All The Best VPN ... (26+)
A Virtual Private Network, or VPN, creates a point-to-point tunnel between your computer and a remote server owned by a VPN provider that encrypts your data, hides your IP address, and lets you get around website blocks and firewalls.
Your online activities will be more private, safe, and protected. If we focus on each word of this three-word technology, we can assess it as “Virtual” because the connection process does not involve cables. It is “Private” because no one else can access your data or monitor your surfing activities over this connection.
It is “Networked“ because your computer and the VPN server cooperate to keep the connection open. Let’s explore the various advantages of a VPN named HideMyAss VPN and why it could be helpful to use.
What is HMA VPN
HideMyAss is a UK-based Virtual Private Network service that allows users to browse the internet without disclosing their location. It is one of the leading VPN service providers, as it protects user identity by encrypting personal data and IP addresses and routing them through other servers in different countries worldwide.
It is the largest VPN in the world, as it has 1090+ servers in more than 290 unique locations in 210+ countries worldwide. It has servers in almost every country in the world, but the number of servers is smaller, which affects the speed.
History
Jack Cator founded HMA in 2005 in Norfolk, England. Cator was sixteen years old at the time. He developed HMA to understand his school’s limitations on using their network to access games or music. Cator used open-source code to develop the initial HMA service quickly. The initial item was a free proxy website that allowed users to enter a URL and send the requested website to their web browser.
Cator advertised the tool in internet forums, and Digg highlighted it on the home page. Cator added ads after drawing more than a thousand users. HMA declined to accept venture capital financing. While the founder attended college to seek a degree in computer science, he made between $1,000 and $2,000 per month. Cator left college in 2009 to concentrate on HMA and later introduced a premium VPN service.
In 2011, the media accused HMA VPN of helping the FBI, which resulted in a huge backlash. The Avast company currently owns it.
Design
The design and architecture of HMA VPN provide consumers with the highest level of protection, ease of use, and flexibility. The VPN service uses high-grade encryption to guarantee that users’ online behavior is secure and confidential. Its straightforward interface makes setting up a VPN connection simple.
Users of HMA VPN can switch to any server in any place at any moment because it has servers in more than 190 countries globally. Kill switches, leak protection, split tunneling, and many other features are available in HMA VPN services because they are essential for maintaining user privacy and security online.
Additionally, you can use HMA VPN on a variety of devices, including Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and more, enabling users to secure their online activity wherever they are. The overall goal of the HMA VPN policy and its design is to ensure that users have the highest level of security and convenience.
Key Features
Presence Around the World
It has servers in almost every country around the world. It is present in more than 210 countries and has 1090 servers. Although the number of servers is smaller, its presence in almost every county makes it unique.
No Logs
Since the purpose of VPNs is to safeguard privacy, logging policies are in conflict with this goal. Because of this, VerSprite audits it and certifies it as a no-log VPN.
Kill Switch
HMA provides the kill switch as a versatile, adaptable tool. You can configure it so that when the VPN is not working, your device’s complete internet connectivity also stops. Alternatively, you can work on specific apps, like torrent clients or web browsers, using the “App Kill Switch” option.
Split Tunnelling
Certain apps demand privacy. Some people, not so much. Split Tunnelling satisfies both needs by allowing you to choose which apps receive VPN protection and which connect to the internet directly and unprotected.
Advance Leak Protection
Not a single bit of your data will leak online because of its built-in defense against IPv4, IPv6, and other DNS leaks and no-log servers handling your DNS requests.
High-quality Encryption
The most crucial type of encryption HideMyAss VPN uses is AES 256-bit encryption. But in addition to that, it also employs perfect forward secrecy and 4096-bit RSA keys for military-grade security.
DDoS Protection
Its server security safeguards not only your data but also the integrity of your connection, shielding you from DDoS attacks that aim to impede your performance.
Compatibility
It is compatible with many devices, like mobile phones, desktops, laptops, and tablets. You can easily use HMA VPN on all the above devices with zero lag issues.
It is also compatible with all browsers like Chrome, Edge, Mozilla, Opera, etc. You can use HMA VPN on Windows, MacOS, Android, and Linux. You can install it on many devices, but only five will work at a time.
In addition to that, it provides an extension for the web browsers Firefox and Chrome. However, rather than operating as a virtual private network (VPN), these add-ons function more like proxies, safeguarding only the traffic that passes through your browser and nothing else. In addition, users of HMA can install VPN software on routers and Linux operating systems manually.
Mobile/Desktop Experience
Modern, fun HMA apps. The HMA VPN free download lets you try this. It opens any app, but you may use your password and username. The PC app appeals too. Choose your server region from this list. Lighting Connect connects you to the VPN’s fastest server if you don’t specify a location.
You can also connect to dedicated torrenting and high-quality video streaming servers. HideMyAss’ auto-launch feature keeps you secret since VPNs are always a good idea. Visit the settings page and activate the app’s startup launch.
We also noted that HideMyAss had compressed its mobile apps to look like its desktop version but with fewer capabilities when reviewing the VPN. In the Connection Rules section, you can enable auto Wi-Fi protection to safeguard you when using public Wi-Fi.
Personal privacy protects data from third parties. This option only allows third parties to analyze your personal data. Click “allow app and device usage data to be shared with third parties for analytics” to approve. By default, it is on. After installing the app, turn off this function before configuring anything else.
Pricing and Plans
It offers three types of plans,
- One-month plan costs $11.99
- Twelve-month plan costs $59.88
- Thirty-six-month plan costs $107.64
Suggestions that We Have for HMA VPN
Although HMA VPN is quick and suitable for streaming Netflix and BBC iPlayer, it cannot unblock powerful platforms. It now offers consumers greater torrenting alternatives while also significantly improving its privacy policy. It’s not HMA if you’re seeking a trustworthy China VPN. It’s also not the best option for users searching for a limited-used VPN.
Conclusion
In its fifteen years of existence, HideMyAss VPN has experienced a lot. It certainly has advantages and disadvantages but has also considerably improved time management. One is that it now provides a user-friendly, appealing platform with many built-in capabilities. Additionally, it has a large number of servers, all of which function well.
However, as this fair review of HMA VPN has shown, this service is not worthy of recommendation due to the VPN’s patchy privacy policy, Avast’s track record, and HideMyAss’ failure to allow anonymous payment.
FAQs
Yes, it can bypass geo-blocking in the case of BBCiplayer, HBO, and Netflix.
One-month plan costs $11.99
Twelve-month plan costs $59.88
Thirty-six-month plan costs $107.64
You can use this VPN on almost all devices, like mobile phones, desktops, laptops, and tablets. It is compatible with all these devices.
You can use it on five devices at the same time. If you want more devices, buy a family plan for up to ten.
Yes, you can use it for torrenting and P2P file sharing. It offers a separate server for this task. But there are better options than HMA VPN for this purpose.
HMA VPN claims they have tools like Lightning Connect and Speed Test to ensure your internet connection never goes down. But when there is high encryption and decryption, the internet connection slows down slightly.
Yes, you can cancel your subscription plan at any time.
No, it does not keep users’ logging activity. Previously, the media accused it of doing that, but now it does not engage in such activities.
Yes, it offers a 7-day free trial to its new users.
It offers,
1. Help center
2. Blogs/Articles
3. 24/7 customer care support
Yes, it offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.
The primary tunneling protocol that HMA VPN uses is OpenVPN. Although this protocol has two variations—a quicker (UDP) and a slower (TCP)—the former frequently cannot keep up with security software like WireGuard.
