I remember years ago when I first tried a VPN, I installed their software, found that it didn’t work and never looked at using it again. This was close to 10 years ago though! In the last couple of years, the VPN market really has exploded and users now have a long list of trusted and user-friendly options to choose from. But with so many VPN services being available it can be very hard to decide which is best for you. VPN service options can vary a lot, not just between the VPN companies, but also their free or subscription-based versions. With such stiff competition, users are finding that they can forgo the base standard free options as the cheap monthly or yearly subscriptions available offer faster speeds with increased support and security.
Hidemyass VPN
Today we are going to look at one specific VPN available. Hide my Ass, (or for browser searching – Hidemyass, or hma VPN) is a lesser-known VPN; well at least compared to some of the better-known, more established brands. Hide My Ass is, however, a very modern and stylish VPN which can rightly boast of having a huge amount of servers and locations worldwide. Currently, hidemyass VPN has around:
| Feature | Value |
|---|---|
| No logs? | Yes, this provider has a no-log policy |
| Can use it for Torrenting? | Yes, it works fine with torrents |
| What kind of Netflix does it work with? | US, ES,PT, PL, ES, BR, MX |
| Simultaneous connections | 5 |
| What countries does it cover? | 190 |
| What Operating Systems does it support? | Android, iOS, Windows, MacOs, Linux, Chrome, Router |
| Money-back guarantee policy | 30 |
| What protocols does it offer? | UDP and TCP OpenVPN, L2TP/IPsec, PPTP |
| Does it offer unlimited traffic data? | Yes, it does |
| Cipher | Most secure encryption: Military AES 256 bits |
| Number of IP Addresses | |
| Number of Servers? | 1100 |
Clearly aware of the explosion of VPN services, AVG has clearly chosen a catchy name to stand out from the crowd. Hidemyass VPN clearly gets to the point at what it does in that respect! And for anyone unfamiliar with VPNs that is exactly what they aim to do.
The benefits of having a VPN such as Hide My Ass
A VPN basically connects your computer anonymously and securely to their designated servers. You then have a safe and protected ‘tunnel’ to services around the world that may have been blocked to you by your location (Also known as geoblocking). Want to watch Netflix in Asia? Missing your favorite F1 streaming? Well with a VPN service you never have to worry about being geo-blocked again!
But that’s not all
VPN services such as HMA VPN (hidemyass) protect you from online spying. Whether from hackers internet service providers (ISPs)or governments, Hidemyass VPN (and other VPNs) keeps your online activity secure and anonymous.
So why choose Hide My Ass?
Hidemyass VPN has had some mixed reactions from online customer reviews which can all boil down to individual perceptions. This should not, however, draw us away from the fact that it continually pulls in high reviews from the experts. HMA VPN has been seen to be a highly recommended VPN.
Whether you are new to VPNs or an experienced user you can at least know that Hide My Ass has a user interface which is easy to use for beginners, while also offer more advanced option for the more experienced user. There are cheaper options out there, but at the same time, they may not also offer the customer support of hidemyass.
How easy is Hidemyass VPN for beginners?
Let’s pretend we have just Googled virtual private networks (VPNs) and we come across HMA VPN. It certainly has a catchy name with Hide my Ass! And I see that there are some good expert reviews. Clicking on their website it is very easy to find the HMA VPN download options. You will need to be an HMA VPN member first, but signing up is quick and simple. After this you will simply:
- Locate the software download page once you have logged in. (Click on the Software and help link, which will take you to the download links)
- Select HMA VPN from the download options – Depending on your device you may need to accept the download, or ‘Run as Administrator’. But you should already be familiar with how your device operates.
- Follow the instructions on the install wizard and download and install Hide My Ass VPN onto your computer.
- Open the Hidemyass VPN application which is either on your desktop or in your start options.
- Please have your HMA VPN login details ready at this point. When prompted please input them and click OK.
- You then have two connection options:
- OpenVPN – Not supported by all devices but recommended for Mac, Windows OS X, and Linux users
- PPTP – fast and easy to use but not considered to be as safe and reliable as OpenVPN. Choose this option only if your device does not support OpenVPN.
- Click ‘Connect’ and check it has connected successfully. It will tell you once it has connected
- Now you are connected you are one click away to having a fully secure connection to servers around the world. Click ‘Verify New IP Address’ and you now have the full services of hidemyass!
Pricing hidemyass VPN
There are cheaper options out there, but as mentioned earlier by choosing Hide My Ass you are getting a quality product with good customer support. The prices are as followed:
- 12 month plan = $5.99 a month
- 6 month plan = $7.99 a month
- 1 month plan = $11.99 a month
So HideMyAss offers bigger discounts if you choose the longer subscriptions. They also offer a 30-day money back option. The 12-month plan and 6-month plan offer discounts by paying for the full length of time in one installment. ($83.88 and $47.94 respectively)
Support and Use
Like other VPNs, they try to place all customer concerns on an online forum; this way any regular problems can be quickly found and dealt with. With more obscure problems, or if you were unable to find your problem from their forum of FAQs then they still have a number you can call so you can actually speak to an actual technical advisor. (calls can be restricted to locations though) Other options they have are:
- Live Chat
Hide My Ass is a very secure and trusted VPN and in general received a high score from experts for its reliability.
Negative HideMyAss Customer Experiences
As I mentioned earlier, although the experts have been giving Hide My Ass some high ratings, they seem to have been suffering from some issues that have left a number of customers unhappy. Some issues reported have been:
- Unable to access Netflix from specific servers (Netflix proxy error…)
- Asked a customer to sign an agreement if they want to file share
- There are cheaper alternatives available
- Limited Downloads
- Lack of freedom when using the software
Again these are individual user VPN service reviews and it would seem that Hide My Ass, like other VPNs, suffer from certain technical issues. What we have to remember is that governments, ISPs and streaming websites such as Netflix are always trying to hinder the effectiveness of VPNs. Looking around online I can say that the positive reviews far out weight the negative ones by some margin and I think quantity certainly means something when it comes to working out whether you should listen to the good or negative reviews.
Overall
HMA VPN is certainly one of the better spread out options with a large number of servers worldwide. They offer an easy-to-use interface that is perfect for beginners while offering advanced options for the more experienced users. Hide My Ass offers three modes for example:
- Instant Access
Kind of like an automatic mode the interface will choose the nearest server to you with the click of a button. Ideal for beginners it means you can get straight online without worrying about too much. Instant access is still as safe and secure as any other mode and is simply designed for those who are unsure about the more advanced features.
- Location Mode
This option allows you to be more specific with your location. This means if you are trying to get around geoblocking, you are able to specify a specific region.
- Freedom Mode
Freedom mode is designed to connect you to the nearest location that offers free speech! A must for anyone who feels they are unable to be themselves under their regions rule!
I hope this article has given you some food for thought when deciding on which VPN to use (Or even why you should be using a VPN!) We have discussed a lot of the positives and negatives of using HMA VPN so below is a quick recap of some of the finer details:
- One of the largest offerings of servers worldwide
- You are not limited to one VPN connection
- No data restrictions
- Easy to use interface
- High reviews from expert
- 30-day money back guarantee
- Works on multiple platforms and devices
- Over 110,000 IP addresses
- Includes a kill switch
- It does keep VPN logs though
- There are cheaper options available
So please remember that there are a large number of VPNs available so always do your homework. VPNs like Hide My Ass, which offer 30-days money back guarantee, are great as you can at least try their service for free, to begin with. If you are not happy, then you simply ask for your money back!
