- Pros
Affordable. Excellent app interface. Far above average number of available servers. Ad blocking. Supports P2P file sharing and BitTorrent. Multiplatform support. Strong stance on customer privacy.
- Cons
No free version. No specialized servers.
- Bottom Line
Private Internet Access offers a robust VPN service at an unbeatable price, and with an excellent new app interface. In terms of value, it cannot be beat.
Our lives are hyperconnected, and a VPN is the best tool to ensure that your web traffic isn't monitored by spies, crooks, advertisers, or your ISP. Private Internet Access is among the best VPN services we've tested. It offers a robust collection of features and thousands of available servers, and crams all of that into a feather-light package that costs less than the price of a Netflix subscription. A new, easy-to-use app interface makes Private Internet Access an even more attractive value.
Private Internet Access (PIA) is a personal virtual private network (VPN) service. See also[edit]. Free and open-source software portal Comparison of virtual private network services Virtual private network. Sep 5, 2018 - Private Internet Access is a serviceable VPN, but the lack of. I noticed some drops in my upload speeds, but download speeds were. Kaspersky Secure Connection – private Internet access for your safety and privacy. Secure Connection VPN is a virtual private network that enables you to have a secure connection between your device and an Internet server that no one can monitor or access the data that you're exchanging.
- $11.95
- $9.99
- $10.00
- $12.99
- $11.99
- $9.99
- $12.95
- $9.95
- $7.99
What Is a VPN?
When you connect to the internet, you probably assume that your activities aren't being observed. But that's an unsafe assumption, and it's especially dubious when you connect to the web from Wi-Fi at the coffee shop, the airport, or even at work. When you use a VPN, on the other hand, your traffic is routed through an encrypted tunnel to a server controlled by the VPN provider. Nothing can penetrate a VPN's encrypted tunnel, so no one snooping on your local network (be it at home or at the office) can see what you're up to. It also prevents your ISP from monitoring your activities. Because your data is emanating from the VPN server, and not your home router, your IP address—and therefore your geographic location—is hidden.
Private Internet Access Features and Pricing
Private Internet Access has three billing options, starting at $6.95 per month. You can also get a year of service for $39.95, or two years of service for a very attractive $69.95. I like that all the tiers provide the exact same features, and don't reserve advanced tools for the higher-paying customers.
The average price of one of PCMag's top-rated VPNs is currently around $10.68, well above the entry price for Private Internet Access. NordVPN, a five-star Editors' Choice winner, costs nearly twice as much as Private Internet Access, at $11.95 per month. Note, however, that NordVPN also offers more features, more server locations, and a more approachable interface. At the other end of the spectrum, Kaspersky Secure Connection costs $4.99 a month. The first pricing tier of ProtonVPN only costs $4.00, but doesn't include all the features available at higher tiers.
Private Internet Access offers excellent value, but there are also many worthy free VPN services to choose from. TunnelBear and AnchorFree Hotspot Shield offer free subscriptions with data limitations. ProtonVPN, however, is the best free VPN we've yet tested, in large part because it places no data restrictions on free users.
You have several choices for purchasing a subscription to Private Internet Access. The company accepts Amazon payments, Bitcoin, and PayPal, as well as credit cards. Private Internet Access also accepts gift cards from 90 different retailers, including Starbucks and even Bloomingdales. Buy one of these cards with cash, and your payment becomes reasonably anonymous. Should you ever tire of Private Internet Access, your account page has a large Cancel button, which is handy.
The company offers clients for Android, Chrome, Firefox, iOS, Linux, macOS, Windows. Your Private Internet Access subscription lets you use up to five devices with the service, which is average for the industry. NordVPN allows up to six devices at a time, CyberGhost starts at seven, and IPVanish offers an even more generous 10 devices. Avira Phantom VPN and Windscribe place no limitation on the number of devices.
If that's not enough devices, you can opt to purchase a router with Private Internet Access software preinstalled, or you can install it yourself. Doing so lets you protect every device on your network at the cost of just one license for the router. Some services go even further. TorGuard VPN, for example, sells Apple TV and Roku streaming boxes with its software preinstalled.
Download Private Vpn For Pc
Private Internet Access doesn't offer much in the way of add-ons. You won't be able to purchase static IP addresses as you can with NordVPN. Nor can you add additional device connections, as you can with TorGuard VPN. The company does allow the use of P2P file-sharing networks and BitTorrent on its VPN servers. Better yet, Private Internet Access does not require that you limit your torrenting to specific servers. That's convenient.
In addition to everything Private Internet Access has to offer, it also garners a lot of customer loyalty. In PCMag's first ever Readers' Choice survey for VPNs, Private Internet Access beat out the competition for overall customer satisfaction.
VPN Protocols
VPN technology comes in a handful of flavors, with a few different protocols used to create the encrypted tunnel. My preferred protocol is OpenVPN, which is open-source and therefore examined by volunteers for potential vulnerabilities. It also has a strong reputation for speed and reliability.
Private Internet Access supports OpenVPN and the older L2TP/IPSec. I don't recommend using these other two if you can help it, but it's good to have options.
Servers and Server Locations
With a subscription to Private Internet Access, you get access to the company's 3,108 servers spread out over 53 locations in 33 countries. While VPN services will spin servers up and down to meet demand, a large number of servers is a sign of the service's robustness. It also means you're less likely to have to share bandwidth with a lot of other users accessing the same VPN server.
NordVPN currently has the distinction of offering the most VPN servers, with 5,293 servers in its network. Private Internet Access is in second place. Several other VPN companies have recently crossed the 3,000 server threshold, including CyberGhost, TorGuard VPN, and ExpressVPN.
If you travel or live outside the US or UK, you'll get a better experience using a VPN server that's nearby. Numerous server locations also mean you have more choices to spoof your location. Private Internet Access has a good mix of locations, with servers in Asia, Central America, Europe, India, South America, the UK, and the US. That's acceptable, but it could use improvement. Private Internet Access only offers one server location in Africa, and only two options in all of Central and South America.
Note that while Private Internet Access used to support servers in Russia, it no longer does. This change was in response to new VPN laws in Russia that Private Internet Access felt would have prevented it from adequately protecting user privacy. Other VPN services have weighed in on the issue, but Private Internet Access is among the very few to cease Russian operations entirely. A company representative told me that 'Private Internet Access supports uncensored Internet Access everywhere in the world and denounces governments with draconian laws that reduce citizens' privacy.'
Some VPN services make use of virtual servers, which mimic a server in a given country but may actually be located somewhere else. While the practical upshot is the same—your traffic appears to be coming from the country you select—consumers may have legal concerns about where their data is actually going. Not every country has agreeable data and privacy protection laws, after all. That's not an issue with Private Internet Access. A company representative told me that all of its servers are 'bare-metal servers actually located at the physical location they claim to be at.'
Your Privacy With Private Internet Access
VPN companies advertise their privacy and security bona fides, but they also come with risks. When you route your traffic through a VPN, the company could have enormous insight into what you do online—the kind of insight your ISP has and that you're probably using a VPN to prevent.
Thankfully, most VPNs take consumer privacy seriously, and that includes Private Internet Access. A company representative explained that Private Internet Access does not keep logs of user activity and does not profit from user data. The company says it only generates revenue from user subscriptions.
While the technology that a VPN company offers is important, its physical location and the legal jurisdiction the company operates under also make a difference. In this case, Private Internet Access is based in the US and operates under US legal jurisdiction. The US does not have any mandatory data retention laws, but Private Internet Access is required to respond to court orders from the US government. That's not the case for companies like NordVPN, which is located in Panama. However, Private Internet Access says that aside from a user email address, it has no information to provide. The company's annual transparency report confirms that for the 23 warrants, subpoenas, and court orders Private Internet Access received since July 2018, the company has provided no data in response.
Private Internet Access has not undergone an independent audit such as those carried out by NordVPN and TunnelBear. It also has not contracted industry studies, as AnchorFree Private Internet Access has, nor has it responded to the Center for Democracy and Technologies' survey. It has, however, conducted an audit of the underlying OpenVPN technology and released the results to the public and the OpenVPN developers.
I am neither a network engineer with access to each and every one of the company's servers, nor am I a legal expert. I have, however, asked the company direct questions and been satisfied by the answers I received. Still, I encourage everyone to read a VPN company's privacy policy for themselves. If you feel uncomfortable, look elsewhere. Trust, after all, is paramount when it comes to security companies.
Hands On With Private Internet Access
I downloaded the Windows version of Private Internet Access from the company's website and installed it within seconds on my Lenovo ThinkPad T460s running Windows 10. I received new login credentials in the purchase confirmation email, a practice that gives you extra anonymity but may be confusing for novices.
The Power (04:38) 07. One Night In The Sun (04:24) 04. Girls Go Wild (03:43) 05. Recovery (03:54) 06. Lp heart to mouth download torrent. House On Fire (03:01) 09. Dreamer (03:25) 08.
For years, I characterized Private Internet Access as technically proficient but socially deficient. It lacked any kind of client, and seemed to intentionally avoid of anything approaching, well, approachability. I'm happy to see that Private Internet Access has finally addressed this issue and released a much friendlier client app. You can still control the entire app from within the system tray, however, if you're into that sort of thing.
When you open the app, you're greeted by a large Connect button. Click it, and you're immediately connected to the best server available. This is exactly what the average user needs: a straightforward path to getting secure immediately. Clicking the location box below the connect button lets you jump to a different VPN server with ease.
Clicking the caret at the bottom of the app expands the window to the top of the screen, revealing a host of other tiles for quickly connecting to servers in specific countries, real-time performance graphs, usage statistics, toggle switches for key settings, and your current subscription status. Clicking the Bookmark icon adds these tiles to your default view, letting you customize your experience. Windows 8 x64 iso download. It's an excellent approach, and other VPN companies should take note of how Private Internet Access so easily handles interacting with its more complex features.
An additional Settings window goes into greater detail. From here you can make changes to your account, select different remote ports, and make even more obscure tweaks. Most users won't ever need to touch these, however, as they are better left to confident experts. One important setting you can and should experiment with is the light or dark mode for the app, a surprisingly modern feature from a company that didn't even have an app until recently.
The only catch is that the new app interface is still bolted to the system tray. You summon it by clicking the Private Internet Access icon, and it stays locked above the system tray. You can't move it around, or interact with it as your would a normal Windows app. Click anywhere outside the app and it disappears again. It's a bit of three steps forward, one step back, and I hope future versions will see the app behaving in a more expected way.
One general concern with VPNs is that they might leak identifiable information, either in the form of DNS requests or your real IP address. In my tests, I found that my ISP and IP address were hidden and my usual DNS servers circumvented with Private Internet Access.
Private Internet Access and Netflix
Many streaming video services block VPNs, because they have geographically limited licenses for streaming content. The show Star Trek: Discovery, for example, is only available on CBS All Access within the US and Canada, but is streamed over Netflix in the rest of the world. I test with Netflix because of its enormous popularity and because it is particularly aggressive at blocking VPN users.
If streaming Netflix over a VPN is a major concern for you, Private Internet Access will have your back. When I last tested VPNs with Netflix, I had no trouble watching movies while connected to a US-based VPN server. I was able to stream from Netflix while connected to a Canadian server and a UK server, but not an Australian server. Still, that's a strong showing. While I had little trouble using Netflix with Private Internet Access, by the time you try it, the service may again be blocked.
Beyond VPN
Many VPN companies include additional privacy and security features in order to entice consumers. To that end, Private Internet Access includes its own ad- and tracker-blocking tool called MACE. When engaged, this tool specifically blocks pesky advertisements plastered across web pages and trackers that allow companies to track your movements across the Internet. It's worth noting that few of the VPNs I have reviewed offer ad blocking. Those that do include NordVPN, TunnelBear VPN, CyberGhost, TorGuard, and Norton Secure VPN, among others. This feature is unfortunately now blocked in Android VPN apps, to comply with Google's rules.
While I am happy to see VPN companies expanding protections for customers, these features only augment—not replace—standalone antivirus software and tracker-blocking browser plug-ins.
Using a VPN will protect your privacy, within certain limitations. The Tor service is far better at providing real anonymity than a VPN. You can access Tor through the specially made Tor Browser, but some VPNs include access to Tor as well. NordVPN and ProtonVPN have already deployed Tor integrations.
Speed and Performance
Regardless of the VPN you use, it will affect your web browsing speeds. To gauge the level of that impact, I measure latency, download speeds, and upload speeds using the Ookla speed test app. (Note that Ookla is owned by PCMag's publisher, Ziff Davis.)
For years, I characterized Private Internet Access as technically proficient but socially deficient. It lacked any kind of client, and seemed to intentionally avoid of anything approaching, well, approachability. I'm happy to see that Private Internet Access has finally addressed this issue and released a much friendlier client app. You can still control the entire app from within the system tray, however, if you're into that sort of thing.
When you open the app, you're greeted by a large Connect button. Click it, and you're immediately connected to the best server available. This is exactly what the average user needs: a straightforward path to getting secure immediately. Clicking the location box below the connect button lets you jump to a different VPN server with ease.
Clicking the caret at the bottom of the app expands the window to the top of the screen, revealing a host of other tiles for quickly connecting to servers in specific countries, real-time performance graphs, usage statistics, toggle switches for key settings, and your current subscription status. Clicking the Bookmark icon adds these tiles to your default view, letting you customize your experience. Windows 8 x64 iso download. It's an excellent approach, and other VPN companies should take note of how Private Internet Access so easily handles interacting with its more complex features.
An additional Settings window goes into greater detail. From here you can make changes to your account, select different remote ports, and make even more obscure tweaks. Most users won't ever need to touch these, however, as they are better left to confident experts. One important setting you can and should experiment with is the light or dark mode for the app, a surprisingly modern feature from a company that didn't even have an app until recently.
The only catch is that the new app interface is still bolted to the system tray. You summon it by clicking the Private Internet Access icon, and it stays locked above the system tray. You can't move it around, or interact with it as your would a normal Windows app. Click anywhere outside the app and it disappears again. It's a bit of three steps forward, one step back, and I hope future versions will see the app behaving in a more expected way.
One general concern with VPNs is that they might leak identifiable information, either in the form of DNS requests or your real IP address. In my tests, I found that my ISP and IP address were hidden and my usual DNS servers circumvented with Private Internet Access.
Private Internet Access and Netflix
Many streaming video services block VPNs, because they have geographically limited licenses for streaming content. The show Star Trek: Discovery, for example, is only available on CBS All Access within the US and Canada, but is streamed over Netflix in the rest of the world. I test with Netflix because of its enormous popularity and because it is particularly aggressive at blocking VPN users.
If streaming Netflix over a VPN is a major concern for you, Private Internet Access will have your back. When I last tested VPNs with Netflix, I had no trouble watching movies while connected to a US-based VPN server. I was able to stream from Netflix while connected to a Canadian server and a UK server, but not an Australian server. Still, that's a strong showing. While I had little trouble using Netflix with Private Internet Access, by the time you try it, the service may again be blocked.
Beyond VPN
Many VPN companies include additional privacy and security features in order to entice consumers. To that end, Private Internet Access includes its own ad- and tracker-blocking tool called MACE. When engaged, this tool specifically blocks pesky advertisements plastered across web pages and trackers that allow companies to track your movements across the Internet. It's worth noting that few of the VPNs I have reviewed offer ad blocking. Those that do include NordVPN, TunnelBear VPN, CyberGhost, TorGuard, and Norton Secure VPN, among others. This feature is unfortunately now blocked in Android VPN apps, to comply with Google's rules.
While I am happy to see VPN companies expanding protections for customers, these features only augment—not replace—standalone antivirus software and tracker-blocking browser plug-ins.
Using a VPN will protect your privacy, within certain limitations. The Tor service is far better at providing real anonymity than a VPN. You can access Tor through the specially made Tor Browser, but some VPNs include access to Tor as well. NordVPN and ProtonVPN have already deployed Tor integrations.
Speed and Performance
Regardless of the VPN you use, it will affect your web browsing speeds. To gauge the level of that impact, I measure latency, download speeds, and upload speeds using the Ookla speed test app. (Note that Ookla is owned by PCMag's publisher, Ziff Davis.)
See How We Test VPNs
In my testing, I found that Private Internet Access performed above the median average in all three categories. It's certainly one of the fastest VPNs by my reckoning. HideIPVPN, however, had a significantly smaller impact on upload and download speeds. It's the leader in terms of speed, but I strongly caution against using speed as the only criteria for selecting a VPN.
Private Internet Access Vpn Free Download Free
You can see how Private Internet Access compares in the chart below with the top ten performers among the over 30 services we tested. Keep in mind that your results will likely differ from mine.
Speeds vary depending on a number of factors. Overall value and ease of use are far more important, but the real value of a VPN is in the privacy and security it offers. If you are looking mainly for speed, however, HideIPVPN is PCMag's fastest VPN.
Private Internet Access on Other Platforms
Manually setting up your computer or smartphone to use a VPN is possible, but it's also a pain. Using an app from the VPN company is far easier, and gives you access to many more features than manual configuration. Private Internet Access supports apps for Android, iOS, Linux, macOS, and Windows. The service has earned PCMag Editors' Choice awards on all of those platforms, except iOS, where NordVPN and KeepSolid VPN Unlimited are PCMag's top choices.
Private Internet Access also offers proxy extensions for Firefox and Chrome. These hide the IP address associated with your browser traffic, using servers in a variety of locations, and is secured with Squid HTTPS. Only your browser traffic, however, is affected by the plugins. The rest of your computer's activity is not secured by these tools.
The Simplest Security
Private Internet Access used to have a hearty recommendation with a big old asterisk next to it, because it didn't have much in the way of a GUI. With its new interface, Private Internet Access matches its technical expertise with ease of use. If you've balked at the price of other VPNs, and you don't need all the bells and whistles, Private Internet Access is your best option. It's an Editors' Choice winner, along with NordVPN, TunnelBear, and ProtonVPN. These services are each excellent in their own right, with NordVPN offering a robust global network, TunnelBear providing a friendly and apporachable service, and ProtonVPN bringing a flexible and technically savvy service.
Bottom Line: Private Internet Access offers a robust VPN service at an unbeatable price, and with an excellent new app interface. In terms of value, it cannot be beat.
- $6.95
- $6.95
- $6.95
BrowserCam presents VPN by Private Internet Access for PC (Windows) free download. Private Internet Access. launched VPN by Private Internet Access undefined for the Google's Android plus iOS but the truth is you may well install VPN by Private Internet Access on PC or computer. Ever wondered how to download VPN by Private Internet Access PC? No worries, let's break it down for you into very easy steps.
People who have recently installed an Android emulator in the PC you can proceed using it or find out more about Andy android emulator or BlueStacks emulator for PC. They've got massive amount of favorable reviews coming from the Android users as compared to the several other free and paid Android emulators as well as both of them are often compatible with MAC and windows os. We advise you to firstly see the minimum Operating system specifications to install the Android emulator on PC after which download if only your PC satisfies the suggested Operating system requirements of the emulator. At last, all set to install the emulator that takes couple of minutes only. Just click on 'Download VPN by Private Internet Access APK' button to get started downloading the apk file into your PC.
How to Download VPN by Private Internet Access for PC or MAC:
- Begin by downloading BlueStacks on your PC.
- Start installing BlueStacks Android emulator by simply clicking on the installer If the download process is finished.
- Through the installation process please click on 'Next' for the first two steps should you get the options on the display.
- If you see 'Install' on the monitor screen, simply click on it to begin the final installation process and then click 'Finish' soon after it is ended.
- At this point, either within the windows start menu or desktop shortcut begin BlueStacks Android emulator.
- Before you install VPN by Private Internet Access for pc, you should link BlueStacks emulator with a Google account.
- Finally, you must be brought to google playstore page where one can do a search for VPN by Private Internet Access undefined utilizing search bar and then install VPN by Private Internet Access for PC or Computer.
Every day several android games and apps are eliminated from the play store if they do not stick to Policies. In the event you don't discover the VPN by Private Internet Access undefined in google play store you can still download the APK from this webpage and install the undefined. You can go through the above same steps even though you are planning to choose Andy OS emulator or if you are planning to choose free download VPN by Private Internet Access for MAC.
