Good/Excellent VPN

[KhunBENQ]

Be careful with clicking on this "GET STARTED".

Might be a fake leading to some shady/pishing site.

 

Or does someone believe that a commercial company would give a:

 

30 DAY MONEY BACK GUARENTY

[lelapin]

I find EASY-HIDE-IP very good

[lopburi3]

1 hour ago, KhunBENQ said:

Be careful with clicking on this "GET STARTED".

Might be a fake leading to some shady/pishing site.

 

Or does someone believe that a commercial company would give a:

 

30 DAY MONEY BACK GUARENTY

That is actually a real alternate spelling (with typo) - had to Google it myself.  Some people don't use my American English spellings (and I have enough problem trying to remember them - typing correctly is another subject).

 

But get your not clicking on such pop-ups - not safe at all - but if using for porn suspect caution is not first priority.

Edited November 22, 2016 by lopburi3

[YeahSiam]

On 11/4/2016 at 2:46 PM, Get Real said:

Express VPN and Pure VPN is the 2 best alternatives. It´s just a question of a price you would like to pay. 

Just as a desert after the hot plate. You are never going to be safe with any choice of VPN, just a little bit safer. that just going to mean that you are probably not the first in line that they are going to look for.

As everyone should be aware of that information tranferred trough Internet is always going to be listed and searchable somewhere. Even if you own a cloud in the sky. So, why just don´t take the chance. It´s about same chance that they find a person looking at a downloaded movie, like winning the lottery. You are invisible becuase you are not the cause of the problem.

 

You're a lot safer with a VPN provider that doesn't keep logs.

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

fyi, PURE VPN has gone live with their Black Friday promotion via their website -- $59 for a two-year subscription.

 

The main page only lists a one-year plan, but when you click that and go to the payment page, it gives you the option to double the subscription for no extra cost to the two-years of service.

 

I think I'm going to wait a bit and see what's on offer from several of the other VPN providers I'm considering. Since they're all going to be Black Friday specials, it's pretty safe to assume whatever promotions are being rolled out are going to remain available at least through this Friday, and probably into and through the weekend, at least.

 

 

[bubblewrap]

On ‎11‎/‎22‎/‎2016 at 1:32 AM, bendejo said:

By coincidence, I got this in a pop-up window this morning. And no, it was not from a p___ site.

 

 

 

 

The typo is telling and has the distinct flavour of a scam.  Best forward it on to Express VPN so they can advertise the con to their clients.  Wouldn't take a minute, would it?

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

19 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

fyi, PURE VPN has gone live with their Black Friday promotion via their website -- $59 for a two-year subscription.

 

The main page only lists a one-year plan, but when you click that and go to the payment page, it gives you the option to double the subscription for no extra cost to the two-years of service.

 

I think I'm going to wait a bit and see what's on offer from several of the other VPN providers I'm considering. Since they're all going to be Black Friday specials, it's pretty safe to assume whatever promotions are being rolled out are going to remain available at least through this Friday, and probably into and through the weekend, at least.

 

 

PURE VPN sweetened their BF deal a bit today, keeping the two-year subscription for $59, but then adding a 10% additional discount for several different payment methods, including credit cards. Total came to $53.10 after the discount. Quite a good deal for two years of service.

 

[YeahSiam]

2 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

PURE VPN sweetened their BF deal a bit today, keeping the two-year subscription for $59, but then adding a 10% additional discount for several different payment methods, including credit cards. Total came to $53.10 after the discount. Quite a good deal for two years of service.

 

 

Sounds good but I never commit to any provider for more than a year at a time.

Many start off great but then, as time goes on, the service deteriorates.

Not saying that'll happen with PureVPN but there's definitely precedent with VPN providers.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

I understand that idea...but in this case with Pure, really, they're charging you for one year of service, and then giving the second year for free. No one would be complaining about paying $53 for one year of decent service.

 

But in my case, I'm already having some issues with their performance, including still being unable to connect at all to the Singapore server (not one I use particularly, but one I do speed test comparisons with). So, even though I've made a purchase, I still have a 7 day money back guarantee period, as long as I don't exceed their usage limits.

 

Others here have used them for a long time, and have mostly good things to report about their service. In my case, I'm still trying to see if they can deliver on their promises.

[Pib]

I've been with PureVPN for about 6 months now.   Signed up for one of their 1+1 years plans where you are signing up for 1 year but they immediately give you a free year....so when the dust settles in a few milliseconds it's a 2 year plan.   I got that 2 year plan for $49.95 which comes out to $2.08/month....they had this special going on for about a month.     I've been happy with PureVPN considering the low price...most VPN services come at a much higher monthly price.  And PureVPN is constantly rated high in all the VPN comparisons....they are based on Hong Kong.   I rarely use their App as I just set up manual connection in Windows and Android to places like Singapore, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.

 

I too sometimes experience problems in connection to Singapore or the U.S. west coast, but I have greatly minimized that by determining the actual IP address (i.e., the IP number) of their VPN servers and when setting up my Manual connections in Windows/Android I generally use the IP address versus the layman's address.....PureVPN calls this a Dedicated IP connection in their App....fancy name for connection via the IP number versus the layman's address.   And actually I've found the layman's address for a server say in Singapore will actually have several different IP addresses since PureVPN has several companies actually providing the VPN connection....that is, PureVPN is actually renting/leasing a VPN connection from companies X, Y, and Z in different cities around the world.  This is how most VPN services actually provide VPN connections around the world....they do not really have their own servers and people at those locations...they have contracted those servers/people.

 

This Dedicated IP approach seems to greatly improve connecting on the first try and "also insures" you are connecting to the particular location/city you want to connect to and not automatically being redirected to a PureVPN VPN server somewhere in the same country....like ensuring your are indeed connected to LA vs being redirected to the Best U.S. Location which might end up being Chicago.  While that would still give you an U.S. IP address, depending on what website you are connecting to like PayPal or using Outlook to do a POP connection it may trigger those websites to challenge your logon since it's from a different city than say where you normally log-on from or logged on from say 10 minutes earlier.

 

I see the PureVPN Black Friday sale is indeed on....get two years at $2.49/month.   I started a chat session with PureVPN to ask since I'm already signed up for a 2 year plan and still have around 1.5 years left on it, "if I sign up for their 2 yr at $2.49/mo plan would that 2 years be "additive" to my current plan...that is stretch out my remaining 1.5 years to 3.5 years....the rep said yes.   Just FYI....your results may vary.

 

 

 

 

[guzzi850m2]

I am currently looking at PureVPN now and can get the deal mentioned in above posts.

 

I am also looking at ExpressVPN that will cost 100$ per year (8.3$ per month) and no black Friday deals seems to be on.

 

I have nil experiences with VPN, getting True fiber net installed on the 6th Dec.

 

Does anybody have any recommendations, I am a bit vary about PureVPN since TGJB says he got problems with connections to Singapore and I want something simple that works without fiddling too much around and considering my wife is alone in the house app 6 month per year when I am overseas working.

 

Cheers for any inputs.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

59 minutes ago, Pib said:

This Dedicated IP approach seems to greatly improve connecting on the first try and "also insures" you are connecting to the particular location/city you want to connect to and not automatically being redirected to a PureVPN VPN server somewhere in the same country....like ensuring your are indeed connected to LA vs being redirected to the Best U.S. Location which might end up being Chicago.  While that would still give you an U.S. IP address, depending on what website you are connecting to like PayPal or using Outlook to do a POP connection it may trigger those websites to challenge your logon since it's from a different city than say where you normally log-on from or logged on from say 10 minutes earlier.

 

 

Pib, I'm perplexed by a problem I just started having with them today, after I did my formal purchase. I did not have this same problem when I did a 3-day trial with them earlier this week.

 

When I use their Windows app to connect, and choose the connection by city such as choosing Los Angeles, the service goes to connect, does connect, and then instead connects to a different city than the one I had chosen. This afternoon, when I was repeatedly trying to connect to their L.A. server, their app kept giving me two other connections, one explicitly to Houston, and the other just labeled as "United States" only, but which actually also happened to be in fact Houston. [Through all this, I was NEVER using their menu choice to connect to the best or fastest server.]

 

I got on live chat with them, and the guy I had went round and round with all kinds of different proposed solutions, none of which seemed likely to address the problem I was having with them. I did a couple of their suggestions -- disabling IPV6 DNS and using the Dedicated IP approach you mention above for L.A. But neither of those solved the problem at all. Nor did using their Dedicated IP connection approach solve the problem with being unable to connect to Singapore.

 

So I'll keep fiddling with their software and connection methods a bit... But if I can't end up being able to reliably connect to the city I want to connect to (for my use, the actual city location matters), then they'll be doing a cancel and refund for me soon.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

34 minutes ago, guzzi850m2 said:

I am currently looking at PureVPN now and can get the deal mentioned in above posts.

 

I am also looking at ExpressVPN that will cost 100$ per year (8.3$ per month) and no black Friday deals seems to be on.

 

I have nil experiences with VPN, getting True fiber net installed on the 6th Dec.

 

Does anybody have any recommendations, I am a bit vary about PureVPN since TGJB says he got problems with connections to Singapore and I want something simple that works without fiddling too much around and considering my wife is alone in the house app 6 month per year when I am overseas working.

 

Cheers for any inputs.

 

This is the one I'm currently using, and I've been absolutely satisfied with their speed and connections. Their customer service usually is a bit dim-witted, but fortunately with their service, the software is simple and easy to use and works just as it should, so I rarely have to do any CSR with them. And the speeds to the U.S. that I get from them are several times faster than Pure.

 

Astrill just went live with their Black Friday promotion, which I had been expecting to come along at some point:

 

 

PS - They may have some past questionable history with their handling of torrenting and cooperating with authorities in those kinds of cases. I've seen online posts re that, but honestly am not sure what is fact and what isn't. All I know is, I don't use their service for anything illegal, and they've been fine for me for the past 2 years.

 

[Pib]

I'll send you some info via PM for your to try.

 

[guzzi850m2]

Thanks for that TGJB, 20$ per is real cheap.

 

So can you guys in the know tell me if my connected devises via wi-fi will be VPN protected as well? Because the Astrill web page is talking about 2 devices connected at one time with their pro package?

 

I will sometimes have 2-4 devices connected at one time: desktop pc- android TV- wife's smart phone- my Ipad.

 

I will assume using Kodi is considered legal?

 

Hmm, I am using torrent downloading quite a lot but not so much lately since I got Kodi on my desktop pc.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

33 minutes ago, guzzi850m2 said:

Thanks for that TGJB, 20$ per is real cheap.

 

So can you guys in the know tell me if my connected devises via wi-fi will be VPN protected as well? Because the Astrill web page is talking about 2 devices connected at one time with their pro package?

 

I will sometimes have 2-4 devices connected at one time: desktop pc- android TV- wife's smart phone- my Ipad.

 

I will assume using Kodi is considered legal?

 

Hmm, I am using torrent downloading quite a lot but not so much lately since I got Kodi on my desktop pc.

 

I can answer some of your questions, as I just got off live chat with Astrill.

 

Re their $100, two-year plan, that does allow ANY TWO devices to connect at the same time, even to different server cities. And I specifically confirmed with them that that would allow, for example, one device to be a router and the second device to be a PC or mobile device. [The router connection only counts as one connection, no matter how many actual devices are using the wifi from the router].

 

If you do as I've done, which is set up a VPN PPTP connection on my router, then everything connected to that router shares the same VPN connection. Astrill has a router app that works on some brands of routers. But my brand isn't one of those. However, my brand does in its own firmware allow PPTP connections, and I used that method that requires only entering the correct VPN server address, my VPN user ID and password into the router's PPTP settings.

 

The regular $19 one year package Astrill offers, however, doesn't work that same way in terms of multiple devices. The regular package is limited to one device at a time (including a router, with unlimited wifi connections), or at best, perhaps one regular device (such as router or PC) and one use of their mobile app. Not sure about that. But with their regular plan, I am sure you CANNOT, for example, have a router and PC with a separate connection at the same time.

 

As for Kodi, there's nothing illegal at all about Kodi the program. However, there are some add-ons that can be installed into Kodi that rely on torrented file streaming-sharing, and that's where people can potentially get into trouble, as far as I understand it. Most Kodi add-ons just use streaming, which is different than torrenting and not the same kind of illegal. But that's about as deep into that hole as I feel comfortable to explain.

 

Edited November 24, 2016 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

12 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

PURE VPN sweetened their BF deal a bit today, keeping the two-year subscription for $59, but then adding a 10% additional discount for several different payment methods, including credit cards. Total came to $53.10 after the discount. Quite a good deal for two years of service.

 

 

Well, quite a good deal if they actually provide the service they promise -- which in my case, they absolutely did not. So, I've canceled my account with them within 24 hours after my purchase, and put in my refund request.

 

Nothing but problems with Pure from the time I took out the account. Their Windows software hung part way thru the install on both of my Win 10 PCs, even though it ended up working. But the worst problem was, both with their Win 10 app and even when I connected directly thru a server address entered into my router, about half of the time, Pure would assign me a server/city different than the one I had requested.

 

Click to log into their L.A. server, get assigned a Houston IP address. Enter their L.A. server address into my router. First time it connected to an L.A. address. The next time it connected to a Houston address, even though the server address entered into my router's setting was for L.A.

 

Put in my refund request, which I'm entitled to under their policy --  within 7 days of purchase and no more than 3 GB of data used. And right now, I'm on my 3rd round of emails back and forth with their customer support staff where they're trying to talk me out of canceling and getting a refund, and instead having further discussions with their tech support staff... I've told them NO THANKS 3 times no, so let's see how much further this is going to drag on.

 

Bottom line, I renewed with Astrill for their 2 year plan. Took about 5 minutes online. Everything was working fine, and everything's continuing to work fine with them, on my PCs and on my router. I click to log into a particular city, and I ALWAYS get the city server that I've requested.

 

[guzzi850m2]

Many thanks TGJB for your detailed answer, I am in the process signing up now for Astrill, 20$ for a 1 year plan, so nothing to loose, or not much.

 

I got the link for signing up in my inbox but will do it later as my sons school have sports-day today so I am off for that

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

25 minutes ago, guzzi850m2 said:

Many thanks TGJB for your detailed answer, I am in the process signing up now for Astrill, 20$ for a 1 year plan, so nothing to loose, or not much.

 

I got the link for signing up in my inbox but will do it later as my sons school have sports-day today so I am off for that

 

That's a good deal and a good price. But just be aware, it only can be used at any given time on one device, or perhaps, one device plus one use of their mobile app. Not sure on that. But definitely not two non-mobile devices at a time.

 

However, to be clear, if you run that one connection Astrill VPN account on your wifi router, you can connect an unlimited number of devices to the wifi router that provides their VPN connection.

 

If you want to run their VPN on an individual PC directly, I'd recommend using their dead simple Windows dialer program, which is a stripped down smaller version of their full Windows app. The dialer just does PPTP and L2TP, whereas their full Windows app does those two protocols plus Open VPN.

 

For me, most of the time, having a PPTP connection seems to provide the fastest speeds for video streaming. On the other hand, the Open VPN connection is a bit slower, but provides more/stronger encryption if security of your content going over the VPN is a concern.

 

[JSixpack]

On 11/23/2016 at 8:17 PM, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

fyi, PURE VPN has gone live with their Black Friday promotion via their website -- $59 for a two-year subscription.

 

Make that a lifetime subscription via neowin: https://deals.neowin.net/sales/lifetime-of-purevpn?jl_uid=02952fad0d365fb8f9d75fde42333373&jl_cmpn=20161124_Tech_Sale_EarlyBlackFriday20&utm_source=StackSocial+Deals+Newsletter&utm_campaign=20161124_Tech_Sale_EarlyBlackFriday20&utm_medium=email

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

2 minutes ago, JSixpack said:

 

Make that a lifetime subscription via neowin: https://deals.neowin.net/sales/lifetime-of-purevpn?jl_uid=02952fad0d365fb8f9d75fde42333373&jl_cmpn=20161124_Tech_Sale_EarlyBlackFriday20&utm_source=StackSocial+Deals+Newsletter&utm_campaign=20161124_Tech_Sale_EarlyBlackFriday20&utm_medium=email

 

The issue with buying VPN services through a third party like Neowin is, AFAIK, they generally don't offer the same refund provisions as you get when buying directly thru Pure. Pure has a 7 day money back guarantee. And that's the reason I'm able to get my purchase money back after being dissatisfied. If I had bought with Neowin, I'm pretty sure I'd be out my purchase money.

 

So, I wouldn't recommend using a third party site for someone who's buying into a VPN service as a new customer. But, if I was already an existing Pure customer and was satisfied with their service and everything was working as it should, then I guess it could be a good, low-risk deal.

 

https://support.stackcommerce.com/hc/en-us/articles/203127055-Can-I-get-a-refund-for-my-purchase-

 

Quote

Many of the deals on our site have a No Refunds Policy due to the fact that they are heavily discounted. Additionally, a large portion of our deals are for intangible goods, such as software, E-Learning, and design assets. As soon as the order is completed, license codes and redemption assets are sent to the customer. If we offered refunds, customers could make purchases, redeem them, then ask for a refund so they could get it for free. This is another big reason why most of our deals have a No Refund Policy.

 

[JSixpack]

47 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

The issue with buying VPN services through a third party like Neowin is, AFAIK, they generally don't offer the same refund provisions as you get when buying directly thru Pure. Pure has a 7 day money back guarantee. And that's the reason I'm able to get my purchase money back after being dissatisfied. If I had bought with Neowin, I'm pretty sure I'd be out my purchase money.

 

So, I wouldn't recommend using a third party site for someone who's buying into a VPN service as a new customer. But, if I was already an existing Pure customer and was satisfied with their service and everything was working as it should, then I guess it could be a good, low-risk deal.

 

https://support.stackcommerce.com/hc/en-us/articles/203127055-Can-I-get-a-refund-for-my-purchase-

 

 

 

Depends one's "risk" level, true. PureVPN does get good reviews from some sites

 

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2427041,00.asp

http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc-mac/software/utilities/purevpn-1325640/review

 

and some users here like it, some don't. One could go for the regular subscription w/ the trial then wait for the next promotion. Recently they've coming around fairly often--but, yes, in the future they may not, and, yes, service may degrade over the lifetime, or maybe not, or, yes, maybe the company will go out of business, or maybe not, and maybe one will forever regret having to forego those few barfines . . . . :)

Edited November 25, 2016 by JSixpack

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

You're missing the point, either intentionally or unintentionally. It's nothing about whether their service degrades or whether they eventually go out of business at some future point.

 

It's about Pure having a 7 day money back guarantee when you purchase thru them directly. And Neowin having no money back guarantee when you purchase thru them.

 

Only Neowin is offering the "lifetime" subscription offer that you posted. Pure doesn't offer that kind of subscription themselves, AFAIK.

Edited November 25, 2016 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Talk about a case of odd marketing, or lack thereof.

 

The other VPN that I had been following for BF-CM deals was the well-regarded Express VPN service (though Ive never used them myself, thus far). So just now, I checked their main website and still found nothing but their regular price promotions. So, I reached out to them via live chat and got the following answer.

 

They are having a modest BF-CM promotion through this upcoming weekend -- 3 months extra when you purchase a 1 year subscription for $99.95. But it's only mentioned and linked to via their blog page on their website, not on their homepage. So a lot of folks, probably would never even know about it or see it.

 

At any rate, here's the link for their 3 free months with a 1 year subscription promo:

 

https://www.expressvpn.com/blog/cyber-monday-deal/

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

6 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

That's a good deal and a good price. But just be aware, it only can be used at any given time on one device, or perhaps, one device plus one use of their mobile app. Not sure on that. But definitely not two non-mobile devices at a time.

 

 

I chatted with Astrill later in the day and confirmed this re their regular/$19 promo plan:

 

It allows ONE regular device connection at a time -- for example, that can be a single PC connecting via their app, OR a router connection with an unlimited number of connections to the router's VPN wifi....

 

And... one mobile app connection at the same time.

 

The more expensive two year, $99 plan allows any TWO simultaneous connections, such as a PC AND a router both separately connected at the same time.

[JSixpack]

6 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

You're missing the point, either intentionally or unintentionally. It's nothing about whether their service degrades or whether they eventually go out of business at some future point.

 

It's about Pure having a 7 day money back guarantee when you purchase thru them directly. And Neowin having no money back guarantee when you purchase thru them.

 

Your point is basically that it's better to pay $59 for two years w/o a 7-day money-back guarantee than pay the same amount for a lifetime subscription perhaps without the guarantee. And I addressed that point specifically by putting it into perspective without actually disagreeing (up 2 u). I would add in

 

On 11/21/2016 at 2:54 AM, bendejo said:

Personally, I would be weary of these offers of trial periods.  It would be possible to give you some sort of priority connectivity while you check it out, and if you decide to buy in with a real subscription you may find the performance to be much different.

 

Otherwise, as we're on a public TVF forum I preempted other common objections that you didn't make specifically. I don't have a horse in this race but am merely pointing out possibilities for the membership.

 

Quote

Only Neowin is offering the "lifetime" subscription offer that you posted.

 

No. GIYF.

Edited November 25, 2016 by JSixpack

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Re one of your points above where you quote Bendejo, I've done several short-term trials with various VPN services and then followed up with regular subscriptions. And in NONE of them has the trial period somehow had great performance and then the regular subscription been less.

 

In every case, the trial and regular performance subscription has been exactly the same, for better or worse. So while anyone can speculate about anything they want without any facts, my experience clearly says the "false trial" notion simply doesn't occur with the major VPN providers.

 

On the bigger purchasing point, yes, I do think it's better to pay a somewhat higher price for something you're sure you're going to get good value and use from vs. paying a lower price and quickly discovering the service isn't what you need or thought it would be, and then having to go out and pay again for a different and hopefully better service.

 

But if someone is SURE the service they're signing up for is the right one and suited for their needs, then sure, go for the lowest price and don't worry about a refund.

 

But in the case of Pure, my own experience and my conversations offline here with other users suggests the service really has a lot of pretty substantial problems, one's you don't find out about until you get into the details of using it.

 

So, if I had paid $59 thru Neowin for a lifetime Pure subscription, right now, I'd simply have thrown $59 in the trash can, and I'd still be having to go out and spend more money to find a good VPN provider that actually provides the service they promise without A LOT of problems.

 

 

 

Edited November 25, 2016 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[guzzi850m2]

Well I am on Astrill now, very easy installation.

 

Only one devise connected, my desktop pc that is my main e-net user.

 

Furthermore Astrill allows to use BitTorrent services but you have to change the settings first.

 

I been told True e-net will provide a wi-fi router, which I will get installed in app 12 days time and I will ask them if I can use Astrill on that router. If possible, I might ad another Astrill account if I am satisfied with their service over the coming days.

 

My ISP is now in the US so I should be out of sight now.

[Pib]

VPN plan promotion on Black Friday are changing by the minute.  "Just for example, PureVPN now has a 3 year plan (1 + 2 free) for $69 total...works out to $1.91/month.  Below is a capture from PureVPN site at 9:25pm Bangkok time.

 

 

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Pib, if you're going to post promoting Pure's sale, you ought to at least also post here what your past experience with Pure has been, the various things that didn't work with them, and what you had to do in order to get it to be a working service for you.