Before jumping on to reviewing one of the VPN providers, let us make it easy for the newbies to understand what a VPN is. VPN stands for Virtual Private Network. It is a fake network which unlike a physical one is not actually located at the place of the server. Today we’ll go through a comprehensive Hidemyass Review.

Also, it is a private network which means it is owned privately by company servers. It gives you anonymity by acting as an intermediate between you and the public network.

Virtual Private Network serves you three things:

1. Security

Suppose you’re connected to an open network or wifi. In such cases, there is a probability that many hackers are also present on that network, which makes your data vulnerable to theft. In such cases, VPN acts as a shield between you and the internet by encrypting your data.

2. Privacy

many countries like China do not allow access to apps like YouTube and Gmail thus if you are traveling to such countries and try to access any of these apps, your IP might get registered and might land you in some grave problem. Enabling VPN allows you to select a different country on your network. Using that you can access restricted apps.

3. Access

The IP address restricts your accessible shows or videos on YouTube or Netflix due to geographical restrictions. VPN plays an important role here. You can select a different server and watch your favorite shows that are broadcasted in different countries.

What Does A VPN Hide?

Your IP address: Whenever you search, your Ip address can be traced back to your device. A VPN hides your IP address by acting as an intermediate. The end node will not know about your search history or IP location.

Your browsing history: Many times you must have wondered, how do you get customized ads about your search history. You got it right. Your search history can be easily traced by Web browsers. Some so-called private networks are not so private. Adding a VPN to your network conceals your browsing history.

Apart from the above two, a VPN hides your location for streaming, your web activity, etc.

About HMA

Established in 2005 by Jack Cator, HideMyAss is now owned by Avast. They have implemented OpenVPN protocol in Galois Counter Mode with 4096-bit RSA keys for handshakes that are authenticated with SHA256. They also offer 256-bit encryption to protect user data.

HideMyAss VPN Review & Coupon:

Features of HideMyAss:

1. No logging:

A VPN exists to protect privacy and the logging-in feature is a counter-attack to that. HideMyAss is a certified no-log VPN.

2. Smart Kill Watch:

If at any time your VPN goes down, HideMyAss automatically switches off the internet to prevent your data from being exposed to catastrophic hackers out there!

3. Split tunneling:

Not all of your apps require protection. HideMyAss lets you choose the apps which are VPN protected and the ones which are all raw and exposed.

4. IP shuffle:

Your IP address can be traced and tracked by hackers and spies. HideMyAss allows you to shuffle your IP address and keeps it safe.

5. Prevents data leakage:

HideMyAss’ data protection protects you against IPv4, IPv6, and other DNS leaks. They claim to assure the customer to be assured that their data will not be exposed raw on the web.

6. P2P optimized servers:

The peer-to-peer network is used for transferring digital media files. This VPN allows you to download and upload torrents in very little time.

7. Available on almost all devices:

By enabling HideMyAss on your router you can protect your valuable data on PC, Mac, Android-iOS, Android TV.

8. DDoS protection

HMA protects you from not only the hackers but protects the integrity of your data which might prevent it to work efficiently.

Pros and Cons HideMyAss?

No doubt, HideMyAss provides one of the fastest servers, it proudly boasts its established name for more than 15 years. Its huge network sprawls across 1100 servers in more than 290 cities! This whopping expansion is advantageous for you to access geographically blocked or censored content.

Some of the Pros of HideMyAss are:

• Offers very fast speed: HMA offers robust speeds when compared to other VPNs. Offering highly impressive result for both international and local servers, HMA provides stable speed to handle data-intensive tasks and offers a download speed of 90Mbps
• Largest VPN network spread across 210 countries: HMA offers 1070+ VPN servers in more than 290 cities.
• User friendly and easy to use: It has a knowledge base and FAQs to serve queries of customers and a professional support team that can be reached out to through social media, ticket system, or email.
• Compatible with US Netflix and BBC iPlayer: HMA continuously disables geographical locks on famous streaming services Netflix, BBC, and Amazon Prime. However, it is unable to unblock Disney+, unlike other VPNs.
• 30-day money-back guarantee

Cons of HideMyAss

• Not available in China
• It previously handed over the data to the FBI: HideMyAss gives a red signal when it comes to user data. One of the prior features of a VPN must be protecting user data but HideMyAss might add to your woes with its not-so-secure services.
• Fake claims: although HMA claims to offer a no-logging service, it has cooperated with the US and the Uk in handing over the data to them. Thus, it does log in user info even if it claims not to do so.
• Renews plans: you must be cautious that HMA automatically renews your plan when it expires too on full price and not on the discounted rate at which you purchased.

Safety of data with HMA?

Users will be sad to know that HMA has had a very poor history of protecting users’ data. HMA went on to reveal the identity of one of the hacktivists to the FBI after UK court orders.

This breach of trust is an appalling incident that left the users baffled. However, HMA justified this act under its old logging-in policy.

The new no logs privacy policy claims not to retain any of the user data like Ip addresses. However, only real-world tests can uphold this claim. Till then, if data privacy is your utmost concern, HMA is not recommended.

HideMyAss Pricing Plans:

HMA offers 3 pricing plans each for 1 month, 12 months, and 3 years respectively. All the plans offer some very good features. The monthly plan is undoubtedly more expensive than the 3 years plan.

1-month plan bills you Rs299 per month which is in huge contrast to the monthly bill under the three-year plan that charges only Rs 139 per month. Currently, you can save up to 54% on your 3-year plan as the total bill is reduced to Rs 5004.

If you don’t wish to go that far with HMA, you can opt for the yearly plan at Rs 199 per month initiating savings of 33%.

HMA accepts payment through various modes. Some of them are:

• Visa
• Google Pay
• PayPal
• Apple Pay
• Alipay
• Discover

Apart from these, HMA also offers a 6-month plan and 24-month plan both at Rs299 per month. HMA business plan is also a good option if you want to have multiple user accounts.

Although these prices are not cheap they are competitive. HMA offers a 7-day free trial and 30-day money back guarantee with no questions asked. Users have to fill a refund request form.

Users must beware that if they purchase HMA from the Apple store or Google store they are not eligible for a refund. It is clearly stated in their terms and conditions that a refund is only allowed on direct purchase from the HMA site.

Server locations

HMA covers more than 95% of the countries in the world. It offers diversity in servers which makes it advantageous for you if you’re located away from the VPN. It also covers Middle Eastern and African countries. Most of the other VPN claim to cover the largest areas however they are mostly found in Europe and the US.

HMA encryption and Security

HMA implements strong security and encryption as follows:

1. It establishes a connection via RSA-2048 handshake.
2. PFS (Perfect Forward Security) is provided through ECDH key exchange.
3. SHA-384 hash authenticates the integrity of data.
4. Data encryption takes place through the AES-256 cipher.

It transmits the data as text strings and not in the English language thus ensuring that the users’ data is safe on unsafe open networks from hackers and spies.

IP leaks

As mentioned above, IP addresses can be leaked and confiscated by the government, police, hackers, or any other organization. HideMyass comes with built-in protection against IPv4 and IPv6 leaks. If you are a Windows or Android user then HMA does not leak your IP address anywhere.

However major concern arises over the protection offered in Apple’s iOS and macOS. HMA kill switch failed to work on Mac devices running macOS Catalina. Thus HMA is not recommended for apple users. There’s a high risk to your privacy and security if you’re on HMA.

HMA can’t be used in China

If you’re in China, HMA might not help you to view your favorite apps like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, etc. For accessing HMA there, you will have to download another VPN. On the contrary, you can get a Chinese IP address from anywhere in the world as it has its servers in China.

Customer Support

HMA comes up with an extensive knowledge base, FAQs, and detailed videos for its users. However, when it comes to living support in the form of human technicians HMA lags behind. It demoted its 24/7 support policy to CET 9 am to 11 pm. You can reach out to their team through the ticket system, social media, or email.

Torrenting

Unlimited bandwidth and no data capacity allow unlimited torrenting large and massive files without any traffic. It allows 8 P2P servers in six countries.

1. Czech Republic Prague
2. France, Paris
3. Germany, Frankfurt
4. Netherlands, Amsterdam
5. UK, London
6. USA, Miami
7. USA, New York
8. USA, Seattle

Overall User experiences

1. Device connections: HMA offers multiple device connections in one of its plans. However, you can only connect 5-10 applications at the same time.
2. Installation: You can install and download HMA in a few easy steps.

• Select a pricing plan: select the pricing plan you want to opt for. Fill in your billing details and proceed to checkout
• Copy the activation code: you’ll receive an activation code in your email. Copy it and click download.
• Log in with your activation code.

How should you choose a VPN?

1. Ask if they keep your data private?

One of the main reasons for using VPN is privacy. If the VPN is unable to keep your data safe then what’s the use? Although they must have a no-log policy which is clearly offered by HMA but many reports and reviews point towards it being careless in protecting your data safety. If safety is your major concern, then opting for HMA is not advisable.

2. Data limits

Ask your VPN provider if they have set data limits. HMA does not put any limits on data. In fact, it constantly unblocks sites like Netflix for you to enjoy your favorite shows on different servers.

3. Location of servers

HMA is located in more than 290 cities offering wide coverage of servers all over the world. Except for China, it has servers in most of the countries.

Final call

The very thought of mingling with customer data is appalling. HideMyAss undoubtedly offers great speed but even the latest HMA 5 version collects basic user details that get destroyed within 30 days. The prices are competitive and it is not overpriced.

However, we do not like the idea that it automatically charges for 12 months after your 7-day free trial expires. You have to be vigilant about this glitch. Don’t forget to stop your plan before it starts charging you. Its business plan is compatible to log in 5 devices which makes it a good choice for small businesses.

To sum up, we will recommend HMA to anyone who can go for high-priced VPN solutions. Though HMA is a decent VPN, yet you can’t fully trust it for privacy. Thus those who aren’t much bothered about security and privacy can go for this VPN. However, it is better to look for other VPNs if privacy is your major concern.

HMA FAQs

1. Do I need to have a NET framework for installing VPN?

To install a VPN for Windows, you need to install the Net Framework. When you install the HMA client, it notifies you if it is missing and directly redirects you to the download link. Here are the NET versions according to the Windows installed on your computer:

• Windows XP: NET Framework 3.5sp1
• Windows Vista, 7: NET Framework 4.5
• Windows 8: already includes NET Framework 4.5

You can also download the NET framework using the following steps:

1. Uninstall HMA VPN
2. Run a full NET Framework cleanup using this tool:
   http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=30135
3. Reboot
4. Install NET framework:
   v3.5sp1: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=22
   v4.5: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=30653
5. Reboot
6. Install HMA VPN

2. IS HMA available for free?

Yes, you can take the advantage of the 7 days free trial of the HMA services to avail of unblocking features. Some companies limit your data usage in free trial sessions but HMA does not put any limit on that. It works just like the original subscription.

However, if you don’t wish to continue with their services then don’t forget to cancel your subscription as they charge you the full amount once your free trial is over.

3. From where can I download HMA?

You can download the latest version of HMA ie. HMA version 5. You can download the official HMA version from their website or by clicking this link: https://www.hidemyass.com/installation-files.

Some other versions of HMA can be downloaded from here:

Download HMA Client Version 5:

• HMA Client Version 5

Download HMA VPN client v2.8.24.0 for Windows:

• HMA VPN Windows client

Download OpenVPN client (Windows):

• OpenVPN GUI Setup Windows

Download HMA VPN client version 2.2.7.0 for Mac 10.7+ Mountain Lion:

• Mac OSX client 2.2.7.0

Download Mac 10.5 & 10.6 Software version 1.1.7:

• Mac 10.5 & 10.6 version 1.1.7

4. For what purposes does HMA use my data?

In their privacy policy, HMA clearly states the purposes for which they use your data. These are:

Day of connection: They claim to use this data for troubleshooting and resolving your problems and contemplating the daily active users.

Amount of data transmitted: They record the rounded amount of data. They use it to plan for new network capacity and server improvements.

Connection events: To provide high-quality VPN service, they evaluate client data to seek answers like how many users get the same errors, etc.

5. What rights do I have in case my data is leaked?

Some rights you get are:

• Right to information: you can receive information about the processing of your valuable data before processing, during processing upon request.
• Right to rectification: you have the right to rectify your personal data.
• Right to access: you can ask them to give you a copy of your personal data which is under processing.