OK – so you’ve decided to buy a VPN account, but you want to get the best one. That’s normal. But you should know that which VPN service you should subscribe to is going to depend on what you plan to do while connected to your VPN. VPNs have a wide range of uses. I’ve divided some of my favorite VPN providers into 7 categories. That doesn’t mean that you are limited to these options, but because of unique features of these VPN services, I think it’ll suit your needs better.
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Business
For someone who travels a lot for business, it may be necessary to access private information from back at the office. You’ll also spend a lot of time in hotels, airports, and public wifi zones at restaurants and cafes. These networks are not secured, and the information you’re sending could be about clients or partners. You definitely can’t risk having that data intercepted.
StrongVPN is going to be your best choice. They are a trusted service in the VPN community, and have been doing business for more than 17 years. They offer a wide variety of options, starting at just $55 per year for a ‘lite’ package, all the way up to $30 per month for full access to their Deluxe Service. There are short term options, long term options, and support a large number of devices.
<<< StrongVPN >>>
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Online Gaming
If you’re into online gaming then you know that some game rooms are restricted based on IP address. This would apply to both online gambling “gaming”, as well as MMORPG, strategy, and other types of multiplayer computer games played over a network. Your IP address may restrict your access to these sites, but if you use an anonymous IP address, you may be blocked all the same. And if you’re hosting, having an unchanging, but ‘fake’ IP address is a must.
This is why a dedicated IP address is what you should be using. Not all VPN services offer this – in fact, very few do. I would suggest you buy a VPN account with PureVPN. They have very competitive prices, and a great support team. A dedicated IP with PureVPN will cost you $140 for a year of service, and they have monthly options as well.
<<< PureVPN >>>
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Torrents and P2P
With all the controversy surrounding torrents and P2P filesharing, it’s no wonder that people want to be anonymous while downloading. VPN services are commonly used to download torrents, but it should be noted that not all VPN services allow them. If users start downloading a bunch of copyrighted content, the VPN service could be served a court order to hand over their server information or help locate the user. The normally won’t happen, but the point is that it can. The ‘home base’ of the VPN service may be important, because they’re going to be subject to local laws. The location of their VPN servers will be important as well, because some countries are more ‘torrent friendly’ than others.
This is why I would suggest HideMyAss for those looking to buy a VPN account for P2P stuff. They have a huge server network, spanning 40+ countries. Torrents are allowed on all their servers. They’re a reputable UK based company. They also allow free and unlimited server switching, which means you can avoid any bandwidth restrictions for P2P sites, whether they originate from your ISP or the website itself. HMA is also very competitively priced at just over $6 per moth (for a 1 year subscription), or about $11 for a month-to-month plan.
<<< Hide My Ass >>>
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Anonymity and Privacy
If anonymity and privacy is your goal, really, most of the VPN here will do. Hiding your IP address is what a VPN service does best, and a VPN service without a strong privacy policy and a knack for professionalism isn’t worth signing up for.
I’ve chosen 12VPN for this category because they’ve proven time and time again to be a very professional service. They have a friendly and supportive customer service team. They support a wide variety of devices (including VPN routers, Nokia phones, and you standard iOS/Android/Mac/Windows stuff). They also offer military grade encryption upgrades, which will improve your VPN security from a standard 128-bit SSL up to 2048-bit or even 4096-bit. A US IP plan will cost you $79 for the year, and the World VPN option will cost $119.
<<< 12VPN >>>
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![Hide My Ass Buy VPN Account]( "Hide My Ass Buy VPN Account")
Streaming TV, Music, and Movies (Hulu, Netflix, iPlayer, Pandora)
I’d venture to say that this is the one most people are looking for, so sorry for making you wait so long. It isn’t really fair that the Americans and the British get all the cools stuff, what with Hulu, Pandora, Spotify, Netflix, iPlayer, and tons of other TV channels like HBO and Channel 4 (US & UK), among others. Amazon Prime? Yeah, that’s limited to The US as well. But most countries are going to have TV and movie sites that are geo-restricted, and you need a local IP address to access them.
Again, I’m going to have to suggest HideMyAss for this one. They have tons of US IP addresses, and almost as many UK ones. Plus, they have a huge network of VPN services, which means you’ll be able to access TV form India, Australia, Canada, Ukraine, Russia, and even Brazil. Yeah, there’s plenty more, and server switching is free.
<<< Hide My Ass >>>
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Consoles and TVs (PS3, Xbox, Apple TV, etc)
Setting up a VPN connection with your PS3, Xbox, and Apple TV, and even Wii after you buy a VPN account can get complicated. You’ve either got to configure a VPN router to change the IP of your wifi, or you’ve got to route the console/TV through your laptop, and, well, yeah, it’s complicated. There are tons of YouTube videos and blog posts with tutorials explaining it, but it’s still tough for your average Joe to figure out. I know I couldn’t.
That’s why I suggest StrongVPN. For starters, they offer a wide variety of VPN package options, so you’re bound to find something that suits your needs. They also support VPN routers, and well as all operating systems, so that’s another thing to check off. Most of all, they offer live support, so if you run into any problems, you can just take care of it then and there.
<<< StrongVPN >>>
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Internet Censorship (China, Egypt, UAE, Vietnam, +)
Unfortunately, not all of enjoy internet freedom. Even in places like The US, ACTA and PIPA threaten our privacy online, and try to control what we can and can’t see. Governments around the world would love to control the flow of information over the internet, and some do. China, Iran, Egypt, Vietnam, and other countries in The Middle East, Africa, and Asia are notorious for internet censorship. Some countries like China actually actively seek out activists by hacking into accounts. Facebook and YouTube and freedom of speech? Fat chance. Want to buy a VPN account in one of these countries? Not if Hu Jintao has anything to say about it.
I’d like to feature 12VPN again because they are working hard to get VPN access to those countries that are starting to block VPN services. All it takes is a mirror site, and you’ve then got access to all the good VPN content. If you’re living in a country that censors the internet and blocks popular VPN services, then 12VPN is the way to go.
<<< 12VPN Mirror Site >>>
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