Best VPN provider (In your opinion)? (Strictly no referral allowed)

oric1

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As I am on trial I don't have access to Singapore servers. What is Singapore (USA) server to be exact? Does it unblock US geo-restrictied services?

Yes i'm interested to know as well.

Just to update, i tried another provider, this time is IBVPN. Their agent was very helpful, and they have a trial. Unfortunately i couldn't get any of their servers to stream at high quality on my amazon instant video test. I got the lowest setting on auto for all the usa servers. Ironically i ran a few speedtests from their usa servers with verizon speedtest page and actually got average 3-8mbps speed, but i just couldn't get this speed when streaming amazon instant. Anyone have any idea why?

Yes, the Singapore 1 (USA) server is able to unblock US geo-restriction. I think the server is located here with a direct pipe to USA (somebody correct me if I'm wrong), hence, I'm able to stream movies from Hulu at 1.5MB/sec and also Pandora Radio without any problem.

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pandora_zpsae6737b4.png
 
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Can give SpotFlux a try.. I tried it some time back when I wanted a free and stable VPN.

It is pretty stable and reasonably fast when I used it.

CyberGhost has a solid free VPN service too. Didn't try their paid service, but they do have a forum which have support staff replying fast.
 
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luckyguitar

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Ok i have tried 4 Vpns so far and Astrill is by far the fastest of them all. Their USA servers are impressive, i managed to stream an IPTV stream at 3600kbps without issue.

Before i sign up with them, anyone encounter any problem configuring their vpn on a router? Is it easy to setup on a router?
 

stiwipl

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Ok i have tried 4 Vpns so far and Astrill is by far the fastest of them all. Their USA servers are impressive, i managed to stream an IPTV stream at 3600kbps without issue.

Before i sign up with them, anyone encounter any problem configuring their vpn on a router? Is it easy to setup on a router?

It is easy on Asus routers with Merlin firmware, except the newest RT-AC58U. I am in touch with them as their applet failed to install. Thanks to Astrill debug and Merlin help, Astrill fixed the issue and it is now possible to install their Applet on RT-AC56U but RouterPro protocol doesn't work, so they are still fixing it.

Anyway, you can always setup OpenVPN directly on the routers (if you have Merlin - for Asus, Tomato or DD-WRT) and it works with no issues, however their Applet for the routers is great.

Just keep in mind that speed via router will never be the same as directly on the computer due to lower processing power. I am still checking the speeds, but for some reason I am unable to reach speeds higher than 16Mbps (compared to 150Mbps on my Mac). I can see however that CPU load on the router is 20-30% only, so there is still 170% left (2 cores). I don't know why I am unable to reach higher speeds, however I will test further.
 

stiwipl

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Astrill applet on my N66U:
- OpenVPN, UDP, Port 443, server USA - Los Angeles 2 --> ~5Mbps
- OpenVPN, TCP, Port 443, server USA - Los Angeles 2 --> ~10Mbps
- RouterPro VPN, UDP, Port 443, server USA - Los Angeles 2 --> ~13Mbps
- RouterPro VPN, TCP, Port 443, server USA - Los Angeles 2 --> ~20Mbps
Router CPU is the bottle neck here.

Best bet is still running the client on the PCs. So if you use HTPC, it would be perfect.
I also tried the VPN sharing thing. But still having some issue with it.

Did you overclock N66U? If yes, this is possible.

Hmm, thats interesting. I wonder how the AC66U or even AC56U with dual core CPU will fare since you mentioned Router CPU is the bottle neck.

Thanks for sharing..

It won't perform much better unfortunately, it is because OpenVPN doesn't use multiple cores. I have been testing RT-AC56U quite heavily in the last 3 days since I bought it.

My results on Astrill and LA2 server are:
- OpenVPN UDP -> 5 Mbps
- OpenVPN TCP -> 14.5 Mbps
- RouterPro UDP -> 5 Mbps
- RouterPro TXP -> 16 Mbps

Good news are that Astrill has fixed their applet to make it RT-AC56U compatible (except device filter). Bad news is that I thought this router can achieve better speeds on VPN.

It is possible to overlock AC56U from 800Mhz to 1200Mhz and increase VPN speeds to approx. 24 Mbps.
 

jasonho

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Did you overclock N66U? If yes, this is possible.



It won't perform much better unfortunately, it is because OpenVPN doesn't use multiple cores. I have been testing RT-AC56U quite heavily in the last 3 days since I bought it.

My results on Astrill and LA2 server are:
- OpenVPN UDP -> 5 Mbps
- OpenVPN TCP -> 14.5 Mbps
- RouterPro UDP -> 5 Mbps
- RouterPro TXP -> 16 Mbps

Good news are that Astrill has fixed their applet to make it RT-AC56U compatible (except device filter). Bad news is that I thought this router can achieve better speeds on VPN.

It is possible to overlock AC56U from 800Mhz to 1200Mhz and increase VPN speeds to approx. 24 Mbps.

Thanks for the update and heads up! May I know which server were you connected to ?
 

negativzero

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It is easy on Asus routers with Merlin firmware, except the newest RT-AC58U. I am in touch with them as their applet failed to install. Thanks to Astrill debug and Merlin help, Astrill fixed the issue and it is now possible to install their Applet on RT-AC56U but RouterPro protocol doesn't work, so they are still fixing it.

Anyway, you can always setup OpenVPN directly on the routers (if you have Merlin - for Asus, Tomato or DD-WRT) and it works with no issues, however their Applet for the routers is great.

Just keep in mind that speed via router will never be the same as directly on the computer due to lower processing power. I am still checking the speeds, but for some reason I am unable to reach speeds higher than 16Mbps (compared to 150Mbps on my Mac). I can see however that CPU load on the router is 20-30% only, so there is still 170% left (2 cores). I don't know why I am unable to reach higher speeds, however I will test further.

OpenVPN itself has a lot of overheads. You guys should try using PPTP or L2TP on your routers instead if you really want speed.

3MB/s to US is possible with these protocols.
 

Sadist4life

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I wanted to say Astrill VPN but it seems like the more recent posts have already highlighted its reliability and speed. :s12:
 

stiwipl

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[...]
My results on Astrill and LA2 server are:
- OpenVPN UDP -> 5 Mbps
- OpenVPN TCP -> 14.5 Mbps
- RouterPro UDP -> 5 Mbps
- RouterPro TXP -> 16 Mbps
[...]

I have given RT-AC56U some more time to play with and was able to achieve the following results with Astrill VPN using DownThemAll Firefox addon and downloading a file from mirror.nl.leaseweb.net | powered by LeaseWeb :

- OpenVPN UDP - 735 KB/s (unstable, fluctuates 400-750 KB/s)
Nun6ehB.png



- OpenVPN TCP - 1.80 MB/s (stable)
pqoWLpL.png



- RouterPro UDP - 2.62 MB/s (unstable, fluctuates between 1.2MB/s - 2.95 MB/s)
VijSmaR.png



- RouterPro TCP - 2.09 MB/s (stable within 1.85-2.05 MB/s)
WBkzHOP.png



- Mac app - 10 MB/s (fluctuates between 5-10 MB/s, on a different server - Phoenix, I am able to achieve 10-16 MB/s)
VPxS6Zo.png



UDP should be faster than TCP generally speaking at least over the short distances, that's why with US at 172ms latency TCP works more stable I think but UDP can achieve much higher speeds.
 
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eyz

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guys , are these VPN providers better & cheaper than our ISPs ones?
 

bullfrog

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I was thinking of starting a new thread but since there is a VPN thread already i'll share my discoveries here..

1) Fast free VPN - Hola
They have apps for your mobile devices too. For the desktop, you can use their chrome browser plugin to watch netflix, hulu etc. Just select the country you want and it will route to it. The beauty is it's only for your browser so your torrent traffic does not go through the VPN.

2) Paid VPN - Lots! (as shared by so many others)
I am using PureVPN

3) HD streaming of EPL!
I Signed up for Aljazeerasport.tv. Paid subscription. Works great with PureVPN and Hola. Very fast and clear streaming!
Just remember to logout of the website after you use and don't just close your browser. Their server will think you have multiple logins going on if you just close the browser and login again. Soon you will get a fairuse error locking you out for hours!

4) Selective routing for PPTP VPN,
There is a Raspberry pi project that allows me to do the below. PM me for details if you need assistance setting it up. But essentially this is what it allowed me to do.

DVSR_zps9106aa0a.png


More info can be found here.
https://github.com/dboyd13/DSVR
 

stiwipl

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[...]
4) Selective routing for PPTP VPN,
There is a Raspberry pi project that allows me to do the below. PM me for details if you need assistance setting it up. But essentially this is what it allowed me to do.
[...]

Looks complicated. I think if you really don't want to switch server or want to watch different region locked streams simultaneously it is best to use good paid VPN with server that gives you best performance, combined with either SmartDNS or UnoDNS.
 

bullfrog

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Looks complicated. I think if you really don't want to switch server or want to watch different region locked streams simultaneously it is best to use good paid VPN with server that gives you best performance, combined with either SmartDNS or UnoDNS.

I agree! however, I already signed up for a years subscription with PureVPN. They're like your traditional VPN providers, so once logged in, all traffic gets routed through the VPN connection.
Since I didn't want to sign up for another DNS VPN subscription(also cos pureVPN is fast!) I ended up setting up a raspberry pi between my modem and router so that it does all the selective domain routing for me.
The good thing about the raspberry pi setup is that I am in control and can specify which domain's I want to route, via which pureVPN server's connection. All my connections behind the router are then routed accordingly and nothing needs to be done at my devices.
 
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Ronaldo88

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I was thinking of starting a new thread but since there is a VPN thread already i'll share my discoveries here..

1) Fast free VPN - Hola
They have apps for your mobile devices too. For the desktop, you can use their chrome browser plugin to watch netflix, hulu etc. Just select the country you want and it will route to it. The beauty is it's only for your browser so your torrent traffic does not go through the VPN.

2) Paid VPN - Lots! (as shared by so many others)
I am using PureVPN

3) HD streaming of EPL!
I Signed up for Aljazeerasport.tv. Paid subscription. Works great with PureVPN and Hola. Very fast and clear streaming!
Just remember to logout of the website after you use and don't just close your browser. Their server will think you have multiple logins going on if you just close the browser and login again. Soon you will get a fairuse error locking you out for hours!

4) Selective routing for PPTP VPN,
There is a Raspberry pi project that allows me to do the below. PM me for details if you need assistance setting it up. But essentially this is what it allowed me to do.

DVSR_zps9106aa0a.png


More info can be found here.
https://github.com/dboyd13/DSVR

Hve tried to watch ur aljazeera sports on mobile phone or tablets?
 

eyz

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guys, is there any vpn out there that is better and cheaper than viewqwest freedom vpn?

am considering subscribing to viewqwest fibre, and would like to watch china p2p.
 
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