Hidester Review
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The VPN industry continues growing as more and more people become aware of the importance of privacy protection, and the fact that a VPN offers the chance to overcome online restrictions efficiently. New services are being released on a regular basis and one of the latest options released is Hidester. This provider was established in 2017 and while it is relatively new, it comes with all the necessary features to make it to the to the list of the best options available. It is designed to be an effective, high quality service to overcome content restrictions. Hidestar strives to provide a user-friendly solution and the software is simple, yet innovative. Hidester will also help you to protect your information with strong encryption. Let’s find out more about Hidester and the pros of cons of this VPN service.
Security and Privacy
Hidester supports OpenVPN, a popular protocol that offers high protection and great stability. This is the option recommended for most cases, thanks to its effective combination of privacy and performance. There is also an exclusive and proprietary protocol called CamoVPN. Camo VPN is the best choice if you are in a country like China, where the internet is subject to strict censorship and where many VPN services are blocked. If you are not in a country that applies heavy restrictions and prefer to use Open VPN, you can simply change the protocol. There is also a proxy servers solution known and CamoWeb. This encrypted proxy allows you to browse fast and stream content without hassle, while providing advanced Smart Mode options to force traffic to pass through the proxy. Hidester uses AES-256-CBC TLS 2048 bits encryption, which provides a high level of security to keep your personal information and your online activities protected. It does affect speed when trying to attain your full bandwidth, but it shows that Hidester made all the right choices when it came to security. Instead of providing the option of outdated and exploitable VPN protocols, only OpenVPN and CamoVPN are available in the native app, and users can opt for the Camo Web proxy for web traffic encryption and better speeds. All server config files can be downloaded from the member’s area for users who rather opt for manual configurations.
As just mentioned, privacy and online freedom are the crucial aspects for Hidester. Many of the people who are in the team behind this service have first hand experience with censorship, since they come from countries where this is a core issue. This is why they have worked to develop a service that is secure and that doesn’t compromise their online freedom. There are no records kept of your online activities. Since the provider is based in Hong Kong, where there are no mandatory data retention laws, Hidester can offer a privacy policy that states that no logs are kept at all. The fact that your information and activities are not stored or monitored, means that even if authorities or other parties approach Hidester asking for records of what you do online, there is no data that the provider can provide as it doesn’t keep any. With Hidester you can browse, stream, download and more, securely and privately.
Hidester also features kill switch, which will ensure that your real IP address is protected at all times. Even if the VPN connection drops at some stage, your real IP address won’t be exposed because the kills switch automatically shuts the connection. You can browse with confidence, knowing that your identity and location won’t be revealed. Hidester also offers DNS leaks protection and WebRTC leak protection, covering every area of your connection to ensure that it remains secure and private. Hidester is also a good solution to download torrents, not only because it supports this option, but also because it offers the necessary security and speed to ensure that you can get the content that you want, without compromising your information.
IP & DNS Leak Test
Kudos to Hidester as the service passed all IP, DNS and WebRTC leak tests performed on various servers around the world. Although we tested with third party tools, Hidester also provides leak test tools directly from their website, and accessible from the app’s menu, allowing you to quickly test and approve of your connection before using it.
Features
Ease of use is another advantage of Hidester, they walk you through the process and provide apps for major platforms such as Mac, Windows, Linux, iOS and Android. There is a convenient function that allows you check the performance of the servers in Hidester’s network. You can click on the control’s menu icon to check the speed, connection, ping or score of different VPN services. The three categories are checked and the score value provided is a combination of the performances of each of them. Hidester also offers an ad blocking feature through its’ Web Proxy extension that lets you select from a variety of options. You can block ads and allow others, as needed free of cost, and get access to their free web proxy which can also be used directly from the site.
Getting started with the software is very easy. After signing up and purchasing a subscription, you only need to allow a few minutes to download the app and install it. The installation attempts to select the best default settings by asking you a series of questions during installation, but don’t worry about wrong answers as you can always change the settings later. Once Hidester is running on your device, a practical tutorial showing you all the steps needed to set up and to use the service is launched, making it easy even for first time users. There are also more detailed, extended guides in the website, in case, you need more information. If you need to re-launch the initial tutorial, they can be found under the menu, along with an extra section that explains the different connection protocols and their best uses.
DNS settings can be easily controlled from the application under the settings menu. Users can leave it at the default Hidester DNS servers, select from various known options from GoogleDNS, OpenDNS to Norton DNS, or simply opt to manually input addresses of your choice. The interface of the software can also be customized and there are many settings available that allow you to modify the appearance and other aspects of the client. It is possible to select between the Quick Mode and the Advanced Mode. The first one is the right choice for those who prefer simplicity. On the other hand, we have the Advanced Mode, which works well if you prefer to get access to additional data such as real-time ping response, a data transfer graph, and connection uptime. There is also a Deck Mode, which lets you have the software on view on your desktop at all times. You can enable this mode by reducing the icon on the top right and the interface will adjust its size to deck mode automatically.
The selection of servers is not as extensive as what others providers have to offer, but it is still more than enough to enjoy online freedom and access to content from around the world. They have options in over 40 countries including United States, Singapore, United Kingdom, Japan, Brazil, Mexico, India, Canada and Switzerland. It is likely that more servers are added in the future. Overall, the speeds of the service are fantastic, particularly when you use the unique protocols that Hidester provides: CamoWeb and CamoVPN.
Although included Proxy servers from VPN providers are never the best option for security, the company did a really extensive job of their Camo Web Proxy service, and it deserves to be looked at. For starters, it passes all web traffic through multiple encrypted proxies instead of just one. It works particularly well to bypass censorship to websites. Camo Web also caters to China and provides users the ability to force multiple traffic sources through the proxy tunnel as well as block DNS requests and UDP traffic. Although this would cause some software apps that use the internet to stop working correctly, it adds lots of security that would otherwise not be present when using a proxy, and can easily be switched on and off through Smart Mode under the CamoWeb settings menu.
Netflix and Streaming Test
Hidester successfully unblocked Netflix using US servers under the OpenVPN protocol, and the speeds were good enough to stream in full HD. Due to its’ capability to properly protect against all IP, DNS and WebRTC leaks, it makes a good choice to unblock geographically restricted content. Keep in mind that clearing your cache, cookies, and logging out of tracked emails such as gmail is also required to avoid being restricted by streaming platforms.
Pricing
Hidester has also taken into consideration affordability, which is another aspect that users look at when they are selecting a VPN service. Every plan allows up to 5 simultaneous users. The price of the plans depend on the length of the subscription. The monthly plan costs $8 USD and if you extend the length of the subscription, you can save money. For six months, you pay $6 USD per month and for one year, the monthly price is $5. Thanks to the money-back guarantee, you can get a refund within 7 days of purchase in case the service doesn’t really work for you. They accept card, Union Pay, PayPal, Bitcoin and other methods of payment, allowing for better anonymity of payment.
Customer Support
There is a ticket support system that is available 24/7, but it is only available via email. Although we would like to see a live chat being implemented, generally the responses are very fast through the ticket system. In addition, the website features detailed guides that will help you set up the service and fix issues. Overall, every communication made with Hidester’s service team was fast and detailed. No generic answers, every question got properly explained information. Good service all around.
Conclusion
Considering that this VPN was just launched in 2017, it is a pleasant surprise to see that it is such a comprehensive solution. The connection offers stability, strong security, and fast servers. The interface is intuitive and can be managed without issues. If you are a beginner, you can expect to learn how to properly configure your VPN connection instead of being left in confusion. The exclusive CamoVPN and CamoWeb protocols allow you to get around blocks and firewalls that may prevent you to access the content that you want in countries that impose heavy restrictions, and the client provides all the settings required to fine-tune your connection mode. The high level of security, server speed, setup guidance, and the innovative settings offered by Hidester VPN make it a great choice for beginners and advanced users alike. Ease of use and functionality properly combined.