VPN recommendations

[snipdisc]

Hi guys,

I am not sure if this is the right discussion to post and ask for a VPN recommendation so kindly direct me to the right link if I'm wrong. I've been using Cyberghost for months now and still can't decide to get the paid membership as I'm always looking for a good VPN provider. Recently, I've stumbled upon another VPN website VPNWise www.vpn-wise.com and I really like the look of the website and found it interesting. It says it can unblock blocked websites especially streaming sites and doesn't keep logs. It has a 7 day trial period which I'll probably avail soon and are offering a 30-days money back guarantee. Looking at their upgrade page, I think $3.99/month and $1.99/month membership are really affordable right? Just want to know if someone had heard about them or had experience using them and could give out a review? Sorry for the very long post. I'd really appreciate any replies. Thank you.

 

[CaptainSTX]

Look at where they have servers and see if it matches up with your needs.

Then test the upload and download speeds using their servers. Not all VPN providers are equal when it comes to the bandwidth they have connecting to the Internet. Bandwidth costs money so the more users a VPN ISP has means they need a bigger pipe.

This will be important to you since you apparently want to stream out of market video.

Also if you need/want to run the VPN on your router see if they will be able to assist you in getting running on your hardware.

 

[snipdisc]

Thank you very much Captain.

Will try their 7-day trial today and see if we're match made in heaven I've heard about having a smart DNS feature is good for security so its another interesting feature about their service. Hope they won't fail my expectations. Thank you very much again.

 

[micjustin33]

I never heard about this vpn service though you can give it a free trial but don't imagine it would be great by just reading their blogs... There are many best and reliable VPN which you can also try before buying I'd suggest try them as well. Smart DNS is really a great feature and few other VPN also offering Smart DNS even there is Smart DNS Proxy service available in 2.08/month and ibVPN offer ibDNS in $3.46/month or $25.86 per year..
Source: http://www.bestvpn.co
best of luck

 

[snipdisc]

Thank you micjustin33, never thought that Smart DNS is in the trend these days. Will surely check them out. Got busy in the past few days, wasn't able to try VPNWise yet.

 

[JonWhite]

VPN recommendation

Quality and pricing in the VPN industry is dependent on several factors mainly include number of servers and countries. There are lots of VPN providers but only few of them have crossed the line of servers in 100 countries. PureVPN, HMA and VyprVPN are only providers that have servers in 100+ countries.

One other factor needed to be consider is the service compatibility with different OS (Windows, Android, IOS, Mac etc) and security protocols like SSTP, IKeV, OpenVPN, PPTP, L2TP, IPSec etc.

Overall, I would recommend PureVPN as they have covered all areas like [Business VPN, DDoS Protection, SmartDNS(free), web protection, Stealth Browser etc] in highly competitive pricing than others.

 

[Lovetojump69]

I use VyprVPN.
It's not the cheapest one, but they have a lot of servers and as THEY say they do not keep logs of where you go online...(However as i have read online most VPN providers still retain some logs if they are in US so if FBI asks what you did online they will give it up.. something like that).

Anyway, it works well on my iphone and at home on my laptop. Speed DOES slow down by anywhere from 20% to 50% but not enough to stop from streaming video's.
For example if according to speedtest you are seeing 50/30 speeds, with VyprVPN you will see 30/10 or close to it...

Also from what i have read ALL VPN services slow you down, so it's really i think depends on individual user otherwise how else can you check if it's slow or not.

and another reason why i went with Vypr is because they have top of the line encryption.

https://www.goldenfrog.com/vyprvpn

 

[Cake]

torrentfreak helped me make up my mind a while back, I see they just posted another one today.
http://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-vpn-service-provider-review-2015-150228/

maybe that will help you decide.

 

[L&LD]

I'd take what companies say with a grain or two of salt.

Everything is tracked. Everything.

 

[Cake]

It amazes me how bold android devices are (and perhaps others os's)

If I asked strangers on the street:

Can I back up your files and settings (including wifi passwords)?
You don't mind if you share with me any network to get a faster more accurate fix on your location do you, like the SSID, MAC, IP, and GPS plus the IMEI?
Would you like to sync your contacts with me?
Would you like a free email address provided by me to use?
Would you like to share some payment info with me?
on and on...

I would be told to get stuffed, but if the phone askes I guess its ok then. interesting times

 

[tracyleon]

I am using Ipvanish right now and my brother is using Purevpn actually both are working perfect so i will suggest everyone to choose both tools. Also if someone wants any other tool so they can find in the list here: www.vpnranks.com

 

[TheKnowlege]

I like ExpressVPN! the connection times are very quick, hence the name lol

 

[Ferdowsi]

Thanks, there were some very good links. I liked the TF article. Haven't looked around since 2013 and only tried 4 or 5. Cannot remember them all - IVPN, AirVPN, StrongVPN & ibVPN come to mind.
I am surprised I did not see AirVPN in the articles but my needs were a little different. I need secure/reliable access out of Iran and they will block PPTP, L2TP, OpenVPN while Tor is a cat & mouse. 18 months ago I tried SSTP and it worked. I suppose because it is not a problem for them to monitor. I came across an article from one of those above that mentioned bypassing the Great (fire)Wall of China with some provider which offered
protocols which did not work for me in IR. It is my understanding they use the same/similar technology to monitor/block.
One of the providers used obfsproxy (Tor Project) for unfriendly ISP's but we could not get it to work during my free trial. I think it was ibVPN? obfsproxy works for me with Tor so I am sure it works but tech support and I could not do it in my environment as the trial was winding down.
It seems like they (unfriendly ISP's) loosen things up but clamp down when things get stirred up and that is when I need something which WILL work.
AirVPN does not have the number of servers in the number of countries but I have not had a problem with bandwidth. I like their Status page.
https://airvpn.org/status/
You can see server loads and there is no charge for switching servers. With one account, I can have 3 connections with one account, just not on the same server simultaneously. However, they do not offer less secure protocols like SSTP, PPTP or L2TP.
I found the community very helpful/intelligent as well. Plenty of users running on dd-wrt, tomato and asuswrt-merlin, pfSense or Tor. Knowledgeable users also for Tor over VPN, VPN over Tor, VPN over SSL and VPN over SSH.
They are more about Net Nuetraility than numbers. Here is their mission statement.
https://airvpn.org/mission/
For me, I generally connect to Europe using their app (beta). It runs on Windows, OS X and Linux. Has a kill switch and DNS leak protection for Windows users.

 

[bianka]

i use pure vpn. and i like with pure vpn dashboard with easy tools.

 

[samjohns123]

If anyone is interested, here is an updated list of VPNs with reviews - https://topvpnchoice.com/. This is my best source for VPNs finding. Hope this information will be useful for someone!

 

[Paliv]

anyone have experience with Nordvpn? they are offering good deal for 3 years that I saw on other sites

I think this old thread was revived with a post about a site that seems to be a bunch of affiliate links. Anyway, I did the trial for Nord and found their service fast and easy to use. However, Amazon blocks most of their US ip range due to abuse. In fact google also captchas constantly when using Nord. The amazon issue is why I ended up not going with them, but I got a sneaking suspicion something is up with them. They don’t have any publicly listed information about their company.

With that there are accusations that they are owned by some data mining company that keep popping up, though this might be a competitor trying to spread misinformation. The fact that you are having all your data go through a company that offers no transparency as to who runs the company is enough to give me pause.

 

[umarmung]

You can use ThatOnePrivacySite's VPN Comparison Chart. It's good from a basic business practice and services offered perspective, though always double check for up to date services from providers of interest: https://thatoneprivacysite.net/vpn-comparison-chart/

Serious providers have A+ Server SSL rating, self-signed SSL, support at minimum TCP port 443 for basic obfuscation, have default data security AES-256, allow strongest handshake security of RSA-4096, support OpenVPN with tls-crypt, and allow cash. Cutting edge providers support Wireguard - much faster, more secure and simpler than OpenVPN, though not yet standardized.

It depends a lot on what you want most from a VPN, e.g.

Trust (legally proven):

• Private Internet Access

Security + Obfuscation (strongest services):

• Mullvad
  
• AirVPN
• Perfect Privacy
• IVPN

Convenience (widest coverage without compromising other factors):

• ExpressVPN
• NordVPN

You just have to be very careful you do not fall prey to obvious traps like HideMyAss, Hotspot Shield, Hola VPN, Pure VPN, Ivacy VPN, IPVanish, VyprVPN, EarthVPN, VPNSecure. These are all companies who have hit the press for massive failures like keeping logs, reporting to authorities with logs, servicing notices that cannot be served without keeping logs (e.g. DMCA), giving customers software that is effectively spyware/malware, using third party data centers with no control, etc. In other words, just keep a lookout in IT press or Reddit or restoreprivacy.com for bad behavior and you'll quickly discover which businesses to keep well away from.

It is also a very good idea to keep away from VPN providers that offer completely free/freemium services (free trials can be fine sometimes though). At minimum, even if they were otherwise perfect in every way, it would mean you are sharing precious resources with free users; at worst it means the VPN provider's business model is YOU and your data. So, keep away from browser extensions like Opera VPN or, obviously, Facebook Onavo VPN, and less obviously services like Cryptostorm and ProtonVPN.

Be aware of shilling and other forms of super aggressive marketing. This is especially the case on prominent networking sites, including this one, where brand new users or users with a handful of new posts will start mentioning specific VPN providers ... ThatOnePrivacySite once attempted to track VPN providers with shady marketing practices but it appears very difficult to do so.

Other tips:

1. download your own OpenVPN client instead of using the one the provider gives you
2. you can quite easily create your own "kill switch" by using either virtual machines or a router with OpenVPN Client or PC operating system network interfaces or some software firewalls/proxies
3. test if your VPN is leaking with https://ipleak.net or some other leak site (especially on mobile)
4. always connect to a VPN when using public WiFi hotspot since all traffic is completely visible. For this, you can just setup your own Internet connection as your VPN. Many routers these days support OpenVPN Server or IPSEC

 

[Paliv]

You can use ThatOnePrivacySite's VPN Comparison Chart. It's good from a basic business practice and services offered perspective, though always double check for up to date services from providers of interest: https://thatoneprivacysite.net/vpn-comparison-chart/

Serious providers have A+ Server SSL rating, self-signed SSL, support at minimum TCP port 443 for basic obfuscation, have default data security AES-256, allow strongest handshake security of RSA-4096, support OpenVPN with tls-crypt, and allow cash. Cutting edge providers support Wireguard - much faster, more secure and simpler than OpenVPN, though not yet standardized.

It depends a lot on what you want most from a VPN, e.g.

Trust (legally proven):

• Private Internet Access

Security + Obfuscation (strongest services):

• Mullvad
  
• AirVPN
• Perfect Privacy
• IVPN

Convenience (widest coverage without compromising other factors):

• ExpressVPN
• NordVPN

You just have to be very careful you do not fall prey to obvious traps like HideMyAss, Hotspot Shield, Hola VPN, Pure VPN/Ivacy VPN, IPVanish, VyprVPN, EarthVPN, VPNSecure. These are all companies who have hit the press for massive failures like keeping logs, reporting to authorities with logs, servicing notices that cannot be served without keeping logs (e.g. DMCA), giving customers software that is effectively spyware/malware, using third party data centers with no control, etc. In other words, just keep a lookout in IT press or Reddit or restoreprivacy.com for bad behavior and you'll quickly discover which businesses to keep well away from.

It is also a very good idea to keep away from VPN providers that offer completely free/freemium services (free trials are fine though). At minimum, even if they were otherwise perfect in every way, it would mean you are sharing precious resources with free users; at worst it means the VPN provider's business model is YOU and your data. So, keep away from browser extensions like Opera VPN or, obviously, Facebook Onavo VPN, and less obviously services like Cryptostorm and ProtonVPN.

Other tips:

1. download your own OpenVPN client instead of using the one the provider gives you
2. you can quite easily create your own "kill switch" by using either virtual machines or a router with OpenVPN Client or PC operating system network interfaces or some software firewalls/proxies
3. test if your VPN is leaking with https://ipleak.net or some other leak site (especially on mobile)
4. always connect to a VPN when using public WiFi hotspot since all traffic is completely visible. For this, you can just setup your own Internet connection as your VPN. Many routers these days support OpenVPN Server or IPSEC

This is good advice, though thatoneprivacyguy’s site is starting to be pretty outdated. The reviews are especially in need of updated information, but his scepticism on how transparent these companies are is good advice. I’ve liked my experience with IVPN, but those 4 security vpns seem to be decently trustworthy to date.

Depending on what you need expressvpn is very user friendly and available on almost every device, but they are also pretty secretive. If you just want to stream or use public (or potentially hostile) WiFi all the above are probably good. For privacy you are going to need a lot more than a vpn. Nord has great customer service, they were awesome about a refund due to the amazon issue, but something seems like it could be off with them to me. Just my two cents, but I feel you get what you pay for, and even then I don’t really trust any of these tight lipped companies.

 

[umarmung]

For maximum privacy, you wouldn't be asking about VPN recommendations and should know what threat model and OPSEC means.

 

[Paliv]

For maximum privacy, you wouldn't be asking about VPN recommendations and should know what threat model and OPSEC means.

Fair point. vpns have great use cases, privacy isn’t really what they (or the internet for that matter) were designed for.