【The Best VPN Service Providers, 2013(FYI)】

Note on VPN encryption protocols: there are 3 common ciphering options for VPN's: OpenVPN, L2TP/IPsec, and PPTP. For most desktop users, OpenVPN is the strongest encryption and fastest data transfer.
However, L2TP may be an even better option than OpenVPN in two special circumstances: you want to use multiple mobile devices on your VPN; or if you live in a country with oppressive government rules on internet use (e.g. China, Egypt). While not as fast as OpenVPN, L2TP is difficult for authorities to block, and it generally offers more support for mobile devices.




Cost: $20/month; $85/year. Good support for users in Asia. Offers L2TP and PPTP protocols.

Strong VPN is one of the more-expensive choices out there, but readers in Asia and the Pacific Rim say that Strong performs very well for them when compared to its competitors. The price point varies with your part of the world, but expect in the range of $20USD per month. The Strong VPN owners promise that there is no logging or scanning of their customers' data, and many readers recommend Strong. Try it for a month and let us know if Strong VPN works for you.

Visit their site: http://www.strongvpn.com/




Cost: $10.00/month; $50/year. Supports OpenVPN, SSTP, L2TP/IPsec, and PPTP protocols. PureVPN also supports IKEvs2 protocol for BlackBerry. The servers are in 19 different countries, with no bandwidth limitations for premium subscribers. The price point is very compelling, and is much more affordable than most of its competitors.

PureVPN has won the affection of many users because of its very friendly software client and very economical price. You can split the tunneling, which is helpful for having encryption on specific parts of your web habits, while still using your regular network connection for others (gamers and downloaders will like this splitting feature). PureVPN does log bandwidth usage and your login durations, but deletes that information every 5 days. Speeds on Pure are in the 4 Mbps to 21 Mbps range, which averages faster than most other VPN's.

Visit their site: http://www.purevpn.com


HideMyAss.com

Cost: $11.52/month or $78.66/year. HMA has a tremendous server pool of over 260 servers in over 50 countries, which opens up access to geographically-restricted content in many countries. Supports PPTP, L2TP, IPSec and OpenVPN protocols.

HMA is a UK-based VPN service that is considered the easiest and most user-friendly VPN by some. While their reputation was somewhat marred by the 2011 FBI investigation of a Sony hacker (HMA disclosed logs of suspect Cody Kretsinger's online timeframes), thousands of users still continue to use HMA for their private browsing.

HideMyAss does provides some very slick extra features like: supporting multiple simultaneous computers on the same connection, rotating IP addresses, speed guides, and an extremely convenient client tool. HMA is very easy for beginners to setup, which is another plus. At 12 dollars per month/79 per year, the price point for HidemyAss.com is in the middle of the pack.

NOTE: If you are a file sharer, HMA might not be for you. Readers report that HMA frowns upon its members participating in torrent sharing, and it will pressure its members whenever they receive P2P complaints from authorities.

Visit their site: http://www.hidemyass.com