Summary: Around the world, people are having their information stolen, their connections hacked, and their lives turned upside down. Over public and even home Wi-Fi networks, information is being intercepted, stolen, and used illegally. The best way to protect yourself from hackers, and even government surveillance, is with a proxy service. Proxy software provide their users with an encrypted tunnel for truly secure web traffic, and a server menu get you around content restrictions.
Best Proxy Service For 2017 Is ExpressVPN.
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Why Do I Need a Proxy Service?
Everyone’s online, all the time – we’re all guilty of it. “The scroll”, prowling on eBay, managing bank accounts, sending photos, working on the cloud.
Everyone’s connected, all the time, and very few people are connected on just one device anymore. All of that accessibility comes at a price though.
Like moths to a flame, hackers have become drawn to Wi-Fi hotspots, where security is lax, and users are oblivious.
Identity theft and fraud are soaring to the top as the fastest growing crimes in the world as hackers seize upon poorly protected connections and steal personal information.
What’s really crazy is that even your government is probably guilty of compromising your online privacy.
A proxy service solves all of these problems though, and protects your connection rather than your device, securing data transfer from unauthorized third parties.
When your IP address is blocked and you’ve connected to a remote server, a proxy service has the added benefit of giving you access to whatever content is available online in that country.
It’s as if you were right there, circumventing censorship and making geo-restrictions a laughable obstacle.
What is a Proxy Service?
If you’ve never heard of a proxy service before, they’re a type of software that’s sold as a subscription service for a monthly fee.
Proxy software, or virtual private networks, provide users with an encrypted tunnel in the internet, routing their connection to a secure server in a location of their choosing.
It’s this feature coupled with the IP address blocking that makes a Proxy service perfect for getting around content blocks.
Plus, with military-grade encryption, your data is totally secure, and your device never even appears on the network you access.
You’re essentially invisible to every other user, and untraceable to any ISP, government entity, etc.
The Best Proxy Services Of 2017
There are a lot of options out there now for proxy services, and not all of the software is as simple and intuitive as you’d like it to be.
Here’s a quick rundown of the best 3 proxy software on the market, and how they compare in terms of ease of use, features, and connection quality.
#1ExpressVPN
If you’re new to proxy services and are a bit hesitant to start using one because of the techy factor, ExpressVPN is one of those that you really don’t have to worry about.
Their software is incredibly beginner-friendly, and lays everything out in an easy to understand design.
The auto connect feature gets you set up on the server with the least amount of traffic, so you always get the best connection possible every time.
If you get a little stuck, ExpressVPN has the customer support to get you unstuck.
- 24/7 support
- live and e-mail assistance
- average e-mail response time of less than 20 minutes
ExpressVPN has the connection speed and software compatibility to make streaming on any device a reality.
Even better, you can stream on two devices simultaneously, without having to pay any additional fees.
Plus, ExpressVPN totally stands behind their products with their 30 day money back guarantee.
You can even score a month of free service through their referral program if you recommend a friend and they sign up. Expressvpn is also the only proxy to still work with Netflix.
Read our full expressvpn review here
#2: IPVanish –
If you can’t seem to connect to an ExpressVPN server, IPVanish is worth looking into next.
They definitely have some shortcomings when compared to ExpressVPN, but their software also has a great interface, and is perfect for beginners.
IPVanish’s software has a real-time display of their servers response times, so you can cherry pick the one that’s going to give you the fastest, more reliable connection.
Of course, the real issue with IPVanish is really just that their software isn’t compatible with all operating systems, so there are limitations there.
If you need a VPN app for your iPhone or iPad, you’ll need to either stick with ExpressVPN, or shop around for an alternative.
There are also drawbacks where customer support is concerned.
Not only is it not 24/7, but there’s no live option for getting in touch with them, so you’re probably going to be waiting at least a few hours to hear back from them.
In addition, you should also keep in mind that there’s no referral program, and their money back guarantee is only 7 days.
All that aside though, there’s no doubt that IPVanish’s software is top of the line, and has some unique features.
IPVanish can be found through this website.
#3: HideMyAss–
HideMyAss is a decent enough Proxy Service, but one that I have some major frustrations with.
In my opinion, their software is just overly complicated – too many tabs, too many settings, and just generally way more options than the average user will ever need to mess with.
Not ideal for beginners at all, and the furthest thing from simple. ExpressVPN is a much better choice for ease of use.
HideMyAss’s connection isn’t nearly as fast or reliable as ExpressVPN’s either, so if you need a VPN for streaming, this definitely isn’t the best one for the job.
What’s really irritating is how unreliable the connection is – I’ve frequently been dropped by their servers, leaving my data wide open and exposed.
On top of that, even though their support is 24/7, it takes forever to get a response from them – I usually wait overnight to hear back on e-mail inquiries.
Even their live chat and phone support almost always comes with a five to ten minute wait, so it’s far from an instant option.
All in all, this just isn’t a Proxy Service I would recommend.
Their software may be compatible with all operating systems, but HideMyAss really complicates things for their customers, and then leaves them in the dark when they need help.
HideMyAss is here.
Conclusion: Use ExpressVPN for Fast, Unlimited Access
Since not everyone out there has ever heard of a Proxy service, let alone actually used one, it’s super important that a Proxy service not only be secure and effective, but very easy to use.
The best proxy services have that and more, and there are definitely plenty to choose from.
With user-friendly software, you can effortlessly protect your data, secure your connection, and access any content you want from any location in the world.
The application is simple, and the results are amazing.
I recently bought into PrivateInternetAccess.com. 5 devices, $40/year, easy to install and use on iOS and Mac (my systems of choice), seems speedy enough (from Austin TX; we’re a pretty well-wired city).