VPN to the US?

February 3, 2013 8:38 AM

I need recommendations for a good VPN that terminates in the United States. This is for security as well as the ability to access US-based content (Netflix, Hulu, Spotify, etc.)

It needs to be:
- configurable on Windows, Android, and iOS
- can work on different devices at the same time
- fast enough to stream content

posted by k8t to Computers & Internet (15 answers total)

I use Witopia and have been reasonably happy with it when travelling around the US staying in a variety of hotels and customer sites.
posted by iamabot at 9:09 AM on February 3, 2013

Witopia. Hits all your bullet points. Multiple US gateways, you get 2 simultaneous connections per account. I have used Witopia in 9 different countries (including mainland China) and it has always worked reasonably well. $70/year for the good plan.
posted by tracert at 9:09 AM on February 3, 2013

The Private Internet Access VPN let's you select your termination country. They have a few exit nodes in the US. Works nicely, fast enough for streaming, supports your listed devices (simultaneously), and the price is right ($3/month).
posted by stungeye at 9:10 AM on February 3, 2013 [2 favorites]

I just signed up for Private Internet Access. Has a SOCKS proxy (less intrusive than full VPN) if you have a browser that supports that.
posted by supercres at 9:20 AM on February 3, 2013

I looked into Astrill which worked well on iOS (Netflix on iPad) and OSX. Their desktop client is relatively unobtrusive and functional.
posted by a halcyon day at 9:28 AM on February 3, 2013

Thirding Private Internet Access. I use it on my desktop (Win 7), laptop(Win 8), tablet (Android 4.2), and phone (Android 2.3).
posted by Benny Andajetz at 11:11 AM on February 3, 2013

I notice that Witopia is substantially more expensive on a yearly basis than Private Internet Access -- is there a reason?
posted by modernnomad at 12:56 PM on February 3, 2013

Unblock Us and Strong VPN have worked well for me.
posted by blue_beetle at 2:52 PM on February 3, 2013

Unblock us is great. It can also be used to unblock content from the UK, which was very useful during the olympics.
posted by crazycanuck at 5:51 PM on February 3, 2013

Response by poster: I should also re-mention that there is a security angle here. My Internet traffic will certainly be monitored and not for torrenting but for surveillance of those whom I associate with. So a VPN service that is really a VPN is key.
posted by k8t at 6:14 PM on February 3, 2013

I use Witopia for that purpose and I'm happy. My Internet traffic isn't monitored, though (as far as I know), so I can't speak to that aspect. I do know that many of their clients are journalists.
posted by brianogilvie at 6:59 PM on February 3, 2013

I've been fairly satisfied with VPNinja, and they're only $60 a year.
posted by DoctorFedora at 8:52 PM on February 3, 2013

With regard to the security, choosing a trustworthy service is not sufficient and can offer a false sense of security. Connecting to the service securely is just as important. With minimal effort and resources, insecure connections can be decrypted or MITM'd to reveal your communications, usernames, and passwords.

In practice, do not use PPTP connections and consider only using properly configured OpenVPN or IPSec connections, preferably in conjunction with verified certificates. And yes, using a pre-shared secret that also happens to be publicly available on the VPN provider's website is not a good idea.
posted by UrbietOrbi at 10:31 PM on February 3, 2013

I'm in China. Some friends and I use Astrill, and it's great.

It was really spotty during the leadership transition late last year, but then so were all VPNs, as well as google, the NYT, gmail, and a lot of other things. If you're not in China, I imagine it would work excellently.
posted by the thing about it at 3:54 AM on February 4, 2013

Satisfied Astrill user here. WiTopia was too erratic for me.
posted by Twicketface at 2:25 PM on February 5, 2013