.
If you’re On the lookout for Amazon Prime Video, you might have to go elsewhere. HMA! Is having difficulty unblocking this service at this time and a customer support representative informed us that there is no estimated time for when it may be functioning again.
HideMyAss! in China?
Hide My Ass! Does not work reliably in China. It used to, but HMA! Answers in service forums have indicated that the support will no more function for some users. You can try your luck, but should you need a China VPN, you’d best look elsewhere.
HideMyAss! Speed test performance
For any VPN That is compatible with our test methods, ongoing speed tests that have been designed to be as empirical as possible are run by us. We utilize a Canadian evaluation server to connect to VPN servers in Germany, the United Kingdom, Australia, Hong Kong, and the US. For each and every location, we download a test file (50MB in size) from a US server. This is done four times every day in intervals. The average download rate for every test is recorded and the information is displayed.
You can see From the easy graph below HMA! Compares to the VPN services we have been testing. In regards to median download speeds, while it doesn’t have the fastest speeds, it’s near the front of the pack.
By clicking on the comprehensive tab, you can see that the spread in outcomes isn’t as tight as some of the additional evaluation VPNs. This means in regards to speeds you might see some inconsistency.
It’s Important to be aware that these tests are not definitive and can function as an overall indication of the functionality you might see. The volatility of the internet adds a factor of randomness. What is more, you see wait times with a slow link, and smaller or discrepancies. Hidemyass Google Addon
Customer service
If you need Any aid while establishing or using the service, HMA! Includes a few alternatives for you to select from. Clicking the Help tab you’ll find a Getting Started section and also a Knowledge Base. These each home posts associated with setting up queries. So before searching for other options that you may choose to research both there is some crossover.
In addition, You’ll locate. This can be segregated into various topics; some appear to be out of date, while others are active. There are some general FAQs.
If you do not Discover what you’re searching for, or you simply want a fast response, you can click on the live chat button. The service is educated and prompt, and representatives were able to quickly solve most issues we encountered. At one stage, a representative was not able to answer some safety questions and advised he’d escalate the problem because an email request. This was responded to in.
Security and privacy
Hide My Ass! Is based in the UK, so it’s subject to data retention laws. The UK is also a Five Eyes (and Fourteen Eyes) country, so it’s part of an alliance which enables tracking by external authorities. Additionally, it’s home to the Snooper’s Charter which imposes regulations on British ISPs that greatly impact user privacy.
For many Data retention laws in their home country are not really an issue. This is because they function using a real policy that is no-logs whereby no visitors or connection logs are kept by them. They can not be tied to a single user even when they do keep connection logs.
Regrettably, HMA! Isn’t one of these VPNs and contains a privacy policy that users will discover off-putting. For one, when you can expect that your IP address will be logged, together with the number of information and timestamps used. This is a for VPNs generally. Though an IP address is considered to be information that is personally identifiable, the truth is that this information can and has been used to track the action of individuals. IP addresses have been used in cases to help find and convict offenders. While we certainly don’t condone actions that are criminal, we are pro-privacy, and it simply doesn’t cut. Hidemyass Google Addon
Additionally, Hide My Ass! Logs the VPN IP address Connected into a session. Here is the IP address when you visit it that a site operator can see and record. It might technically be possible to piece together each of an individual’s internet activity Considering both the actual and VPN IP addresses are logged, between the finish and VPN site logs. You may have seen news of a 2011 FBI case involving HMA! In which it passed over logs which were utilized to track a hacker that is LulzSec down. Clearly, this can be a black marker for privacy.
One way to Make this less of a problem and to confuse matters a bit is to take advantage of the IP address shuffle attribute. When enabled in the Network Security screen of the app, this periodically switches your IP address outside. It would not cause you to squint but could add a layer of obfuscation.
Privacy Issues aside, on the security front, Hide My Ass! Fares fairly well. It uses 256-bit AES encryption, which is deemed military-grade. This is in combination with 4096-bit RSA keys and perfect forward secrecy. It uses exactly the protocol over UDP by default, however you can switch to TCP within the client. PPTP, L2TP, IPSec are also available, depending on what app you are using.
The versions boast a kill button which can be tailored To work for specific programs. The online connection will be killed by A kill switch if the VPN connection drop for some reason. This attribute isn’t available from the mobile programs
A live chat Customer service representative advised us that there is no DNS leak security. But another firm representative promised us that there is in fact DNS and IPv6 leak protection, but no WebRTC escape security. When we tested the support for escapes, we didn’t see any DNS leak issues aside from WebRTC leaks. HMA! Whereas personal ones would be preferable from a privacy perspective, does use public DNS servers.
1 handy Attribute that Hide My Ass! Provides is automatic wifi security, which is customized in the from the Network Security section of the desktop client or the Connection Rules tab of the app that is mobile settings.
Features and pricing
Hide My Ass! Offers one product with prices you sign up for. It’s definitely not one of the cheapest services available. A 12-month planwill put you back $6.99 a month, which is higher than the average price for a similar duration. What is more, a great deal of VPN providers that are top will supply a protracted plan; for instance, a two- or three-year term with steeper discounts. Hidemyass Google Addon
If You are not ready to sign up just yet, HMA! Does offer a six-month plan for $7.99 a month or you can cover a monthly basis for $11.99 per month. These rates are a little above average if you compare to competitors.
Payment Choices include major credit cards, PayPal, and UnionPay. For more consumers, bitcoin along with other cryptocurrencies aren’t viable payment procedures. There is a generous 30-day money-back guarantee, so you’ll have your payment refunded if you’re not entirely satisfied with the service.
So what do You get for the money? Hide My Ass! Has a network of over 850 servers in over 180 countries. Some are dedicated to accessing streaming sites and specific servers allow P2P filesharing (read: torrenting). All plans have unlimited bandwidth and you can connect up to five devices. Apps are available for Windows, MacOS, iOS, and Android. The VPN can be configured with some routers and Linux. Pre-configured routers can be found as an alternative.
From a Security perspective, HMA! Offers strong encryption, perfect forward secrecywifi security, along with the desktop programs come with a kill switch. On the other hand, the logging coverage issues which plagued the service remain, so privacy remains a problem.
Conclusion
For the most part, HMA! Provides a service that is great. It has speeds, infinite bandwidth, and an adequate network of servers. It’s able to unblock popular streaming services like Netflix UK, Netflix US, and BBC iPlayer. Plus, it gives apps , strong protection, and excellent customer care.
On the Surface, it seems like HMA! Would be a good option for torrenters, without a information Caps and a few servers acceptable for P2P. However, the problems with the privacy Coverage are any other, as well as an issue for those seeking to torrent privacy-conscious users. This is the major turn-off for this Provider, but it’s a large one. Other concerns include the inability to work Reliably in the hefty price tag along with China. Hidemyass Google Addon
Click here to sign up for Hide My Ass! Today!