Proxies and VPNs are not the same thing.  There are some services that offer both options, but they are in fact two different types of technologies.

Virtual private networks

These are a private network of servers.  Your information is encrypted and sent through a VPN tunnel, so there are two layers of security.  One, your private data is put in a format that only you and the private network can decode.  Two, the coded information is sent through a private tunnel to which only you and the network have a key to.  Three, you computer is assigned a certificate of authenticity that proves you are you, which means that impersonating you online through your IP address is impossible.

VPNs work with your entire device, meaning that software and apps are also tunneled and encrypted.  VoIP, games, chat programs, download apps, streaming sites – they all work with VPNs.  You are also assigned an ‘anonymous IP address’, which means you can choose the location of your new identity online. The location of the VPN server will determine this identity.  You can choose dynamic or static IPs.

Proxies

There are several types of proxies but the ones that concern private surfing are called anonymous proxies.  There are many definitions and styles, including open proxies and web based proxies which you will probably be most familiar with.

Open proxies are often found on a ‘list’ where locations, IP addresses, and port numbers are listed online. They are used in combination with your regular internet browser to set your manual proxy settings and reroute your browser traffic through the proxy server.

Web based proxies work much like open proxies except the proxy server and portal are chosen automatically.  It’s just a website with a browser bar to type the URL you wan to go to.  Both open proxies and web based proxy only reroute your BROWSER traffic through a proxy server.

Proxies are best used from a reliable source because using a proxy server from an unknown may present a security risk to your private data.  Because you’re sharing an IP with someone, you are essentially giving them access to your private data.  Premium proxies may be a good choice for those who want a proxy service without the security risk.

The advantage of using a web based proxy is that it requires no installation and no configuration.  One proxy service can be used for your phone, you computer, and even public devices (library, work, school) where installation of software may not be an option.

Recommended VPN Proxy Service

VPN services and proxy services are often separated.  However, Hide My Ass offers both. In fact, their web based proxy is free, and they also offer a free list of open proxy servers (not owned by HMA, so use with caution).

Their ProVPN service does come with a monthly fee attached to it, but $6.55 per month is less than 1/2 the price of other services.  This is a very popular VPN service.  It comes with a 30 day money back guarantee, so try it out for a month and see if you like it.

• >>> Hide My Ass Official Website

Other Services

For those looking for a pure proxy service, with premium, private proxy servers in The US, UK, and Europe SecuriTales is recommended.  They have many good reviews, and I also recommend their services.

• >>> SecuriTales Official Website

If you’re looking for broader device support than HMA, you can try 12VPN.  It can handle a wide range of internet devices including PS3, Xbox, Apple TV, Nokia phones, and others that most other VPN services don’t offer support for.

• >>> 12VPN Official Website

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For example, one person living in China unblocking Facebook and streaming YouTube from behind The GFW may have a different experience that someone living in UAE who needs to use Skype though a VPN connection.  Someone in The US connecting to P2P software might rate the VPN provider differently than someone outside The US streaming from Netflix.

That being said, these 3 VPN providers

• 1. Are leaders in the industry
• 2. Are guaranteed (or your money back)
• 3. Have been personally tested by me

I’ve highlighted their main features which should give you a good enough idea which one will suit you and your needs best.  In the end however, the best way to know what’s best is to test it for yourself.  It may take a bit of work initially, but if you’re in for the long haul, it’ll be worth it down the road.

1. 12VPN

Actually no one really believes me that this is an awesome VPN service. Whatever, I’ll still rank it number one.  Excellent customer service, extremely broad device support, encryption upgrades, and dedication to quality. Here are some other highlights.  I think the fact that they don’t advertise their quarterly and semiannual packages scares people off, or maybe it’s the simple design.  Whatever the reason, I’ve used their service for 4 years now.

• US VPN: $79 / year
• World VPN (US/UK/Netherlands/France/Japan/German) $119 / year
• Military grade encryption
• Options for China
• Broad device support
• >>> 12VPN Website

2. Hide My Ass

This one is much more popular.  I think it’s because it’s cheap and you get unlimited access to hundreds of VPN servers across 43 countries. Plus, it’s got a cool name, cool site, and free stuff.  Here are the features worth mentioning.

• Free Web Proxy (no signing up needed)
• Easy sign up
• 43 countries, unlimited switching
• Choose servers based on speed
• 30 day guarantee
• $6.55 per month
• >>> Hide My Ass Website

3.  PureVPN

Flying below the radar, PureVPN offers a good service, for a good price.  I had a particularly good experience testing out their VPN service in China, behind The GFW (Great Firewall).  All options give you full access to

• Standard Package $74.95 / year
• Unlimited bandwidth: $160 / year
• Dedicated IP $145 / year
• Live support
• >>> PureVPN Website

*bonus review 4. IP Vanish

This is a cool service because they take all the frills out of signing up for a VPN service.  Full access, unlimited bandwidth, and full 100% privacy for $10 / month. It’s that simple.

• PPTP, L2TP, OpenVPN
• 39 servers in 15 countries
• Choose VPN server based on speed
• >>> IP Vanish Website

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One thing to remember when looking for cheap VPNs is that price is often related to the features of the VPN, and spending and extra dollar a month may make certain aspects of anonymous surfing more convenient.  Budget VPN services often come with limitations. Still, you can’t deny that if you give up a few things that didn’t matter that much anyway, you can save 50% or more of your money.

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Top 5 Cheapest VPN Services

SwitchVPN

Truly the cheapest VPN I’ve ever seen, their cheapest package is $3.95 per month.  To get this price you need to sign up for 1 year.  You need to get the PPTP VPN protocol, and you much choose 1 VPN server location (US, UK, Canada, Netherlands, Germany).  Adding servers, encryption, or signing up for less time will increase the price of the package.

Other Price Options

1 month, 1 Country – PPTP S5.95, OpenVPN 7.95
1 month, 12 Countries – PPTP or OpenVPN – $14.95
Extended subscriptions save you 15% – 33%

<><><> Click For SwitchVPN <><><>

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StrongVPN

Though slightly more expensive (about $7) that SwitchVPN, StrongVPN has been around much longer, and has more package options, VPN protocol options, and servers/server locations. StrongVPN boasts 314 VPN servers, while SwitchVPN has only 25.  $55 USD per year ($4.58 per month) will get you access to PPTP VPN servers in The US and The UK.  $85 per year will get you a static OpenVPN IP address, which is not a bad deal at all considering other services charge $140 for static IPs.  I would say this is the best deal for you money.

Other Price Options

• $7 per month- PPTP US IP
• $10 per month  – OpenVPN US IP

• $15 per month – PPTP full server access
• $20 per month – OpenVPN full server access

<><><> Click For StrongVPN <><><>

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PureVPN

And here comes another cheap VPN service, with a standard package for $74.95 per year.  It’ll cost you more to pay by the month, but hey, that’s expected.  There’s a 30 GB limit, and the unlimited upgrade will cost you $160 per year for unlimited bandwidth.  However, the standard package still gets you access to all 14 servers, including The US, UK, Canada, Switzerland, and Netherlands (+ more of course).  PPTP, L2TP, and SSTP available, and there’s no difference in the price.

Other Price Options

• $145 per 1 year  (dedicated IP address)
• $160 per 1 year (unlimited bandwidth)

• $95 per month

<><><> Click For PureVPN <><><>

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HideMyAss

Working our way up, HMA has a package offer for $78.66 per year, or $6.55 per month.  They make it look like there’s special deal going on, but that’s always been the price, so there’s no rush.  The 43% off does look attractive though…

40+ country locations, free server switching, unlimited, 243+ VPN servers, and a 30 day money back guarantee.  Though not the cheapest on this list, $6.55 per month for what they offer is an unbeatable  price.

Other Price Options

• $50.66 per 6 months
• $11.52 per 1 month

<><><> Click For HideMyAss <><><>

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12VPN

And making 5th place by less than $0.55, 12VPN rolls in at $79 per year.  They support all kinds of uncommon smartphones and operating systems, and the VPN is very easy to set up.  Military grade encryption, DD-WRT support, Nokia VPN, and a few other nerdy options are the highlights of 12VPN.  Still, it’s a great VPN for beginners because setup is easy and the staff is friendly

Other Price Options

• WorldVPN – $119 per year

<><><> Click For 12VPN <><><>

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Web based proxies

When a proxy, or ‘VPN’ is ‘web based’, it means just that.  It is accessible from the web.  That is in contrast to being accessible from your laptop, phone, or home computer.  When you can access something from the internet, through an internet browser, regardless of the machine you’re using, that means it’s web based.

For example, when I access YouTube, this is a web based streaming site.  This means I can access the website from any machine, as long as I have my proper login credentials.  However, when I want to use uTorrent, this is not web based. I have to have the software installed on my device to be able to access the application.

So with the proper login and password, you can access a web based proxy a web based proxy from any device, regardless of what other apps or software you have installed (or not installed).  This is one of the main advantages of using a web based proxy (compared to a VPN).

So if you are a subscribing member of a web based proxy service, you can mask your IP address on your iPhone, Android, Mac, Windows, Linux, and any other web browsing device.  You don’t need to have a special app, or any software installed.  As long as you’re not in some place like China, where the actual URL of the site is blocked, it will work.  Even if you find yourself in a place where the URL is blocked (your workplace may use a proxy blocking firewall), with SecuriTales you can still access the secure URL through your email inbox.

SecuriTales is my recommended web based proxy service.  It’s cheap, fast, and works exactly how they say.  It even works in China.  If it can do battle with Chinese internet censorship and beat The GFW, I imagine that it will work in 99% of situations.

^^^ Click For SecuriTales ^^^

Virtual Private Networks

VPNs are not necessarily an ‘alternative’ to web based proxies, but more of a compliment.  They provide a solution to many of the issues with web based proxies, but they still have some disadvantages that should be listed as well.

Ok, so web based proxies are strictly for browsing – that should be noted. Because they are run through your browser, they don’t interact with any software or apps on your phone/computer.  Why is this important?

• + VOIP
• + Chat software
• + Torrents/P2P
• + Games
• + SEO/Website analytic software

These are all examples of software that might need to be run with an alternative IP address.  When I lived in China for a year, running my website analytic software was impossible with an IP address because Chinese filters blocked many of its features.  I had not choice but to use a VPN because the web based proxy did nothing for the software.  In countries like UAE or other Middle Eastern countries where VOIP software like Skype is blocked, again, VPNs are necessary.

Compatibility with software running outside your internet browser is not the end of the story, web based proxies are also not going to work with Netflix, Hulu, and some other streaming sites.

So aside from compatibility, VPNs also provide better encryption.  Though I mentioned above that SecuriTales is available in China, most proxies aren’t.  Most proxies are pretty weak when compared to VPNs, as far as anonymity and privacy goes.  If privacy online is a concern of yours, this is not a choice – VPNs are the way to go.

Lastly, the choice of IP address may be important to you.  With a web based proxy, the proxy browser is a ‘portal’ to proxy servers around the world.  But you don’t get a choice of IP. With VPNs, you do.  The number of country or city locations will vary based on VPN service, but generally 4 to 10 choices is normal.  Some offer lite packages, which allow you only one choice, and some offer unlimited access packages with access to 30 or more servers.

You will find that an IP address from a VPN will not register as an “anonymous IP“, like web based proxies do.  It will be detected as an official IP from that country, and will get you past more firewalls that proxies.

I actually have many more recommendations for good VPN services to try, but I’ll limit this list to three.  I’ve listed a few features to help you decide which service is best for your individual needs.

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12VPN

This VPN service supports the most devices.  Most VPN service will support iOS, Android, Mac, Windows an Linux.  12VPN also supports a wide variety of smartphones, lesser known operating systems, VPN routers, and Symbian devices.  They also offer military grade encryption upgrades.

^^^ Click For 12VPN ^^^

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PureVPN

There’s a discount package with a 30 GB monthly limit, and they also offer a 3 day account which is popular.  They also have a dedicated IP address package, and allow torrents on some dynamic IP servers (no US or UK IP, but hey, who needs that anyway?).  Live support is a bonus as well.  They also offer SSTP for Windows 7 and Vista.

^^^ Click For PureVPN ^^^

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Hide My Ass

One of the most popular VPN services available, they’ve got a massive network of servers around the world. The number is currently 41 countries, but by the time you read this, it’ll probably be closer to 50 because they’re constantly growing.  Torrents are OK, and they show total confidence in their product by offering a 30 day money back guarantee.

^^^ Click For HMA ^^^

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There are a couple of reasons some services may not allow torrents.  One are of course the legal issues they may face – especially those VPN services with their headquarters in The USA.  Torrents may also slow down VPN servers – I remember when I started trying to use 12VPN to download torrents I got emails from the support team about my connection being ‘fragmented’, and ‘several people being signed in at the same time’.

But some services are happy to allow torrents – I just think it’s weird that it’s not a bigger advertising point.  The VPN services I’ve listed below allow torrents on all their servers, but none of them mention it on their main site – I had to contact support to ask.  They were all very clear about not downloading copyrighted material. I guess none of us really pay attention to warnings like that, but it needs to be said so that they (and I) am not reliable if the police comes and takes your billion-gig hard drive away and bans you from the internet (possible in New Zealand and France).

Even if you don’t use these, I would say that a good VPN for torrents should allow you unlimited bandwidth for downloading and uploading, free server switching, and a good choice of servers.  You can read details below of each service.  All four are quite popular services, so I don’t think quality is going to be a problem, but variables like your operating system, country, and choice of torrent software may affect the results you get as far as speed and reliability goes.  They all come with money back guarantees, so trying them out for a week or so is possible before committing.

>>>>>>>>>

Option #1

StrongVPN is a great choice because they offer so much.  There are tons of plans available, including plans for just $55 USD per year.  They’re a constantly growing network (currently 298 servers),and from visiting their site you can tell that they’re committed to excellence. I know it sounds like a bad advertisement, but they’ve got a pretty awesome site and tons of options, including 19 different country locations.  They’ve got PPTP, L2TP, OpenVPN, and SSTP servers, dynamic and static IP addresses, 3-month/6-month/12-month discounts, and a 7 day money back guarantee.  They also have live support which makes fixing technical problems sooooo much faster.  Choosing VPN packages based on your location is very helpful.

*Take Me To StrongVPN*

>>>>>>>>>

Option #2

Hide My Ass is popular for two reasons.  1. There’s free stuff. 2. There’s a lot of stuff. They boast 42 country locations and 27,000 IP addresses which is MASSIVE.  If you sign up for a year you pay under $7 per month, plus there’s a 30 day money back guarantee which means you have a whole month to decide if it’s worth your $7 dollars.

Their simple choosing/paying system makes signing up much easier that other services which tend to offer complicated plans.  HMA simplifies to choose how long you want to sign up for, and get started now.  Even if you don’t sign up for their ProVPN service, you can check out their site to take advantage of their free anonymous surfing tools, including a reliable proxy list with servers sorted by level of anonymity.

*Take Me To Hide My Ass*

>>>>>>>>>

Option #3

PureVPN is also another good option – they’re a Hong Kong based VPN service, and also have a decent range of servers.  For $74 per year you get full access to 11 country locations, which is not bad considering StrongVPN is going to limit you to just two or three for that price.  This is the lite plan which limits you to 30GB per month, but who really downloads 30 gigabytes of torrents per month?

Ok, so maybe you do, in which case you can upgrade to a premium bandwidth account for $160 USD per year – $13 dollars a month is still pretty cheap.  Live support isn’t always around, but is a nice touch (they’re very helpful), and there’s a 3 day money back guarantee.

*Take Me To PureVPN*

>>>>>>>>>

Option #4

SwitchVPN has recently added some nice changes, so it’s good to see that their network is improving.  I used to kind of put them on the bottom of the barrel, but not anymore.  Their number one attribute is that they offer a cheap VPN for torrents.  It used to be $5.95 straight across the board with no discounts, but they now offer discounts for signing up for a longer period of time.

If you sign up for 1 year and limit yourself to the Netherlands servers, you pay just $3.95 per month. Aside from that limited package, for $9.95 you can get access to their full server network, which is then discounted to $7.95 if you sign up for a year – not the cheapest on this list, but still, not bad (HMA is $6.52).  Live support and a one week guarantee are also worth mentioning.

*Take Me To SwitchVPN*

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VPN is one such software which can help you unblock sites on iPhone and iPad. You would just need to choose a VPN service provider and subscribe to their services. The VPN service provider would then simply mask your IP address and assign you an IP address of a country of your choice. In this way, whenever you would connect to the internet through your iPhone or iPad, you won’t be using your original IP address but would be surfing the internet through the VPN assigned IP address.

So, what will be the benefits of using a VPN-assigned IP address instead of your original one? Firstly, you would be able to access the websites that you weren’t able to access when using your original IP address. Websites are blocked by administrations by not allowing access from the regional IP addresses to the blocked website. However, the administrative machinery can’t do much when a foreign IP address accesses the same website.

So, for instance, if you live in Saudi Arabia and want to use Skype. Through your Saudi Arabian IP address, you won’t be able to use Skype. However, when accessing Skype through the foreign IP address assigned by the VPN service provider (mostly US IP address), you won’t face any difficulties as the US IP addresses can access Skype with ease. Similarly, you would not only be able to use VoIP in the Middle Eastern countries, you would also be able to get access to Hulu, Netflix and other American websites which are only open for US IP address holders!

Secondly, you would be able to have privacy and would be safe from hackers and the government. Since the VPN masks your original IP address and heavily encrypts the data you send and receive while accessing the internet through your iPad and iPhone, you can safely access all your important documents and do online shopping too!

There is just one thing that you would need to keep in mind while choosing VPNs to unblock websites on iPad and iPhone. The VPNs use PPTP and L2TP protocols when helping you unblock websites through your iPhone and iPad. The problem with these two protocols is that these protocols have been somewhat blocked in China.

So, if you reside in China and want to bypass internet censorship there on your iPad and iPhone then normal VPNs might work. You would have to use ‘jailbreak’ for your iPhone and iPad to make OpenVPN work in areas where the protocols have been blocked. Your other choice would be to use proxies which work similar to the VPNs.  Some VPN services do offer custom PPTP and L2TP VPNs for users in China, but their functionality is not guaranteed.

All in all, apart from a few places in China and The Middle East, VPN is the best software to unblock websites on iPhone and iPad!

Top Software Providers for Software to Unblock Sites On iPhone and iPad

I’ve use a variety of tools to unblock sites because I travel a lot. Just talking about VPNs, there are many good services, plenty of cheap services, but not many that combine an affordable, quality product. Here are some highlights from three that I though any user looking to unblock sites or surf anonymously anywhere in the world.

Hide My Ass

HMA clearly offers the most of any service. With 23 thousand IP addresses spread across 38 countries, including US and UK servers, they give you five or six times more than your average VPN service for half the price. Other VPN sites charge $20 or more for less than ten country location, and some don’t even let you switch servers for free.  HMA also provides you with PPTP and L2TP (for iOS/Android) and OpenVPN in one package.  90% of VPN users will be able to get what they need here, plus there are a number of free services including a free web based proxy and open proxy list.

>>> Check out Hide My Ass

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12VPN

12VPN can’t compare to HMA for variety of locations, but they do pretty good with their World VPN package.  If you’re on a budget, you can opt for the US IP address package which cuts the price of other VPN services in half, and you pay less than $7 per month.  The advantage with 12VPN is that they support more devices than other VPN services (including HMA), and they’ve got a super fast response time from their support team.  There are also more ways to customize your VPN, including encryption upgrades, and ways to set the VPN to only encrypt you browser, or only encrypt certain programs.  Also, users in China, Iran, and other countries where lots of VPN sites are blocked will be happy to know there’s an alternate domain to get you past censorship firewalls.

>>> Check out 12VPN

>>> Alternate domain for China +

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StrongVPN

They’ve got a wide variety of VPN packages available that you can customize based on location.  Though a standard package will cost you more than HMA or 12VPN, there’s a lite package that goes for just $55 per year, $4.5 per month, which is the cheapest option available from any site that I know of.  Another great thing about using StrongVPN to unblock sites is that they’ve got live support to answer any questions you have, 24/7/365.

>>> Check out StrongVPN

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Web Based Proxies

As for proxies, I ONLY recommend SecuriTales.  They’re faster and more reliable than any other service that I’ve tried, and with the 25% discount that comes after their free trial, $4.5 per month is a steal for US/UK/European proxy servers.  Yes, there’s a FREE Trial, and a DISCOUNT, so if no installation and anonymous access from any computer/phone sounds like what you’re looking for, SecuriTales web proxy is the way to go.

>>> Go To SecuriTales

*Proxies cannot unblock Hulu, Netflix, and some other IP-specific streaming sites (VPNs can).

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One way of hiding the IP address of the computer you are accessing the websites from is to have software like a VPN installed on it. A VPN is software that can not only hide the IP address of a computer but can also provide it a different IP address making it a lot easier for it to connect to a blocked website without getting blocked out by the office firewall. The use of safety protocols made by the VPN will ensure that your boss never finds out about you accessing any blocked website from your office computer.

VPNs can be installed very easily on Macs and are very safe to use. Mac OS X, the operating system of the Mac supports two types of networking protocols on which the VPN can run safely, these two networking protocols are PPTP and L2TP. Once you have installed the VPN software on your Mac you will have to configure it and would have to select an IP address that you want to use instead of your original IP address.  OpenVPN is also a popular option, which can be downloaded from any VPN vendor.  OpenVPN provides the highest security possible of all VPN protocols.

VPNs offer a lot of other advantages besides gaining a user access to blocked websites from work. VPNs have the ability to change your IP address. This means that they can also be used to access regional websites which are inaccessible from other parts of the world. Websites like Hulu and Netflix are some examples of these websites which require an American IP address to access them. By acquiring a US IP address with the help of a VPN a user can access both these websites on his Mac from anywhere in the world.

Another advantage that a VPN connection can provide a user is the extra amount of safety it will provide him. VPNs use data encryption to ensure the privacy of the conversations taking place between a user and a website making it almost impossible for anyone to extract any information from these conversations. Besides this, a VPN changes your IP address so you do not have to worry about anyone keeping an eye on you as your original IP address will not be shown at any stage on the internet making you invisible from any hackers that are trying to steal information about you. Having all of these advantages makes the VPNs the best software to unblock sites on Mac.

Top Software Providers for Software to Unblock Sites On Mac

I’ve use a variety of tools to unblock sites because I travel a lot. Just talking about VPNs, there are many good services, plenty of cheap services, but not many that combine an affordable, quality product. Here are some highlights from three that I though any user looking to unblock sites or surf anonymously anywhere in the world.

Hide My Ass

HMA clearly offers the most of any service. With 23 thousand IP addresses spread across 38 countries, including US and UK servers, they give you five or six times more than your average VPN service for half the price. Other VPN sites charge $20 or more for less than ten country location, and some don’t even let you switch servers for free.  HMA also provides you with PPTP and L2TP (for iOS/Android) and OpenVPN in one package.  90% of VPN users will be able to get what they need here, plus there are a number of free services including a free web based proxy and open proxy list.

>>> Check out Hide My Ass

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12VPN

12VPN can’t compare to HMA for variety of locations, but they do pretty good with their World VPN package.  If you’re on a budget, you can opt for the US IP address package which cuts the price of other VPN services in half, and you pay less than $7 per month.  The advantage with 12VPN is that they support more devices than other VPN services (including HMA), and they’ve got a super fast response time from their support team.  There are also more ways to customize your VPN, including encryption upgrades, and ways to set the VPN to only encrypt you browser, or only encrypt certain programs.  Also, users in China, Iran, and other countries where lots of VPN sites are blocked will be happy to know there’s an alternate domain to get you past censorship firewalls.

>>> Check out 12VPN

>>> Alternate domain for China +

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StrongVPN

They’ve got a wide variety of VPN packages available that you can customize based on location.  Though a standard package will cost you more than HMA or 12VPN, there’s a lite package that goes for just $55 per year, $4.5 per month, which is the cheapest option available from any site that I know of.  Another great thing about using StrongVPN to unblock sites is that they’ve got live support to answer any questions you have, 24/7/365.

>>> Check out StrongVPN

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Web Based Proxies

As for proxies, I ONLY recommend SecuriTales.  They’re faster and more reliable than any other service that I’ve tried, and with the 25% discount that comes after their free trial, $4.5 per month is a steal for US/UK/European proxy servers.  Yes, there’s a FREE Trial, and a DISCOUNT, so if no installation and anonymous access from any computer/phone sounds like what you’re looking for, SecuriTales web proxy is the way to go.

>>> Go To SecuriTales

*Proxies cannot unblock Hulu, Netflix, and some other IP-specific streaming sites (VPNs can).

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