HMA VPN

Pros

• Over 1,000 different IP addresses to connect to
• Supports connections tunneled through over 100 countries
• Works with many devices
• Unlocks walled media streams

Cons

• Collects usage statistics
• May slow down network traffic
• No support for Tor browsers

HMA Pro VPN is a virtual private networking app that allows users to hide their online activity. In fact, the app's jocular full name is literally Hide My Ass. While that might suggest that the developers had a pretty strong sense of humor, the actual app is all business and works surprisingly well to protect certain types of network activity.

Configuring VPN software can be difficult, but HMA makes it easy to get up and going with the technology. A guided user interface and a convenient install wizard makes configuration a breeze. You'll merely have to select a few options and possibly put in an administration password to activate the software.

While you'll need an account with HMA, the software will prompt you to create one if you don't currently have anything on record with the provider. Creating an account isn't any more of a challenge than signing up for any online service, so the entire setup process shouldn't take more than a few minutes.

While that might not seem this impressive, some VPNs are very touchy and force you to define static IP addresses and a number of other specifications. HMA does all of this automatically, even if you have multiple devices attached to your PC. It works with the underlying operating system to figure out the right way to tunnel network data.

Though the exact number of servers fluctuates on a daily basis, HMA offers a network of over 1,000 different nodes in more than 100 countries. You shouldn't have any difficulty finding a server that allows you to access whatever online services you want to. If you're trying to stream out of market media, then you can find one for nearly any region you want to.

In fact, the software offers servers optimized for streaming in the UK, Germany and the US. That should give Europeans the flexibility to watch North American feeds. Americans who want to stream content from British and Continental feeds won't have any difficulty either.

Anime fans might find this feature more useful than any of the others. One of the biggest reasons that people download HMA is so that they can hide their IP address in order to stream anime content that would have otherwise been blocked as a result of region locks. Not all remote IPs are optimized for streaming, delays aren't too bad when watching video through any of the links that the software gives you. The further away from you the distant server is, the greater the delay, but these still usually aren't as long as you may expect. Though some people might turn to the to the program merely for this reason, it also comes with a few unusual ones that some users might miss.

Perhaps more interesting is the fact that the software includes support for P2P optimized servers. While more users will probably rely on the software to watch international feeds, the P2P coverage feature is a great option for those who can't use torrent software as a result of ISP blocks or workplace issues. It's also good for those who want to protect against any sort of surveillance when they're downloading material in bulk. There's no data limit that users have to keep their eyes on, which makes HMA a perfect choice for this kind of usage.

Whenever users start a session, they can type in their login details and connect to server in just a couple of clicks. Those who would prefer not to be pestered by this process each time they start up their machines can authorize the HMA client to save their credentials. Some users might consider this a security risk, but a bad actor would actually need physical access to a computer in order to take advantage of it.

Privacy advocates might be considered about the fact that HMA records a couple of parameters each time it's started. However, it stores much less usage data than many other VPN programs do. While that might not alleviate the concerns of those who want to use a VPN system for extremely sensitive tasks, it should more than assuage those who are using it to unlock downloads and streaming services. It also shouldn't be that concerning to online banking customers who want to use a VPN in order to protect retail transaction details.

Users who are concerned about their level of protection are always free to check whether or not their traffic is being tunneled. Doing so is as easy as checking a single dashboard, which reports the level of protection being provided as well as the origin of the servers currently in use.

Changing servers involves nothing more than the use of a single drop-down menu. You won't have to remember the name or IP address of any of the nodes that you want to connect to.

Unfortunately, HMA doesn't support the Tor browser protocol. Those who are using Tor alongside HMA will have to allow it to pass through the app's traffic tunnel. Since a properly functioning Tor browser will tunnel its traffic through a distant server, this normally shouldn't be much of an issue.

On the other hand, HMA does support both traditional routers and FlashRouters. That means you can attach game consoles and smart streaming TVs directly to the VPN software. If you're having trouble streaming the shows that you want to with your television set, then you'll have no difficulty doing so as long as you've already installed the control panel extension on your PC. HMA needs a more traditional computing device to maintain it, but once you have it all working you'll be able to work with a variety of different attached devices.

Some gamers might use HMA to run multiple online accounts. Others will rely on the software to protect themselves while they're downloading games and media content to set-top boxes. In any case, the app should prove itself to be an extremely flexible VPN solution that could fit into a wide variety of different use cases.

Pros

• Over 1,000 different IP addresses to connect to
• Supports connections tunneled through over 100 countries
• Works with many devices
• Unlocks walled media streams

Cons

• Collects usage statistics
• May slow down network traffic
• No support for Tor browsers