The Best HideMyAss Alternative 2022 [Secure HMA Replacements]

At first look, HideMyAss (HMA) seems to be an honest digital personal community (VPN). It permits nameless looking and comes with many options and powerful safety, however some main shortcomings in different areas could ship customers on the lookout for a HideMyAss various. 

Key Takeaways:

• With intensive options and a laudable person interface, HideMyAss has a few of the hallmarks of a top-tier VPN, however two flaws set it again: an over-reliance on digital servers and a nasty observe document relating to privateness. 
• All our high HideMyAss options characteristic extra bodily, bare-metal servers than digital servers. Additionally, they haven’t been caught possessing logs on person on-line actions.  
• ExpressVPN and NordVPN are the perfect options to HideMyAss. Although their server networks are technically smaller, they’re extra unfold out and the servers themselves are of higher high quality.
• Surfshark, Non-public Web Entry and CyberGhost are nice budget-friendly options in case you’re on the lookout for one thing cheaper that also has a big community of servers.

Whereas a big server unfold means extra places to connect with, HMA goes overboard with its server unfold — 1,000 servers in 290 places means there’s a median of fewer than 4 servers per location. Each HMA node should be beneath excessive load always, which could have a drastic influence on pace. 

One other smoking gun: HMA has servers in North Korea, the place it’s all however not possible for an out of doors firm to construct a knowledge heart. Earlier than the perfect HideMyAss options – corresponding to ExpressVPN – let’s take a deeper have a look at why you would possibly wish to transfer away from HMA.

• Is HideMyAss a Good VPN?

  HideMyAss has some robust factors, corresponding to encrypted connection, nice person interface and first rate pricing. Nevertheless, it has main weaknesses, together with poor privateness and an over-reliance on digital servers.

• Is HideMyAss VPN Free?

  No, HideMyAss shouldn’t be a free VPN. Nevertheless, it gives a seven-day free trial and a 30-day money-back assure to let customers get a really feel for its options.

• Is HMA VPN Proxy Unblocker Protected?

  In accordance with Chrome stats, HMA proxy unblocker shouldn’t be protected and was faraway from the Chrome retailer resulting from malware or lack of upkeep.

High Alternate options to HideMyAss

Why Search for a HideMyAss Various?

Now, digital servers should not inherently unhealthy, however bodily, bare-metal servers are virtually at all times higher for a VPN (study in regards to the distinction in our digital vs bodily server information).  

Some VPN suppliers may be dishonest about the place they route your site visitors. They could provide digital servers that seem like in a safe nation, however route your site visitors by means of a harmful jurisdiction. 

Even worse, HMA gives the PPTP protocol for its digital servers, which could be very simple to crack. Utilizing a weak protocol corresponding to PPTP places customers at nice threat. To know the extent of this threat, you first have to grasp the framework on which digital servers are constructed. 

Digital Server Safety

Digital servers are digital replications of bodily servers. They’re delivered by means of the information heart . A knowledge heart can host a number of servers, and these digital servers function by sharing sources from a bodily server. This makes them cheaper, however much less safe. 

Given the low safety degree of digital servers, it’s vital to make use of safe protocols like OpenVPN, WireGuard or IKEv2. 

One other downside with digital servers is that they are often gradual, significantly if the information heart they’re hosted on is much away out of your location. 

HMA Proxy Unblocker

HMA additionally gives a free Chrome extension known as HideMyAss VPN Proxy Unblocker, which lets you entry HMA proxy servers from any location on the earth. HideMyAss Proxy Unblocker is much like the HMA VPN, in that it retains you nameless on-line by providing you with a brand new IP tackle. Not like a VPN, it doesn’t encrypt your site visitors.

Sadly, Chrome stats deem HMA Proxy Unblocker unsafe as a result of it was taken down from the Chrome retailer, which can be resulting from an absence of upkeep or the presence of malware. 

The Kretsinger Case 

HMA additionally falls brief by way of privateness. In 2011, a cybercrime linked to an IP tackle owned by HMA proved it to be conserving logs of person exercise, regardless of claiming in any other case in its privateness coverage. A 23-year-old hacker-activist named Cody Kretsinger bought in bother with the legislation after he hacked into the web site of Sony Photos. 

The FBI recognized Kretsinger as a suspect after they traced the hack to an IP tackle on one among HMA’s servers, after which subpoenaed the VPN service. HMA supplied Kretsinger’s IP tackle and site, proving its privateness coverage was insincere. 

To be clear, we’re under no circumstances condoning cybercrime, however when a VPN supplier whose function is to guard on-line privateness does the exact opposite, it’s exhausting to belief that supplier. It’s value noting that this incident was over 10 years in the past. Which will make it simpler to miss for some customers, however not for others. 

Given the doubtless giant variety of unreliable digital servers in HMA’s server community and its historical past of sharing person logs, it’s comprehensible why somebody would search for options to HideMyAss.

What Makes the Finest HideMyAss Various?

On this article, we’ve really helpful some HideMyAss options that boast comparable or superior server networks whereas guaranteeing safety and privateness. Because the uncooked variety of servers isn’t a very significant metric, it’s not the one factor we’ve considered, but it surely’s extra vital right here than it often is.

1. ExpressVPN — Finest general VPN with over three,000 servers
2. NordVPN — Inexpensive VPN with large community of 5,500+ servers in over 50 international locations
3. Surfshark — Characteristic-rich VPN with over three,200 servers and limitless connections
4. Non-public Web Entry — Low-cost VPN with huge server community
5. CyberGhost — Low-cost VPN with broad server unfold with 9,000+ servers in over 80 international locations

Our high selections are premium VPN companies with extra strong server networks than HMA. Whereas a few of them have digital servers, these servers make up only a small section of the server community. For instance, solely 38 out of the eight,000 servers on CyberGhost’s community are digital. 

All of the HideMyAss options on this article are respected no-logs VPNs which have nice privateness observe data, not like HMA. We’ll break down what every of those VPN companies has to supply, and spotlight the methods through which they outperform HMA with regard to their server community and privateness safety. 

5 Finest HideMyAss Alternate options

Let’s go over the 5 greatest HideMyAss options, beginning with our best choice, ExpressVPN. 

Extra particulars about ExpressVPN:

ExpressVPN is a premium VPN service that has top-of-the-line server distributions, with three,000 servers spanning 160 places in 94 international locations. Not like HMA, solely three% of ExpressVPN’s servers are digital. This implies there’s much less reliance on digital servers. 

The VPN supplier has a clear observe document and a well-explained privateness coverage. It doesn’t gather any info with the digital footprint of a specific person. While you join the service, it collects your e mail tackle and cost info. Then again, it has no enterprise together with your authentic IP tackle or looking historical past — primarily knowledge that can be utilized to disclose your on-line id. 

Premium-Degree Streaming Efficiency

Though ExpressVPN doesn’t have any specialty servers for streaming, all its servers unblock streaming companies like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video and BBC iPlayer. Not surprisingly, it earned the highest spot on our greatest VPN for streaming.

The one main draw back with ExpressVPN is its value. At $6.66 per 30 days (15-months plan) even on the yearly plan, it’s dearer than different choices on this listing. That mentioned, it’s a premium VPN with nice performance, so in case you have the cash to spend, it’s positively value it. You may at all times use the 30-day money-back assure in case you’re unhappy.

ExpressVPN Plans

Extra particulars about NordVPN:

• Pricing: $three.29 per 30 days (two-year plan)
• Supplier web site: nordvpn.com

NordVPN has a really giant community of servers, with over 5,000 bare-metal servers positioned in 59 international locations; fortunately, NordVPN has no digital servers. Even with out digital servers, every NordVPN server has sufficient bandwidth to go round.

The VPN supplier doesn’t fall brief on the privateness entrance, both. As with different premium VPNs, it maintains a no-logs coverage, which suggests it doesn’t gather any info that can be utilized to disclose your id. It has additionally by no means been caught logging the community site visitors of customers.

NordVPN solely collects your e mail tackle and cost info, which it makes use of for service supply. 

Get a Number of Specialty Servers With NordVPN

NordVPN has one of many richest collections of specialty servers in the marketplace. For starters, it gives devoted P2P servers, that are optimized for torrenting. 

NordVPN’s standout specialty servers are the double VPN servers. These servers encrypt your web connection twice by routing it by means of two VPN servers. They’re helpful once you wish to enhance safety at the price of pace. Past that, you get obfuscated servers, devoted IP servers and Onion over VPN servers (learn this NordVPN information on server places to study extra about these servers).

One other wonderful thing about NordVPN is its value. For those who go for the two-year plan, it’s simply $three.29, lower than half that of ExpressVPN. You may learn our NordVPN overview to study extra.

Extra particulars about Surfshark:

• Pricing: $2.49 per 30 days (two-year plan)
• Supplier web site: surfshark.com

With over three,200 servers reaching 140 places in 95 international locations, Surfshark has a really spectacular server community. It has a superb unfold of servers throughout places, which isn’t the case for HMA. Surfshark options digital servers in its community, although nearly all of its servers are naked steel. 

Surfshark isn’t any totally different from its counterparts in the way in which it handles privateness, because it doesn’t maintain any logs on customers. It additionally doesn’t document your actual IP tackle, the web sites you go to or your VPN exercise. Nevertheless, it does log connection timestamps and your person ID, which it deletes 15 minutes after you disconnect. 

MultiHop VPN Server Places

Surfshark’s MultiHop servers (the identical characteristic some VPN suppliers name double VPN) are specialty servers that allow you to route your web site visitors by means of two servers positioned in numerous international locations. This provides an additional layer of privateness and safety to your internet site visitors.

Surfshark can also be very low cost, particularly contemplating you get limitless simultaneous connections. At simply $2.49 per 30 days on the 2-year plan, it’s the most cost effective choice to this point on this listing, and it additionally boasts a 30-day money-back assure.

Surfshark Plans

• : Limitless GB bandwidth,
  Limitless units
• : Limitless GB
• : Limitless
• :

Extra particulars about Non-public Web Entry:

PIA is a wonderful various to HMA due to its comparatively strong server community. Its servers are unfold throughout 84 international locations, and it has a superb focus of servers in every location. PIA has a a lot better server unfold in comparison with HMA, which has simply 1,100 servers, however spreads itself skinny throughout 290 places. 

This over-propagation of servers can result in slower speeds and poorer efficiency, because of the overhead that comes from servers being assigned extra connections than they’ll deal with in every location. 

Privateness-wise, PIA has by no means been caught sharing delicate knowledge of customers, not like HMA. Additionally, it has a really detailed privateness coverage. While you learn by means of it, you’ll discover that it solely collects your e mail tackle and cost info, which it makes use of for service supply. PIA shops this info in such a fashion that it could’t reveal the id of a specific person. 

One flaw with PIA, although, is that it doesn’t get into some streaming companies like Hulu and BBC iPlayer. However, this isn’t very totally different from HMA, which was unable to unblock Amazon Prime and Hulu. 

Server Obfuscation With PIA Shadowsocks

PIA helps you to improve on-line privateness utilizing its Shadowsocks proxy. Whereas a proxy doesn’t encrypt your connection, it boosts your on-line privateness by disguising your VPN connection as common internet site visitors. This makes it exhausting to inform that you simply’re utilizing a VPN.

Non-public Web Entry is one other budget-friendly choice, with its 2-year plan costing solely $2.19 per 30 days.

Normal Plans

Extra particulars about CyberGhost:

• Pricing: $2.29 per 30 days on the three-year plan, plus three months free
• Supplier web site: cyberghostvpn.com

CyberGhost is one other safe VPN supplier with a superb server unfold. It has over eight,000 servers in 115 places unfold throughout 91 international locations. With a balanced server community corresponding to this, customers have a superb variety of servers to select from in every location, which isn’t the case for HMA. Like HMA, CyberGhost has digital servers. Nevertheless, it doesn’t over-rely on them. 

CyberGhost gives nameless IP addresses and has a normal privateness coverage that exhibits its dedication to defending its customers. It’s bought a no-logs VPN and has by no means been caught sharing person logs. It doesn’t maintain tabs in your on-line exercise, and due to this fact can’t share your info with anybody. As with different reliable VPN companies, CyberGhost solely collects your e mail tackle, title, IP tackle, approximate location (nation solely) and cost info. The supplier claims to make use of this info to make sure seamless service supply. 

CyberGhost’s obtain speeds are fairly weak, although it had excessive add speeds and minimal latency primarily based on our U.S. pace exams. You may learn our CyberGhost overview to see its pace take a look at outcomes, but it surely does lag behind HMA in that regard. 

Bypass Web Censorship With CyberGhost’s NoSpy Servers

CyberGhost has a number of specialty servers, however the standout ones are the NoSpy servers, that are CyberGhost’s in-house servers constructed as an additional hedge in opposition to the prying eyes of your web service supplier and snoopy governments that would subpoena CyberGhost regarding person knowledge. They’re additionally one of many superior options that make CyberGhost an ideal VPN for Russia and different repressive regimes.

When it comes to value, CyberGhost is without doubt one of the least expensive VPNs in the marketplace. Its three-year-plan is simply $2.29 per 30 days, and also you even get a further three months without spending a dime on high of that. There’s additionally a beneficiant 45-day money-back assure.

CyberGhost Plans

Does HideMyAss Preserve Logs?

HideMyAss has, the truth is, been caught conserving logs on person exercise when it revealed the id of a person named Cody Kretsinger, in 2011 to the FBI. Kretsinger was later tried and sentenced to a yr in jail for hacking Sony Photos Leisure.  

Closing Ideas

HideMyAss’s server community and its no-logs coverage fall brief. Sadly, these are key areas of a VPN that may’t be simply neglected, therefore the necessity for options. Fortunately, we’ve you coated with the HideMyAss options on this article.

ExpressVPN and NordVPN are the perfect selections resulting from their nice server unfold and different top-notch options, although they’re additionally the costliest. For those who want one thing a bit extra budget-friendly that also boasts a big community of servers, try Surfshark, Non-public Web Entry or CyberGhost as an alternative.

Which of those options to HideMyAss is your greatest choose? Do you will have another suggestions? Tell us within the remark part beneath, and as at all times, thanks for studying.