Hide IP VPN Review

About the VPN service of HideIP

Established in 2008, HideIPVPN is located in Moldova and has grown into one of the top VPN providers, especially for European and American users. At present, the company has servers located in the United States, the United Kingdon, Germany, Canada and the Netherlands.

With its name and ninja-inspired logo, the company primarily markets itself around the idea of staying invisible online, so that websites, businesses, cyber criminals and even your own Internet Service Provider are unable to monitor, record or control your internet browsing habits.

How it Works

Unlike with many VPN providers, users have the option of either installing a software client or manually changing settings in order to use the VPN service. Both options have advantages and disadvantages. For instance, software is more user-friendly and easier to setup for inexperienced users, while the manual settings eliminate the potential for software failure.

Once connected to a HideIPVPN server, users are provided with a new IP address and new DNS resolvers, while all internet traffic is encrypted. ISPs will only see a stream of encrypted data between the customer and the VPN server, meaning that even they will be unable to monitor internet activity.

In addition to granting users anonymity and increased privacy whilst online, the service increases security and protection against the threat of cyber criminals and provides an effective way to work around blocked or restricted content, such as video content which is geo-restricted.

Pricing

The HideIPVPN service can be purchased in a number of ways, with single-country server access available for $5.99 a month. Muli-country packages are available for $9.99 a month, access to all servers is available for $11.95 a month and a special P2P/Torrent VPN service can be purchased for $7.90. Customers can commit for 3 month, 6 month or 12 month terms, with each term offering a slight discount on the monthly price.

For customers with reservations about the product, a 24 hour free trial is available, while the company also offer a 3 day money back guarantee. However, beyond that point, obtaining a refund is difficult. HideIPVPN tend to only provide refunds in the case of defective software and do not offer refunds for any speed related issues.

Privacy and Security

Like all good VPN providers, HideIPVPN do not monitor of keep logs of their customers’ online activity. A log of basic information, such as connection times, is kept for customer service reasons. However, all of this information is only stored for three days before being deleted, which is one of the most transparent privacy policies around. So if you just want to watch the latest Free VR Porn, unblock Websites like Netflix or communicate anonymously and securely with your friends – HideIP does the job very well.

Despite the lack of monitoring, there are some retrictions to how the service is used. P2P applications can only be used on the German and Netherlands-based servers and anyone using those applications on the US, UK or Canadian servers will find their account suspended, without the opportunity for a refund.

The Client

Support

In terms of support, HideIPVPN falls slightly behind the top VPN services in so much as it does not provide live chat, skype or telephone support for customers. Instead, customers can log in to the client area on the website and use the support ticketing system, or email the company for support.

For their part, HideIPVPN strive to reply within 12 hours, but the lack of instant help available slightly counts against them. That said, the website does also include a comprehensive Frequently Asked Questions section, which covers most issues customers are likely to face.

Pros and Cons

Pro HideIPVPN:

• + Torrents and P2P services are supported, although only on the designated servers.
• + All major VPN protocols are supported, from basic proxy services through to L2TP/IPSec and Open VPN.
• + Free trial means people can try the service before committing to any payments.
• + Choice of using software client or manual setup, depending on personal preferences.

Contra HideIPVPN:

• – Lack of information available about the total number of servers.
• – Servers are all currently based in either North America or Europe, with no servers in Asia.
• – Accounts cannot be used on more than three different devices at one time.
• – Refunds are only issued in cases where software is defective.

Conclusion

Overall, HideIPVPN is a solid service, which offers good speeds, is easy to setup, has a range of options and has a strong policy when it comes to protecting the privacy of its customers.

Although there are some restrictions on which servers are used for it, the fact that P2P and Torrents are supported is a huge plus point for the company, as many other VPN providers in this day and age have a zero tolerance policy when it comes to that type of filesharing.

The main negatives to the service are that it is difficult to get a refund for anything other than defective software, while there are currently no servers outside of Europe and North America, and even in those areas, only five countries in total have servers.

Go to hideipvpn.com