FULL REVIEW – HIDE.ME
Connection up to 5 devices
D: 49Mb/s U: 32Mb/s
Unlimited
125+ servers in 31+ countries
24/7 Live Chat/E-Mail
Own DNS Server
99.00 % uptime
Kill Switch
%
Effectiveness
Reviews
Julie 07/05/2018
With their support, you cen get help immediately. The internet connection is quite fast and sufficient for streaming.
Daniel 06/05/2018
I’m completely satisfied! I am using the provider for three months and everything is fine.
John 05/05/2018
Top connection with the internet. Definitely recommended for any internet user.
Fabian 04/05/2018
It`s very easy to use but the support team could work a little bit faster.
Stephanie 03/05/2018
Reliable in stability, so far I am not disappointed.
OVERVIEW
The VPN software Hide.me is produced by the eponymous company. This company exists since 2011 and is headquartered in Malaysia. The company has extended its service over the course of the last few years. Hide.me now operates more than 125 dedicated VPN servers in more than 30 countries.
As the company is located in Malaysia, Hide.me needs not adhere to American or European laws. That is why the company follows a zero-log policy. No customer data whatsoever is stored. The provider uses a hardware-based NAT firewall, a DNS leak resolver, and a secure AES-256 encryption. These measures protect data from hackers. It also offers automatic network interruption through the kill switch functionality. Hide.me operates its own soft and hardware in adherence with DNS-server ownership. Hide.me is one of only a few VPN providers that supports the modern IKEv2 protocol. Customers can pay anonymously for the service with Bitcoins if they want.
Customers benefit from 24/7/365 support via email and live chat. The website contains many video tutorials with instructions for beginners and more advanced users as well as an extensive knowledge database. The company offers a free trial version apart from the fee-based tariffs, which include a 14-day money-back guarantee.
STREAMING
Almost all households nowadays stream multimedia contents on computer, smart TVs, and gaming consoles. Many reputable companies provide streaming content such as Sky, Amazon, and Netflix. Users can stream different content depending on their location. As a rule of thumb, films and series are streamable significantly later in other countries than they are in the country of production. This content is blocked for foreign access because of licensing issues. Not just films and series but also sports broadcasts of the NBA, NFL, and NHL are unavailable to many users in their own countries.
These problems and restrictions can be bypassed relatively cheaply and easily using VPN software. This software masks the IP address of the user. The user can then select a virtual location, IP blocking is thus circumvented. When users then access the streaming platform, they can stream all films, series as well as sports broadcasts. Users can also watch country-specific and original-language content.
The network of Hide.me exists of 125 servers at more than 30 countries spread out over the entire globe. This offers users 500 free IP addresses. Despite the relatively small server variety, all servers were proven to be very high performance in our tests. One of the largest advantages of Hide.me is the high download speed of a maximum of 49 Mbit per second. This makes it possible to also stream high-resolution video content in 4K without interruption. Premium users benefit from unlimited data volume. Hide.me
VPN software functions on all common Windows and Macintosh operating systems. There is an additional mobile version for Android, Apple iPhone as well as iPad, and in future also an app for Windows Phone.
FILESHARING
File sharing is still immensely popular despite many well-known dangers. Many people use well-known providers, such as eDonkey, eMule, BitTorrent, and uTorrent, and download music, films, and software onto their computers. Each file sharing user runs great risks as the chance of getting sued is larger than before. Users who infract copyrights and are caught doing so by the authorities and usually need to pay a very large fine.
Users can make their IP address untraceable and browse the Internet completely anonymously using VPN software on their computers. Most VPN providers support P2P connections and thereby enable their users to share files. User data cannot fall into the wrong hands thanks to secure encryption. This securely eliminates the risk of getting cautions or fined. File sharing platforms can be used without restriction with high bandwidth and usually unlimited data volume.
Hide.me VPN software provides very high transmission speeds. The free version offers limited bandwidth and 2 GB data volume. The Plus subscription offers 75 GB data volume and unlimited bandwidth. Premium users have no restrictions whatsoever. Hide.me offers a download speed of 49 Mbit per second. The Plus and Premium subscriptions offer download and upload speeds of more than 32 Mbit per second. The kill switch function automatically ends preconfigured software in the case of connection loss. The provider explicitly supports P2P connections. Hide.me does not record or store any user data. No third parties are involved in the company’s hard and software structure.
BYPASSING FIREWALLS
Internet users have only restricted Internet access in some countries such as Russia, Turkey, or China. Various important services, such as YouTube, Facebook, the Wikipedia website, or Twitter, are to an extent severely restricted or completely blocked. Local and foreign users cannot freely use the Internet in these countries. Such restrictions also apply to public institutions such as schools, libraries, and companies.
Users can change their IP address and virtual location without great effort. These concealment measures allow users to circumvent all country and company-specific firewalls and use the Internet without the numerous restrictions. The banned services and websites are not at users’ free disposal thanks to this anonymous IP address. The secure encryption protects users’ privacy and other people cannot access user data. All data communication is hidden by firewalls.
Hide.me VPN software users have more than 125 fast servers at more than 30 global locations at their disposal. Even though some competitors offer more IP addresses than Hide.me, with 500 IP addresses, users still have plenty of free IP addresses at their disposal. All data communication through Hide.me is protected through a secure 256-bit AES encryption; and authorities nor hackers can use the data. The combination of VPN and SOCKS proxy offers users of Hide.me software a secure connection and high speed.
SECURITY & ANONYMITY
The Internet offers great freedom and great risks at the same time. The worldwide network is among other things used to spread viruses and other malware, making it a favorite hangout for criminals. Personal and banking data are very important data often misused by third parties. While large corporations use these data for their advertising purposes, hackers use banking data to scam users out of large parts of their savings. Public networks offer very high risks as many users can access these without limitations. Private networks are a bit more secure but at the same time just as relevant for experienced hackers.
Users can significantly improve their Internet security and privacy protection when they simply use VPN software when surfing the web. This effective software masks the IP address of the user and as such makes it impossible for authorities or hackers to gain insight into the user’s Internet activities. Users are no longer fair game, roaming around unprotected. They now surf the Internet in a secure data tunnel. Secure encryption makes it impossible for third parties to access personal user data.
Hide.me has its corporate headquarters in Malaysia. Therefore, the VPN provider does not need to adhere to either American or European data storage regulations. The zero-log policy of Hide.me ensures that user data are neither stored nor recorded. All hard and software of the company is maintained by the company itself; no third parties have access to the transmitted data. Hide.me VPN software uses a modern AES-256 data encryption and an additional kill switch function. Users benefit from a completely anonymous IP address as well as from reliable protection by a hardware-based NAT firewall. Hide.me even supports the IKEv2 protocol, aside from all common protocols.
Protocol | Hide.me |
Open VPN (TCP& UDP) | x |
PPTP | x |
L2TP/IPSec | X |
IKEv2 | X |
TCP 443 | X |
SoftEther | X |
SSTP | X |
Socks 5 | X |
Hide.me offers all common payment methods as well as payment via PayPal or Bitcoin (untraceable). The VPN software protects its users from nosy companies, data thieves, and authorities. All security features of the VPN provider are listed in the following table.
Security features | Hide.me |
Kill switch | x |
DNS-server ownership | x |
DNS leak resolver | x |
AES-256 encryption | X |
Hardware-based NAT firewall | X |
DNS leak-resolving technology | X |
No logs or connection data stored | x |
Accepts cryptocurrency Bitcoin | x |
PERFORMANCE
Hide.me VPN software users can choose between 500 anonymous IP addresses thanks to more than 125 servers at more than 30 locations. We managed to achieve a download rate of 49 Mbit per second, even with the free version. The premium version even manages to achieve download and upload speeds of more than 32 Mbit/s. This makes Hide.me one of the fastest VPN providers, despite the relatively few servers. The provider additionally convinced by very stable performance.
Hide.me’s fast Gbit servers have lowlatency and a good ping of 3 ms on average. It only takes 4 seconds on average to establish a connection. Therefore, the VPN software is optimally suited for online gamers, offering them a connection without restrictions. The Plus as well as Premium versions offer unlimited bandwidth. Plus users have 75 GB of unrestricted data volume at their disposal. That is why Hide.me is optimally suited for file sharing and the streaming of high-quality content with 4K resolution. All important performance information of Hide.me is listed in the table.
Performance feature | Hide.me |
Max. download speed | 49 Mb/s |
Max. upload speed | 32 Mb/s |
Ping time | 3 ms |
Average time to connect | 4s |
Reliability rating | Good |
USER-FRIENDLINESS
The VPN client software is available for Windows and Macintosh operating systems and can be manually installed on Linux computers. Smartphones and tablet PCs running on the Google Android operating system can use the app; devices running on Apple iOS can also use an app. The application is quick in installation and intuitive in operation. An app is currently being developed for devices using Windows Phone; the software can be manually installed for the time being. Users can use a restricted test version of the VPN software as well as use the money-back guarantee within 14 days with a subscription.
Device | Hide.me |
Windows | App |
Mac OS | App |
Linux | Manual configuration |
iOS | App |
Android | App |
Windows Phone | Manual configuration |
DDWRT router | Manual configuration |
The Hide.me website offers various video tutorials. These very quickly explain how to operate the VPN software, even to beginners. Customers can always contact support with questions or issues. The employees of the VPN provider are at customers’ disposal 7 days a week around the clock, per email or live chat.
BOTTOM LINE
Hide.me has years of experience and operates a modern network with no third parties involved. The software is well suited for beginners and more experienced users with more than 125 fast servers in more than 30 locations around the globe. Customers benefit from secure encryption, excellent server density with fast connections as well as an automatic kill switch function. As the company is headquartered in Malaysia and as it follows a no-log policy, customer data are neither recorded nor stored. The VPN software allows users to circumvent limitations and censorship in all countries.
Hide.me stands out because of its intuitive operation. It can be used on all popular platforms. Customers can additionally contact support per live chat and email. It is also possible to pay anonymously using Bitcoin and PayPal. The VPN software is optimally suited for online gamers and streamers thanks to its low latency and unlimited bandwidth. Users can test the free version and benefit from a 14-day money-back guarantee with their subscription.