What is a French IP address?

As you probably know, every device connected to the Internet uses an IP address to be identified in the large network that forms the World Wide Web, also known as the Internet. Moreover, every ISP (Internet Service Provider) or hosting provider has assigned a range of IP addresses that it distributes to its subscribers. Next, the assignment of an IP block is done geographically, thus, the location of every device connected to the Internet that uses a certain IP address is known with a fair precision.

That is exactly the reasoning behind geo-restrictions imposed by certain sites. Thus, streaming channels like Netflix or Hulu choose to provide content to users located in selected areas or countries. The geo-blocking mechanisms are based on IP address filtering.

A French IP address is an IP that is assigned to an ISP or hosting provider that provides Internet services in France. The most common French IPs have the following format:

• 57.0.0.0 to 57.255.255.255
• 90.0.0.0 to 90.127.255.255 (France Telecom)
• 78.192.0.0 to 78.255.255.255 (Free SAS)
• 92.128.0.0 to 92.191.255.255  (France Telecom)
• 86.192.0.0 to 86.255.255.255  (France Telecom)

If you are interested in finding more info regarding the French IP blocks you should check this post.

Why would you need a French IP from your VPN provider?

There are several reasons one could consider when searching for a French IP. Let’s take them one by one.

Protecting online privacy while browsing

While traveling or when accessing the Internet from public places or even at home it is recommended to protect yourself from hackers by encrypting the traffic data that comes and goes to/from your devices. VPN services are doing exactly that and you should always have one at hand.

Why connect to a server in France? Why not to one in the United States or Canada, for example? First of all, you should know that what you win by encrypting the data you lose to the connection speed. And the distance to the server you are connecting to is also important. Thus, if you are located in France you should choose a server that is closed to your location and minimize the speed loss.

Accessing streaming sites that are only available for French users

That is probably the main reason users need a French IP for unblocking sites. There are a lot of streaming channels that are restricted to users located in France. By connecting to a VPN service with french IP the restricted sites are tricked and the access is allowed.

Here are several French restricted channels that can be unblocked by VPNs:

• FranceTV, FranceTV Pluzz, FranceTV Sport, Outre Mer 1ere, France 2, France 3, France 4, France 5, France O
• BeIn Sports (France)
• TF1
• BFM TV
• M6
• W9
• CanalPlay
• CanalPlus
• myCanal
• l’Equipe
• Eurosport (France)

Accessing games or forums restricted to French users

There are game servers or forums that also restrict the access based on the IP address. It may also happen that your IP address got banned and you need a clean one for getting back in the forum or into the game. A French IP VPN server with several servers located in France may be exactly what you need.

List of VPN providers with servers located in France

Finally, you may find below a list of several such France VPN services:

Do you know other French IP VPN / France IP VPN services that offer FR IP addresses? Feel free to share them in the comments.

UK VPN services provide your computer with a “virtual” connection to a VPN server, and it then behaves exactly as it would if you were actually in the United Kingdom.

What is a VPN with a UK IP address?

If you are traveling outside the UK or you are a UK expat, you may still get access to British TV shows that are streamed online even if they are geo-restricted. By subscribing to a VPN service (yes, you will need a VPN) and connecting to a server located in the UK. Such a server usually exposes a UK IP address, and it is seen as a regular UK Internet user. The good news is that most VPN providers offer access to UK servers. Take a look below at an extensive list of important description details about each provider.

What you can do with a VPN

With a VPN account, you can enjoy a vast array of services with your active VPN subscription; you can easily access Hulu, Netflix, or even use BBC iPlayer wherever you may be in the world! VPN for the UK will readily accept payments in pounds, use Paypal, or even credit card payments for your convenience.

Moreover, you do not need to be an internet geek to configure a VPN service online and unblock British TV. The VPN service provider will give you a step-by-step guideline for you to set up your VPN connection, and you will have your PC connect to any website you wish (including blocked sites), in as little as 5 minutes!

Besides unblocking streaming channels a VPN (Virtual Private Network) also provides increased online security, will protect you from ISP (Internet Service Provider) tracking, will help you stay secure while using public Wi-fi networks, will hide your online activities. Thus, using a VPN is a must these-days. But also keep in mind the VPN disadvantages.

United Kingdom VPN downsides

You may have imagined yourself watching UK TV shows or programs on the web from a remote country in the world, and you think to yourself this is just impossible! Currently, you can do that, but there are several downsides, which in mind aren’t that burdensome. They are as follows:

• Buffering. You will experience video buffering half-way through your streaming. This is normal, however, if it persists try contacting your VPN service provider and ask for a new IP address on a new server that has a faster connection.
• Connection dropping. If you happen to encounter an abrupt stop on your internet connection, reconnect your VPN, or refresh your connection. It may happen occasionally, but you should not worry about it as you can always contact your VPN service provider for technical support.

Although these are not somewhat technical problems, you can somehow carry on with your viewing and ignore such temporary nuances from time to time. Imagine all the amazing benefits you will get if you can conveniently access British TV shows and programs wherever you are? It is reason enough to continue and persist with your VPN monthly subscription account.

What channels can you access using UK VPN services?

It is very probable that you already know what site you want to unlock. Anyway, I am going to list several of the channels that I follow. If you know others that worth mentioning, please share them in the comments.

• BBC iPlayer – Great for watching Formula 1, Master Chef, EastEnders, Louis Theroux, Poldark, Ordinary Lies, and many more.
• ITV – Champions League, Saturday Night Takeaway, Emmerdale, Coronation Street, TOWIE, etc.
• Sky Go – Arrow, Game of Thrones, Blacklist, and many more.
• UTV – Britain’s Got Talent, Big American Food Trip, Vera, etc.
• Channel 4 – Indian Summers, The 100, Supernatural, PokerStars.com, Raised by Wolves, Gogglebox, etc.
• BlinkBox – Latest movies: Paddington, Interstellar, The Hobbit, Better Call Saul, etc.
• Wuaki TV –  The most popular UK TV series, and the best films from independent filmmakers.
• 4Music – For thosewho love music and pop culture.
• AbsoluteRadio – Live music, Rock ‘N’ Roll Football.

List of VPNs with UK servers

After some extensive search, I have found 15 good United Kingdom VPN services (probably the best VPNs) that offer UK IP addresses. If you are interested, take a look below and don’t forget to share your experience with us after you try one.

1. NordVPN – Probably the best VPN on the market with plenty of server locations. It is fast, reliable, and it offers great value for the money. Additionally, you may benefit from the 30-day money-back guarantee policy.
2. HMA –It provides access to over 800 servers in 300+ locations in 182 countries. More, HMA VPN offers over 113,309 VPN IPs, keeps changing between them, and you need never appear in the same place for long. For only $11.32 per month. About 100 servers in the UK.
3. ibVPN – One of my favorite VPN providers (take a look at my extensive ibVPN review)., probably the best VPN for torrenting. The guys that handle the support are very friendly and helpful. You may try the service for 24 hours for free (no credit card required) and, even after you subscribe, you benefit from 15 days money-back guarantee. Prices start from $4.95 per month and offer access to about 10 servers located in the UK. More than that the service includes Smart DNS access, advanced technology for unblocking websites, including the ones mentioned above. Also, you may benefit from 5 simultaneous connections, DNS leak protection, WebRTC leak protection, Stealth VPN, Double VPN, and Tor over VPN.
4. PureVPN – Great VPN provider with a lot of servers and many add-ons that can help you do a lot of VPN related stuff. There are plenty of UK servers to choose from and 5 simultaneous connections. Thus the access to UK channels is ensured. The starting price is $9.95/month with lower rates for annual and semi-annual plans. You may choose from various payment options.
5. StrongVPN – One of the oldest players in the VPN market, provides access to hundreds of servers all over the World and more than 20 in the UK. StrongVPN is somehow expensive, starting from $15/month.
6. HideIPVPN – HideIPVPN is a smaller provider, with a limited number of servers and locations. But it provides excellent access to UK servers for $5.99 per month. Also, Smart DNS is included in more expensive plans. The support is excellent and the server speed is quite good.
7. VyprVPN – It is one of the biggest VPNs, advertised as the World’s fastest VPN. With 700+ servers and 200,000+ global IPs, connections are always available. Prices start at $6.67/month. It may be a good choice for those looking for a specific location for their UK server.
8. TunnelBear – Probably the nicest VPN service with great design and wonderful site. Simply great! It is built with love for those that prefer a very friendly and funny service. The apps are so easy to use that even computer illiterates are capable of using them without any issues. No much to say about the number of servers, as you are only allowed to choose the country, not the exact server location. You can even get a free (but limited) version of the service, but the premium packages start at $4.99/month. Highly recommended for those looking for an ON/OFF VPN button.
9. IPVanish – With 10 VPN servers in the UK you can surely access the sites you want. IPVanish offers access to the Tier-1 VPN network, and the server speed is excellent. They provide access to hundreds of servers all over the World. All for $10/month.
10. BoxPN – BoxPN is a good provider, with a limited number of UK IP servers. From $9.99/month.
11. ExpressVPN – Important VPN service with a high number of servers. High speed, ultra-secure, and easy to use. Instant setup. 30 Day Money Back Guarantee. It starts at $12.95/month.
12. Witopia – It can bypass blocks from UK content providers, but they only offer annual plans for $49.99.
13. CyberGhost VPN – Very modern provider with excellent looking applications, good servers, and great support. CyberGhost VPN also offers free access to traffic limitations. Premium subscriptions are available starting at $6.99/month. Highly recommended for German speakers.
14. Private Internet Access – Another big player (take a look at my PrivateInternetAccess review), with several unique payment methods like Ripple, Stellar, Gift Cards. The PIA VPN apps are user-friendly and offer strong encryption. It is quite popular these days. Available for $6.95/month.
15. VPN Tunnel – The Swedish VPN is an excellent provider with several servers in the UK. The accessing price starts at 9.99 Euro per month.

Of course, there are several free VPN providers that also offer access to servers in the United Kingdom. However, most free VPNs are already blocked by popular streaming channels. So, they are of no use when it comes to watching your favorite streaming website.

Conclusion

To sum up, most of the sites that stream British shows can be unblocked from the outside UK using United Kingdom VPNs. The only condition is to choose a provider that offers servers located in the UK. Further, if you are not happy with the speed provided by the VPNs, you may also consider a SmartDNS service like the one offered extra by ibVPN, PureVPN, or HideIPVPN.

Enjoy!

Most VPN providers have a disclaimer or clause in their TOS to forbid the use of their services for P2P traffic of any nature (illegal or not). Learn how to find the proper P2P VPN provider and secure your downloads.

What is a DMCA complaint?

A DMCA complaint or Digital Millennium Copyright Act notice is a notification to a company that they are either hosting or linking to copyright-infringing material. The notice asks for the removal of the copyrighted works.

When a VPN user downloads copyrighted materials (movies, books, etc.), then the IP of the VPN server can be seen by those who monitor illegal downloads (it’s another story who these persons/companies are) as the source of the download. Next, a DMCA notice is sent to the hosting provider of the specific VPN server. Finally, the complaint is forwarded to the VPN provider.

When a VPN provider receives a DMCA complaint, it needs to reply with the proper response and needs to take action to prevent these kinds of actions. In the case of repeated DMCA complaints, the hosting provider may terminate the contract with the VPN company.

Many VPN servers got suspended by server hosting providers due to DMCA complaints. That is why VPN providers are cautious when it comes to P2P downloading traffic.

What is a P2P VPN service?

A P2P VPN or torrent VPN provider is a VPN service that allows its users to download torrents while connected to VPN servers. These services are also called “VPNs for torrents.”

How does such a provider deal with the DMCA complaints? It is not a simple question to answer. Some of the VPN companies use their servers and somehow ignore the DMCA notices. Others have contracts with hosting providers from countries (Netherlands, Lithuanian, Ukraine, Luxembourg, Russia) where the legislation is more relaxed regarding the torrent downloads, or it is not strictly applied. The fact is that, in a way or another, the DMCA complaints don’t affect the users and neither the VPN providers.

>> Is torrenting with VPN legal?

A must-have: KillSwitch

An essential feature when it comes to VPN torrent downloads is the KillSwitch. You need to make sure the provider has it to protect your online identity.

The KillSwitch is a fail-safe mechanism that disables your Internet connection or closes downloading apps when the VPN connection drops. Thus, even if the VPN fails your real IP address will not be exposed.

The best torrent VPN services

Are there free VPN providers right for torrenting anonymously? The answer is … NO.

Thus, you need to take into consideration premium services. Take a look below to 7 VPN services that can be used for anonymizing your torrent traffic, torrent VPN services. They all offer fast download speed, unlimited bandwidth, simultaneous connections, access to SOCKS proxies, advanced protection against leaks (WebRTC leak, DNS leak, IPv6 leak), money-back guarantee.

PureVPN

PureVPN is a top VPN provider with hundreds of servers located all over the World. The torrent traffic is allowed on certain servers. The PureVPN Kill Switch is available for the Windows client and closes down all Internet activities if the VPN fails for any reason.

ibVPN

ibVPN is an excellent VPN for torrent as it offers P2P friendly servers located in the Netherlands, Ukraine, Luxembourg, Canada, Sweden, Lithuania, Russia, and Hong Kong. They even have a special package called “Torrent VPN.” Also, you may benefit from their StealthVPN, Double VPN and Onion over VPN servers. You may try it with the 6-hour free trial account and read our complete ibVPN review.

The ibVPN Kill Switch function is available to their Windows and macOS VPN apps. It closes certain apps from a has to be defined (e.g., torrent apps).

PrivateInternetAccess

Another good provider for torrent downloading protection is PIA or PrivateInternetAccess (read our complete PIA review). They have an interesting approach regarding p2p traffic: it is redirected to certain servers located in the Netherlands.

The Private Internet Access Kill Switch completely stops the Internet connection if you are disconnected from the VPN. The smart feature is that it reactivates regular internet access when you deactivate the Kill Switch mode or exit the application.

HideIPVPN

HideIPVPN provides a smaller number of servers in locations like the Netherlands, Canada, Poland. But they are fast and good for downloading. Application Killer option (Kill Switch) is also available.

NordVPN

An advanced approached for those interested in anonymizing their downloads is to use Tor over VPN. NordVPN is a VPN service that makes this approach accessible. Thus, you will not only be protected by the VPN but also bu the Tor network.

NordVPN comes with kill switch technology that instantly shuts down any site or software you specify in advance. No worries about the accidental exposure of sensitive data.

TorGuard

TorGuard is a highly secure VPN service with servers optimized for the best possible performance when downloading torrents. It works on any OS, including Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, iOS and more.

IPVanish

Last but least, IPVanish can help you with the torrent downloads. It provides a lot of server locations and, as a top-tier VPN service provider, it provides very fast connection speeds.

Conclusion

If you are a regular user of BitTorrent or other torrent apps you surely need to get access to a VPN service. As mentioned above, not all VPN services allow torrenting through their servers. That is why I have compiled the above list. Also, there are other rules that you should keep in mind to download torrents safely. Enjoy!

Do you know other P2P VPN services?

Are you using a VPN while downloading torrents or another protection tool (like Peerblock)? Feel free to join the discussion below.

Step 1 – Know the available options

When you decide to choose VPN provider account for yourself, you just try to know more about what all is available in the market for that concern. There is a long list of VPN service providers available in the markets at present. Different users have different needs and priorities may be that is why everyone’s best is different from the other one.

Step 2 – Know what you need

The different priorities of different users could be like:

• Some will need VPN to bypass web world or internet restriction and access blocked sites.
• Others might use it to watch foreign online TV shows.
• Some might think about online anonymity and hiding their IP address.

VPN service providers try to get the largest number of required features in their particular service. They want to please the maximum number of users at the same time.

Step 3 – Know your priorities

But to choose VPN provider for yourself you should check it on the grounds of some criteria. These should include all your priorities and your expectation from the service, like:

• Take a look and find out the available server locations, as you might need the authorization to use the VPN in different locations in the course of time.
• Check the speed of VPN connection by reading the blogs and feedback of existing customers
• Consider closely the VPN account setup process, its installation and configuration should not be too complicated or long.
• Check the reliability of the service which certainly reflects the stability of the connection in the long run. Getting a high speed, easy to install VPN is of no use until it is reliable enough to work for a long time.
• Check the limit on bandwidth, i.e. the traffic offered. Generally, it is five to twenty GB per month but you can have unlimited bandwidth in some premium VPNs if you like.
• Check the technical support and the quality of after-sales service given by the VPN provider.
• Choose the VPN having ultra secure VPN protocols like OpenVPN and SSTP to provide you with the most secure and advanced encryption possible.

Step 4 – Make your choice

Finally, once you are through with the above-said points the next thing to do is to consider the price of the product and finalize your pick. You may find several VPN providers that I recommend. Take a look at each of them and see how they fulfill your needs.

How do you choose your VPN provider? What is the best option for you? Let us know in the comments below.

With VPN servers located in Asia and Australia, you can surf the web in perfect privacy and access websites restricted to local users from countries like Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Marshall Islands, Pakistan, Philippines, Seychelles, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, etc. This is of great use for Aussi or Asian expats or for those traveling abroad. Learn about Asian/Australian IP VPN.

What is an Asian/Australian IP address?

Every device connected to the Internet uses an IP address to be identified in the large network that forms the Internet. Moreover, every ISP (Internet Service Provider) has assigned a range of IP addresses that it distributes to its subscribers. The assignment of an IP block is done geographically, thus, the location of every device connected to the Internet that uses a certain IP address is known with fair precision.

An Asian/Australian IP address is an IP that is assigned to an ISP or hosting provider that provides Internet services in countries from Asia or Australia.

For example, in Australia the most common IP addresses have the following format:

• 1.128.0.0 to 1.159.255.255
• 49.176.0.0 to 49.191.255.255
• 49.192.0.0 to 49.199.255.255
• 60.224.0.0 to 60.231.255.255
• 101.160.0.0 to 101.191.255.255

If you are interested in finding more info regarding the Australian IP blocks you should check this post.

Why would you need an Asian/Australian IP address from your VPN provider?

There are several reasons one could consider when searching for an Asian/Australian IP address. Let’s take them one by one.

Protecting online privacy while browsing

Using a VPN when accessing the Internet from public places is a must. VPN services are protecting you from hackers.

Why connect to a server in Asia or Australia? By encrypting the data you lose to the connection speed. And the distance to the server you are connecting to is also important. Thus, if you are located in Asia or Australia you should choose a server that is closed to your location and minimize the speed loss.

Accessing restricted streaming sites

That is probably an important reason for many users. There are a lot of streaming channels that are restricted to users located in Asia and Australia.

Asian/Australian IP VPN providers

Here is a list of several VPN services that offer access to servers located in Asia and Australia:

Do you know other good VPN services that offer Asian/Australian IP addresses? Let us know in the comments below.

If you are seeking total online anonymity then VPN services are the right way to go. There are several free such services, but as anything free, they come with significant drawbacks (a lot of ads, slow connection speed, etc.).

What if you decide to pay for a premium VPN service? What are your options if you don’t have a credit card as most of the internet users from China, India, etc. don’t. Then, you should use PayPal. Here are the steps you could follow. This is not going to take you 5 minutes, maybe 1 week or 1 month, but it’s a working solution.

1. Create a PayPal account

Go to PayPal.com and create an account. Choose the Personal account and fill in the required info. My advice is to use an email address that you plan to use for a longer period of time. After your account is ready to proceed to the next step.

2. Fill your PayPal account with money

This is the most difficult step, but with a little bit of effort, you should be able to do it. The idea is that you need money to pay for the service and you have to work for them.

There are plenty of forums that offer simple online jobs that can be performed by (almost) anyone. Go, for example, on DigitalPoint forums, to the Services section, and browse for threads with the subjects containing WTH (Want To Hire) string. If you find something interesting that you think you could do, create an account, send a message to the job poster and … start working.

You should be able to easily do $10-20/month that would be enough to proceed to the next step.

3. Find a VPN service that accepts PayPal

There are VPN services that do not accept PayPal payments like Relakks, IPredator, BananaVPN, etc., but others do. Here are 6 such services:

• HideMyAss – from $11.32/month
• ibVPN – from $4.95/month
• NordVPN
• ExpressVPN
• PureVPN

That’s it! Good luck and keep me up to date on your progress!

What you need

Firstly, you need a PayPal, Bitcoin or a bank account. If you are located in a country that is not accepted by PayPal, or you can not have a Bitcoin or bank then this is not for you.

Then, you need to to find out what VPN service is more suitable for your readers:

• Are they looking for a solution that unblocks Hulu or Netflix? Then you need a VPN that offers US IP addresses.
• Are they looking for a UK service to unblock BBC iPlayer?
• How much can they afford to spend on such service?
• Do they need increased security? Then OpenVPN is a must.
• Are they mostly located in China or Iran? Then you need to make sure that the service you refer is available in those locations.

How do you find all these?

Simple! Just pay a little attention to your blog stats and comments. They should offer enough info to help you make a good choice. Anyway, in the long term, you should try different affiliate programs and see what is the most profitable for you.

Another aspect is related to the commission earned by you. Usually, the commission is between 10-20%, but sometimes, for newer services, you can get more.

Top VPN affiliate programs

Here are some affiliate programs you could join:

• HideMyAss – One of the most generous VPN affiliate program on the market. It offers 100% off the first purchase from the monthly plans and 30-40% for the semi-annual and annual plan. The commission is paid via PayPal, bank transfer, and Payoneer Card.
• StrongVPN – It’s one of the most important VPN services on the market. That is, of course, a plus, but there are also downsides: there are a lot of users that are not very pleased with the service due to the high load. By referring StrongVPN you can earn one-month cost for a package purchased – starting from $7 and up to $30 per sale.
• HideIpVPN – Quite popular these days. They offer 15% commission on all payments.
• NordVPN – Similar to HideMyAss program.
• ExpressVPN – Flat fee commissions, from $13 per monthly plan sale to $36 per annual plan sale.
• PrivateInternetAccess – Earn up to 33% in commission on new and recurring sales over the lifetime of a customer.
• PureVPN – 100% for the monthly plan and 40% for the other plans.
• ibVPN  – ibVPN is a new VPN service and offers 25%-50% commission for all payments, including the recurring ones. This is a great offer!

The last step is to start promoting the service. It’s important not just to link to the service or show a banner. You should first try it and write an honest review with pros and cons.

How much could you earn?

This depends on many factors like the number of readers for your blog, the trust they have in what you recommend, the way you present the service, etc. I would say that for an average blog promoting 1-2 services $50-100/month is a possible goal.

What VPN service do you promote? What do you think is the best VPN affiliate program?

If this is your case, web proxies can save your day and let you access sites that are restricted by the school or company policy (Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, etc.). There are plenty of web proxies and places you can search for them, but finally, the best are those that are online for a longer time (more than 1-2 months).

How web proxies work

A web proxy acts as an intermediate between your computer and the site you are trying to visit. 

When your computer requests a Web page, it is retrieved by the proxy server and then sent to your computer. The effect of this action is that the computer hosting the Web page never comes into direct contact with anything on your home network, other than the proxy server. Thus, your public IP address cannot be seen by the site that you visit.

Here is a list of 5 web proxies that are available for more than 5 years and that I consider to be the best:

1. Hide My Ass

Website existing since 2005
URL: http://hidemyass.com

2. Anonymouse

Website existing since 2004
URL: http://anonymouse.org/

3. Proxy.org

Website existing since 2004
URL: http://proxy.org/

Pros & cons of browsing anonymously using web proxies

A proxy site is a website that allows you to connect to the internet without logging your IP address.  It acts as an intermediate between you and the site you want to visit. The sites you are connecting to will not see any requests or log entries from your IP address, but from the proxy server instead. Thus, you are able to surf in secrecy and change your IP address.

This can be especially useful when visiting sites while at work or school, or bypassing websites that only allow one account per computer.

Here are several web proxies pros and cons you should know before using a web proxy.

Web proxies pros

• You don’t have to install anything
• Easy to use: just type in the desired URL and press Go/Submit
• There are plenty of proxies to choose from
• You can use secure proxies (https) to increase your privacy
• Best way to unblock sites (MySpace, Facebook, YouTube) from school, work or internet cafes
• There are paid versions that are more secure and faster (e.g. htpp://proxy.org)

Web proxies  cons

• The IP addresses of web proxies are most of the time well-known and often blacklisted
• Streaming applications (like online radio or TV stations) are not supported. So you are not really able to watch YouTube videos
• Your personal information can be intercepted by the proxy owner (except for the https proxies)
• You are not able to choose the country or the location of the IP to be used
• Many proxies are full of ads, some of them being quite annoying (pop-ups, pop-unders, banners, etc)
• Most of the web proxies have a short life.

3 sites to find good web proxies

Web proxies are probably the simplest way to hide your IP address. Just enter the URL of the site you want to visit anonymously in the text box of the web proxy and press the Submit/Go button. Of course, there are downsides to this hide IP approach, but the idea is that it’s a solution that works.

There are plenty of web proxies available on the net, but where to find them? And more important, where to find good, working web proxies? Poor performance or slow download/upload speeds has been the biggest traditional complaint about using proxy servers.

Let’s see 3 sites that provide proxy servers you can use.

Public Proxy Servers

PublicProxyServers is an independent, free service to allow you to find proxy servers for privacy and to circumvent browsing controls.

The site is excellent as it tracks the performance of each server on their free proxy list. You can access the proxies access time if you are looking for the fastest proxies. Want to appear that you’re coming from another country? Sort the list by country!

>> Public Proxy Servers

Centurian

Centurian is another site that offers much more than a free proxy list. The list can be sorted by the criteria of how new it is on the list, country, or script used to provide the proxy server. The speed of the proxy servers is shown graphically with a bar, that represents its score out of 10 for speed.

>> Centurian

Hide IP Proxy

Hide-IP-Proxy is a blog that posts working web proxies. The main advantage is that you can subscribe by email to get fresh proxies everytime they are posted. Also, you can find proxies listed by country and by state (for the US).

>> Hide-IP-Proxy

What proxies do you use? What do you think are the best web proxy sites? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

OpenVPN

OpenVPN uses the OpenSSL library to provide encryption of both the data and control channels. It lets OpenSSL do all the encryption and authentication work. Thus, it allows OpenVPN to use all the ciphers available in the OpenSSL package. It’s a little more challenging to set up that PPTP but with the right tutorials an average computer user should not encounter any problems.

What is an OpenVPN VPN provider?

OpenVPN VPN providers use the OpenVPN protocol to connect users to VPN servers. Every provider uses its configurations to set up the connections, depending on the desired level of encryption.

How do the VPN providers integrate OpenVPN?

There are two ways OpenVPN can be integrated. The first one by using the OpenVPN user interface and predefined configuration files provided by the VPN service. Thus, when you subscribe to such a VPN service, you need to download some .opvn files that will be used by the OpenVPN UI to connect to the desired servers. The advantage of this approach is that you may use several VPN services from the same interface and connect to a large variety of servers.

The second approach is to integrate the OpenVPN connection library in custom build apps. Thus, you don’t need to install OpenVPN yourself. It will be done silently by the app installer. The advantage offered by such apps is that you may switch between different VPN protocols (for example from OpenVPN to PPTP, L2TP or SSTP).

My recommendation is to go for the second type of providers if you are a regular VPN user and you plan to use one service at a time. However, for users with special needs (lots of locations and IPs), the OpenVPN UI can be a more straightforward alternative.

List of OpenVPN VPN providers

Finally, here is the list of several OpenVPN based VPN services (alphabetically ordered):

What is a US VPN service?

A US VPN service is a VPN that offers access to one or more servers located in the United States. A more extended definition includes the VPN services that change your IP to a US one, but the actual server is not located in the United States. They provide basically the same service.

What is a US IP address?

A US IP address is an IP that is assigned to an ISP or hosting provider that provides Internet services in United States. The most common United States IPs have the following format:

• 3.0.0.0 to 12.255.255.255
• 13.0.0.0 to 13.63.255.255
• 15.0.0.0 to 22.255.255.255
• 26.0.0.0 to 32.127.255.255
• 33.0.0.0 to 35.127.255.255

You may find more info regarding the US IP blocks by checking this post.

How to choose a US VPN provider?

Firstly, take a look at the suggested providers from the list below. Your choice depends on your budget and on what you need. For each provider take a look at the number of locations in the United States and the number of IP addresses. Also, I recommend starting with the VPN services that offer a trial. You can easily setup a free account and see how they fit your needs.

List of US VPN services

And, here it is the list of recommended VPN services with servers and/or IPs in the United States:

What you can use a US VPN for

When one connects to such a server all the Internet traffic is redirected to that server. Basically, there are 2 obvious reasons for using a US VPN:

• Unlock geo-restricted sites (sites that are designed and offered to US users) like Hulu, Pandora, Netflix, Spotify.
• Encrypt your Internet traffic and protect yourself from sniffing attacks (this is for US users that already have access to all the above-mentioned sites).

Conclusion

Premium US VPN providers offer a large number of US server options, with unlimited bandwidth and great browsing speed. And, the prices vary from $4 to $15 per month.

Do you know other good VPN services that offer US IP addresses? Feel free to mention them in the comments.