PrivateInternetAccess Review

A Simple Yet Powerful VPN Service

Private Internet Access offers a simple VPN service that redirects all your traffic through a secure connection to ensure that all the information that you send and receive is protected. Nowadays, our privacy is at risk of being compromised whenever we connect to the internet. We are exposed to eavesdroppers and online attackers that want to get access to our personal information for different purposes such as targeting us with advertising, obtaining financial information, or simply spying on our online activity. In order to protect your data and ensure that your privacy remains intact, you can opt for a VPN service like Private Internet Access, you to change your IP address to keep your identity protected when you are online.

When you are looking for a VPN service, you will find that there are many options available including some that are free. However, if you want to ensure that your connection is secure and enjoy a wider range of features, it is advisable to choose a paid service, which would give you more flexibility and options to protect your identity online. Private Internet Access has gained recognition in the industry thanks to their service but in recent months, there have been some reports that suggest that the company is letting some of its users down.

We tested PrivateInternetAccess to check if the company remains at the top of their game and while it is true that the installation process is more complicated than what you experience with other providers, we confirmed that their performance is still quite good. It may be that some users had experienced issues that are not related directly to the Private Internet Access’ service. Based on our testing, which was carried out using different devices and networks, it seems like far from letting their service slip down, the company is working to improve and innovate in every aspect. Let’s take a look at what Private Internet Access can offer.

Plans and payment

Private Internet Access does not offer a free version of their service or a free trial. It would be nice to see them offering a free trial to give customers the chance to try their service before committing to a paid plan. Still, their prices are very reasonable and they have a 7-day money-back guarantee so you can still get your money back if you feel their service does not suit your needs. Once you have decided that Private Internet Access offers everything you need from a VPN provider, you can choose any of the three payment plans that they have. If you subscribe to their service for one month, you would pay $6.95, six months cost $35.95 and one year is $39.95

They offer a large selection of payment methods including Credit Cards, Amazon, Google Wallet, PayPal, BitCoin, and CashU. If you wish to protect your identity in every possible way, you can even choose an anonymous payment option such as gift cards from well-known stores like Gap or Bloomingdales. An additional option to ensure anonymity is to avoid using your actual email address and choosing a @mailinator address instead. This way you can protect your identity and still receive the confirmation email with the login credentials you need to access the service after installing Private Internet Access.

After Installation

Once the installation is completed and you receive your access details, you will see a login window that also includes the settings page where you can select the options that you wish to change such as servers to connect to. Apart from the login window, there is no control panel or anything else, which can be frustrating as users will not be able to see other options, provide feedback or get error messages. This lack of a clear control panel that shows the status of the service, the server you are connected to, or any other details that users would like to access presents an issue. The IP address that has been assigned to you is not visible, which is something that makes Private Access Internet complicated when compared to other services.

Additional Options

Private Internet Access offers OpenVPN SSL technology and you can also set up PPTP with the built-in Windows client. IPsec/L2TP and SOCKS5 are also supported. You can use their client with the main operating systems: from Windows to Mac OS X. You can get an app designed for Android devices (that use Android 4.0 and up) in Google Play Store. Older versions of Android can also use the service but it would have to be configured manually. They also offer guides to set up their client with routers that have DD-WRT or Tomato installed. With Private Internet Access, you can have the same account to connect to their service using up to three devices. This is very practical and will save you money as you will not have to pay more in order to enjoy online protection for your smartphone, tablet, or laptop. Even though some users have complained that Private Internet Access’ speed is less than ideal, when we tested their service, we enjoyed a good speed and performance, even when streaming content or watching videos online. We did not experience slowdowns when connecting to servers outside our location.

Conclusion

It is evident that Private Internet Access strives to offer a large variety of features and top quality in all aspects of their service. While in general, they achieve their goal of staying ahead of their competition (particularly when it comes to offering advanced features for their users), there are certain downsides to their service. They have a good selection of servers location but it is still quite limited when compared to other providers. Even though users that require advanced options will find that Private Internet Access offers what they are looking for, the lack of interface is confusing, especially for new users.

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