It is autumn, and not only the TV networks launch new seasons and series. In the VPN world new VPN clients are launched, and HideMyAss is one of the providers with major upgrades to their VPN clients.
The way a VPN client look does not really have to influence the way it works. A VPN client can look beautiful, but if the speeds provided once connected are poor, the beauty is in vain. A VPN provider can have an application that look awful, but if t the speeds are great and they give you access to Netflix and other online content, then it doesn’t really matter. Function is more important than looks. But, if someone manage to combine a good look with a quick head, then that is by far the best solution!
We have recently tested HideMyAss version 3.2a, and here are some of our thoughts on this new Windows version of the most popular of all VPN providers out there.
¨What’s up with the new HideMyAss client?
HideMyAss is the biggest of all VPN providers on the market. They have servers in more than 200 nations, and this is both a blessing and a curse. As they design their apps support needs to be made, so that users can connect to any of the nations in which a server can be found. If you consider a scroll down box then that means more than 200 countries to choose from. That is quite a lot! So, how did HideMyAss solve this and other stuff in their new app?
At the image above you can see the start screen as it will look in Windows. Most of the application can be found here, so let us start describing what you actually see on the picture.
The different modes in the HideMyAss application
- Location mode: If you first of all want to connect to a server in a certain nation, then location mode is what you need. Here you select which nation you want an IP address in and connect to a server in that nation.
- Instant mode: If all you want is to encrypt your online activity, use the instant mode. In an instant you will be connected to the closest and fastest VPN server available.
- Freedom mode: If you abide in a country where press freedom is limited, this is your mode. Maybe Twitter or Facebook is blocked? Go to freedom mode and connect, and you will at once be connected to a server in a nation in which you will have full freedom to use such services.
Now, you might wonder what else the HideMyAss application has to offer? Well, not so much more. The goal with this application is to make things as easy as possible. They have not added extra functions or possibilities in the app. If you read our introduction to the IPVanish application last week, then this HideMyAss application is the total opposite of the IPVanish applicaiton.
What about HideMyAss on Android?
If you decide to use HideMyAss on your Android device you will meet mostly the same functions as in the Windows application. Just like in Windows the application looks really nice and it is a delight to use, but again… we do lack some functions.
What do we miss in the HideMyAss application?
There are quite a lot of functions that we miss in the HideMyAss application at the moment. Here we will list those and why we miss them:
- VPN protocols: We miss the chance to decide which VPN protocol we want to use. The protocols influence both encryption levels and speeds in a great way, and that is why it would be important to decide for ourselves which VPN protocl we want to use.
- Freedom to choose server: It is very important to be able to decide which server to connect to for ourselves. It isn’t enough to be able to select a nation, but we would so much need the chance to be able to decide which server in a given nation we want to connect to. That becomes even more important in a world were services ban VPN providers and their IP addresses. Imagine that the HideMyAss server in Lyon works with French Netflix, but that is the only one. In the HideMyAss application you can not manually choose to connect to this server. That is really annoying!
- Lots of other functions: What about an Internet Kill Switch? Shouldn’t I be able to automatically start HideMyAss as my computer starts (if I want to)? Manually setup DNS servers?
There are lots of things that we miss, but most people will not suffer from the lacks. If your goal is to get an IP address in another nation then HideMyAss will help you to do so. If you want to encrypt your online activity or access social media sites unavailable in your nation at the moment, HideMyAss is perfect. For more information about HideMyAss, read our HideMyAss review. To visit their website, click the HideMyAss button beneath.
Have you tested the new HideMyAss VPN client? Did you like it? Were you satisfied with the functions available, or did you miss some of the functions we described, or maybe some other function? Write a comment and let us know your thoughts on the new HideMyAss application!
