Private Internet Access

	9/10
Website:	https://www.privateinternetaccess.com
Contact:	https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/contact-us
Phone:	N/A
Location:	United States
Cost:	From $3.33/month
Year Founded:	2010

Private Internet Access Review

Fifteen years ago, we did not face the sorts of security and privacy issues on the internet that we have today. Advertising firms and spammers are working full time to gain access to our most intimate habits. They use hacking, tracking, data collecting, and other methods to gather information on what we do on every website we visit. This is where virtual protected network (VPN) providers come in to help. This entry will review Private Internet Access to see if they are the right VPN provider for you.

About Private Internet Access

Private Internet Access is owned by London Trust Media, Inc., although they are based in the United States. Prior to putting together Private Internet Access, London Trust Media became intimately informed about the interoperations of advertising firms, companies, marketing firms, and others. They were appalled by their access to intimate details of internet users. They were inspired to find ways to help users regain their security and privacy. This completely changed a company that was originally started as a media, web development, and marketing firm.

 

Private Internet Access takes full advantage of the fact that the United States does not require any sort of data retention. This allows them to provide customers with a high degree of guaranteed anonymity. The privacy of their users is their main focus. They do this while providing competitive prices and maintain fast connection speeds.

Top Features of Private Internet Access

Private Internet Access prides itself on providing multi layered, state of the art security that uses VPN tunneling to ensure advanced privacy protection. The services are designed to work on smartphone devices, tablets, PCs, and Macs using technology that is already built in to these systems. Not only will your web browser be secure, but all of your applications will be protected, since the services work at the TCP/IP interface level.

Private Internet Access uses five levels of security. They are

• IP cloaking – Internet services and websites will not be able to monitor your searches, see your geographic location, or track your browsing habits with Private Internet Access’s IP cloak. It masks your IP address with an anonymous IP address.
• Encryption – There are many free software packages available to criminals and spammers who want to intercept your data. Private Internet Access uses the Blowfish CBC algorithm for its high grade encryption. This assures that even in Wi-Fi hotspots and shared internet routers, your information will be safe. They also offer PPTP, SOCKS5, and IPsec/L2TP technologies.

• Firewall – You do not have to worry about unwelcome connections being made to your smartphone or computer thanks to the use of advanced filtering and firewall capabilities of the Netfilter Project. Only openings you create to the outside internet will exist.
• Identity protection – Posting on forums and browsing anonymously is crucial if your identity puts you at risk. Private Internet Access will keep you from becoming exposed. Your identity and data will be kept secret by blocking any sort of data mining.
• Uncensored access – Private Internet Access provides complete, uncensored access to the internet through their many servers you can choose from. They have locations throughout Romania, France, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, US, Hong Kong, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, and Canada. And, this list keeps growing.

Facebook and Twitter are blocked on the networks of many schools and companies. If you feel that these sites are blocked for no good reason and you want access, Private Internet Access can help you out. Since they are much more deeply rooted in your system than traditional proxies, they can enable you to unblock Facebook or any other social networking site.

Private Internet Access Prices

Private Internet Access essentially only offers one plan, but the prices vary based on how many months you are willing to pay for at one time. If paying on a monthly basis, it is $6.95 per month. To buy six months, it is $35.95 (which works out to $5.99 per month). And, for one year, it costs $39.95, which is about $3.33 per month.

None of the plans keep track of your traffic. They provide you with unlimited bandwidth. You can use the service on five different devices at the same time. There is VoIP and P2P support. You will get a completely secure VPN account setup for you instantly. A SOCKS5 proxy is also included. You get access to all of the VPN gateways that Private Internet Access has to offer. And, finally, all of your Wi-Fi use will be encrypted while you are using the program.

The Downsides of Using Private Internet Access

There were just two downsides we found with Private Internet Access. First, they do not offer the options of trying out their services before signing up. Also, there is not a money back guarantee. Another feature we would have liked to have seen would be an app that is native to Apple and Android devices. You can still use the VPN on your mobile devices. There just is not an app specifically designed for these devices.

Private Internet Access Customer Support

The website for Private Internet Access is pretty nice. It is clearly laid out, features a polished promotional video, and it is easy to navigate. There is an FAQ, tutorials, helpful guides, and an assortment of other useful tools available on the site.

You can contact a customer service representative by email, support desk ticket, or live chat. I found all three of these provided quick, friendly, and intelligent responses. Still, I would have liked to have had the option to give them a call.

Conclusion

Private Internet Access clearly takes your security and privacy to heart. They have firsthand experience in how sneaky marketers can be in trying to gather your information, so they know how to prevent them from doing so. We found the services incredibly easy to use. We did not have any problems at any point. But, if we did, we were glad to see there was support for us. We strongly recommend Private Internet Access to anyone who uses the internet.