IPVanish is having some fun this week.  They just launched a new promotion that gives everyone the chance to win a number of cool prizes including a Samsung Galaxy 4 tablet.  A fitting grand prize since their VPN service will help protect your online privacy while using the new tablet.  IPVanish has custom VPN apps for Android and iOS users.  Along with a client  for Window, Mac and Linux.  Visit the IPVanish Cyber Mystery page by November 10th and help solve the fictitious crime for your chance to win.  The contest is open to everyone.  If you’re looking for a good VPN service they are also offering a discount with unlimited VPN access from just $4.87 a month.

Here’s a summary of the crime from the IPVanish Cyber Mystery page:

Dinny took a flight to visit a family member.  Once he landed and attempted to check into his hotel, his debit card was declined.  After calling his bank, he was informed that his account had been frozen and that $2,000 had been stolen.  He contacted law enforcement officials and hired Jonh, a private detective.  Detective John discovered the IP address from the retailers where the purchases were made.

Along with the first clue:

Detective John learned that Dinny had recently had an online chat with a representative from his cable provider to upgrade his package.  During the chat, he provided the representative with his personal address and middle name.  While the chat session was encrypted, Dinny noted that the support center was located in Frankfurt, Germany even though Domcast was located in the US.

Continue to visit the IPVanish Cyber Mystery page in the days to come for the rest of the clues.  They will be sharing five clues to help you solve the crime.  When you’re ready you can choose from a list of suspects, weapons and locations to help solve the crime.  Here are your options:

• Suspects – business professional, IT professional, cell phone representative, college student, cable representative, ISP support
• Weapon – hacking, censorship, virus, telephone scam, malware, spyware
• Location – Seattle, Sao Paulo, Cairo, Frankfurt, New York, Sydney

You can download a game board from the Cybery Mystery page to help you eliminate the suspects, weapons and locations.

Here’s a list of the prizes IPVanish will be giving away:

• Samsung Galaxy 4 tablet
• Gamefly three month subscription
• Six months of IPVanish VPN
• Three months of IPVanish VPN
• One month of IPVanish VPN
• One week of IPVanish VPN

Remember to visit IPVanish.com between now and November 10th to participate in their Cyber Mystery contest.  Best of luck in figuring out the crime and winning a Galaxy 4 tablet or up to six months of free VPN access.

You can visit vpnsp.com to learn more about VPN.  Follow us @VPNSP for the latest VPN news and deals.

Can I trust FrootVPN?  That’s the question we’ve been getting over and over since The Pirate Bay started advertising free VPN service from the company earlier this week.  It’s hard because I respect the TPB team and don’t think they would steer users in the wrong direction.  Yet I’ve never heard of FrootVPN.  In fact this is the first time we’ve ever heard the name.  The same is true for everyone contacting us this week.  So can you trust them?

I would like to say you can trust FrootVPN but I just can’t.  The reason is that we have no idea who they are and why they are advertising free VPN access on TPB.  It appears FrootVPN is a new service.  Perhaps they are trying to break into the VPN space by giving away VPN access to TPB users?  If so they should just come out and say that on their site.  The problem is no one knows what the company is up to.  Giving away VPN access is not a cheap proposition.  Especially when you start advertising it on The Pirate Bay home page.

This is tough because we want to promote online privacy services but we also need to be cautious and help protect our audience.  I’m not saying that using FrootVPN isn’t safe.  The problem is that I can’t vouch for the service either.  Since they are brand new and haven’t made clear why the service is free I would steer clear of them for now.  Give it some time and see what others have to say on sites like reddit.

Let’s take a look at a few possible reasons why FrootVPN might want to give away VPN access.

• The service is new and they want to test the network before charging a fee.
• The service is backed by a company with deep pockets and doesn’t need to make a profit anytime soon.
• The company plans to make money off donations.
• FrootVPN plans to build up a large user base and then sell.
• The service isn’t reputable in which case users should be concerned.

I think the first option is the most likely scenario.  We’ve seen a number of VPN services give away accounts early on to test the service.  I’m talking about a few accounts though.  Nothing like advertising free VPN on TPB.  That’s part of the reason I’m skeptical.  You’re talking about a massive influx of new users.  Not just new users but heavy bandwidth users.  The kind that will cost FrootVPN a lot of money in bandwidth costs.

You can decide whether or not you think FrootVPN is trustworthy enough to protect your online privacy.  Remember that when you use a VPN service they can log your actions.  FrootVPN claims not to log but again this is the first time we’ve ever heard of the service so we’ll be skeptical of the free, no log VPN until more is known about the company.  If they are serious about protecting users privacy then we wish the FrootVPN team the best of luck.  Time will tell and we’ll keep you informed as we learn more about the service.

You can visit vpnsp.com to learn more about VPN.  Follow us @VPNSP for the latest VPN news and deals.

BlackVPN has an exciting new feature for members who want to watch tv and movies in the US or UK while connecting to a VPN server in another location.  For example let’s say you want to connect to a BlackVPN server in the Netherlands but would still like to watch Netflix content from the US or BBC programming in the UK.  In the past that wasn’t possible.  Now BlackVPN members can connect to any of their privacy or TV VPN servers and watch US and UK content at the same time.  The new feature is available to all new and existing members.

Let’s take a closer look at what the new feature means to customers of BlackVPN.  Instead of connecting to a US server to watch Netflix and Hulu a P2P user can connect to the Netherlands and still watch US content at the same time.  An online poker player can connect to the BlackVPN network in another country and enjoy BBC programming at the same time.  Giving BlackVPN and their members an advantage over other VPN services.

According to BlackVPN’s related blog post users can connect to any of their privacy VPN servers which include Canada, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Lithuania, Russia, Ukraine or Panama and do anonymous P2P while watching Netflix, Hulu or BBC iPlayer.  You can also stream from other countries while connected to servers in the United States, United Kingdom and Singapore.  That should excite a lot of potential customers.

BlackVPN makes an additional point in their blog post.  Let’s say you’re currently in Luxembourg and want to watch Hulu.  In the past you would need to connect to a server in the United States to unblock the site.  Doing so would slow down your connection.  Now you don’t need to connect to a US server.  Instead you can connect to a server in Luxembourg and enjoy Hulu shows at a better speed.  The same is true for users in other countries.

I took a moment to look over the BlackVPN packages and realized that you don’t really need a TV package anymore unless you need privacy protection from servers in the United States, United Kingdom or Singapore.  Otherwise BlackVPN members can choose their Privacy package for €5 a month and gain access to servers in Switzerland, Panama, Lithuania, Ukraine, Russia, Estonia, Canada, Luxembourg and Netherlands.  While still watching content in the US and UK like Netflix, Hulu and BBC iPlayer.  Visit blackvpn.com for more details.

Head on over to vpnsp.com to learn more about VPN.  Follow us @VPNSP for the latest VPN news and deals.

The IronSocket team is hard at work migrating their network.  The current network 2.0 project is underway.  Over the next 60 days IronSocket will be shutting down their old servers and moving them over to the new network 2.0 infrastructure.  We’ll get into the improvements in a moment.  If you’re a current IronSocket member I suggest you also read their related blog posts here and here for more details on the transition.  You can also visit their network page for the latest server updates.  New members can sign up from just $4.16 a month.

Here’s a list of updates coming with the launch of the IronSocket 2.0 network:

Faster Server Speeds – Our new robust network infrastructure gives you much faster data transfer (up to 10 times faster) when using our VPN service and our SOCKS5 and HTTP proxies.

Added 3 Levels of Encryption for OpenVPN – Strong, light, and none! All encryption levels use a 4096-bit key for Secure Authentication and here are the differences between the levels.

• Strong – This our Default configuration that uses AES 256-bit Data Encryption with SHA256 Message Authentication. It is recommended to all users for Maximum Privacy and Military-Grade Security, but has the slowest data transfer speeds because of the large encryption overhead.
• Light – This configuration uses Blowfish 128-bit Data Encryption. It allows for Faster Data Transfer while still offering a basic level of data encryption.
• None – This configuration uses No Data Encryption, at all. This option offers Maximum VPN Speeds. It is only recommended when Data Encryption is not required, and you want to hide your real IP address or location.

DNS Region Switching – Now out of Beta! We offer 7 new global DNS servers, all with Region Switching enabled. Just select the DNS server closest to you, configure your Region Settings, and start watching the content you want! Remember, you need to make sure your IP Address is authorized to access the service.

A New and Easier Way to Connect – We now support the use of .OVPN files to connect to our new 2.0 servers. This makes server selection and connecting as easy as clicking a button to download and use the configuration file with the OpenVPN Connect software. You may want to consider upgrading to the latest OpenVPN Connect version for Windows and Mac if it’s been a while since you have last upgraded your OpenVPN application. In the near future, we will be releasing our very own downloadable OpenVPN client to make the setup process even easier.

Added More OpenVPN Backup Ports – We now offer additional ports to use with OpenVPN in locations that try to block known VPN ports. Best of all, the software will automatically try to connect using a different port if one does not work.

Cheers to the IronSocket team and best of luck in the migration process.  I’m sure the next couple months will be very busy.  Visit vpnsp.com to learn more about VPN.  Follow us @VPNSP for the latest VPN news and deals.

Apple released their latest Mac OS X operating system last week.  Mac OS X Yosemite is available for free to all users.  As with any major update to OS X or iOS the new Yosemite can break functionality of previously installed applications.  The ExpressVPN team quickly addressed the issue by releasing a new version of their VPN app for Mac users.  Unfortunately the current version won’t automatically update but you can grab the new Yosemite compatible version from their site.  New members can test out ExpressVPN risk-free for 30 days.

If you’re just getting ready to upgrade to Mac OS X Yosemite then go ahead and update your system.  It will take awhile.  After you’re up on the new version follow these instructions from ExpressVPN:

1. Go to our website.

2. Log in to your account with the email address you used to sign up for ExpressVPN. If you’ve forgotten your password, then just click the “Forgot your password?” link and we’ll help you reset it.

3. Click on the green “Setup my account” button in the customer dashboard.

4. Under the Mac menu, click on the link to download the Yosemite version.

5. Run the installer and it’ll install over your existing version of ExpressVPN.

If you need more assistance ExpressVPN has a related blog post with screenshots.  You can also contact their technical support for help.  The process is pretty straight forward so I don’t think you’ll have any trouble.  As mentioned in the instructions above the new ExpressVPN will install over your existing client.

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LiquidVPN continues to add new security features and enhancements for their members.  We wrote about their new DNS and IPS features a few weeks ago.  The new additions show just how far LiquidVPN is going to help secure users data and online privacy.  Along with the technical innovations, LiquidVPN has expanded their VPN plans to offer no subscription or “pay as you go” VPN service.  Allowing new members to sign up for 5 days or as long as a year without a commitment for future payments.  The 5 day account costs $2 and a full year is $75.

LiquidVPN still offers subscription plans with monthly, semi-annual and annual terms.  They have also added some turnkey VPN solutions.  My personal favorite is their new no subscription plans.  The 5 day plan is perfect for those who travel on occasion.  Especially if you travel for less than 5 days at a time.  It’s easily worth $2 to protect your privacy on public wifi networks.  The same is true for hotel networks.  LiquidVPN has servers in New Jersey, Kansas City and Los Angeles for those traveling in the United States or accessing sites in the US.

Let’s take a closer look at the wide range of LiquidVPN plans:

Subscription Plans (recurring payments)

• Monthly – $6 for 2 devices, $10 for 4 devices, $18 for 8 devices
• Semi-Annual – $32 for 2 devices, $50 for 4 devices, $120 for 8 devices
• Annual – $54 for 2 devices, $84 for 4 devices, $151 for 8 devices

No Subscription Plans (pay as you go)

• All no subscription plans include 3 connections
• 5 days of VPN access for $2
• 30 days of VPN access for $8
• 180 days of VPN access for $40
• 365 days of VPN access for $75

Turnkey VPN Solutions

• Private Server Italian IP – $27.30 a month
• Dedicated UK IP – $13 a month
• Dedicated NL IP – $13 a month

Having the expansive selection of VPN plans will help LiquidVPN capture a section of the market that might otherwise be left with very few choices.  I believe they offer one of the only no subscription, pay as you go, style plans in the VPN industry.  Having the option of a dedicated IP address in the UK and NL are also nice options.  Along with the private server with Italian IP.  Dedicated IP address can be helpful for those playing games online and accessing financial sites.  Most users will be quite happy with a shared IP account for the best privacy.

Head on over to LiquidVPN.com to learn more about their service.  If you decide to sign up for a subscription plan the LiquidVPN team is kindly offering our visitors 20% off the first billing cycle of any term.

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