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VPN Report – Reviews of the top VPNs

319 points by mobitar 9y ago

mtmail 9y ago
Too be honest despite your reassurance I still expected that there would be affiliate links, purchase cookies or other tracking somewhere (I checked, all good). Thanks for sharing your reviews!
- lanewinfield 9y ago
  god forbid they make money for their time (and money) spent!
  - mtmail 9y ago
    I don't mind affiliate links. I mind when ratings, scores, ordering of results are influenced by payment from the reviewed companies. Or companies get excluded because they don't offer affiliate programs. Example http://www.top10bestvpn.com/ http://www.top10bestvpn.com/ "Please be advised that the operator of this site ACCEPTS advertising COMPENSATION from certain companies that appear on the site, and such compensation IMPACTS THE LOCATION AND ORDER in which the companies (and/or their products) are presented, and in some cases may also IMPACT THE SCORING that is assigned to them." (emphasis mine)
rubatuga 9y ago
I hate to sound like I'm advertising, but I've found blackvpn quite good. It's based in Hong Kong.
- Zyst 9y ago
  I frankly wouldn't want any of my traffic going anywhere that close to China regardless of how well they implement their stuff.
joshstrange 9y ago
Private Internet Access > A pretty boring company. Extremely transactional. You get in and get out. It delivers its experience the way a utility company would. Sometimes, that may be a good thing. But in this case, since I have choice, I'd rather give my money to a company who would appreciate it a little more — perhaps put it to better use. PIA might be very "transactional" but I like them and I've never had any issues with their service. I'm surprised it didn't get a better rating. I don't need a flashy VPN, a utility is exactly what I'm looking for.
- mobitar 9y ago
  They connect on port 80 (HTTP instead of HTTPS) on startup. That's unacceptable for a privacy company.
  - nilved 9y ago
    It's worse than that. Back when I used PIA a few years ago, they would pass your username and password around in the query string, completely plain-text. That was their session mechanism. I sent them an email explaining the problem and got a refund. Their security mistakes, and the fact that they are based in the US, disqualify them for me. I really wish people would recommend someone else.
    - Kadin 9y ago
      I would be interested to know more about this; why they were doing it at the time and if it's still being done. The use of port 80 is not really important; I'm not sure if the article's author is using "port 80" as shorthand for "unencrypted" but that's sloppy writing if so; you can certainly establish encrypted connections over port 80, of course. I used to do SSH on port 80 all the time to get around stupid firewalls...
      - Hnrobert42 9y ago
        Rasengan answers above the port 80 call is for non-sensitive data and is signed.
tptacek 9y ago
To steal (and paraphrase) what is basically the perfect summary of this from @SwiftOnSecurity: Commercial VPNs: for when you want all the security of Ukrainian coffee-house wifi from the comfort of your own home. Taylor Swift isn't wrong about this. Use something like Algo to run your own VPN if you have to. If you must use a commercial VPN to get to Netflix or whatever, do it from inside a virtual machine that you use for nothing but that.
- Scarbutt 9y ago
  I heard VPNs don't work on netflix anymore.
  - throwaway91111 9y ago
    Sort of; they are good at flagging VPN ips but you can always spin up your own to get around this.
    - tyingq 9y ago
      I assume they are pretty good about blocking popular VPS host ip addresses too, though. So not just spinning up your own, but finding a VPS host they don't yet know about.
      - buildbot 9y ago
        Something that can work well on a limited scale is if you have access to ssh into company/edu servers around the world - then you can use sshuttle and your traffic looks like it coming from a company/university campus.
        rovr138 9y ago
        Have friends that went back to their homes for summer. They're logging to their universities via the school VPN to watch game of thrones and other things...
    - 9y ago
bamboozled 9y ago
Thanks for this! It's pretty cool and it's nice to have something to pass on to friends who are interested in subscribing to a VPN service.
abstractbeliefs 9y ago
Regardless of how you feel about _why_ PIA sponsor the organisations they do, it is surprising to see someone claiming they "perhaps put [their money] to better use" given their record of supporting foss and digital/online rights [1]. Additionally, the characterization as being extremely focused on the tech illiterate I feel isn't really the case either, they have lots of docs about how to use OpenVPN [2]. Thirdly, while there's no online free trial, at DEFCON and other events they do liberally hand out free trial cards. The above points, as well as reading the commentary, leads me to believe that the author hasn't spent much time at all using or understanding the various product offerings, and the written review and star-score seem to clash with the high feature based score listed above. I can't speak at all for the other providers, but I don't feel like PIA at least has been well researched. [1] https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/pages/companies-we-sponsor https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/pages/companies-we-spo... [2] https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/pages/client-support/ https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/pages/client-support/ As full disclosure, I'm a unpaid volunteer for a non-profit PIA has contributed to. I have used in the past, but do not currently use, PIA VPN.
- mbrookes 9y ago
  "As a disclaimer" (disclosure).
  - abstractbeliefs 9y ago
    Thanks, I've updated accordingly. It's getting late here in the UK!
- mobitar 9y ago
  PIA actually scores as one of the highest on the objective measures. The star count is just a subjective impression and experience with getting it set up. They connect over HTTP on startup instead of HTTPS (which is unacceptable for a privacy company). They then ping almost a hundred servers on startup (no other app does this, at least not to this extent).
  - dawnerd 9y ago
LeoPanthera 9y ago
This guy has been reviewing VPN services for a while and has put together an incredibly comprehensive table as well as a selection of more detailed reviews, selected from the list at random so as to remain impartial. Recommended. https://thatoneprivacysite.net/vpn-section/ https://thatoneprivacysite.net/vpn-section/ For example, TunnelBear scores highly on security, but poorly on ethics.
- davepeck 9y ago
  I suspect that, for less savvy potential customers (read: the vast majority of them), "That One Privacy Site" can do more harm than good. I wrote a bit about choosing VPNs, and about my concerns with TOPS, here: https://davepeck.org/2017/04/16/why-its-hard-to-choose-a-vpn-provider/ https://davepeck.org/2017/04/16/why-its-hard-to-choose-a-vpn... PS: Since this is HN, I just want to say that if you can, you should run your own VPN. Use Algo, full stop -- it's put together by some of the best in the business. If you do decide to go with a third party provider, hopefully the six criterion I suggest in my post are helpful.
  - rand98765 9y ago
    The problem I've found with running my own vpn is that I could not find affordable vps with anywhere near as affordable bandwidth and speed. The main vps providers all cap your download/upload. ovpn is what I settled on and am quite happy.
    - davepeck 9y ago
      Yes, this is definitely an issue - I should really put an asterisk on my “roll your own” proclamations. Better VPN providers offer numerous POPs and generally good network perf that can be hard to replicate on one’s own. (That said, these are necessary but not sufficient conditions for a given VPN provider to be “better”.)
  - LeoPanthera 9y ago
    I don't see how having more information can be harmful. There's even a simplified red/yellow/green table if you don't want the details. TOPS is one of the extraordinarily few impartial guides to VPN providers. We would be far worse off without it. Running your own VPN is fine if your goal is to protect yourself from a malicious LAN, but useless if you're trying to hide your identity. The IP of whatever provider you choose can reveal your identity just as easily as your home IP.
rocky1138 9y ago
I use KeepSolid. I've been really impressed. I think his review has done them a disservice. They have a really helpful app on all platforms and their staff are friendly, too. Disclaimer: none. I have no affiliation other than I am a customer.
- EnragedSnail 9y ago
  They have been fast, and honest with all 2 of the issues I have had with them over the last almost 3 years. I would strongly recommend them to anyone. If there was a real issue with the service he should have talked about that.
anglebracket 9y ago
> The screenshot of their app on the iOS App Store shows a bunch of credible logos of their mentions, but then quotes "VyperVPN is the best service on the market" as coming from a reddit comment by a random user. Questionable tactic. That's referring to reddit the company, and it was quoting one of reddit's sysadmins: https://www.goldenfrog.com/blog/reddit-gives-every-employee-vyprvpn-business-account-secure-private-online-communication https://www.goldenfrog.com/blog/reddit-gives-every-employee-...
- mobitar 9y ago
  Ah good catch, will update that.
craptocurrency 9y ago
OpenVPN ????!
abalone 9y ago
Interesting this showed up on HN the same day as the exposé on Facebook's Onavo VPN logging its users activity.[1] I'm guessing Onavo should be put on that list and given zero stars. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14972125 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14972125
wepple 9y ago
> Extremely bland, stock-photo website. I felt uncomfortable giving them my email address, let alone my payment info. That's not valuable information. > A heavily marketed product lacking inspiration which I ultimately couldn't get to work properly. At this point you've given up even trying. It's not a useful comparison any longer.
- matt4077 9y ago
  This comment is a nice example of how the "I'm a rational person and only features matter"-mindset actually works against its stated goal. With any VPN provider, there are certain crucial features where you have to trust them, "no logging" being the most prominent. Since you're unable to get to the actual truth (until it's too late), you're left with trying to get a sense of the provider's character: are they supporting open source projects in the privacy space? Do they advocate for causes you believe in (by, for example, participating in the net neutrality blackout)? Do they take pride in their work ("show source" may be helpful here)? Do they have humour? None of these are definitive. But in my experience, it's actually pretty hard for people who aren't members of a certain community to emulate it convincingly.
  - wepple 9y ago
    I agree with your basic premise, and I definitely use some kind of fuzzy gut feel metric when doing my own evaluations. That said, if someone is claiming to do an unbiased review, we need more than gut feel. If your goal is no logging and one of your metics is "Do they have humor"? You're in deep trouble.
jianshi 9y ago
Can you try https://cypherpunk.com/ https://cypherpunk.com/ and add it to the list?
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
toomanybeersies 9y ago
Obviously not ideal for non-technical users, but I found it really easy to spin up a VPN on Digital Ocean. I'm sure it wouldn't be hard to make it almost a turnkey operation, just run the script and you're good to go, and then it would be a viable option for non-technical people. Of course, not ideal for anonymity, but a perfectly fine solution for if you want the security benefits of a VPN, or to get around geoblocking (I originally spun up my VPN to watch something that was geoblocked, now I keep it for when using open wifi connections).
- newbear 9y ago
  Where do I learn about how to do this?
  - avtar 9y ago
    https://github.com/trailofbits/algo https://github.com/trailofbits/algo
  - toomanybeersies 9y ago
    I followed this guide: https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials/how-to-set-up-an-openvpn-server-on-ubuntu-16-04 https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials/how-to-set-...
- danso 9y ago
  Do DigitalOcean's IPs fall in a well-known IP range that would make it a target for IP blacklisting, as in the apparent case of AWS [0] (i.e. EC2 and Heroku)? [0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=883622 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=883622
  - toomanybeersies 9y ago
    Probably. I was using it to watch Top Chef Last Chance Kitchen on BravoTV's website. I don't think they're so strict on it compared to Netflix. My main use for now it is for security, not for watching geoblocked things, so I'm not so worried about it.
MBCook 9y ago
Both iOS and macOS (I don't know about windows, I havent used it recently) have built-in VPN clients so what would be the advantage to using a client from the VPN provider?
- joshrivers 9y ago
  The built-in VPN clients support old broken insecure protocols (PPTP) and expensive, hard to implement and hard to deploy protocols (IPSEC-LLTP), whereas public vpn providers tend to use simple, secure, easy(er) OpenVPN for the bulk of their connections. So you need a addon client to use them for their best features.
  - MBCook 9y ago
    Thanks. I've only ever used VPNs to access corporate networks. I'm not going to pretend to be knowledgeable in this area.
- gog 9y ago
  There are a couple of reasons: * If you need to change your location (country) often, the apps usually have a dropdown where you select the country you wish to connect to * It's easier to setup, especially for novice users * They can have additional features, like a kill switch that makes sure that if the VPN connection drops you don't send any traffic over your non-VPN connection
scottmcdot 9y ago
Is the TunnelBear "Vigilant" feature like a kill switch? So if the VPN drops out, it doesn't revert to downloading via non-VPN?
- ehxcaet 9y ago
  Yeah, vigilant is the equivalent of a kill switch. So not connected to VPN = no internet
mathgenius 9y ago
> PIA, Somewhat boring company. I fail to see how being a boring company has anything to do with the service they offer. If anything, being boring is a very good thing.
- rovr138 9y ago
  No fluff. Down to business. Sounds like a perfect provider. Prices are clearly stated on the site. You get what you pay for. They have some guides for people that might need more help setting it up. ...¿? I don't really need fun. Just want something that's boring, quick and works.
gerdesj 9y ago
I'm (British) getting the impression that VPNs are becoming rather important to Americans (int al). Please bear in mind that us foreigners don't always get the memo about the current flavour of the day in all countries. I'm well aware that citizens of CN and many others really need privacy but it seems that there is a reasonably recent strange US fetish with VPNs. Could someone please explain?
- Gaelan 9y ago
  Iirc, a few months ago congress repealed a law banning ISP tracking of customer traffic.
- bitxbitxbitcoin 9y ago
  US Congress passed a law earlier this year that dismantled FCC internet privacy protections which prevented peoples' internet service providers from fully capitalizing on peoples' internet history. VPN use is a way to encrypt your internet traffic, use not-your-ISP's-DNS, and protecting private information from being siphoned and ultimately sold. Hope this helps explain the fetish! Disclosure: I am a PIA employee.
  - olejorgenb 9y ago
    https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2017/03/isps-and-fcc-chair-ajit-pai-celebrate-death-of-online-privacy-rules/ https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2017/03/isps-and-fcc-cha... I presume
- hakanito 9y ago
  One reason might be that if you download pirated content you have to do so over VPN. Otherwise your ISP will likely reach out and let you know you are doing something illegal
- gmac 9y ago
  I'm (British) getting the exact same impression for the UK, given the Investigatory Powers Bill[1] that compels your ISP to log all websites you visit. This is why I now tunnel all my browsing over an IKEv2 VPN. [1] http://www.wired.co.uk/article/ip-bill-law-details-passed http://www.wired.co.uk/article/ip-bill-law-details-passed
welder 9y ago
Could use a breakdown of which criteria each provider supported, because just a colored circle doesn't show which of those criteria are supported or not.
- mobitar 9y ago
  You can hover over the circles to see the breakdown. I need to add click support for mobile though.
bitexploder 9y ago
TunnelBear claims to be secure but all they offer is an opaque app. Uhh, no thanks. I prefer to run my own VPN client that doesn't have potential spyware in it. I am surprised this was so highly rated by someone reviewing VPNs. edit: I know you can't make everyone happy, but there are a LOT of VPN options out there and only the very best should be making it through.
- ehxcaet 9y ago
  https://www.tunnelbear.com/blog/tunnelbear_public_security_audit/ https://www.tunnelbear.com/blog/tunnelbear_public_security_a... They just got audited
  - bitexploder 9y ago
    That is nice of them to release a sanitized version of the audit report. I would still prefer openvpn or some other open source client that has been more battle tested for something I intend to use as a privacy tool. I don't think it changes my basic position on a closed source client. Audits are always point in time.
mobilio 9y ago
Try http://www.vpngate.net/en/ http://www.vpngate.net/en/
lalos 9y ago
PIA has a kill switch on its client. That makes it for me. Lose the VPN connection and you lose the internet connection.
vacri 9y ago
> The speeds were good and the apps work but are kind of boring ... isn't the point of a VPN do just do its job and stay out of sight? Why is 'boring' even remotely relevant to the VPN equation?
chairmanwow 9y ago
As someone living in China, a VPN provider that doesn't provide direct download links to their Android client is completely useless. The only way for me to install an app from Google Play store is to flash a custom ROM and install the Google Play Store, install another VPN (?!!) to access the Play Store, and then download the app in question. Furthermore, the fact that Apple has just pulled VPN apps from its App Store and the unfortunate fact that you can't sideload apps makes iOS an untenable OS choice.
- rahimnathwani 9y ago
  > ... Apple has just pulled VPN apps from its App Store and > ...you can't sideload apps makes iOS an untenable OS choice. I'm pretty sure you can still install VPN apps (e.g. Potatso 2) from the iOS App Store, although perhaps they're not available if you're logged in with a China iTunes account. iOS allows you to install apps from multiple iTunes accounts on the same device, though, so this doesn't seem like much of a limitation. (Not sure if they're also blocking by IP address.)
  - chairmanwow 9y ago
    Yeah. I was referring to installing the applications from China. I was unaware of the ability to add a non-Chinese iTunes account to circumvent the issue. Thanks for correcting me!
kevinr 9y ago
lololol. Half of these VPN vendors show up on Kenn White's VPN Hall of Shame for offering unsafe configurations: https://gist.github.com/kennwhite/1f3bc4d889b02b35d8aa https://gist.github.com/kennwhite/1f3bc4d889b02b35d8aa For anything actually sensitive, you're better off not using a VPN than using a VPN which provides an unsafe configuration. If you'd rather not do your own pager duty for something like Algo, here's a recommendation I put together a while ago: https://free-dissociation.com/blog/posts/2017/03/quick-and-dirty-vpn-advice/ https://free-dissociation.com/blog/posts/2017/03/quick-and-d...
- eatbitseveryday 9y ago
  Regarding the blog post you shared [0] > In general, US persons today on residential broadband are safest not using a VPN. > Only connect to US-based VPN servers while in the US. Even if your VPN provider offers servers outside the US. What? No reasons given. Smells like FUD. [0] https://free-dissociation.com/blog/posts/2017/03/quick-and-dirty-vpn-advice/ https://free-dissociation.com/blog/posts/2017/03/quick-and-d...
  - DennisP 9y ago
    In the two comments at the bottom, someone asked about both those points, and got detailed answers.
- gruez 9y ago
  >lololol. Half of these VPN vendors show up on Kenn White's VPN Hall of Shame for offering unsafe configurations: having a per-user PSK isn't going to protect you if the protocol is fundamentally broken, which is the case for PPTP/l2tp
  - kevinr 9y ago
    That's why Kenn only recommends using services with per-user PSK for geo-shifting video streams. For all other uses, Kenn recommends Algo, and I recommend Cloak, neither of which uses PPTP/l2tp.
- 9y ago
fishywang 9y ago
From the one line summaries, OP seems to prefer native apps vs. open protocols (e.g. OpenVPN/L2TP/etc.), why is that? I looked at the Chrome extension of TunnelBear and it requires some ridiculous permissions [1], much more than just "change your proxy settings". This doesn't seem right. [1] http://imgur.com/3PuH0tE http://imgur.com/3PuH0tE
newbear 9y ago
If I just don't like the feeling of being logged on some ISP , is paying for a VPN something for me? Any free options for privacy ? Or is it more for torrents and stuff?
- abdelm 9y ago
  If you don't like being logged, then having a logless VPN like ExpressVPN, Tunnelbear, etc should be fine. For torrents, some VPNs like Tunnelbear preferred to disable the BitTorrent port completely So, it's just a matter of finding a VPN that matches your preferences, but I'd avoid using a free VPN.
linkmotif 9y ago
"Honest" is such peacock language. Unsettling seeing it like this.
bitskits 9y ago
Sad to see AirVPN excluded. While their website isn't the most elegant I've seen, it's not user hostile enough to abandon altogether, IMO. It also seems a bit odd to rate VPNs on their specific technical merits and features, and then disqualify for their homepage UI or sign up flow. I'd venture most VPN customers would tolerate a lot of ugliness for a truly private, secure, and reliable service. I would.
- rb666 9y ago
  Agree. I have been with AirVPN for years, after having tested many other of the highly rated VPN's. AirVPN has a functional website, works great within my Linux containers and is overall very stable. Highly recommended.
cgtyoder 9y ago
Pretty surprised F-Secure Freedome wasn't mentioned - they're a major player and well-respected.
- kisstheblade 9y ago
  Same thing here. From a respectable company / country, and has been working wonderfully for me.
mirimir 9y ago
I'm not impressed with this review. The author doesn't even mention the need to prevent leaks with firewall rules. Edit: As others note, he doesn't include AirVPN, which is one of the best activist-focused services around. And his comments about IVPN are bizarre. It is expensive. But it has no affiliate program, and its apps are among the best. In particular, for being leak free.
theprop 9y ago
We don't know if IPSec or L2TP is compromised...could be either or both. So why is using Ikev2 with IPSec secure??
Cozumel 9y ago
>'It's just so much fun to use' Given that one of the criteria the VPNs were measured on was 'fun' makes me inclined to dismiss the whole thing. VPNs are to stop the secret police from coming and killing your family and taking you away, 'fun' is coding, not playing with your life.
Mefis 9y ago
This seems like a good thread to ask this. I'm about to move to China. What vpn set up is best? I use and android phone and Mac laptop. Thanks..
- jwfxpr 9y ago
  You'll find this extensively discussed in a number of other HN threads: https://hn.algolia.com/?query=china%20vpn&sort=byPopularity&prefix=false&page=0&dateRange=pastYear&type=story https://hn.algolia.com/?query=china%20vpn&sort=byPopularity&... Hope that helps!
  - Mefis 9y ago
    Thanks, it didn't occur to me that I could search the archives.
- mogli_CN 9y ago
  NordVPN was very active recently regarding china - check them out
abavatar 9y ago
"Facebook uses an internal database to track rivals, including young startups performing unusually well, people familiar with the system say. The database stems from Facebook’s 2013 acquisition of a Tel Aviv-based startup, Onavo, which had built an app that secures users’ privacy by routing their traffic through private servers. The app gives Facebook an unusually detailed look at what users collectively do on their phones, these people say. The tool shaped Facebook’s decision to buy WhatsApp and informed its live-video strategy, they say. Facebook used Onavo to build its early-bird tool that tips it off to promising services and that helped Facebook home in on Houseparty." via https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-new-copycats-how-facebook-squashes-competition-from-startups-1502293444 https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-new-copycats-how-facebook-s...
kevindong 9y ago
Are you really prioritizing "fun" over an objectively better (by your own metrics) service (picking TunnelBear rather than OVPN)? --- You also seem to be prioritizing aesthetic appeal over function. Is there a reason for that? > TunnelBear has somehow figured out how to make VPNs fun. > Extremely transactional. You get in and get out. > Heavy use of stock photos, fake customer service agent profiles, and sensational marketing copy. > Extremely bland, stock-photo website. I felt uncomfortable giving them my email address, let alone my payment info. > But I sort of like it when companies show more humility. > First, I'm upset at Private Internet Access because I had to modify this site's CSS just for their needlessly long name.
kelnos 9y ago
What's the intended audience for this? As a tech-savvy person, reading his commentary on TunnelBear completely discredited his site in my eyes. He talks about things that are completely irrelevant and are incredibly silly to even remotely care about from a VPN provider. Despite his listed criteria at the top, the star ratings and rank order seem to be based on how the provider made him feel, and has nothing to do with actually how secure and privacy-protecting the provider is. (To be fair, though, without inside knowledge, it's hard to evaluate how up-and-up they are.) Based on his own metrics, PIA should be listed as #1, not #8; it's the only one that hits all nine of his "Important" list. I'm completely baffled as to why this list was constructed as it is. On a side note: "First, I'm upset at Private Internet Access because I had to modify this site's CSS just for their needlessly long name." Are you kidding me? Really?
- posguy 9y ago
  PIA has a surprisingly broad reach, financially and in some cases structurally supporting Freenode, Snoonet, Fight For the Future, EFF, Software Freedom Conservancy and many more. Its actually unnerving how many of the same projects and groups they support, in some cases being the main benefactor. https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/pages/companies-we-sponsor https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/pages/companies-we-spo...
  - joekrill 9y ago
    What is unnerving about it exactly? It seems to me that's exactly the type of thing you'd want from a company who focuses on privacy. It gives the appearance that they actually, truly care about privacy and aren't just in it for the money (and I have no idea if that's actually true or not).
  - fmap 9y ago
    Unnerving is definitely the wrong word. If you want to be negative about it, this is just really good advertising to a tech savvy audience. I honestly just switched my VPN subscription over to PIA after reading this list...
  - pdcerb 9y ago
evancaine 9y ago
This site seems to me an imitation of sitebuilderreport which was featured on indiehackers recently [1]. The design and copywriting are similar. OP, was your site inspired by sitebuilderreport or are you connected with that site? [1] https://www.indiehackers.com/businesses/site-builder-report https://www.indiehackers.com/businesses/site-builder-report
jiggunjer 9y ago
How do you not get IP vanish to work? it's literally just a windows installer & reboot. You can manually add a server on Android too using their guides (they have step-by-step pictures!). O.m.g. I chose IPVanish over NordVPN because the later required me to upload a photo of my passport (to a third party) when paying! Who does that?!
- pelasaco 9y ago
  true! i was thinking exactly like that. ipvanish is so easy to configure, that makes me doubt of author's technical skills... said that: ipvanish sucks because it doesn't work with netflix :(
parito 9y ago
What this review really lacks is the additional features VPN's can provide, such as malware and fishing protection, location diversity, scale, jurisdiction, protocols supported, etc etc. I am a happy user of NordVPN with all of the above points adressed by them really well. BTW the latest feature, CyberSEC also blocks ads which is a major plus for me, making the VPN that much faster. [1] https://nordvpn.com/blog/security-feature-cybersec/ https://nordvpn.com/blog/security-feature-cybersec/
- tbrock 9y ago
  Yeah NordVPN is the best of the bunch. Got my vote as well.
mstaoru 9y ago
I'm still looking for a reliable provider that would support openconnect and / or wireguard. Alas, here in China OpenVPN-based VPNs are getting more and more flaky, with talks of shutting down completely soon (not talking about the fake Bloomberg article). IPSec and Socks5 never really worked. Streisand only really works on AWS and having an AWS public IP means no Google most of the time (they block whole IP ranges), annoying Cloudflare captchas and other quirks.
- Macuyiko 9y ago
  I once tried to set up OpenConnect on one of my servers as I heard it provided good results in China. Not only was the setup process relatively annoying, it was also relatively quickly throttled by the GFW. Shadowsocks / Lantern / ExpressVPN combo remains the best working option for me ATM.
  - mstaoru 9y ago
    Interesting. I had decent results with openconnect over daily rebuilding t2.nano instances in ap-* regions. Didn't try wireguard yet since I have a Mac, but UBNT ER-X is on the way and it has wireguard support.
revanx_ 9y ago
"The following VPNs were not reviewed due to their website experience being poorly designed. This can mean heavy use of stock photos, utter disregard for detail, difficult navigation, excessive and hard to follow text, non-defaulting to HTTPS, and overall poor usability. " And apparently that applies to AirVPN? Lol, this guy lost all credibility, this is just another "honest and totally not payed for online review", thats why tunnelbear is righ there at the top (you see their commercials everywhere) and he even says it's his favorite VPN. 0/10
- Accacin 9y ago
  That's what it feels like to me too. No mention of Mullvad either? One of the most recommended VPN providers and highly regarded.
  - wingerlang 9y ago
    Mullvad, what an unexpected word to read on HN. It means mole (as in the animal) in Swedish. Pretty clever name. They do have an image of it in their website, but the connection might not be obvious still.
    - surge 9y ago
      It's a Swedish company.
  - kakarot 9y ago
    Mullvad is the best. If you are comparing VPNs and don't mention Mullvad, you have not done your research. Or, ya know, you're writing a paid review and need to intentionally leave out better VPNs :)
dbg31415 9y ago
I use PIA, and it's great. I don't know why they listed it as low stars.
nerdynerd 9y ago
shill detected how does this tripe get so high on HN? is this reddit?
Izmaki 9y ago
Has the world forgotten about iPredator? The VPN service spawning from the legal issues with The Pirate Bay. One would assume that a VPN "by crime riders, for crime riders" would fulfil all the requirements and many more.
gambiting 9y ago
Why is private Internet access so low? It ticks almost all boxes, has a native client for windows/Linux/Mac/android/iOS and I have used it on a 300Mbps connection with no degradation of speed. Yet here it gets 2/5 stars? Why??
MachinShinn- 9y ago
Surprised few people picked up on this... this site is 100% Bullshit. The "ratings" are purely driven by which server is offering the author a commission per sign up. How do I know this? I do the same thing with my sites.
wyclif 9y ago
He didn't review OpenVPN, or even mention it.
- jwfxpr 9y ago
  Because OpenVPN is a VPN technology (and client) that can be used for secure connections, rather than a subscription VPN service. Unless you mean Private Tunnel VPN, their VPN subscription product? It's one of many, many products not reviewed here.
  - wyclif 9y ago
    Thanks, that distinction is helpful :)
deadlyllama 9y ago
I'm disappointed that Mo flat out disregards options "due to their website experience being poorly designed." A slick website means that money was spent on the website. I've been using EarthVPN[1], one of his unreviewed options, for several years, and am very happy. It's cheap and cheerful, but yes, the website isn't great. The company is registered in Cyprus, and at USD40/year with three concurrent connections (from the same IP) and servers in many, many countries, it's a great way to bypass geoblocked websites. [1] https://www.earthvpn.com/billing/aff.php?aff=1378 https://www.earthvpn.com/billing/aff.php?aff=1378
- wikibob 9y ago
  Does it currently work with Netflix?
  - deadlyllama 9y ago
    I haven't tried. I use one of their UK servers for iPlayer, with dnsmasq and policy routing so that Netflix NZ still works. I should try putting the Roku's default route through the US. That's the advantage of several connections from the same IP :-)
captaindoe 9y ago
Founder of OVPN.com here. I’m happy to answer any questions regarding our infrastructure, policies or tech stack.
- kensai 9y ago
  Hi, impressed by the specs of your service. You seem to top both this list and this one (https://thatoneprivacysite.net/vpn-comparison-chart/ https://thatoneprivacysite.net/vpn-comparison-chart/). And I don't care if I have to pay a little bit more for such high standards. But are you planning to add more servers in other countries (than the 5 you already offer)?
  - captaindoe 9y ago
    We are launching three servers in a new country next week, Norway. After that it will take a couple of months before we're ready to expand further. It's time consuming to do research regarding datacenters, find ISPs with satisfactory peering and to ensure that our physical security requirements are met. Even though it will take some time for the next location to be added, feel free to email us with your suggestion.
- demas1252 9y ago
  Do you have kill-switch functionality on iOS ?
  - captaindoe 9y ago
    Unfortunately not. We do not have a custom app for iOS or Android.
    - demas1252 9y ago
      Does something like this (https://github.com/iphoting/ovpnmcgen.rb https://github.com/iphoting/ovpnmcgen.rb) will not help here ? Today I was trying your service and missing killswitch in iOS app is the single reason why I have decided to wait.
darkblackcorner 9y ago
I think you're better off with this for a proper technical feature-set... https://thatoneprivacysite.net/vpn-section/ https://thatoneprivacysite.net/vpn-section/
mk89 9y ago
All this article is missing is the referral links - then I don't see any difference with other websites, which the author wants to distinguish from. Actually, there are some good websites around - it just takes a lot of patience to search...
jk2323 9y ago
"The only thing harder than finding a VPN provider is finding an honest VPN review website." 100% true since the "best VPN" likely has the highest affiliate commission. In fact, websites that claim honesty and transparency like BestVPN and VPNMentor actually display pop-up alerts advertising their highest rated VPN. "I built this website because I wanted to finally get to the bottom of the question: which VPN providers are trying to build an honest long-term brand while also delivering an exceptional product experience?" This is a fair metric. Unfortunately useless for most VPN users but this is another question. And to give him credit: He does not use affiliate links. I suspect that he knows little about VPNs and why many users have to use them. By the way, I suspect most of these VPNs to fail in China! Astrill.com is good for China. vcp.ovpn.to has a good reputation regarding privacy.
gmac 9y ago
I've been considering setting up a slightly different VPN service — one that provides each user their own dedicated VPN server (based on my IKEv2 config script, https://github.com/jawj/IKEv2-setup https://github.com/jawj/IKEv2-setup). 100% vapourware web presence here: http://digitalsnorkel.net/ http://digitalsnorkel.net/ Feedback?
- jwfxpr 9y ago
  Who is your target market? I have used both personal VPS hosted and commercial VPN systems at various times (I currently use a commercial VPN to anonymize some traffic sometimes and bypass national-level censorship). In my understanding of the various pros and cons of those two options, I'm not sure I grasp the core value proposition that this offers. Why do I want: A) A server with fewer (one) unique user(s), and therefore traffic that is much easier to analyse; B) A service with a single static IP and geolocation; but which C) I am trusting a third party to administer. I seem to be seeing a service which offers me the biggest drawbacks of both sides. Am I missing something?
Proof 9y ago
Horrible article. If he tried the services he didn't like the websites for (fucking childish excuse btw), he would realise that airvpn offers all the services he was treating as a pro. This is a dissapointing read, and even more disgusting it made its way up to the top of this great website.
thinkMOAR 9y ago
I kind of expected network based tests as reviews. E.g. throughput, latency, connection setup, encryption strengths, fixed ip address etc etc. This is just a feature compare, where one trusts the vpn provider on their blue eyes, e.g. "No logging or tracking" I cannot imagine a sane service provider that doesn't have some kind of logging, not of your (in vpn case,) browsing activity itself, but when you connected, what accounts are getting brute forced, etc etc. This is logging too.
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blubb-fish 9y ago
Any opinions on ProtonVPN? I use it now more or less everywhere. No problems with it - it's fast enough (though definitely slows down my connection from about 12 to 16Mb/s to about 5 to 10 Mb/s. I chose it b/c the organization behind it seems trustworthy. I don't know what the author has in mind when he labels the billing practice "shady".
k734730 9y ago
If they don't test cryptostorm this review is pretty worthless. They are one of the best options out there.
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reflexing 9y ago
I'll just leave it here: https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-anonymous-review-2017-170304/ https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-anonymous-review-2017-... The scene guys know their stuff.
GTP 9y ago
I think that https://thatoneprivacysite.net/ https://thatoneprivacysite.net/ has a much better VPN comparison.
WhiteSource1 9y ago
You know the VPN providers paid for the ranking.
sly010 9y ago
What's up with all these VPN review websites? Are the affilite fees that good?
sp00ls 9y ago
Lol this site is a joke, how much is TunnelBear paying him for the top spot? They're the only VPN provider I see consistently spending money on marketing and sponsoring YouTube videos. 'Fun to use'..what? I don't care if my VPN is 'fun', I want it to protect my privacy. He mentions that 2 of the VPNs are 'uninspired'. Sorry, I didn't realize that tunneling traffic to protect privacy was an art project and not a technical one. FWIW I've used PIA for 2 years now with no issues. A TON of torrenting has gone through them and they don't care in the least. In addition when their Russian servers were seized I received an email immediately letting me know their current situation and about their key changes due to the event. Plus they no longer do business in that location due to it. Pretty top notch company in my eyes even if their site does look 15 years old.
- DavideNL 9y ago
  Agree, i wonder why this has so many upvotes... Anyway, for a better VPN comparison with actual objective facts, check https://thatoneprivacysite.net/vpn-comparison-chart/ https://thatoneprivacysite.net/vpn-comparison-chart/ and https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1L72gHJ5bTq0Djljz0P-NCAaURrXwsR1MsLpVmAt3bwg https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1L72gHJ5bTq0Djljz0P-N...
- smaps 9y ago
  Agreed on PIA being good with no major issues here either
- cityzen 9y ago
  I agree. I have been using PIA for years and though it is not always blazing fast, it does the job and is very easy to use on both OSX and iOS. I found it really strange that PIA was the only one that hit all 9 of the highly desirable but was "very transactional". I felt the same way about the "fun to use" thing.
- bigtunacan 9y ago
  I was wondering this as well. Very low quality; seems like more shill advertising. I've been using Windscribe for years and I've only experienced a disconnect once EVER. It's also dead simple to setup and use; basically it's a one click install, then one click to connect (maybe 2 or 3 if you want to switch to a different location), but this is part of his review for Windscribe, "Ultimately, couldn't get a proper connection working."
mcrocop 9y ago
Reading his reviews I felt the author was looking for that warm feeling a toddler feels when being coddled by his mother. Take a look at his comments on PIA, "Extremely transactional. You get in and get out. It delivers its experience the way a utility company would. Sometimes, that may be a good thing. But in this case, I'd rather give my money to a company who might put it to better use." What? Extremely transactional? You're in and out? When using my VPN I want to click 'connect' to connect, choose US if I want my connection for the US, and 'disconnect' to disconnect... No fancy website or pretty colors needed.
mcrocop 9y ago
Reading his reviews I felt the author was looking for that warm feeling a toddler feels when being coddled by his mother. Take a look at his comments on PIA, "Extremely transactional. You get in and get out. It delivers its experience the way a utility company would. Sometimes, that may be a good thing. But in this case, I'd rather give my money to a company who might put it to better use." What? Extremely transactional? You're in and out? When using my VPN I want to click 'connect' to connect, choose US if I want my connection for the US, and 'disconnect' to disconnect... No fancy website or pretty colors needed.
mcrocop 9y ago
How did this make the front page? People voting this story up must not have read his actual analysis. Pathetic.
mcrocop 9y ago
He doesn't like PIA, a company that sponsors dozens of security companies/projects/etc because he would rather the company he chooses put their money to better use.... Like make bear graphics so his VPN is 'fun' to use. Again - how did this make the front page... Embarrassing for HN.
Raphmedia 9y ago
I strongly recommend using That One Privacy Site's detailed VPN comparison charts. There is a lot more information in there. https://thatoneprivacysite.net/vpn-comparison-chart/ https://thatoneprivacysite.net/vpn-comparison-chart/ Edit: Link to his charts as a Google Document https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1L72gHJ5bTq0Djljz0P-NCAaURrXwsR1MsLpVmAt3bwg https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1L72gHJ5bTq0Djljz0P-N... for a much better usability than the widget on the website itself.
belorn 9y ago
A Nice-to-have would be static IP address so that you can run a private home server. Pity that the site don't include this since only a few vpn providers have an option for that.
jk2323 9y ago
Questions, any advise/help appreciated: 1. oVPN.to Does it work in China? (Support not helpful but I still like them) 2. Does Softether https://www.softether.org/ https://www.softether.org/ work in China?
Saqwert 9y ago
I'm looking for a great vpn. After looking at https://thatoneprivacysite.net/vpn-comparison-chart/ https://thatoneprivacysite.net/vpn-comparison-chart/ I found Hide.me interesting except for the price but on their website they have guides to explain how to manually set up the vpn. I never see Hide.me mentioned. Is there someone using it or thinks it a good choice for privacy on Android, win10 or mac
deleted 9y ago
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319 points by mobitar 9y ago

Too be honest despite your reassurance I still expected that there would be affiliate links, purchase cookies or other tracking somewhere (I checked, all good). Thanks for sharing your reviews!

lanewinfield 9y ago
god forbid they make money for their time (and money) spent!
- mtmail 9y ago
  I don't mind affiliate links. I mind when ratings, scores, ordering of results are influenced by payment from the reviewed companies. Or companies get excluded because they don't offer affiliate programs. Example http://www.top10bestvpn.com/ http://www.top10bestvpn.com/ "Please be advised that the operator of this site ACCEPTS advertising COMPENSATION from certain companies that appear on the site, and such compensation IMPACTS THE LOCATION AND ORDER in which the companies (and/or their products) are presented, and in some cases may also IMPACT THE SCORING that is assigned to them." (emphasis mine)

rubatuga 9y ago

I hate to sound like I'm advertising, but I've found blackvpn quite good. It's based in Hong Kong.

Zyst 9y ago
I frankly wouldn't want any of my traffic going anywhere that close to China regardless of how well they implement their stuff.

joshstrange 9y ago

Private Internet Access > A pretty boring company. Extremely transactional. You get in and get out. It delivers its experience the way a utility company would. Sometimes, that may be a good thing. But in this case, since I have choice, I'd rather give my money to a company who would appreciate it a little more — perhaps put it to better use. PIA might be very "transactional" but I like them and I've never had any issues with their service. I'm surprised it didn't get a better rating. I don't need a flashy VPN, a utility is exactly what I'm looking for.

mobitar 9y ago
They connect on port 80 (HTTP instead of HTTPS) on startup. That's unacceptable for a privacy company.
- nilved 9y ago
  It's worse than that. Back when I used PIA a few years ago, they would pass your username and password around in the query string, completely plain-text. That was their session mechanism. I sent them an email explaining the problem and got a refund. Their security mistakes, and the fact that they are based in the US, disqualify them for me. I really wish people would recommend someone else.
  - Kadin 9y ago
    I would be interested to know more about this; why they were doing it at the time and if it's still being done. The use of port 80 is not really important; I'm not sure if the article's author is using "port 80" as shorthand for "unencrypted" but that's sloppy writing if so; you can certainly establish encrypted connections over port 80, of course. I used to do SSH on port 80 all the time to get around stupid firewalls...
    - Hnrobert42 9y ago
      Rasengan answers above the port 80 call is for non-sensitive data and is signed.

tptacek 9y ago

To steal (and paraphrase) what is basically the perfect summary of this from @SwiftOnSecurity: Commercial VPNs: for when you want all the security of Ukrainian coffee-house wifi from the comfort of your own home. Taylor Swift isn't wrong about this. Use something like Algo to run your own VPN if you have to. If you must use a commercial VPN to get to Netflix or whatever, do it from inside a virtual machine that you use for nothing but that.

Scarbutt 9y ago
I heard VPNs don't work on netflix anymore.
- throwaway91111 9y ago
  Sort of; they are good at flagging VPN ips but you can always spin up your own to get around this.
  - tyingq 9y ago
    I assume they are pretty good about blocking popular VPS host ip addresses too, though. So not just spinning up your own, but finding a VPS host they don't yet know about.
    - buildbot 9y ago
      Something that can work well on a limited scale is if you have access to ssh into company/edu servers around the world - then you can use sshuttle and your traffic looks like it coming from a company/university campus.
      - rovr138 9y ago
        Have friends that went back to their homes for summer. They're logging to their universities via the school VPN to watch game of thrones and other things...
  - 9y ago

bamboozled 9y ago

Thanks for this! It's pretty cool and it's nice to have something to pass on to friends who are interested in subscribing to a VPN service.

abstractbeliefs 9y ago

Regardless of how you feel about _why_ PIA sponsor the organisations they do, it is surprising to see someone claiming they "perhaps put [their money] to better use" given their record of supporting foss and digital/online rights [1]. Additionally, the characterization as being extremely focused on the tech illiterate I feel isn't really the case either, they have lots of docs about how to use OpenVPN [2]. Thirdly, while there's no online free trial, at DEFCON and other events they do liberally hand out free trial cards. The above points, as well as reading the commentary, leads me to believe that the author hasn't spent much time at all using or understanding the various product offerings, and the written review and star-score seem to clash with the high feature based score listed above. I can't speak at all for the other providers, but I don't feel like PIA at least has been well researched. [1] https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/pages/companies-we-sponsor https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/pages/companies-we-spo... [2] https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/pages/client-support/ https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/pages/client-support/ As full disclosure, I'm a unpaid volunteer for a non-profit PIA has contributed to. I have used in the past, but do not currently use, PIA VPN.

mbrookes 9y ago
"As a disclaimer" (disclosure).
- abstractbeliefs 9y ago
  Thanks, I've updated accordingly. It's getting late here in the UK!
mobitar 9y ago
PIA actually scores as one of the highest on the objective measures. The star count is just a subjective impression and experience with getting it set up. They connect over HTTP on startup instead of HTTPS (which is unacceptable for a privacy company). They then ping almost a hundred servers on startup (no other app does this, at least not to this extent).
- dawnerd 9y ago

LeoPanthera 9y ago

This guy has been reviewing VPN services for a while and has put together an incredibly comprehensive table as well as a selection of more detailed reviews, selected from the list at random so as to remain impartial. Recommended. https://thatoneprivacysite.net/vpn-section/ https://thatoneprivacysite.net/vpn-section/ For example, TunnelBear scores highly on security, but poorly on ethics.

davepeck 9y ago
I suspect that, for less savvy potential customers (read: the vast majority of them), "That One Privacy Site" can do more harm than good. I wrote a bit about choosing VPNs, and about my concerns with TOPS, here: https://davepeck.org/2017/04/16/why-its-hard-to-choose-a-vpn-provider/ https://davepeck.org/2017/04/16/why-its-hard-to-choose-a-vpn... PS: Since this is HN, I just want to say that if you can, you should run your own VPN. Use Algo, full stop -- it's put together by some of the best in the business. If you do decide to go with a third party provider, hopefully the six criterion I suggest in my post are helpful.
- rand98765 9y ago
  The problem I've found with running my own vpn is that I could not find affordable vps with anywhere near as affordable bandwidth and speed. The main vps providers all cap your download/upload. ovpn is what I settled on and am quite happy.
  - davepeck 9y ago
    Yes, this is definitely an issue - I should really put an asterisk on my “roll your own” proclamations. Better VPN providers offer numerous POPs and generally good network perf that can be hard to replicate on one’s own. (That said, these are necessary but not sufficient conditions for a given VPN provider to be “better”.)
- LeoPanthera 9y ago
  I don't see how having more information can be harmful. There's even a simplified red/yellow/green table if you don't want the details. TOPS is one of the extraordinarily few impartial guides to VPN providers. We would be far worse off without it. Running your own VPN is fine if your goal is to protect yourself from a malicious LAN, but useless if you're trying to hide your identity. The IP of whatever provider you choose can reveal your identity just as easily as your home IP.

rocky1138 9y ago

I use KeepSolid. I've been really impressed. I think his review has done them a disservice. They have a really helpful app on all platforms and their staff are friendly, too. Disclaimer: none. I have no affiliation other than I am a customer.

EnragedSnail 9y ago
They have been fast, and honest with all 2 of the issues I have had with them over the last almost 3 years. I would strongly recommend them to anyone. If there was a real issue with the service he should have talked about that.

anglebracket 9y ago

> The screenshot of their app on the iOS App Store shows a bunch of credible logos of their mentions, but then quotes "VyperVPN is the best service on the market" as coming from a reddit comment by a random user. Questionable tactic. That's referring to reddit the company, and it was quoting one of reddit's sysadmins: https://www.goldenfrog.com/blog/reddit-gives-every-employee-vyprvpn-business-account-secure-private-online-communication https://www.goldenfrog.com/blog/reddit-gives-every-employee-...

mobitar 9y ago
Ah good catch, will update that.

craptocurrency 9y ago

OpenVPN ????!

abalone 9y ago

Interesting this showed up on HN the same day as the exposé on Facebook's Onavo VPN logging its users activity.[1] I'm guessing Onavo should be put on that list and given zero stars. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14972125 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14972125

wepple 9y ago

> Extremely bland, stock-photo website. I felt uncomfortable giving them my email address, let alone my payment info. That's not valuable information. > A heavily marketed product lacking inspiration which I ultimately couldn't get to work properly. At this point you've given up even trying. It's not a useful comparison any longer.

matt4077 9y ago
This comment is a nice example of how the "I'm a rational person and only features matter"-mindset actually works against its stated goal. With any VPN provider, there are certain crucial features where you have to trust them, "no logging" being the most prominent. Since you're unable to get to the actual truth (until it's too late), you're left with trying to get a sense of the provider's character: are they supporting open source projects in the privacy space? Do they advocate for causes you believe in (by, for example, participating in the net neutrality blackout)? Do they take pride in their work ("show source" may be helpful here)? Do they have humour? None of these are definitive. But in my experience, it's actually pretty hard for people who aren't members of a certain community to emulate it convincingly.
- wepple 9y ago
  I agree with your basic premise, and I definitely use some kind of fuzzy gut feel metric when doing my own evaluations. That said, if someone is claiming to do an unbiased review, we need more than gut feel. If your goal is no logging and one of your metics is "Do they have humor"? You're in deep trouble.

jianshi 9y ago

Can you try https://cypherpunk.com/ https://cypherpunk.com/ and add it to the list?

deleted 9y ago

[deleted]

toomanybeersies 9y ago

Obviously not ideal for non-technical users, but I found it really easy to spin up a VPN on Digital Ocean. I'm sure it wouldn't be hard to make it almost a turnkey operation, just run the script and you're good to go, and then it would be a viable option for non-technical people. Of course, not ideal for anonymity, but a perfectly fine solution for if you want the security benefits of a VPN, or to get around geoblocking (I originally spun up my VPN to watch something that was geoblocked, now I keep it for when using open wifi connections).

newbear 9y ago
Where do I learn about how to do this?
- avtar 9y ago
  https://github.com/trailofbits/algo https://github.com/trailofbits/algo
- toomanybeersies 9y ago
  I followed this guide: https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials/how-to-set-up-an-openvpn-server-on-ubuntu-16-04 https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials/how-to-set-...
danso 9y ago
Do DigitalOcean's IPs fall in a well-known IP range that would make it a target for IP blacklisting, as in the apparent case of AWS [0] (i.e. EC2 and Heroku)? [0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=883622 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=883622
- toomanybeersies 9y ago
  Probably. I was using it to watch Top Chef Last Chance Kitchen on BravoTV's website. I don't think they're so strict on it compared to Netflix. My main use for now it is for security, not for watching geoblocked things, so I'm not so worried about it.

MBCook 9y ago

Both iOS and macOS (I don't know about windows, I havent used it recently) have built-in VPN clients so what would be the advantage to using a client from the VPN provider?

joshrivers 9y ago
The built-in VPN clients support old broken insecure protocols (PPTP) and expensive, hard to implement and hard to deploy protocols (IPSEC-LLTP), whereas public vpn providers tend to use simple, secure, easy(er) OpenVPN for the bulk of their connections. So you need a addon client to use them for their best features.
- MBCook 9y ago
  Thanks. I've only ever used VPNs to access corporate networks. I'm not going to pretend to be knowledgeable in this area.
gog 9y ago
There are a couple of reasons: * If you need to change your location (country) often, the apps usually have a dropdown where you select the country you wish to connect to * It's easier to setup, especially for novice users * They can have additional features, like a kill switch that makes sure that if the VPN connection drops you don't send any traffic over your non-VPN connection

scottmcdot 9y ago

Is the TunnelBear "Vigilant" feature like a kill switch? So if the VPN drops out, it doesn't revert to downloading via non-VPN?

ehxcaet 9y ago
Yeah, vigilant is the equivalent of a kill switch. So not connected to VPN = no internet

mathgenius 9y ago

> PIA, Somewhat boring company. I fail to see how being a boring company has anything to do with the service they offer. If anything, being boring is a very good thing.

rovr138 9y ago
No fluff. Down to business. Sounds like a perfect provider. Prices are clearly stated on the site. You get what you pay for. They have some guides for people that might need more help setting it up. ...¿? I don't really need fun. Just want something that's boring, quick and works.

gerdesj 9y ago

I'm (British) getting the impression that VPNs are becoming rather important to Americans (int al). Please bear in mind that us foreigners don't always get the memo about the current flavour of the day in all countries. I'm well aware that citizens of CN and many others really need privacy but it seems that there is a reasonably recent strange US fetish with VPNs. Could someone please explain?

Gaelan 9y ago
Iirc, a few months ago congress repealed a law banning ISP tracking of customer traffic.
bitxbitxbitcoin 9y ago
US Congress passed a law earlier this year that dismantled FCC internet privacy protections which prevented peoples' internet service providers from fully capitalizing on peoples' internet history. VPN use is a way to encrypt your internet traffic, use not-your-ISP's-DNS, and protecting private information from being siphoned and ultimately sold. Hope this helps explain the fetish! Disclosure: I am a PIA employee.
- olejorgenb 9y ago
  https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2017/03/isps-and-fcc-chair-ajit-pai-celebrate-death-of-online-privacy-rules/ https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2017/03/isps-and-fcc-cha... I presume
hakanito 9y ago
One reason might be that if you download pirated content you have to do so over VPN. Otherwise your ISP will likely reach out and let you know you are doing something illegal
gmac 9y ago
I'm (British) getting the exact same impression for the UK, given the Investigatory Powers Bill[1] that compels your ISP to log all websites you visit. This is why I now tunnel all my browsing over an IKEv2 VPN. [1] http://www.wired.co.uk/article/ip-bill-law-details-passed http://www.wired.co.uk/article/ip-bill-law-details-passed

welder 9y ago

Could use a breakdown of which criteria each provider supported, because just a colored circle doesn't show which of those criteria are supported or not.

mobitar 9y ago
You can hover over the circles to see the breakdown. I need to add click support for mobile though.

bitexploder 9y ago

TunnelBear claims to be secure but all they offer is an opaque app. Uhh, no thanks. I prefer to run my own VPN client that doesn't have potential spyware in it. I am surprised this was so highly rated by someone reviewing VPNs. edit: I know you can't make everyone happy, but there are a LOT of VPN options out there and only the very best should be making it through.

ehxcaet 9y ago
https://www.tunnelbear.com/blog/tunnelbear_public_security_audit/ https://www.tunnelbear.com/blog/tunnelbear_public_security_a... They just got audited
- bitexploder 9y ago
  That is nice of them to release a sanitized version of the audit report. I would still prefer openvpn or some other open source client that has been more battle tested for something I intend to use as a privacy tool. I don't think it changes my basic position on a closed source client. Audits are always point in time.

mobilio 9y ago

Try http://www.vpngate.net/en/ http://www.vpngate.net/en/

lalos 9y ago

PIA has a kill switch on its client. That makes it for me. Lose the VPN connection and you lose the internet connection.

vacri 9y ago

> The speeds were good and the apps work but are kind of boring ... isn't the point of a VPN do just do its job and stay out of sight? Why is 'boring' even remotely relevant to the VPN equation?

chairmanwow 9y ago

As someone living in China, a VPN provider that doesn't provide direct download links to their Android client is completely useless. The only way for me to install an app from Google Play store is to flash a custom ROM and install the Google Play Store, install another VPN (?!!) to access the Play Store, and then download the app in question. Furthermore, the fact that Apple has just pulled VPN apps from its App Store and the unfortunate fact that you can't sideload apps makes iOS an untenable OS choice.

rahimnathwani 9y ago
> ... Apple has just pulled VPN apps from its App Store and > ...you can't sideload apps makes iOS an untenable OS choice. I'm pretty sure you can still install VPN apps (e.g. Potatso 2) from the iOS App Store, although perhaps they're not available if you're logged in with a China iTunes account. iOS allows you to install apps from multiple iTunes accounts on the same device, though, so this doesn't seem like much of a limitation. (Not sure if they're also blocking by IP address.)
- chairmanwow 9y ago
  Yeah. I was referring to installing the applications from China. I was unaware of the ability to add a non-Chinese iTunes account to circumvent the issue. Thanks for correcting me!

kevinr 9y ago

lololol. Half of these VPN vendors show up on Kenn White's VPN Hall of Shame for offering unsafe configurations: https://gist.github.com/kennwhite/1f3bc4d889b02b35d8aa https://gist.github.com/kennwhite/1f3bc4d889b02b35d8aa For anything actually sensitive, you're better off not using a VPN than using a VPN which provides an unsafe configuration. If you'd rather not do your own pager duty for something like Algo, here's a recommendation I put together a while ago: https://free-dissociation.com/blog/posts/2017/03/quick-and-dirty-vpn-advice/ https://free-dissociation.com/blog/posts/2017/03/quick-and-d...

eatbitseveryday 9y ago
Regarding the blog post you shared [0] > In general, US persons today on residential broadband are safest not using a VPN. > Only connect to US-based VPN servers while in the US. Even if your VPN provider offers servers outside the US. What? No reasons given. Smells like FUD. [0] https://free-dissociation.com/blog/posts/2017/03/quick-and-dirty-vpn-advice/ https://free-dissociation.com/blog/posts/2017/03/quick-and-d...
- DennisP 9y ago
  In the two comments at the bottom, someone asked about both those points, and got detailed answers.
gruez 9y ago
>lololol. Half of these VPN vendors show up on Kenn White's VPN Hall of Shame for offering unsafe configurations: having a per-user PSK isn't going to protect you if the protocol is fundamentally broken, which is the case for PPTP/l2tp
- kevinr 9y ago
  That's why Kenn only recommends using services with per-user PSK for geo-shifting video streams. For all other uses, Kenn recommends Algo, and I recommend Cloak, neither of which uses PPTP/l2tp.
9y ago

fishywang 9y ago

From the one line summaries, OP seems to prefer native apps vs. open protocols (e.g. OpenVPN/L2TP/etc.), why is that? I looked at the Chrome extension of TunnelBear and it requires some ridiculous permissions [1], much more than just "change your proxy settings". This doesn't seem right. [1] http://imgur.com/3PuH0tE http://imgur.com/3PuH0tE

newbear 9y ago

If I just don't like the feeling of being logged on some ISP , is paying for a VPN something for me? Any free options for privacy ? Or is it more for torrents and stuff?

abdelm 9y ago
If you don't like being logged, then having a logless VPN like ExpressVPN, Tunnelbear, etc should be fine. For torrents, some VPNs like Tunnelbear preferred to disable the BitTorrent port completely So, it's just a matter of finding a VPN that matches your preferences, but I'd avoid using a free VPN.

linkmotif 9y ago

"Honest" is such peacock language. Unsettling seeing it like this.

bitskits 9y ago

Sad to see AirVPN excluded. While their website isn't the most elegant I've seen, it's not user hostile enough to abandon altogether, IMO. It also seems a bit odd to rate VPNs on their specific technical merits and features, and then disqualify for their homepage UI or sign up flow. I'd venture most VPN customers would tolerate a lot of ugliness for a truly private, secure, and reliable service. I would.

rb666 9y ago
Agree. I have been with AirVPN for years, after having tested many other of the highly rated VPN's. AirVPN has a functional website, works great within my Linux containers and is overall very stable. Highly recommended.

cgtyoder 9y ago

Pretty surprised F-Secure Freedome wasn't mentioned - they're a major player and well-respected.

kisstheblade 9y ago
Same thing here. From a respectable company / country, and has been working wonderfully for me.

mirimir 9y ago

I'm not impressed with this review. The author doesn't even mention the need to prevent leaks with firewall rules. Edit: As others note, he doesn't include AirVPN, which is one of the best activist-focused services around. And his comments about IVPN are bizarre. It is expensive. But it has no affiliate program, and its apps are among the best. In particular, for being leak free.

theprop 9y ago

We don't know if IPSec or L2TP is compromised...could be either or both. So why is using Ikev2 with IPSec secure??

Cozumel 9y ago

>'It's just so much fun to use' Given that one of the criteria the VPNs were measured on was 'fun' makes me inclined to dismiss the whole thing. VPNs are to stop the secret police from coming and killing your family and taking you away, 'fun' is coding, not playing with your life.

Mefis 9y ago

This seems like a good thread to ask this. I'm about to move to China. What vpn set up is best? I use and android phone and Mac laptop. Thanks..

jwfxpr 9y ago
You'll find this extensively discussed in a number of other HN threads: https://hn.algolia.com/?query=china%20vpn&sort=byPopularity&prefix=false&page=0&dateRange=pastYear&type=story https://hn.algolia.com/?query=china%20vpn&sort=byPopularity&... Hope that helps!
- Mefis 9y ago
  Thanks, it didn't occur to me that I could search the archives.
mogli_CN 9y ago
NordVPN was very active recently regarding china - check them out

abavatar 9y ago

"Facebook uses an internal database to track rivals, including young startups performing unusually well, people familiar with the system say. The database stems from Facebook’s 2013 acquisition of a Tel Aviv-based startup, Onavo, which had built an app that secures users’ privacy by routing their traffic through private servers. The app gives Facebook an unusually detailed look at what users collectively do on their phones, these people say. The tool shaped Facebook’s decision to buy WhatsApp and informed its live-video strategy, they say. Facebook used Onavo to build its early-bird tool that tips it off to promising services and that helped Facebook home in on Houseparty." via https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-new-copycats-how-facebook-squashes-competition-from-startups-1502293444 https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-new-copycats-how-facebook-s...

kevindong 9y ago

Are you really prioritizing "fun" over an objectively better (by your own metrics) service (picking TunnelBear rather than OVPN)? --- You also seem to be prioritizing aesthetic appeal over function. Is there a reason for that? > TunnelBear has somehow figured out how to make VPNs fun. > Extremely transactional. You get in and get out. > Heavy use of stock photos, fake customer service agent profiles, and sensational marketing copy. > Extremely bland, stock-photo website. I felt uncomfortable giving them my email address, let alone my payment info. > But I sort of like it when companies show more humility. > First, I'm upset at Private Internet Access because I had to modify this site's CSS just for their needlessly long name.

kelnos 9y ago

What's the intended audience for this? As a tech-savvy person, reading his commentary on TunnelBear completely discredited his site in my eyes. He talks about things that are completely irrelevant and are incredibly silly to even remotely care about from a VPN provider. Despite his listed criteria at the top, the star ratings and rank order seem to be based on how the provider made him feel, and has nothing to do with actually how secure and privacy-protecting the provider is. (To be fair, though, without inside knowledge, it's hard to evaluate how up-and-up they are.) Based on his own metrics, PIA should be listed as #1, not #8; it's the only one that hits all nine of his "Important" list. I'm completely baffled as to why this list was constructed as it is. On a side note: "First, I'm upset at Private Internet Access because I had to modify this site's CSS just for their needlessly long name." Are you kidding me? Really?

posguy 9y ago
PIA has a surprisingly broad reach, financially and in some cases structurally supporting Freenode, Snoonet, Fight For the Future, EFF, Software Freedom Conservancy and many more. Its actually unnerving how many of the same projects and groups they support, in some cases being the main benefactor. https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/pages/companies-we-sponsor https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/pages/companies-we-spo...
- joekrill 9y ago
  What is unnerving about it exactly? It seems to me that's exactly the type of thing you'd want from a company who focuses on privacy. It gives the appearance that they actually, truly care about privacy and aren't just in it for the money (and I have no idea if that's actually true or not).
- fmap 9y ago
  Unnerving is definitely the wrong word. If you want to be negative about it, this is just really good advertising to a tech savvy audience. I honestly just switched my VPN subscription over to PIA after reading this list...
- pdcerb 9y ago

evancaine 9y ago

This site seems to me an imitation of sitebuilderreport which was featured on indiehackers recently [1]. The design and copywriting are similar. OP, was your site inspired by sitebuilderreport or are you connected with that site? [1] https://www.indiehackers.com/businesses/site-builder-report https://www.indiehackers.com/businesses/site-builder-report

jiggunjer 9y ago

How do you not get IP vanish to work? it's literally just a windows installer & reboot. You can manually add a server on Android too using their guides (they have step-by-step pictures!). O.m.g. I chose IPVanish over NordVPN because the later required me to upload a photo of my passport (to a third party) when paying! Who does that?!

pelasaco 9y ago
true! i was thinking exactly like that. ipvanish is so easy to configure, that makes me doubt of author's technical skills... said that: ipvanish sucks because it doesn't work with netflix :(

parito 9y ago

What this review really lacks is the additional features VPN's can provide, such as malware and fishing protection, location diversity, scale, jurisdiction, protocols supported, etc etc. I am a happy user of NordVPN with all of the above points adressed by them really well. BTW the latest feature, CyberSEC also blocks ads which is a major plus for me, making the VPN that much faster. [1] https://nordvpn.com/blog/security-feature-cybersec/ https://nordvpn.com/blog/security-feature-cybersec/

tbrock 9y ago
Yeah NordVPN is the best of the bunch. Got my vote as well.

mstaoru 9y ago

I'm still looking for a reliable provider that would support openconnect and / or wireguard. Alas, here in China OpenVPN-based VPNs are getting more and more flaky, with talks of shutting down completely soon (not talking about the fake Bloomberg article). IPSec and Socks5 never really worked. Streisand only really works on AWS and having an AWS public IP means no Google most of the time (they block whole IP ranges), annoying Cloudflare captchas and other quirks.

Macuyiko 9y ago
I once tried to set up OpenConnect on one of my servers as I heard it provided good results in China. Not only was the setup process relatively annoying, it was also relatively quickly throttled by the GFW. Shadowsocks / Lantern / ExpressVPN combo remains the best working option for me ATM.
- mstaoru 9y ago
  Interesting. I had decent results with openconnect over daily rebuilding t2.nano instances in ap-* regions. Didn't try wireguard yet since I have a Mac, but UBNT ER-X is on the way and it has wireguard support.

revanx_ 9y ago

"The following VPNs were not reviewed due to their website experience being poorly designed. This can mean heavy use of stock photos, utter disregard for detail, difficult navigation, excessive and hard to follow text, non-defaulting to HTTPS, and overall poor usability. " And apparently that applies to AirVPN? Lol, this guy lost all credibility, this is just another "honest and totally not payed for online review", thats why tunnelbear is righ there at the top (you see their commercials everywhere) and he even says it's his favorite VPN. 0/10

Accacin 9y ago
That's what it feels like to me too. No mention of Mullvad either? One of the most recommended VPN providers and highly regarded.
- wingerlang 9y ago
  Mullvad, what an unexpected word to read on HN. It means mole (as in the animal) in Swedish. Pretty clever name. They do have an image of it in their website, but the connection might not be obvious still.
  - surge 9y ago
    It's a Swedish company.
- kakarot 9y ago
  Mullvad is the best. If you are comparing VPNs and don't mention Mullvad, you have not done your research. Or, ya know, you're writing a paid review and need to intentionally leave out better VPNs :)

dbg31415 9y ago

I use PIA, and it's great. I don't know why they listed it as low stars.

nerdynerd 9y ago

shill detected how does this tripe get so high on HN? is this reddit?

Izmaki 9y ago

Has the world forgotten about iPredator? The VPN service spawning from the legal issues with The Pirate Bay. One would assume that a VPN "by crime riders, for crime riders" would fulfil all the requirements and many more.

gambiting 9y ago

Why is private Internet access so low? It ticks almost all boxes, has a native client for windows/Linux/Mac/android/iOS and I have used it on a 300Mbps connection with no degradation of speed. Yet here it gets 2/5 stars? Why??

MachinShinn- 9y ago

Surprised few people picked up on this... this site is 100% Bullshit. The "ratings" are purely driven by which server is offering the author a commission per sign up. How do I know this? I do the same thing with my sites.

wyclif 9y ago

He didn't review OpenVPN, or even mention it.

jwfxpr 9y ago
Because OpenVPN is a VPN technology (and client) that can be used for secure connections, rather than a subscription VPN service. Unless you mean Private Tunnel VPN, their VPN subscription product? It's one of many, many products not reviewed here.
- wyclif 9y ago
  Thanks, that distinction is helpful :)

deadlyllama 9y ago

I'm disappointed that Mo flat out disregards options "due to their website experience being poorly designed." A slick website means that money was spent on the website. I've been using EarthVPN[1], one of his unreviewed options, for several years, and am very happy. It's cheap and cheerful, but yes, the website isn't great. The company is registered in Cyprus, and at USD40/year with three concurrent connections (from the same IP) and servers in many, many countries, it's a great way to bypass geoblocked websites. [1] https://www.earthvpn.com/billing/aff.php?aff=1378 https://www.earthvpn.com/billing/aff.php?aff=1378

wikibob 9y ago
Does it currently work with Netflix?
- deadlyllama 9y ago
  I haven't tried. I use one of their UK servers for iPlayer, with dnsmasq and policy routing so that Netflix NZ still works. I should try putting the Roku's default route through the US. That's the advantage of several connections from the same IP :-)

captaindoe 9y ago

Founder of OVPN.com here. I’m happy to answer any questions regarding our infrastructure, policies or tech stack.

kensai 9y ago
Hi, impressed by the specs of your service. You seem to top both this list and this one (https://thatoneprivacysite.net/vpn-comparison-chart/ https://thatoneprivacysite.net/vpn-comparison-chart/). And I don't care if I have to pay a little bit more for such high standards. But are you planning to add more servers in other countries (than the 5 you already offer)?
- captaindoe 9y ago
  We are launching three servers in a new country next week, Norway. After that it will take a couple of months before we're ready to expand further. It's time consuming to do research regarding datacenters, find ISPs with satisfactory peering and to ensure that our physical security requirements are met. Even though it will take some time for the next location to be added, feel free to email us with your suggestion.
demas1252 9y ago
Do you have kill-switch functionality on iOS ?
- captaindoe 9y ago
  Unfortunately not. We do not have a custom app for iOS or Android.
  - demas1252 9y ago
    Does something like this (https://github.com/iphoting/ovpnmcgen.rb https://github.com/iphoting/ovpnmcgen.rb) will not help here ? Today I was trying your service and missing killswitch in iOS app is the single reason why I have decided to wait.

darkblackcorner 9y ago

I think you're better off with this for a proper technical feature-set... https://thatoneprivacysite.net/vpn-section/ https://thatoneprivacysite.net/vpn-section/

mk89 9y ago

All this article is missing is the referral links - then I don't see any difference with other websites, which the author wants to distinguish from. Actually, there are some good websites around - it just takes a lot of patience to search...

jk2323 9y ago

"The only thing harder than finding a VPN provider is finding an honest VPN review website." 100% true since the "best VPN" likely has the highest affiliate commission. In fact, websites that claim honesty and transparency like BestVPN and VPNMentor actually display pop-up alerts advertising their highest rated VPN. "I built this website because I wanted to finally get to the bottom of the question: which VPN providers are trying to build an honest long-term brand while also delivering an exceptional product experience?" This is a fair metric. Unfortunately useless for most VPN users but this is another question. And to give him credit: He does not use affiliate links. I suspect that he knows little about VPNs and why many users have to use them. By the way, I suspect most of these VPNs to fail in China! Astrill.com is good for China. vcp.ovpn.to has a good reputation regarding privacy.

gmac 9y ago

I've been considering setting up a slightly different VPN service — one that provides each user their own dedicated VPN server (based on my IKEv2 config script, https://github.com/jawj/IKEv2-setup https://github.com/jawj/IKEv2-setup). 100% vapourware web presence here: http://digitalsnorkel.net/ http://digitalsnorkel.net/ Feedback?

jwfxpr 9y ago
Who is your target market? I have used both personal VPS hosted and commercial VPN systems at various times (I currently use a commercial VPN to anonymize some traffic sometimes and bypass national-level censorship). In my understanding of the various pros and cons of those two options, I'm not sure I grasp the core value proposition that this offers. Why do I want: A) A server with fewer (one) unique user(s), and therefore traffic that is much easier to analyse; B) A service with a single static IP and geolocation; but which C) I am trusting a third party to administer. I seem to be seeing a service which offers me the biggest drawbacks of both sides. Am I missing something?

Proof 9y ago

Horrible article. If he tried the services he didn't like the websites for (fucking childish excuse btw), he would realise that airvpn offers all the services he was treating as a pro. This is a dissapointing read, and even more disgusting it made its way up to the top of this great website.

thinkMOAR 9y ago

I kind of expected network based tests as reviews. E.g. throughput, latency, connection setup, encryption strengths, fixed ip address etc etc. This is just a feature compare, where one trusts the vpn provider on their blue eyes, e.g. "No logging or tracking" I cannot imagine a sane service provider that doesn't have some kind of logging, not of your (in vpn case,) browsing activity itself, but when you connected, what accounts are getting brute forced, etc etc. This is logging too.

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blubb-fish 9y ago

Any opinions on ProtonVPN? I use it now more or less everywhere. No problems with it - it's fast enough (though definitely slows down my connection from about 12 to 16Mb/s to about 5 to 10 Mb/s. I chose it b/c the organization behind it seems trustworthy. I don't know what the author has in mind when he labels the billing practice "shady".

k734730 9y ago

If they don't test cryptostorm this review is pretty worthless. They are one of the best options out there.

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reflexing 9y ago

I'll just leave it here: https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-anonymous-review-2017-170304/ https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-anonymous-review-2017-... The scene guys know their stuff.

GTP 9y ago

I think that https://thatoneprivacysite.net/ https://thatoneprivacysite.net/ has a much better VPN comparison.

WhiteSource1 9y ago

You know the VPN providers paid for the ranking.

sly010 9y ago

What's up with all these VPN review websites? Are the affilite fees that good?

sp00ls 9y ago

Lol this site is a joke, how much is TunnelBear paying him for the top spot? They're the only VPN provider I see consistently spending money on marketing and sponsoring YouTube videos. 'Fun to use'..what? I don't care if my VPN is 'fun', I want it to protect my privacy. He mentions that 2 of the VPNs are 'uninspired'. Sorry, I didn't realize that tunneling traffic to protect privacy was an art project and not a technical one. FWIW I've used PIA for 2 years now with no issues. A TON of torrenting has gone through them and they don't care in the least. In addition when their Russian servers were seized I received an email immediately letting me know their current situation and about their key changes due to the event. Plus they no longer do business in that location due to it. Pretty top notch company in my eyes even if their site does look 15 years old.

DavideNL 9y ago
Agree, i wonder why this has so many upvotes... Anyway, for a better VPN comparison with actual objective facts, check https://thatoneprivacysite.net/vpn-comparison-chart/ https://thatoneprivacysite.net/vpn-comparison-chart/ and https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1L72gHJ5bTq0Djljz0P-NCAaURrXwsR1MsLpVmAt3bwg https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1L72gHJ5bTq0Djljz0P-N...
smaps 9y ago
Agreed on PIA being good with no major issues here either
cityzen 9y ago
I agree. I have been using PIA for years and though it is not always blazing fast, it does the job and is very easy to use on both OSX and iOS. I found it really strange that PIA was the only one that hit all 9 of the highly desirable but was "very transactional". I felt the same way about the "fun to use" thing.
bigtunacan 9y ago
I was wondering this as well. Very low quality; seems like more shill advertising. I've been using Windscribe for years and I've only experienced a disconnect once EVER. It's also dead simple to setup and use; basically it's a one click install, then one click to connect (maybe 2 or 3 if you want to switch to a different location), but this is part of his review for Windscribe, "Ultimately, couldn't get a proper connection working."

mcrocop 9y ago

Reading his reviews I felt the author was looking for that warm feeling a toddler feels when being coddled by his mother. Take a look at his comments on PIA, "Extremely transactional. You get in and get out. It delivers its experience the way a utility company would. Sometimes, that may be a good thing. But in this case, I'd rather give my money to a company who might put it to better use." What? Extremely transactional? You're in and out? When using my VPN I want to click 'connect' to connect, choose US if I want my connection for the US, and 'disconnect' to disconnect... No fancy website or pretty colors needed.

mcrocop 9y ago

How did this make the front page? People voting this story up must not have read his actual analysis. Pathetic.

mcrocop 9y ago

He doesn't like PIA, a company that sponsors dozens of security companies/projects/etc because he would rather the company he chooses put their money to better use.... Like make bear graphics so his VPN is 'fun' to use. Again - how did this make the front page... Embarrassing for HN.

Raphmedia 9y ago

I strongly recommend using That One Privacy Site's detailed VPN comparison charts. There is a lot more information in there. https://thatoneprivacysite.net/vpn-comparison-chart/ https://thatoneprivacysite.net/vpn-comparison-chart/ Edit: Link to his charts as a Google Document https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1L72gHJ5bTq0Djljz0P-NCAaURrXwsR1MsLpVmAt3bwg https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1L72gHJ5bTq0Djljz0P-N... for a much better usability than the widget on the website itself.

belorn 9y ago

A Nice-to-have would be static IP address so that you can run a private home server. Pity that the site don't include this since only a few vpn providers have an option for that.

jk2323 9y ago

Questions, any advise/help appreciated: 1. oVPN.to Does it work in China? (Support not helpful but I still like them) 2. Does Softether https://www.softether.org/ https://www.softether.org/ work in China?

Saqwert 9y ago

I'm looking for a great vpn. After looking at https://thatoneprivacysite.net/vpn-comparison-chart/ https://thatoneprivacysite.net/vpn-comparison-chart/ I found Hide.me interesting except for the price but on their website they have guides to explain how to manually set up the vpn. I never see Hide.me mentioned. Is there someone using it or thinks it a good choice for privacy on Android, win10 or mac

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