hide.me VPN for Windows

Pros

• Free tier for light users
• Many different country selections available
• IP Kill Switch option

Cons

• No Mac/Linux support
• Free tier has limited speed
• More limited country selection than some competitors

Hide.me VPN for Windows is a custom VPN client for users of the hide.me service, aimed at preserving internet privacy.

Hide.me has been in the VPN industry for a long time. From humble beginnings, it has turned into one of the most sought-after VPN companies in the world. Like most VPN companies, hide.me developed its own desktop app that is layered on top of OpenVPN, a popular base for VPN companies to use.

There are two main factors on which to judge a VPN: the client quality and the service quality. The client is very sleek and modern. It offers compatibility with all modern versions of Windows and has more features than some of its competitors, like Avast! Secureline. The client has lots of configurable options, like kill switch (turn off all internet access if the VPN disconnects to prevent your real IP address from being leaked) and country selection. It's very intuitive and easy to access, and we experienced no consistent performance issues with it.

The service quality was also fairly good. It maxed out our test servers with a 50 Mbps downstream. Hide.me offers a free option (which is the one we tested) as well as a higher tier paid option. Even the free option allows advanced configuration for the user and has a good amount of features included.

Finally, the hide.me VPN for Windows app has a lot going for it. There are a few things left to be desired, such as a corresponding Linux and Mac app, but it's worth a shot for anyone who doesn't want to put out a big investment to surf securely.

Pros

• Free tier for light users
• Many different country selections available
• IP Kill Switch option

Cons

• No Mac/Linux support
• Free tier has limited speed
• More limited country selection than some competitors