Once in a while we pick a VPN specialist organization. We break down each component related with the administration and test its guarantees by means of unbending examination measures. We do this to encourage the buy choice of new clients looking for a VPN.
Moreover, through our audits, we likewise give other options to the clients disappointed from their current VPN specialist organization. Today, we have chosen VPN Private Internet Access audit. We will investigate and test each guarantee made by Private Internet Access VPN against its execution.
The discoveries of our VPN Private Internet Access audit would be unprejudiced and construct just with respect to the discoveries removed.
Aces of PIA VPN
High accentuation on protection and security
Offers unknown installment alternatives
Sweeping server spread in significant nations
Does not keep any logs
Offers simple to utilize applications and programming
Gives driving conventions and military review encryption
day in and day out client bolster
7 day unconditional promise
3284+ servers in 24 nations
Cons of PIA VPN
No free trial to test the administration
Variable speed execution on a few servers
Vital NOTE: Get PrivateVPN astounding offer on Black Friday VPN Deals 2017
Top Features
Offers PPTP, L2TP/IPSec and OpenVPN conventions
Perfect on Mac, Windows, Linux, Routers, Android and iOS gadgets
AES 256 piece encryption
Boundless transfer speed
5 gadget multi-login include
DNA and IP spill security
P2P document sharing bolstered
Web off button accessible
Offers port sending highlight (SOCKS5 Proxy)
What is Private Internet Access?
Private Internet Access is one of the main VPN suppliers in the business. Its accentuation on protection and security are without examination the best with regards to picking a VPN benefit. With top notch highlights, military review encryption, secure burrowing, no logging strategy, and a worldwide server spread, PIA gives online secrecy and assurance against most risky digital dangers. You can even subscribe to the VPN benefit through mysterious installment strategies like Bitcoin. In this way, in the event that you are searching for a VPN that ensures online security and web flexibility, you should attempt Private Internet Access.
Private Internet Access Kill Switch
Private Internet Access offers a slick component of web off button. This is a basic element for all protection concerned clients. What it does is that it naturally close down your web association on the off chance that you separate from the VPN. Private Internet Access Kill Switch keeps your IP address from spilling and uncovering your actual personality.
Your web association continues once your VPN association is move down and running or on the off chance that you deactivate this component. Web Kill Switch is prepared into all the product and applications offered by PIA. Also, this element accompanies all its estimating plans, which implies you don't have pay anything additional to use the VPN Kill Switch.
Private Internet Access Kill Switch Benefits
It is useful in the event that you utilize a VPN for torrenting. PIA Kill Switch will prevent your web from working if your VPN association drops. Along these lines copyright holder can't recognize your area as your IP address never spills.
Prevent gushing administrations from boycotting your IP address. Web off button will avoid spilling administrations, for example, Netflix or BBC iPlayer from recognizing that you utilize a VPN to get to their administration and piece your IP.
VPN Private Internet Access Review Plans and Pricing
There are three fundamental bundle designs offered by PIA VPN benefit: month to month bundle design, half year bundle design and yearly bundle design. An intriguing thing that we recognized in bundle designs was the consistency of highlights related with each arrangement.
PIA with its no log strategy speaks to highlight rich bundle designs offering boundless data transfer capacity, numerous entryways, Wi-Fi encryption and P2P alongside VoIP bolster.
The administration underpins PPTP, L2TP and OpenVPN conventions; moreover, you can interface 5 gadgets at the same time by means of PIA VPN. Moreover, SOCKS5 intermediary to be sure is a cherry on the best.
In the wake of concentrate the evaluating plans of the administration for our VPN Private Internet Access audit and reasoned that you can subscribe to month to month bundle for just $6.95. Stunned as of now? Yet, hold up, there's additional. PIA offers a half year bundle anticipate just $5.99/month; also, on the off chance that you choose to submit for a lengthened period, you get the best esteem bundle as yearly bundle costs as low as $3.33/month.
VPN Private Internet Access survey
PIA
Servers
There are many reasons that legitimize the need of a VPN. Number of servers offered by a VPN specialist organization fills in as the key implementer while settling on a buy choice. VPN servers alongside the geographic area of their quality enable clients to get to expansive scope of geo-confined substance. PIA VPN gives you access to more than 3,018 servers topographically scattered in various areas.
privateinternetaccess server area
Presently PIA has its servers situated in more than 15 nations: U.S, Canada, U.K, Switzerland, Netherlands, Sweden, France, Germany, Romania, Isreal, Japan, Mexico, Singapore and Hong Kong.
When you interface with a specific server, you will be allocated an IP of that particular area. Henceforth, you can get to any geo-limited substance delivered for the local eyes as it were.
VPN Private Internet Access server area as per diverse counteries
Private Internet Access Review
PIA Decides To Close Services in Russia
Another information maintenance law has quite recently been passed in Russia which commands telecom organizations and online administrations working in Russia to store metadata, correspondences, and web movement history of their clients.
In light of such occasions, Russian law authorization experts have seized PIA servers situated in Russia with no notice. The VPN benefit reported that it has ceased all its Russian Gateways and will never again be working in Russia. It has guaranteed every one of its clients that no data was traded off since the VPN benefit does not keep any logs.
For preventive measures, PIA has pivoted every one of its testaments and has prompted its clients to refresh their VPN customers and applications from individual application stores. On the off chance that anybody is utilizing OpenVPN then they ought to download the new arrangement documents. PIA stays firm that it won't trade off on its supporters security and will assess strategies of different nations too.
PIA's Response to Pulling out from Russia
To dive profound into the ramifications of the choice made by PIA, we at VPNRanks directed a meeting with their CEO, Ted Kim. From the meeting, it can be obviously expressed that PIA stays relentless in safeguarding its supporters protection.
We at first asked about how the VPN administration will encourage clients searching for Russian servers and when would we be able to anticipate that PIA will work again in Russia. PIA reacted that it won't setup servers in nations that don't guarantee protection of its clients and it is difficult to state when can the administration return back in Russia.
Tuesday, 28 November 2017
Tuesday, 21 November 2017
Private Internet Access VPN Reviews
Private Internet Access VPN Reviews
Private Internet Access is one of the most popular VPN services around. But does it live up to the expectations? We take a close look at some of the crucial aspects when it comes to anonymity and invite users to add their personal reviews.
Private Internet Access is a VPN that suits the needs of most users, from tech illiterates to those who prefer to tweak the most detailed network settings.
PIA: We do not log, period. This includes, but is not limited to, any traffic data, DNS data or meta (session) data. Privacy IS our policy.
2. What is the most secure VPN connection and encryption algorithm you would recommend to your users? Do you provide tools such as “kill switches” if a connection drops and DNS leak protection?
PIA: The most secure VPN connection and encryption algorithm that we would recommend to our users would be our suite of AES-256, RSA 4096 and SHA1 or 256. However, AES-128 should still be considered quite safe. For users of Private Internet Access specifically, we offer addon tools to help ensure our beloved clients’ privacies including:
– Kill Switch : Ensures that traffic is only routed through the VPN such that if the VPN connection is unexpectedly terminated, the traffic would simply not be routed.
– IPv6 Leak Protection : Protects clients from websites which may include IPv6 embeds which could leak IPv6 IP information.
– DNS Leak Protection : This is built in and ensures that DNS requests are made through the VPN on a safe, private no-log DNS daemon.
– Shared IP System : We mix clients’ traffic with many clients’ traffic through the use of an anonymous shared-IP system ensuring that our users blend in with the crowd.
– IPv6 Leak Protection : Protects clients from websites which may include IPv6 embeds which could leak IPv6 IP information.
– DNS Leak Protection : This is built in and ensures that DNS requests are made through the VPN on a safe, private no-log DNS daemon.
– Shared IP System : We mix clients’ traffic with many clients’ traffic through the use of an anonymous shared-IP system ensuring that our users blend in with the crowd.
3. Which payment systems do you use and how are these linked to individual user accounts?
PIA: We utilize a variety of payment systems including, but not limited to, PayPal, Stripe, Amazon, Google, Bitcoin, Stellar, CashU, Ripple, Most Major Store Bought Gift card, PIA Gift cards (available in retail stores for “cash”), and more. We utilize a hashing
More questions and answers regarding Private Internet Access’ anonymity policies are available in out yearly VPN review.
Are you a PIA customer, or have you used PIA in the past, then we would love to hear from you. Please leave a review below
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Private Internet Access Review & Test Results
Private Internet Access Review & Test Results
Private Internet Access Review
- Performance
- Features
- Support
- Value
2.5
Review of:
Private Internet Access
Private Internet Access (PIA) is a decent, low-cost VPN service that is based in the United States. It offers acceptable speeds, a simple VPN application and an ad blocker, for a very competitive price. But it also has some drawbacks.
PIA’s support seems to have gotten significantly worse in the past few months (delayed responses). The other issue is that PIA is based in the United States, which is a bad jurisdiction for privacy (Five Eyes).
Considering everything in this review, Private Internet Access is not the worst option – but it’s also not the best. If you are open to alternatives, you can check out the Best VPNs list for the top recommendations that have passed all privacy/security tests and are located in good privacy jurisdictions.
You can visit the Private Internet Access website here >>
+ Pros
- Low price ($3.33 per month)
- No logs
- Some decent security and privacy features
- Ad blocker (but very minimal)
– Cons
- Based in the US
- Poor support
- Limited on features
Connections
5
Price
$3.33
Jurisdiction
United States
Privacy Tests
Passed all tests.
Visit Private Internet Access >>
Private Internet Access Price
Private Internet Access (PIA) offers three basic pricing tiers.
With every plan you get a 7 day money-back guarantee. There are no hidden bandwidth clauses or other restrictions on the refund.
Unfortunately, I found it was difficult to get a refund and had to send their support department numerous emails. Searching online, it seems I’m not the only one complaining about this issue. Here are just a few recent complaints directly from the PIA forums:
I’m not sure I would trust the 7 day refund window, but their support may have improved since these issues were posted.
London Trust Media and US jurisdiction
- Mass government surveillance (NSA spying)
- Mass corporate surveillance (Google, Facebook, Verizon, Comcast and most US telecoms)
- Troubling copyright laws (Digital Millennium Copyright Act – DMCA)
Many large tech and telecom companies have also been working directly with the NSA for a number of years (see the PRISM Program).
For more of a discussion on privacy jurisdictions, check out the Five Eyes surveillance article.
PIA features
Protocols
OpenVPN
IPSec/L2TP
PPTP
Multi-hop
No
Obfuscation
No
Logs
No logs
While PIA doesn’t have too many features, the application is simple and user-friendly. It integrates well with both the Mac OS and Windows operating systems. In Windows, you can simply select the red PIA icon from the dashboard and connect to a VPN server.
Within the application you can easily select from different security features and encryption options.
One nice feature is called “PIA MACE” which blocks malicious advertisements, trackers, and malware. This is similar to the Perfect Privacy Trackstop feature, but PIA’s ad-blocker is not as customizable or powerful (number of items blocked).
The main drawback of PIA MACE is that it is a very limited ad blocker.
You cannot customize anything and it does not seem to filter as many ads as other alternatives, such as Perfect Privacy’s Trackstop.
In terms of functionality, PIA is simple and easy to use. A small icon (a privacy-looking character) with a check mark next to it lets you know you’re connected and protected. Within the dashboard you can connect to VPN servers around the world.
PIA servers
I also tested the servers to verify their true locations using the testing methods here.
Everything matched up.
PIA speeds and reliability
After testing a number of different servers, I found that speeds could vary somewhat depending on the server and time of day. I suspect this problem may have to do with the server load.
Unfortunately, PIA does not provide a server status page with real-time bandwidth information, (such as this). Therefore, there’s no way to see the real-time bandwidth or know for sure what was causing these speed/connection issues.
Overall, Private Internet Access has ok speeds. Not awful, but certainly not great.
One comparably priced option (also cheap) that I found to perform better is VPN.ac (review).
Privacy and security features
PIA provides some basic privacy and security features that will benefit users.
The two main features are the “kill switch” and “IPv6 leak protection.” The kill switch blocks all internet traffic in the event of a dropped VPN connection.
The IPv6 leak protection feature prevents your IPv6 address from “leaking” outside of the VPN tunnel.
The real question is how these features perform in testing…
Privacy features testing results
For testing, I ran PIA through all of the security checks here and also the website ipleak.net. The basic testing procedure is outlined here.
My tests checked for:
- IPv4 leaks
- IPv6 leaks
- DNS leaks
- WebRTC leaks
The PIA Mac OS and Windows clients passed all tests.
I did not identify any active or reconnection leaks. For a lower-priced VPN service, PIA is a decent option that should keep you safe.
Note: In older versions of the applications I did occasionally have problems with brief reconnection leaks. However, these issues appear to be fixed with the latest round of testing for this review. Nonetheless, it’s always good to verify your VPN is working by testing it periodically.
PIA logs
PIA’s homepage claims they do not keep any “traffic or request logs” – which is a good sign.
However, it’s important to note that VPN logs are a grey area. PIA is a large provider that imposes limitations on subscriptions (limited to 5 connections). Usually, limitations require logging (connection logs), which is important to keep in mind.
Regarding logs, it’s important to note that the US is a dangerous jurisdiction that has compelled various companies to log and hand over customer data. There was also recently a case where US authorities forced a Hong Kong VPN provider (PureVPN) to log data and provide this to the FBI.
Being located in the United States, PIA is more vulnerable to these issues, due to the simple fact that they fall under US regulations and laws.
For providers that are outside of the United States, check out the Best VPNs list.
Poor support
This may just be a temporary issue with the support department, but regardless, it is not reassuring.
I have also seen a few replies where PIA has stated they are expanding their support. We’ll check back later to see how this has gone – hopefully things will improve.
Private Internet Access Review: PIA in 2017
Private Internet Access Review: PIA in 2017
Private Internet Access (PIA) is a Virtual Private Network (VPN) that is well known for providing high levels of privacy and a reliable service. Robust encryption, an outstanding privacy policy, and servers located all over the world – coupled with amazingly budget prices – inevitably makes PIA an easy VPN to recommend.
Despite this, more recently we have noticed a surprising increase in complaints about Private Internet Access VPN. Add this to an ever-increasing amount of competition in the VPN market, and we have rightly decided to revisit this review for consumers.
Has Private Internet Access VPN allowed its service to slip? Can complaints being made about the service be substantiated? We think these questions are highly important, and on a personal level I can;t wait to find out! So, let’s dive in head first and take a look at this famous VPN provider to see if it still deserves the reputation that it has grown to have.
PIA’s Pricing and Plans
When it comes to the cost of Private Internet Access, there can be no doubt that it is cheap. The VPN rewards subscribers for committing for a longer period of time. Apart from that, the various plans are identical. The most expensive option is a one-month subscription, which at $6.95 per month is still insanely cheap for what you get.
Next, users may opt for the $35.95 six-month plan ($5.95 per month). This is much more reasonable, though why you wouldn’t pay just $4.00 more to get the $39.95 yearly plan is beyond me. Paying annually brings down the monthly cost to $3.33, which is amazing considering the privacy levels that PIA provides.
Of course, if you do decide to commit for a longer period of time you will be stuck with the VPN for longer too, and Private Internet Access certainly seems to be suffering from some problems of late. For this reason, we urge you to read this article in its entirety before deciding on a subscribing.
However, don’t forget that PIA does have a 7-day money back guarantee! So you can test it risk-free and get your money back if you decide against it for any reason!
PIA accepts many different payment methods, including credit cards, PayPal, and various other online payments. Users can also pay with “hundreds of different gift cards,” including Starbucks, Bestbuy, and Walmart.
In addition, PIA accepts Bitcoins, so you can pay anonymously for added privacy if you wish. Ripple did use to be an option, but PIA appears to have removed it since last time we reviewed the VPN. However, a new option to pay with Z-cash is now available.
PIA: Summary
- PROS
- Cheaper than most VPNs that are similar
- Extremely private and secure
- Plenty of encryption options (including OpenVPN, our recommended protocol)
- Fast connection speeds for streaming
- Servers all around the world
- CONS
- Very bad customer care with exceedingly long waiting times for responses to questions
- Not great for beginners who need plenty of support
- Some complaints about the PIA software for Mac and iOS
Private Internet Access Features
Private Internet Access is based in Michigan in the US. The VPN provides access to 3,253 servers in 25 countries. Although that is fewer countries than some VPN providers, it’s still a huge amount of choice considering the budget price of this VPN. In addition, those servers are superbly well placed around the globe and will definitely allow you to unblock most things we can think of.
PIA has a lot of pro features such as a kill switch, Domain Name System (DNS) leak protection, a built in Socket Secure (SOCKS5) proxy, a choice of encryption protocols, an auto connect feature that connects the VPN as soon as it is launched and apps for all platforms (iOS, Android, Mac, Windows, Linux, and Chrome). It also permits five simultaneous connections.
Another sweet feature is that the website shows server counts, locations, and bandwidth stats.
Visit PIA »
Video Review
We here at BestVPN.com have put together a video review of PrivateInternetAccess for your viewing pleasure.
Is Private Internet Access Secure?
As mentioned, Private Internet Access VPN is based in the US (in the state of Indiana). This isn’t perfect in terms of privacy because the US government can impose warrants and gag orders. In addition, the US is home to the NSA and the CIA. It is also part of the Five Eyes surveillance agreement.
The good news is that PIA does make up for this with its zero logs policy (which is as good as logging policies can get). However, because it is in the US it could be served a gag order, and a warrant, and subscribers would be none the wiser. This is always a concern with US-based VPN providers and is one reason that we tend to encourage people to subscribe to VPNs based in other locations
Having said that, as far as we can tell PIA has never disclosed any information about its subscribers to the authorities. With that in mind, it seems likely that the vast majority of people will be secure using PIA as their VPN.
Encryption Options
As far as encryption is concerned, PIA is very secure. It gives users lots of options including Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol (PPTP), Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol (L2TP)/Internet Protocol Security (IPSec), or OpenVPN. Here at BestVPN.com, we highly recommend OpenVPN because it is by far the most secure (and open source) encryption protocol. If you do get a PIA subscription, we strongly encourage you to connect using OpenVPN!
OpenVPN encryption is handled via a military grade AES-256 cipher, with strong SHA256 for authorization, and handshake of RSA 4096. This is truly superb. Arguably, in fact, the handshake could be a little weaker and you would still be secure. So feel free to set it manually to RSA 2048 if you plan to do a lot of streaming with your VPN (this will make it faster).
Having so many options can be a bit confusing for VPN beginners. However, having those options means that people who need the strongest encryption can get it. Those who don’t really need it can lower it manually. As such, this is a positive aspect of the service.
The only trouble with more features and options is that, for beginners, the lack of customer support can lead to confusion, frustration, and annoyance. This lack of support has led to a large number of complaints in recent times. For this reason, we recommend reading the “Customer Care” section below before subscribing to PIA.
The Website
The PIA website is well designed, looks awesome, and doesn’t attempt to hide any important details about the service. Details about encryption are readily available, and the firm makes no attempt to hide that it is based in the US. We applaud PIA for this transparency.
At the top of the homepage, you’ll find a navigation banner, which easily connects you to all the different parts of the website. Those are clearly labeled: Home, How It Works, Downloads and Support, Contact Us and Join Now. In addition, there is a link in the top right that says Member Login.
One of the most impressive thing about the Private Internet Access website is its excellent blog. That blog is written by the founder of the Swedish Pirate Party, Rick Falkvinge. Falkvinge acts as head of privacy at PIA, and writes the blog content. That blog is available to everybody including non-OIA subscribers. It is an excellent source of privacy news.
In addition, PIA has excellent guides and an FAQ section that includes video tutorials to help users solve problems. These range from setting up PIA VPN on a DD-WRT router, to changing and updating your password.
This is an excellent resource. It is intended to allow subscribers to keep the service running smoothly without having to contact support. Despite this, when compared to other services the lack of easily attainable support is what lets Private Internet Access VPN down.
The website can be viewed in 18 languages. This is astounding, and demonstrates the international aspirations of this VPN.
PIA Support
Support is the most lacking part of Private Internet Access’ VPN service. While the best VPN services are proud to have 24/7 live chat support, PIA’s customer support is close to non-existent. Here at BestVPN.com we hear stories, time and time again, about PIA users seeking help using the ticket system, only to be left waiting for a response for weeks at a time.
This rightly raises concerns from subscribers, who ask questions like:
“If they can’t be bothered to provide adequate support, how can I be sure that they are running the servers and the business with the privacy that they claim?”
This question is perfectly valid. For a VPN provider that obviouly desires to sell its services globally, the lack of desire to support its clients is rather shocking. A VPN service is all about helping people to get privacy and online freedom. PIA appears to have got a bit sloppy when it comes to this critical side of the service.
Only a few years ago, PIA was gaining endorsements from online hubs like LifeHacker, Wired, and Gizmodo. Now, however, PIA is living off of those endorsements, which it plasters on its homepage like badges of honor.
With an obvious will to gain subscribers from all over the world, one wishes that PIA would employ the few staff necessary to man a 24/7 live chat support. After all, this has become a vital element of a world-class VPN service, and PIA is falling short.
The Process
Signing Up
Subscribing and setting up Private Internet Access VPN is an easy job. All one has to do is register with an active email address and make a payment. The level of anonymity depends entirely on you, and whether you decide to use Bitcoins or a gift card to subscribe. Doing this means that you could use a fake name in order to further protect you digital footprint.
Once you subscribe, you can head over to the download area and get the software you need for your platform. The software is available for all the most popular platforms. The .ovpn files are available for people who want to connect using third party OpenVPN GUI, OpenVPN connect (iOS) or OpenVPN for Android.
The PIA Windows VPN Client
The Private Internet Access software is a fully featured custom VPN client. It has lots of top-end features and options. It might not be the most stylish front end ever, but in terms of functionality, it is excellent.
You can easily access all of the settings by using the Simple/Advanced button in the bottom left corner. In simple mode, the client shows login setting options and a drop-down menu for selecting from server locations.
In advanced mode, you can select your encryption preferences. The Connection button brings up useful features such as port forwarding – you can use this to get around firewalls. You can also turn on a per-app kill switch to protect your data in case the VPN drops out.
I’ve noticed people complaining that the kill switch is a bit temperamental. However, this is said to have been improved in one of the more recent updates. It certainly appeared to work fine during my short time testing it.
In addition, there is both DNS and Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) protection. You can see the results of my tests of these features below. One thing worth bearing in mind is that PIA does not auto-update or have an update checker. Thus you will need to periodically check the website to see if PIA has released a new version of the client.
PIA Performance (Speed, DNS, WebRTC, and IPv6 Tests)
Speeds were tested on a 50 Mbps Virgin Media fiber connection using testmy.net. As you can see from the base tests, my internet connection was being unusually sluggish on the day of the tests (averaging at just over 30 Mbps).
I tested the Netherlands and UK servers from a UK test server. The US server was tested using an East Coast (New York) test server. Speeds were impressive on all three servers. I tested each server five times, and some of the tests came out very close to the base tests. Certainly, PIA is good enough for streaming in HD – there is no doubt about that.
I used ipleak.net to test for IP leaks, DNS leaks, and WebRTC leaks. I am happy to report that there were no leaks of this nature during my tests.
However, I did note that some people have discovered a WebRTC leak while using PIA. The WebRTC bug could reveal your true location. Thus, if you use PIA, we recommend plugging this hole yourself by disabling WebRTC in your browser. This is pretty easy in Firefox. In Chrome, you can use this browser extension to stop WebRTC leaks.
This is probably unnecessary, as I discovered no WebRTC leaks during my tests. However, at BestVPN.com we believe it is always worth using ipleak.net yourself to check for leaks on your system. For more info on WebRTC leaks and how to plug them, please look here.
Other Platforms
Private Internet Access VPN is compatible and has software for Android, Mac, iOS, and Linux, as well as the Windows client that I tested. In addition, it can be installed directly on DD-WRT and Tomato routers. It has guides for setting these up.
In fact, there are setup guides and tutorials to help set up every single platform. As such, despite its poor customer care, PIA does have just about every base covered – as long as you don’t mind not communicating with someone directly (without having to wait an excruciatingly long time).
Android
Private Internet Access has a dedicated Android app. I decided to give it a once over. To look at, it is exactly the same as the Windows version. It even has all the same top end features, such as the kill switch and the wide variety of encryption options. The same is also true of the auto-connect and SSL features. Furthermore, it is possible to select between Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and User Datagram Protocol (UDP), which might come in handy when out and about using public WiFi.
I found the Android app to work well. A quick check of speeds revealed that they were no different to those experienced in the Windows version.
Private Internet Access VPN Review: Conclusion
I liked:
- Strong encryption and lots of options
- Software is the same on various platforms
- Zero logs (but it’s based in the US, so could be served a warrant)
- Fully featured with a kill switch, DNS leak protection, and auto-connect
- Accepts Bitcoin and Z-coin
- Really cheap if you get a yearly subscription
- Seven-day money-back guarantee
- Unblocks BBC iPlayer
I wasn’t so sure about:
- Performance fluctuations on some servers (according to consumers)
- Kill switch fails occasionally (according to consumers)
I hated:
- Doesn’t unblock US Netflix
PIA has very professional software that does exactly what it is supposed to. This leaves me extremely saddened by the way that PIA is being run. It could be one of the best VPNs in the world if PIA just took better care of its subscribers.
When it comes to PIA, the old saying “you get what you pay for” couldn’t be more true. One can’t help feeling, however, that maybe PIA would be better off charging just a few extra dollars in order to improve its customer support.
In the end, PIA is perfect for people who are accustomed to VPNs and are confident with fixing any issues that might arise. Even people with the patience to look through the website to sort out any issues will probably be OK with a PIA subscription.
However, with the cost of a premium VPN service averaging as little as $70 per year, one can’t help feeling that, for most people, getting a VPN that has everything is a better way to go. After all, that isn’t a massive sum of money.
With that said, if you’re looking for a workable VPN service that is a bargain then PIA still remains one of the best options on the market. I think PIA knows that too, so don’t hold your breath for any sudden improvements – PIA is what it is: a cheaper option that has a few flaws. It’s still much better than the vast majority of VPNs on the market!
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