Hide My Ass! VPN Service Review

Features
By William Van Winkle
published

Our readers have weighed in with their own assessments of popular VPN Service HMA!, to which we’ve added our own hands-on test results.

Introduction

We asked readers who were VPN service customers to rate the services they have used. Those responses yielded a handful of top-notch providers, HMA! among them. HMA! received the second-highest number of reader responses at 45, but it finished in fourth place with an average rating of 4.07. That's a bit harsh, given the quality of that score but at some point we have to line 'em all up in order. You can read the verbatim reader comments and accompanying ratings at the bottom of this page.

Readers generally gave HMA! high marks for ease of use, customer service and -- a response we saw quite often -- the number of server locations. On the negative side, speed was the most often-cited knocks on HMA!. While some readers thought HMA! was easy, a small handful didn't; while some marked it down for its lack of speed, others thought the speed was more than adequate. There were a few comments about the cost of the service as well -- generally unfavorable comments. Below (at the bottom of the page) we've provided a smattering of representative responses, accompanied by reader ratings; we've tried to provide the responses that offer the greatest variety of experience, and also things that might be helpful before plunging ahead with HMA!.

William Van Winkle
8 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Handoncloud
    Good job! :D
    Reply
  • Cujothemadog
    they'll turn u in in two minutes flat
    Reply
  • carnetarian
    I stopped reading as soon as I saw p2p services are disabled. I will never use a VPN that tries to tell me how I'm allowed to use the internet.
    Reply
  • Rookie_MIB
    Currently a member of HMA, and a while back their speeds were a bit flaky, they've improved that quite a bit to the point where I can max out my connection. Only other I have issues is that they -do- log and will forward copyright accusations.

    However, judicious use of -where- you connect to avoids most of those problems (ie: don't connect to an US server if you're going to torrent US films, in fact, avoid US servers in general...)

    As for their turning in of the hackers who were using their service, while they might shrug at copyright accusations (relatively victimless crime), remember what these guys did in the Sony hack, that was a high-profile international incident which resulted in the FBI, Justice Department, and Interpol stepping up. Faced with that, and -legal- court orders, I'm sure they had little choice but to turn over the info they had on them.
    Reply
  • f-14
    Currently a member of HMA, and a while back their speeds were a bit flaky, they've improved that quite a bit to the point where I can max out my connection. Only other I have issues is that they -do- log and will forward copyright accusations.

    However, judicious use of -where- you connect to avoids most of those problems (ie: don't connect to an US server if you're going to torrent US films, in fact, avoid US servers in general...)

    As for their turning in of the hackers who were using their service, while they might shrug at copyright accusations (relatively victimless crime), remember what these guys did in the Sony hack, that was a high-profile international incident which resulted in the FBI, Justice Department, and Interpol stepping up. Faced with that, and -legal- court orders, I'm sure they had little choice but to turn over the info they had on them.

    that's not hiding your ass, that's 'giving up your ass' false advertising.
    Reply
  • Rookie_MIB
    15953239 said:
    that's not hiding your ass, that's 'giving up your ass' false advertising.

    No, because it's clear in the TOS that they DO keep track of logins and correlated to IP/DATE. They forwarded it and warned me that it was against their TOS and would terminate my account if it continued. That is also the -only- one I've ever gotten.

    These guys who did the Sony hack went way beyond a simple movie download though, they infiltrated a major company, using a service which clearly stated they did track that info, and would comply with a legal court order (not just a random threat letter from a copyright troll), and they thought they were untouchable.

    They were wrong.
    Reply
  • carnetarian
    15953239 said:
    that's not hiding your ass, that's 'giving up your ass' false advertising.

    This is right on the money. It sounds like this VPN will give you up in a heartbeat, which completely defeats the entire purpose of having a VPN. I wouldn't use this VPN if they paid me.
    Reply
  • admin$
    I used to use HMA. They will not allow you to download any torrents which was the reason i had purchased the VPN in the first place. They sent me a warning then suspended my account. They auto renewed my subscription without notifying me in January, suspended my account in February. No refund. I would not recommend this software to anyone. I have since switched to PIA... no issues at all, would definitely recommend PIA.
    Reply