Any thoughts on best VPN provider? My Expat Telly subscription is expiring and they are now recommending 'Hide My Ass' - would like to shop around if for no other reason that I don't like the name - and although apparently started up in UK bills in dollars (but then they all do)
I like the name Mullvad ... it's Swedish for mole :-) and their legal entity is in Sweden.
For VyprVPN, I could not immediatey find in which country they are; recruiting information points to Austin, TX, but the copyright notice refers to Golden Frog GmbH which again hints at Germany. I think they're American, which is a big negative in these matters.
Excellent post, Julian! Good to learn more. However, from a privacy and anonymity point of view I'm not too convinced by the "SecureDNS" option of PureVPN which sets Google and OpenDNS servers as primary and secondary. Google we know, and now Cisco is buying OpenDNS ... I would not equate those two with privacy.
I have set up my Raspberry Pi 2 as our in-house DNS server (a package called Unbound) and it communicates directly with the root servers when needed. I don't use VPN yet, except when testing, looking for a good one, not too expensive, and that works with Mac, Linux (Ubuntu and Debian) and Android.
Are you thinking of any brand in particular, Krister?
If you use VPN just for to fake your location (iPlayer, Netflix and others) you maybe don't care about security. If, however, you use VPN for privacy, anonymity be careful. They are not that secure.
Popular VPNs leak data, don't offer promised privacy and anonymity
I've used the SmartDNS service from https://www.overplay.net/ for ages - flawless. I use it directly on my SmartTV so no downloading of software to clog up your systems. They offer a full VPN service as well but it's really not necessary.
Was I supposed to? Will now work through all suggestions (for which many thanks) and see if there is a clear winner. Another reason not to go with HideMyass is that they want paying in dollars which I suspect will apply to quite a lot...
Ditto for StrongVPN
I use SmartDNS, which provides a smart DNS service and VPN
Interesting article here from a respected security researcher about HOLA - users should be aware !
I use HMA Pro and it is excellent. If you wait until summer (July I recall) they do a Summer Special when the subscription is a lot cheaper than the rest of the year.
I took your recommendation, James and am very happy with StrongVPN.
"Unblock Us" comes out of Canada. We've had it for four years, fabulous,
works with I-Player, Netflix streaming etc. Excellent support, never failed us so far.
This article explains it better than me
http://uk.businessinsider.com/hola-used-for-botnet-on-chrome-2015-5
Having trialled various vpn services I have also been using smart DNS. I get access to iplayer and a whole host of american tv broadcasters. They do different offers throughout the year ranging from free (always a popular one) to money off. I paid 30€ for the year rather than 6months.It is worth checking the offers on a regular basis.
I use hide my arse yes name is a bit crass but they do provide a really good service and if you have to get help they are excelent
No problems with Security Kiss since 2011.
I tried very hard to understand the link but alas, ignorance got in the way ;((
Could you possibly explain what it meant?? How it affects the normal user?
thanks in advance...
BBC Radio IPlayer doesn't need a VPN, I listen all day to various music progs. It's only the TV IPlayer that doesn't work.
Agreed.