Hideman is a free VPN service with mutliple server locations

Martin Brinkmann
Jul 24, 2012
Updated • Jul 25, 2012
Software, Windows, Windows software
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A virtual private network (vpn) can be helpful in a number of ways. First, you can use it to hide your computer's IP address when you are connecting to servers on the Internet. This basically means that server logs and people you come in contact with see the IP address of the VPN server you are connected to, and not your own IP.

The second reason is security. Connections to VPNs are encrypted which means that your data is safe from snooping users in the same network. This means you do not have to fear that someone in a hotel, Internet cafe or airport can steal personal information and data from you.

Hideman is a VPN provider that is offering a basic free service, and paid commercial services. All plans share a handful of traits, including support for OpenVPN and PPtP and data encryption. The free version is limited to 2 Gigabytes per month of traffic and may also be subject to a speed limit of 512  Kb/s in peak hours. Lastly, you also do not get port forwarding or changing the IP on the fly with the free version.

While not mentioned on the plans and pricing page, it appears that the free account is also limited to five hours of use every week. You do not need an account to use the program though which is definitely a positive feature of it.

The program installs a new system driver during installation, and will display its main program interface after installation to you.

It displays your current location, IP and city in the interface, and a count down if you are using the free version of the program. A server located in one of the supported countries is preselected here, and you can switch to other available servers with a click on the change button.

It appears that all servers are available in the free version of the program as well, which is another aspect that the plans and pricing page does not reflect correctly. Available countries include Germany, the UK, Netherlands, France, Russia, Canada and the United States.

You can configure the program to automatically make a connection when you start it up, and extend your free limit by five hours under payment. Here you can also pay for a weekly or monthly membership starting at $3 per week or $9 per month.

Closing Words

If you need to connect to a VPN occasionally, less than five hours per week, then you may want to check out Hideman to see if you can work with it. If you need more than that then you'd better switch to free VPN services that do not impose such a time limit on you. The software client is darn  easy to use which is definitely a plus.

The website could use a make over. Especially the plans and pricing page which is listing information that are no longer valid, and the faq page which needs information on how to set up the VPN manually on a system.

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Comments

  1. willie said on August 8, 2016 at 12:21 pm
    Reply

    You get to try before you buy, for 5hrs/week, and then it costs $2.90USD per month, $4.90 for 2 months, $16.90 for 6 months, and 24.90 for a year.
    If you’ve used this extensively, how does this particular app stack up against other VPN apps? Looks like quite the app.

  2. KrocoMike said on March 11, 2013 at 4:25 pm
    Reply

    I don’t like free VPNs as the servers are slowing down too much my internet connection. So I prefer to get a VPN when there is an offer or a discount. For example this website is ok for keeping an eye on latest VPN discounts: http://starvpnreviews.com/vpn_discounts_prom/

  3. mindy said on November 9, 2012 at 12:30 pm
    Reply

    i mean that i want to download it just by one click grrr ,i need only to russian IP Address without changing IP that always have 1 IP not more ,1 IP Address from russia!

  4. mindy said on November 9, 2012 at 12:21 pm
    Reply

    i need to a russian vpn ,100% free but i can’t find it !!!!!what i should do

  5. Tom said on November 6, 2012 at 8:30 am
    Reply

    I’m in Korea, I have a subscribtion to an adult website. Recently my ISP began blocking the site stating it was indecent material. Will Hideman allow me to view blocked websites?

    1. Martin Brinkmann said on November 6, 2012 at 10:56 am
      Reply

      Yes it will, unless it is blocked as well.

  6. Alan Wade said on October 11, 2012 at 2:48 pm
    Reply

    I wanna get hideman virtual private network

  7. Haiwan said on October 7, 2012 at 6:22 pm
    Reply

    +1 for VPNBook, thanks chris :)

    http://www.vpnbook.com

  8. Mark Ackley said on October 5, 2012 at 11:50 am
    Reply

    I am using Hotspot Shield Free VPN. However free version is ad supported, but its good from all other available free vpn’s. You can surf anonymously and access all blocked websites using HSS.

    Check it out here: http://www.hotspotshield.com

    1. Tam said on October 9, 2012 at 8:56 am
      Reply

      Hotspot Shield doesn’t give you the usuall California ip address early in the morning and in evening peak UK time.Grrrr!

  9. Charles Lehman said on September 23, 2012 at 5:54 pm
    Reply

    i have been using http://www.vpnbook.com … they have no time limits, no software to download, so far its the best free premium vpn service i found (support PPTP and OpenVPN) … all free

  10. Wenton said on September 18, 2012 at 5:31 pm
    Reply

    Why using these AdWare based VPN services? You have to deal with the annoying Ads pop up in your computers! There are lots of green Free VPN service, for example:

    http://www.freehostedvpn.com – Also a Free USA, CA and UK PPTP VPN (password daily updated over website )

    http://www.ufreevpn.com – USA, UK and Canada based free PPTP VPN

    http://www.usipvpn.com – USA based free organic VPN

    No any software installation needed for these free VPN! You can find the VPN password from their website, just use Windows, iPhone 4S or Samsung Galaxy 3′ built-in PPTP client to connect to these VPN servers, that’s all!

    Hope it helps!

  11. John said on September 7, 2012 at 4:33 am
    Reply

    I think security should be a big concern. If you run a VPN server you can tap sessions and watch traffic. Nothing is really free. If someone randomly handed me free food on the street there is no way I’d eat it, so why would I trust a free VPN.

    Plus, I am naturally suspicious of companies in Venezuela or Bangladesh or Singapore… places where privacy laws are overlooked.

    I only use USA providers who are legally bound to protect my information. Plus use one that keeps no logs so if the law tries to get down on them – no logs to turn over. My personal preference has been to use Free2Surf VPN, I pay for them but I know my data is secure.

  12. no logs please said on August 24, 2012 at 10:57 pm
    Reply

    What is their logging policy? I really question how secure the VPNs are. Even if your VPN provider won’t log you, your DNS, ISP providers can still track you. I would certainly not use Hidemyass. Sep 2001,FBI arrested Cody Kretsinger, a core member of LulzSec for hacking into the Sony Pictures website. London based VPN provider Hide My Ass (HMA) appears to have played a vital role in Kretsinger’s arrest (http://invisibler.com/lulzsec-and-hidemyass/). It doesn’t take too much imagination to see that VPNs can also be used for outright illegal activities, copyright violations and hacking for example. All VPN providers know this and, while their terms and conditions always state that their services are not to be used for illegal activities, they derive a portion of their revenue from users who signed up for just that purpose, something all VPN providers are aware of. If a provider does not log your IP address and does not log your activity while using their system, how would they be able to investigate anything? Even if they tell you that they won’t keep logs, can you really trust them? I am thinking of setting up my own VPN using Amazon EC2.

  13. Samuel Becks said on August 24, 2012 at 4:12 pm
    Reply

    I strongly recommend Hushtunnel because it uses SSH which is very secure. Plus I only pay $5 a month and get VNC with it too. Its good in my opinion.

  14. www.getusvpn.com said on August 7, 2012 at 4:07 am
    Reply

    So far the Best free USA VPN service I have been using is:

    http://www.getusvpn.com

    Enjoy!

  15. Caitlin Roberts said on August 4, 2012 at 12:32 am
    Reply

    It might be fine as a paid VPN, but as a free VPN, 5 hours a week is not very much and on top of that they have other restrictions, I think that it is clearly a way to get people to upgrade to their paid option.

    I would not trust this VPN as a free service because they are not, like for example, Anchorshield, whose business model relies in the free model where people gets adverts but there are few restrictions.

  16. reza said on July 26, 2012 at 7:39 am
    Reply

    hi give me vpn

  17. Adam said on July 25, 2012 at 10:45 am
    Reply

    Sir, can this be used on an Android device?

    1. Martin Brinkmann said on July 25, 2012 at 10:55 am
      Reply

      There is no Android version, and since there are no information on how to set it up manually, I say you can’t unless you somehow get those information.

      1. Alex said on July 25, 2012 at 12:13 pm
        Reply

        However, at their website’s front page an Android version indeed seems to exist.

  18. a.no.ny.vice. said on July 25, 2012 at 8:51 am
    Reply

    Good day Sir, there is a vpn network connection in Windows Network and Sharing Center. What IP, Port, DNS, etc. will I key-in to the input field? Does this also mean I don’t have to avail of any services? Please help.

  19. Richard Steven Hack said on July 25, 2012 at 12:29 am
    Reply

    Frankly, with all these VPNs popping up all over the place in recent months, especially ones that appear to be primarily hosted in Europe, I am getting suspicious as to how many of them are actually trustworthy. In short, how do we know they aren’t tapping all their client’s sessions with a backdoor in their crypto?

    I think it would be better to use a VPN hosted by a more or less reputable name such as the one run by the GigaNews Usenet service. OTOH, such services are more likely than not to maintain logs and to comply with requests from authorities for information.

    This article might be helpful in choosing a VPN provider:

    Which VPN Providers Really Take Anonymity Seriously?
    http://torrentfreak.com/which-vpn-providers-really-take-anonymity-seriously-111007/

    1. not anon said on July 25, 2012 at 5:22 pm
      Reply

      Strange that you actually mention Giga, since they actually log the heck out of you. It’s not anonymous at all, and they’ll take action against you themselves, or help someone else do so. High profile does not mean anonymous. Read around some. There are actual reviews on how anonymous services are.

      1. Richard Steven Hack said on July 26, 2012 at 4:48 am
        Reply

        1) I mentioned GigaNews because anonymity != security. I was talking about security, not anonymity or privacy.

        2) I mentioned an article which discusses which VPNs are more into privacy or not. So, yes, I’ve read up.

        Unless you can VERIFY that a specific VPN absolutely does not have any log – including of your IP address – you HAVE NO ANONYMITY. Anyone who logs your IP alone can lead the authorities right to you – unless you use TOR or some other IP spoofing technology to connect to the VPN – and that requires that you spoof or subsequently delete in some manner all the intervening IPs – or you connect through a jurisdiction such as China which cannot be pursued by US or other authorities.

        Bottom line: If you use a VPN whose provenance you do not know – and that is almost impossible to verify – you HAVE NO SECURITY – and probably HAVE NO ANONYMITY.

        Anyone who uses a third party VPN to commit an illegal act is an idiot. Third party VPNs are only useful to achieve access to otherwise inaccessible (i,e.blocked) Web resources or to prevent eavesdropping by someone OTHER than the VPN provider – you hope. They are a convenience only for those people who don’t know how to set up the equivalent capability manually.

    2. Martin Brinkmann said on July 25, 2012 at 8:06 am
      Reply

      I had the same line of thought and would not really use the majority of vpn services when it comes to things like bank transactions and other financial activities. I would not have a problem logging in to my Facebook account though.

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