thegasguru

Count me as another very happy Witopia customer. I've never really noticed any slow down via their servers. The couple of times I thought things had slowed down, it turned out it was the crummy hotel internet connections I had, not Witopia.

I've never had to phone them for support, but my experience with their customer service has been excellent. Early on I contacted them by email with a question I had about whether I could install witopia on more than one computer. One of the reasons I use Witopia is to get around the web site blocks at my work internet access - they even blocked Flyertalk! And at work, I have to log in at numerous different computers around the hospital. Witopia replied back very promptly that of course I could. Turns out my previous VPN provider - which worked fine - sent me a threatening email saying they noticed I was using their product on more than one computer, and if I continued to do that, they would cancel me...but they offered a corporate package for like 10x the price.

Another time I contacted Witopia because I kept getting an error message that my username and password couldn't be authenticated. I used the online chat function to contact them. They replied immediately that they were aware of the problem, it happened when they were trying to update their servers, and were working to fix it. Less than an hour later everything was working fine.

Another thing that I really like about Witopia is the ability to choose any server location/IP addres you want to connect thru. I can't confirm or deny if I have more than one Amazon Payment account, or whether having a separate IP address for each one is a useful additional layer of safety for keeping those accounts fully functional.

Veritrope

@haplology – I'm living in Laos these days, so my baseline speeds aren't exactly face-meltingly fast.

That stated… Here's a test that I just ran on Speedtest.net to the closest VyprVPN server (Hong Kong):
Throwing another possible tool into the mix… There are now services like UnoDNS which may be better if your only concern is being able to stream video outside a geographic restriction. Because it uses an unencrypted method to make the traffic appear to be coming from somewhere else, speeds are generally a bit faster.

And when you live in Laos, believe me – Every little bit counts! ;-)

With Kind Regards,

Justin Lancy

1010101

I use StrongVPN. The only thing it struggles a bit with is video streaming - you have to let it load a while sometimes.

It's good, but they do restrict you on locations a bit.

Middle_Seat

I am looking for a replacement for 12VPN. Their system has been working fine, but I only need a VPN for 2 or 3 weeks per year and 12VPN charges by the full year...no weekly or monthly rates available.

GMail, banking and SFTP/FTPS are already secure over https, so my only privacy concerns are preventing someone from "stealing" the cookies of forums like FT and comments I might make to BoardingArea blogs.

Expat Shield has an agreeable price...free...but very few recent mentions on FT. Is it a good choice for an under-powered WinXP netbook that might be used over open wi-fi?

Any better alternatives?

ScottC

Expat Shield or Hotspot Shield will work just fine for you, no need to pay for anyone else.

j210277

Tor is another option you should look into

gfunkdave

Tor is not a VPN solution and wouldn't suit the OP's needs.

scubadu

How many "VPN recommendation" threads do we require?

Should we start a "sticky" for this forum or something?

Regards

gfunkdave

I've been trying to corral them as I see them and it occurs to me. If you find an errant one, please click the red triangle to bring it to my attention. I'll go search for more now...thanks.