Here is our review of HIDE ALL IP VPN. Network & Speed Inc. manages the tool, which was released in the public domain back in 2014. The company operates from Hong Kong and has servers across the world. The country is not a member of the International Surveillance Alliance (5 EYES), which comes as a relief to those considering the purchase of HIDE ALL IP.
Having a VPN in place is the easiest way to stay secure on public hotspots and WiFi networks, which are intrinsically insecure. A VPN secures the network in the manner of a private network and ensures that the user stays secure online.
HIDE ALL IP VPN claims to be the “best IP hide software” with torrent and surf capabilities. The tool also claims to prevent WebRTC IP leaks and provides a portable version that can be executed directly from a removable media. This is certainly a great option for those who wish to benefit from the advantages of using a VPN without having to install it on their PC first.
The tool, however, failed in our DNS leak test, which means it does leak your IP to the ISPs and websites, which could be a serious issue for many.
The following table describes the basic features of HIDE ALL IP.
| Criteria | Details |
|---|---|
| Prominent Features | IP cloaking; WebRTC IP leak prevention; Supports portable version; secure remote DNS lookup; Unblocks geo-restricted content; safe browse technology; Deep levels of customization; Useful Connection insights display |
| Number of Servers | 150+ servers in 38 countries |
| Logging Policy | Does not keep log files |
| Encryption Standards | Uses RSA+AES/DES algorithm |
| Privacy | Hides user IP, safe browsing experience |
| Speed | 0.97 Mbps download speed (baseline: 1.47 Mbps) 3.11 Mbps (US Server) |
| Device Support | Windows & portable version |
| Number of Devices | Supports a single connection |
| Price | $29 per year |
| Our Score | 7/10 |
| Visit | HIDE ALL IP |
As you can see, HIDE ALL IP claims to effectively cloak the user’s IP address. Does it actually fulfill this promise? We shall this later in the review when we subject the tool to multiple tests. It’s time now for checking the software’s capability to resolve blocked Netflix and Hulu content.
| Streaming Service | Result |
|---|---|
| Netflix | YES – Works with some servers |
| Hulu | YES – Works with some servers |
| Kodi | YES |
Netflix and Hulu both block content based on the geo-location of the user. Using HIDE ALL IP VPN, however, you will be able to view censored content as well when switched to a US server. This will allow you to watch original US Netflix series, for instance, from outside the US. With Kodi, there’s no unblocking per se, but having a VPN ensures no browsing activity is leaked to your ISP. When it comes to unblocking content on streaming services, however, it must be remembered that this is a highly sensitive space and that is known to change. A VPN server functioning today might suddenly stop working tomorrow.
| Criteria | Hide ALL IP |
|---|---|
| Pros |
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| Cons |
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The tool does have some impressive features and some serious cons, which we shall examine in detail in the later sections in the course of our extensive tests on the tool. Let’s dive right into the HIDE ALL IP review for you to be able to decide if this indeed is the right VPN for your devices.
HIDE ALL IP VPN — Review
The following is our in-depth review of HIDE ALL IP VPN, which is based on our extensive tests of this tool. We tested version 2018.04.29 of the software on a Windows 10 machine. We will test various aspects of the software spanning support for devices, installation, ease of use, features, pricing, security and privacy, network performance, etc.
Supported Devices
HIDE ALL IP is only supported on Windows OS. Our Score: 3/10.
HIDE ALL IP VPN is severely limited in terms of the OS platforms it supports. We found that the software only provides an app for Windows devices- there is no support for other OS platforms, which might disappoint Android, iOS, and macOS users.
Here is a quick list of the supported OS/devices:
- OS: Windows
- Browsers: no support
- Network devices/Others: no support for routers, provides a portable version for removable media though
HIDE ALL IP also provides a portable version, which needs no installation and can be run directly from a removable media such as a USB flash drive. No admin rights are needed. The portable version is ideal for those running a live OS, for instance, or those wishing to use VPN functionality without having to install a VPN app first.
The availability of the portable version differentiates the software from the others, most of which do not have any portable version in place. This is an ideal way to get up and running with this software in no time literally.
The software only supports a single connection at a time, which is in stark contrast to other VPN, which allow at least 3 simultaneous connections, most of them going up to 5 and even 7. HIDE ALL IP is somewhat limiting in this aspect.
Installation & Setup
HIDE ALL IP is easy to install. Our Score: 10/10.
This VPN takes a few minutes to install on your PC. Do not wish to install? No problem. Just grab the portable version and you should be good to run the VPN from a USB drive without installing it first.
Head over to the official Hide ALL IP VPN website and download the installer file.
Click on ‘Next’ to proceed further with the installation.
Choose the installation directory and click on ‘Next’ again. We recommend choosing a location that has plenty of space available.
We recommend checking both boxes above to create both a desktop icon and the quick launch icon, for these VPN apps can misbehave sometimes when launching them. Having multiple ways to quickly get the connection up and running saves a lot of time.
That’s about it. With this, you will have a fully functional installation of Hide ALL IP VPN up and running. Easy, isn’t it? Well, it really is. The tool is quickly installed without a problem.
Prominent Features
HIDE ALL IP VPN has a number of interesting features. Many are not really functional, though. Our Score: 6/10.
It lacks many advanced features and functionalities other VPN off other VPN offerse. The tool offers the basic IP cloaking features apart from a few unique ones such as the availability of the portable version and WebRTC leak prevention.
Change your IP address is in essence, the core of any VPN. You can cloak your real IP address and acquire a virtual identity when using HIDE ALL IP.
Data encryption allows you to access the internet securely with all your data being encrypted. The level of encryption is “government level” as the website states.
WebRTC leak protection is an important feature. WebRTC technology is built with browsers featuring real-time communication abilities in mind. Often, WebRTC can leak the user’s real IP address, which can be prevented with the use of a VPN such as HIDE ALL IP VPN.
The availability of the Portable version is an interesting feature indeed, for it allows you to get up and running with setting up a VPN connection without having to install it first on your PC.
The Safe Browsing Technology is another unique feature, which allows you to browse the internet without having to clear the cookies and browsing history later, which are automatically deleted at the end of the session. An interesting feature indeed! This is perfect for those who wish to browse the internet incognito while also using a VPN in place, for this forms a double-layered protection.
You can continue using the internet without the fear of forgetting to delete the browsing history and cookies later, all while your entire data traveling from the client to the server is completely encrypted. This ensures that the data remains safe at all times and remains undecipherable for prying eyes who happen to spy upon your data. This powerful combination of an incognito mode with a VPN is thus a very useful feature indeed. You can simply click on ‘Clear Firefox cookies’ for instance to clear all browser cookies. It’s as simple as that! The same thing could, of course, be done from the browser, but having this functionality in the VPN as well makes for an added level of protection should you forget clearing your session data.
Ease of Use
HIDE ALL IP VPN has a clunky UI that could have been a lot better. Our Score: 7/10.
Don’t be intimidated when you open the HIDE ALL IP dashboard for the first time. Take a deep breath! It isn’t as difficult as it seems. However, HIDE ALL IP does deserve to lose points on account of having so clunky an interface, which will need sometime studying and navigating around. While there’s nothing wrong with having an old-fashioned interface, the tool is largely text-based without many visual graphics, which can make it disturbing for some users unless you were brought up in the 90s era, in which case you might feel nostalgic.
Using the tool and setting up a VPN connection involves clicking on the ‘Connect’ button on the right. You could either choose a server from the list on the left or from the drop-down menu on the top right. This is all about the ‘Servers’ tab. Let’s now switch to the ‘Connections’ tab. Kudos to the developers for this level of insight into the running apps that are protected by the VPN. This is certainly a feature we haven’t seen in VPNs but is incredibly useful.
Clicking on the Flexible Hide IP Rules will allow you to specify advanced settings including the global tunnel rules and the DNS resolve mode. You can also choose to hide the IPs with selected running apps instead of using a VPN with all of them.
The Other Settings section is where you can configure the tool to automatically launch at system startup.
The tool thus has very deep levels of customization and povides some very interesting features indeed, which make it appealing to an array of users.
Server Locations
HIDE ALL IP VPN has nearly 150 servers in 38 countries around the world. Our Score: 7/10.
As you can see, the tool has servers in countries around the world. As of the time of writing, the tool had more than 150 servers in 38 countries. The server network is certainly less expansive than that of many other VPNs.
However, it must also be noted that with VPN, it is more important to have a certain number of well-configured servers rather than having a large number of poorly functioning servers, which serve no purpose.
The choice of servers is an important one, for it has an important bearing on the speed of the connection. We highly recommend connecting to a server as close as possible to your actual geo-location for the fastest speeds.
HIDE ALL IP VPN is based in Hong Kong, which is not a member of the International Surveillance Alliance. The member countries have an information sharing agreement in place, which is why the jurisdiction is something to watch out for when choosing a VPN.
Speed
HIDE ALL IP scores well in speed tests. Our Score: 9/10.
Before we actually show you the results, it is important to note that speed tests are only indicative of the network conditions at the time of testing, which keep fluctuating and must be considered as such. A speed test is best regarded as a useful guide but never as something written in stone.
Let’s start with the baseline test results to see how the network is functioning at the moment.
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Hide ALL IP VPN Speed Test Baseline As you can see, the network is heavily struggling with a low speed. Let’s switch to a US server and see how the speed is affected.
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Hide ALL IP VPN Speed Test Non US Servers The speed is reduced but is still close to the baseline speed. It is clear that Hide ALL IP won’t really reduce the speed of your connection much, which is the case with most other VPNs. It can sure remove speed throttling issues, however. Speed throttling is common with ISPs, which place limits on the internet access speeds typically once it reaches a certain bandwidth threshold. Using a VPN to get past these limits is a great feature indeed.
Let’s summarize the speed test results before we proceed further.
Ping: 63 ms
Download: 1.47 Mbps
Upload: 0.82 MbpsPing: 96 ms
Download: 3.11 Mbps
Upload: 0.83 MbpsPing: 145 Mbps
Download: 0.97 Mbps
Upload: 0.85 MbpsYou can easily see that the network performs well with the US server. The ping time is slightly greater than that of the baseline but the improvement in the download speed is drastic.
Security & Privacy
HIDE ALL IP VPN does not really protect the user’s IP in our tests. Our Score: 4/10.
Even though HIDE ALL IP VPN boasts some really unique and useful privacy and security features, which look great on the surface, the tool does not perform as good as it seems.
Encryption
The software features “government-level encryption” as its website informs us. The tool provides for RSA+AES/DES algorithm.
Logging
The software website clearly states that the tool does not log any data and that all usage remains 100% anonymous. However, we dug deep into their privacy policy, which specifies that the tool collects geographic location and “other information for offers and surveys”. We are unsure what this “other information” is, but it sure rings a warning bell. Why should the VPN need to collect any information at all?
DNS Leaks
DNS leaks are a common phenomenon with many VPN, which often leak DNS data inadvertently. Let’s see how Hide ALL IP scores in the DNS leak test.
We were as surprised as well- the tool leaked user IP and fails the DNS leak test. This is really disappointing, for, it defeats the purpose of having a VPN in the first place. What this means is that your ISP, as well as the other websites you visit, can all see your IP address.
Customer Service
Hide ALL IP VPN has an online contact form, which can be used to contact their support team. Our Score: 7/10.
This VPN provides for an online contact form, which can be used to reach out to the customer support team in the event you face an issue with the software.
We contacted Hide ALL IP VPN support via the form but didn’t hear back from them within a few hours. A live chat option would have been great and is increasingly becoming ubiquitous amongst VPN software nowadays, for, users appreciate speedy responses to their queries.
Pricing
Hide ALL IP has just one pricing plan. Our Score: 10/10.
It is extremely affordable and costs much less than most other VPNs in the marketplace today. There is just one pricing plan available, which costs $29 per year.
While we really miss monthly plans, which are usually highly recommended with VPN, for, these operate in a highly volatile space where conditions change quickly and functioning IPs can quickly stop unblocking geo-restricted content within days, we really like the fact that the software is very affordably priced.
Final Verdict
Hide ALL IP is one of the most affordably priced VPNs available today. The tool, however, fails DNS leak tests.
Who Should Use This VPN? Those looking out for an affordable VPN will find Hide ALL IP VPN delightful. The app also performs well in speed tests.
Who Should Not Use This VPN? Those looking out for complete privacy and security without any IP leaks might be disappointed.
- PROS: Deep levels of customization; Fast performance; Affordable pricing
- CONS: UI might seem clunky to some; Fails DNS Leak test; Only Windows app available
- Final Verdict: 7 out of 10!
If you seek a fast VPN and are not much concerned about the privacy issues, which are important nevertheless, you might consider giving Hide ALL IP a try. It is really affordable and comes with some unique features.
Buy Hide ALL IP
If you’ve made up your mind to purchase Hide ALL IP, head over to the official Hide ALL IP VPN website to purchase a subscription now.
Final Thoughts
Hide ALL IP is very affordably priced and doesn’t disappoint with its privacy and security-oriented features. The tool dashboard might seem clunky to use but provides valuable insights about the connection and apps. The major problem, however, is the fact that the tool fails DNS leak tests, which might be off-putting to most potential users concerned about their security and privacy online. IP leaks are a serious problem for your ISP as well as the other websites you visit will all be able to see your real IP address.
The tool is fast overall and performs well in our speed tests. What’s more, it is very affordable indeed when compared to the other VPN in this space, which are a lot costlier for the same features.
With this, we conclude our review of Hide ALL IP VPN, which is based on our extensive tests of this tool. We hope you’ve found it useful and that it will help you decide if this, indeed, is the best VPN for you.
Should you have any queries, please feel free to leave us a comment. Please also share this review with friends and family in your social circles.
Written by David Minister
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