During peak usage times, speeds were even worse, ranging from 80Mbps on some nights to a crawling 2.5Mbps on others. My internet speed measured about 127Mbps without a VPN, and Private Internet Access brought that down to 72Mbps in some tests, and 39Mbps in others. Private Internet Access fared well when we tested it in the past, but in my experience this time around, speeds fluctuated a lot more than other VPNs I tested. I used SpeedOf.Me’s online speed test to determine how Private Internet Access competed with other VPNs, and tested ping times in a number of popular games to see if it increased lag. Since a VPN takes your data on a natural “detour” through another server, it’s likely going to make your connection a bit slower. I emailed them with a simple query just to see if they would respond, and they never did. They do not have an online chat system, like IPVanish, KeepSolid, and NordVPN do, so you’re at the mercy of email. Private Internet Access has garnered a bit of a reputation recently for sub-par customer service, however, especially in the realm of that money-back guarantee, with many users complaining that they never received their refund. Title=More%20Expert%20Tech%20Reviews&type=articles&tags=tech-review&count=6&columnCount=6&theme=article Still, only you can decide whether to trust a given VPN provider. However, Private Internet Access notes that they do not keep any logs, a claim which has been proven twice in public-not something many VPNs can boast. That puts it within Fourteen Eyes jurisdiction, which some privacy advocates prefer to avoid due to their surveillance practices. Private Internet Access is owned by a company called London Trust Media, which despite its name, is based in the US. I couldn’t find any mention of BitTorrent on PIA’s website, but it appears to work just fine. I was able to stream Netflix when connected to the Las Vegas server, but your mileage may vary, as Netflix is constantly working to block usage over VPNs. Private Internet Access’ desktop app uses the OpenVPN protocol, but it also works with the less secure L2TP/IPSec and PPTP on platforms where OpenVPN is not supported. PIA also has a kill switch, which disables your internet when the VPN disconnects, as well as DNS leak protection, port forwarding, and a built-in adblocker whenever you’re connected to the VPN. Opening the Settings allows you to choose favorite servers, which makes things a bit simpler, as well as customize your connection type (UDP or TCP), adjust your port, and choose from a few types of encryption. I’m not a big fan of this approach, and picking a server manually feels clunky-especially since you can only choose one of 52 regions, not choose an individual server (PIA has 3160 servers, which is decent, but for comparison NordVPN has over 5,100)-but if you want the app to stay out of your way as much as possible, you’ll be happy with it. From the menu, you can either choose the “Auto” option to connect to the nearest server, or view a huge list of 52 locations. ![]() Instead, it lives in your system tray (or Menu Bar on Mac), with a small icon you can right-click for connection options. Private Internet Access doesn’t have much of a user interface. You can also download OpenVPN configurations for your router, where supported. You can use it on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, as well as download extensions for Chrome, Firefox, and Opera. It does not have a free trial, but does offer a 7-day money-back guarantee if you aren’t satisfied with the service. Title=More%20Expert%20Tech%20Roundups&type=articles%2Cvideos&tags=tech-roundup&count=6&columnCount=6&theme=article You can pay with credit card, PayPal, Amazon Pay, multiple types of cryptocurrency, and even trade your Best Buy, GameStop, Starbucks, Target, and other gift cards for anonymous access. Private Internet Access offers a monthly subscription for $7, though you can save by paying more upfront-$40 for one year ($3.33 per month) or $70 for two years ($2.91 per month). When IGN last reviewed it in early 2017 it was one of our favorites due to its class-leading performance, so we decided to take another look to see if is still awesome, or not. ![]() Unfortunately, too many users and not enough servers can put a lot of load on their servers, making the service a bit less tempting than it used to be-though your mileage may vary depending on your location. Private Internet Access (PIA) is one of the most popular VPNs around ( See it on PIA's website).
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