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.<p>Despite his listed criteria at the top, the star ratings and rank order seem to be based on how the provider made him <i>feel</i>, 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 <i>his own metrics</i>, PIA should be listed as #1, not #8; it's the only one that hits all nine of his "Important" list.<p>I'm completely baffled as to why this list was constructed as it is.<p>On a side note:<p>"First, I'm upset at Private Internet Access because I had to modify this site's CSS just for their needlessly long name."<p>Are you kidding me? Really?
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].<p>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].<p>Thirdly, while there's no online free trial, at DEFCON and other events they do liberally hand out free trial cards.<p>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.<p>[1] <a href="https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/pages/companies-we-sponsor" rel="nofollow">https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/pages/companies-we-spo...</a><p>[2] <a href="https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/pages/client-support/" rel="nofollow">https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/pages/client-support/</a><p>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.
Private Internet Access<p>> 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.<p>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.
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.<p>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.<p>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.
To steal (and paraphrase) what is basically the perfect summary of this from @SwiftOnSecurity:<p>Commercial VPNs: for when you want all the security of Ukrainian coffee-house wifi from the comfort of your own home.<p>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.
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.<p><a href="https://thatoneprivacysite.net/vpn-section/" rel="nofollow">https://thatoneprivacysite.net/vpn-section/</a><p>For example, TunnelBear scores highly on security, but poorly on ethics.
"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. "<p>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.<p>0/10
> PIA, Somewhat boring company.<p>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.
> Extremely bland, stock-photo website. I felt uncomfortable giving them my email address, let alone my payment info.<p>That's not valuable information.<p>> A heavily marketed product lacking inspiration which I ultimately couldn't get to work properly.<p>At this point you've given up even trying. It's not a useful comparison any longer.
lololol. Half of these VPN vendors show up on Kenn White's VPN Hall of Shame for offering unsafe configurations:<p><a href="https://gist.github.com/kennwhite/1f3bc4d889b02b35d8aa" rel="nofollow">https://gist.github.com/kennwhite/1f3bc4d889b02b35d8aa</a><p>For anything actually sensitive, you're better off not using a VPN than using a VPN which provides an unsafe configuration.<p>If you'd rather not do your own pager duty for something like Algo, here's a recommendation I put together a while ago:<p><a href="https://free-dissociation.com/blog/posts/2017/03/quick-and-dirty-vpn-advice/" rel="nofollow">https://free-dissociation.com/blog/posts/2017/03/quick-and-d...</a>
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.<p>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.
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.<p>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.
I <i>strongly</i> recommend using That One Privacy Site's detailed VPN comparison charts. There is a lot more information in there.<p><a href="https://thatoneprivacysite.net/vpn-comparison-chart/" rel="nofollow">https://thatoneprivacysite.net/vpn-comparison-chart/</a><p>Edit: Link to his charts as a Google Document <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1L72gHJ5bTq0Djljz0P-NCAaURrXwsR1MsLpVmAt3bwg" rel="nofollow">https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1L72gHJ5bTq0Djljz0P-N...</a> for a much better usability than the widget on the website itself.
> 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.<p>That's referring to reddit the company, and it was quoting one of reddit's sysadmins: <a href="https://www.goldenfrog.com/blog/reddit-gives-every-employee-vyprvpn-business-account-secure-private-online-communication" rel="nofollow">https://www.goldenfrog.com/blog/reddit-gives-every-employee-...</a>
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.<p>[1] <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14972125" rel="nofollow">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14972125</a>
"The only thing harder than finding a VPN provider is finding an honest VPN review website."<p>100% true since the "best VPN" likely has the highest affiliate commission.<p>In fact, websites that claim honesty and transparency like BestVPN and VPNMentor actually display pop-up alerts advertising their highest rated VPN.<p>"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?"<p>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.<p>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!<p>Astrill.com is good for China.<p>vcp.ovpn.to has a good reputation regarding privacy.
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.<p>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.<p>[1] <a href="https://www.earthvpn.com/billing/aff.php?aff=1378" rel="nofollow">https://www.earthvpn.com/billing/aff.php?aff=1378</a>
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??
Are you really prioritizing "fun" over an objectively better (by your own metrics) service (picking TunnelBear rather than OVPN)?<p>---<p>You also seem to be prioritizing aesthetic appeal over function. Is there a reason for that?<p>> TunnelBear has somehow figured out how to make VPNs fun.<p>> Extremely transactional. You get in and get out.<p>> Heavy use of stock photos, fake customer service agent profiles, and sensational marketing copy.<p>> Extremely bland, stock-photo website. I felt uncomfortable giving them my email address, let alone my payment info.<p>> But I sort of like it when companies show more humility.<p>> First, I'm upset at Private Internet Access because I had to modify this site's CSS just for their needlessly long name.
Obviously not ideal for non-technical users, but I found it really easy to spin up a VPN on Digital Ocean.<p>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.<p>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).
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!
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.
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, <a href="https://github.com/jawj/IKEv2-setup" rel="nofollow">https://github.com/jawj/IKEv2-setup</a>).<p>100% vapourware web presence here: <a href="http://digitalsnorkel.net/" rel="nofollow">http://digitalsnorkel.net/</a><p>Feedback?
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?<p>[1] <a href="https://www.indiehackers.com/businesses/site-builder-report" rel="nofollow">https://www.indiehackers.com/businesses/site-builder-report</a>
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.<p>Could someone please explain?
From the one line summaries, OP seems to prefer native apps vs. open protocols (e.g. OpenVPN/L2TP/etc.), why is that?<p>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.<p>[1] <a href="http://imgur.com/3PuH0tE" rel="nofollow">http://imgur.com/3PuH0tE</a>
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.<p>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.
How do you <i>not</i> 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?!
"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.<p>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."<p>via <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-new-copycats-how-facebook-squashes-competition-from-startups-1502293444" rel="nofollow">https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-new-copycats-how-facebook-s...</a>
I'll just leave it here: <a href="https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-anonymous-review-2017-170304/" rel="nofollow">https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-anonymous-review-2017-...</a><p>The scene guys know their stuff.
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.<p>Disclaimer: none. I have no affiliation other than I am a customer.
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.<p>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.<p>[1] <a href="https://nordvpn.com/blog/security-feature-cybersec/" rel="nofollow">https://nordvpn.com/blog/security-feature-cybersec/</a>
I'm looking for a great vpn.
After looking at <a href="https://thatoneprivacysite.net/vpn-comparison-chart/" rel="nofollow">https://thatoneprivacysite.net/vpn-comparison-chart/</a>
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
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?
I kind of expected network based tests as reviews.<p>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"<p>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.
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.
I'm not impressed with this review. The author doesn't even mention the need to prevent leaks with firewall rules.<p>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.
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.<p>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".
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.
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...
Questions, any advise/help appreciated:<p>1. oVPN.to Does it work in China? (Support not helpful but I still like them)<p>2. Does Softether <a href="https://www.softether.org/" rel="nofollow">https://www.softether.org/</a> work in China?
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.
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.
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?
I think that <a href="https://thatoneprivacysite.net/" rel="nofollow">https://thatoneprivacysite.net/</a> has a much better VPN comparison.
This seems like a good thread to ask this.<p>I'm about to move to China. What vpn set up is best?<p>I use and android phone and Mac laptop.<p>Thanks..
> <i>The speeds were good and the apps work but are kind of boring</i><p>... 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?
>'It's just so much fun to use'<p>Given that one of the criteria the VPNs were measured on was 'fun' makes me inclined to dismiss the whole thing.<p>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.
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."<p>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.
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.<p>How do I know this? I do the same thing with my sites.
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.<p>Again - how did this make the front page... Embarrassing for HN.
I think you're better off with this for a proper technical feature-set... <a href="https://thatoneprivacysite.net/vpn-section/" rel="nofollow">https://thatoneprivacysite.net/vpn-section/</a>