The VPN topic rises on the Lifhacker not in the first and, probably, not even for the tenth time. In the comments to such posts, sometimes there are questions like “what is this in general and why”, and therefore it will be useful to conduct an introductory one.
VPN in clear language
A VPN for a user is, roughly speaking, a proxy + anonymizer + encryption, but not for any particular application and browser, but generally for all data on any devices. VPN – this is when you do not care about all the restrictions, bans, risks, threats and generally everything.
- It is safe to connect to the Internet through a router, from a computer, laptop, smartphone and tablet through any available wired and wireless network and not be afraid that someone will intercept your passwords, data or somehow harm.
- Access any sites that are unreasonable or
stupiditynegligence are entered by Roskomnadzor into the black list. This list has already been visited by Wikipedia, Lurkomorie, Facebook, and Twitter. Sometimes it seems that the next victim is chosen randomly. Play on the unclear rules of this incomprehensible game do not want to. A popular site, of course, is unlocked quickly, and lesser known ones can sit in a lock for days and weeks. - Log on to foreign websites that are not available in your host country.
- Become an impersonal anonymous person, who is not “figured by IP”.
VPN for those who do not raise servers
Around VPN there is always a certain “aura of geekyness”. It seems like how to make yourself such a useful thing can only be done by a trained technician. Not really. VPN these days is a business, and any service that counts on a mass audience must be simple.
In the comments to this post there will necessarily be a person who will say that it’s better to raise your VPN server after all. Okay, let’s say. But what if you need to use IP addresses from different countries? Will you rent many servers around the world for your personal use? This is financially inexpedient.
And even such a fan of their own VPN-servers can be difficult to explain that besides him there are millions of people who do not want and do not need to bother with it. For them, hundreds of simple, universal and much more flexible solutions out of the box work, which do not need to be raised and adjusted. And you do not need to think about them either. Chose, plug and forget. By the way, about the choice.
The world’s best VPN
This VPN is not and can not be. Different people have different needs. In general, all services are somewhat similar, each has some features and lures something of its own.
In due time our glavred admired TunnelBear.com, because there is an iOS-application. Personally, I do not quite understand the value of mobile applications for working through VPN on iOS or Android, since both operating systems have built-in tools for working through VPN. That is, setting up a VPN in your iPhone, iPad or Android is not harder than entering a login and password on some site.
I use HideMe.ru – a very old service, which is something about eight years old, and my acquaintance with him happened about four years ago. In the case of a VPN, age becomes an additional guarantor, since a beginner can throw out any thing. Especially free rookie.
About Free VPNs
Call me paranoid, but my brain refuses to trust free services that can not clearly and clearly explain their model of monetization, and hence the very possibility of their existence. Contain a VPN service, capable of serving a large audience, VERY expensive. If these people do not get money from users, then they get them somehow differently. The sale of user data can bring money.
About Russian VPNs
There are also such. The purposes of their existence I do not understand. Why use a VPN, for example, to hide itself and its activities on the Internet, if the relevant services can come to the company and just take this data? The whole meaning is lost.
Foreign VPNs are always more attractive. You can not just stick around and ask for something. They obey the laws of other countries and cheerfully send such jokers away. When I contacted the support HideMe.ru and for the sake of interest asked how they had their private lives, they answered me:
Despite our focus on Russian users, we are a foreign company, without employees and offices on the territory of the Russian Federation. Even if they want to come to us, then there will simply be nowhere to come. The decision to provide data about the user can only be taken by the court of Belize (South America), precedents of which for eight years of our work was not.
Belize is a state.
Formerly called “British Honduras”. ????
126 rubles
HideMe.ru has a very nice tariff – 126 rubles a month. This is with an annual subscription. Of course, a beginner will not immediately buy an annual subscription, but it is cheaper almost three times. Usually you buy a month, you use it, you go into it, and only then you take an annual subscription. With this calculation HideMe.ru will cost 349 rubles for the first month and 126 rubles for the following months. If you look at other services included in the reviews of the Lifehacker, then prices are usually indicated in USD, the cost fluctuates somewhere between $ 5 and $ 10 per month, and among the methods of payment there are no actual WebMoney for the Russian Federation, Yandex.Money “And characteristic of payment systems for our country only. You can pay completely anonymously through terminals, but this is beyond even my paranoia.
For 126 rubles HideMe.ru makes it possible without any restrictions to sit in the Internet through 74 servers in 35 countries. This is another plus of the old service – well-developed infrastructure. Most of the young services can not boast of such a fat network, offering mostly popular locations only in the US and Europe. The number of servers also reduces the average workload of each of them. This directly affects the speed – it is much less likely to get on an overloaded server and tolerate “dialup” reception and return rates.
Pipitipi and other interesting words
About security, encryption and other technical components, I will not write anything. It seems to me that all these things are self-evident. The service will not survive for several years if it has open security holes and does not have the proper level of security.
Yes, there are interesting words in the description, the supported protocols are listed, and so on, but the service prudently does not load the user with unnecessary information and places it in a pop-up window marked “for spec.”. Does everything work as it should and provides a sufficient level of security and security? Wonderful. The rest is really a topic for professionals who are solving some of their specific tasks. At the user level, it’s enough for me that this service has done what I need for many years without censures and asks for very little money for it.
Five minutes to VPN
Initially, it was said that to get acquainted with the delights of the Internet through the VPN it is enough five minutes. This is true. You can track time and step through everything.
Of course, there are no registrations. This is the basic rule of good form for any normal VPN. We go to the site, choose “Try for free.”
Yes, at the very beginning you will not have to pay. In the case of HideMe.ru, a free day is given for full testing. A letter with a code and instructions for setting up for computers, smartphones and tablets falls into the box.
The code is everything you need to continue using the service. No accounts, everything is impersonal. Enter the received code on the site in the appropriate field “Connect to VPN”.
In the course of the matter, the service will once again specify for which device the VPN is configured at the moment, and will provide everything necessary.
In the case of a computer on Windows, you will be offered a simple application for ordinary users or settings for bearded admins.
For computers on other operating systems, options are offered: a particularly stable connection for everyday needs, or especially fast and low-low for games.
For mobile devices – clear step-by-step settings.
With the application, five minutes of installation, and settings are reduced to one minute. It is enough to specify the code, select the server, and everything works right away. In addition to the simplicity, Windows-appendix has one more important plus – the ability to restrict access to the Internet when the connection with the VPN is broken. This option excludes the possibility that any data in the absence of a VPN will suddenly go through a real IP address.
To dispel the myth of the complexity of setting up VPN on mobile devices, I attach screen shots of the process from the first and up to the last step on Android.
Go to Settings → Wireless Networks → More → VPN. If you do not need a password on the screen lock the smartphone, then you need to put it, otherwise the VPN will not start up. We click the plus sign and create a new VPN connection, filling in the fields in accordance with the instruction. Server address choose any of the list in the instructions (I chose Munich, Germany).
Tap on the created connection. The name is the code received in HideMe.ru. Password – by default the mailbox to which the code came, you can change it.
That’s all. On my smartphone is already running VPN, and 2ip.ru says that I’m really in Germany.
Free daily code is enough to test the VPN along and across all devices. Start in the morning and enjoy the whole day, measure the speed and so on. Well and further – 126 rubles a month. Try it. It’s much easier than you could imagine.
HideMe.ru
