Best VPN Reviews

From Order to Installation:  

With Anonymity Network your account is up and running within 1 hour if you use your credit card. I received my login credentials in a few minutes and was able to connect with Anonymity Network a few minutes later. Your start page looks like this:

Download the Multi Protocol VPN Tool:

Anonymity Network utilizes its own OpenVPN electronic download for the basic executable application. It’s very quick and convenient and there were no hitches downloading and executing this file.

Software/GUI:  

Anonymity Network employs OpenVPN and PPTP. After download and execution of the program, you open the application and put in your login credentials. The entire procedure was quick and professional. After starting the software:

The software lets you know your new IP address and the server location and from this Dashboard page you can change country servers and change your proxy. It’s a nice tool but not many features. The country list can only be viewed during disconnect. I found that for VOIP applications the connections were noisy and nearly unusable but for other applications it was fine.

If you download the free version which Anonymity Network says has a 3 hour limitation and just let it run without shutting it off, you can use it far beyond its 3 hours. This glitch suggests other problems with the server network software:

Updates: Anonymity Network provides automated updates.

Ease of Use:  

Very user friendly but it lacks certain features to make it easier and facilitate a connection.

Features:  

Anonymity Network has all of the standard features of OpenVPN but has not added ANY application features of its own to the standard OpenVPN configuration. It has no automated features, nor does it automatically start on startup or automatically protect your connection when there is a failure of the underlying internet connection. If the underlying connection fails and turn back on, you would not realize that your applications that you turned on with VPN now are on your originating IP.

Anonymity Network doesn’t offer a dedicated IP option which complicates online shopping and banking as the merchants and third-party payment processors see multiple IPs which will trigger fraud alerts. Also there is no way of knowing in advance which server is currently not available or slow due to its location or current load.

Server Network: Location, Availability & Speed:  

This service has a small network with servers in: Netherlands, UK, Ireland, USA, Germany and Canada. Anonymity Network is located in Hawaii.

Initially I connected with the Dublin Ireland server. Example ping time from Dublin, Ireland to Los Angles, CA was 90 ms.

Without Anonymity Network the ping time was 94 ms, so there was no latency on this server test at 1.30PM EST:

Keep in mind that VPN providers that are based in the USA and have servers in other cooperative jurisdictions cannot protect your data as it is transmitted across their servers. By definition a court order in cooperative regions can force Anonymity Network to log, cache and submit any information to local and international authorities not withstanding Anonymity Network’s current Privacy Policy to the contrary. Anonymity Network has no servers in off shore locations.

Presale Support to Product Help & Support:  

All presale questions are answered within one hour generally by form emails. They state:
“In the case of any questions feel free to contact us. Replies should be received within 3 business days.”

Post-sale support is done by a ticket system within the members’ area. For help they provide an easy guide manual:

After 3 days I did get an answer to a question about the service not working well This was their response:

“It is the main purpose of the trial to check is your system can work with our service or not before paying for it. In that case it can not no paying then.”

I’m not sure what language they wrote the support response in, but it appears to say: If it doesn’t work don’t buy it and piss off!

This service does not provide support.

Scope of Protection:

Protocols: 

Utilizing standard VPN protocols, Anonymity Network changes your IP, removes packet headers and provides you with a single assigned IP from any of its servers. The dynamically allocated shared IP adds security by making sure your data packets are mixed up with everyone else’s as they exit Anonymity Network’s servers. Anonymity Network does not provide you with the choice between Dynamic IP Servers and Static IP servers which is very useful for use with PayPal accounts and Credit Card vendors.

Protocols: OpenVPN standard

Anonymity Network does not support IPv6 or port forwarding. SMTP mail is not permitted.

Encryption: Pending Test

Encryption Strength Specified: 128 Bit

The effectiveness of any VPN provider is dependent on how effective is the encryption. Our independent encryption Test of Anonymity Network is in process and will be posted here when completed.

Open VPN provides 128Bit. Anonymity Network chose the less strong encryption standard probably because it’s a faster connection.

Server Security: Pending Test

To be independently tested pending permission from Anonymity Network VPN.

Privacy:  

Anonymity Network provides a standard privacy policy for a US company. It won’t reveal information until the authorities ask for it or you break the TOS. But to know you broke the TOS, they have to log and cache. They don’t say that they don’t log and cache, so they do. But they do state that they consider the following information confidential:

• E-mail address.
• The service access password.
• Cookie files.
• Information on chosen services.
• Information about time of our service using and IP address connected to our service.

But if they keep it confidential, they collect it, which is not very high privacy.

Anonymity Network VPN Review Summary

Anonymity Network is a middle of the road VPN service. Not bad, but not great. It provides the basic OpenVPN standard utilizing the AN software tool that is easy to use but without many features. Server network in 5 countries. No off shore servers.

Anonymity Network’s scope of protection is fair with a standard OpenVPN application which does not protect against the dropping of your internet connection and a privacy policy typical of US VPN services.

Anonymity Network VPN PROS: • Free 3 hour trial • Good installation procedure • Easy to use application • Fast servers Anonymity Network VPN CONS: • Poor support • Server network only in 5 countries – no off shore servers • Expensive packages when considering bandwidth packages • Application standard OpenVPN with few features • No automation on start up • No automatic choice of fastest server (lowest latency) • Dynamic IPs and Static IPs not available • Does not protect your originating IP if the internet connection fails. All your applications will be switched to your local IP and you may not know it – an OpenVPN problem that is fixed by the better VPN services. • Does not support IPv6 • Logs and stores personal information • Management and server network is predominantly located in USA

Editor’s Rating Order to Installation Software/GUI Ease of Use Features Network & Speed Help & Support Scope of Protection Overall Rating

Information incomplete or incorrect? Please let me know!