PublicVPN Review – No Frills VPN Service
By Paul Liu
Wednesday, August 7th, 2013
PublicVPN is brought to you by PublicVPN.com LLC., which is an Oregon, US based company. Founded in 2004, the company aims to provide security solutions to small businesses, individuals and travelers who have to use unsecure wired and wireless connections on a regular basis. In this honest PublicVPN Review, we will evaluate the features offered by the service and decide if it is worth the money.
Server Locations
PublicVPN’s servers are located at just one location – United States (Portland, Oregon). The limited choice of server locations is indeed a downside especially for those who want to unlock GEO-IP restricted content from several different countries. Still, the service would allow you to unlock premium sites such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, HBO Go, CBS, ABC, NBC, Fox TV, Pandora, CWTV, NFL, MLB, MTV, Vudu and Xfinity from all places in the world as well as bypass the censorship imposed by ISPs and administrators (especially in China, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar and most corporate environments) and access sites like Skype, Vonage, Gmail, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Google Voice.
Speed and Bandwidth
PublicVPN’s servers are connected to low latency, high bandwidth backbone. The company does not restrict the speed and bandwidth availability to the users so the service is well-suited for demanding activities like VOIP, streaming of HD content, downloading big files and playing multiplayer online games.
Privacy Settings
PublicVPN secures your data via L2TP/IPSec and PPTP protocols. Although these 2 protocols (especially the PPTP protocol) are considered less secure than the OpenVPN protocol, they offer great compatibility with all types of computers, Smartphones, tablets and routers. The service creates a secure tunnel to protect your browsing, emailing, VOIP, FTP and messaging activities and even secures your passwords, banking/PayPal accounts and identity when you are connected to unsecure wireless networks at parks, airports, hotels, coffee shops and libraries.
The company does not monitor users’ online activities but if a customer is found to be involved in illegal activities, the company will fully co-operate with the law enforcement agencies.
Supported Systems
PublicVPN’s solution works with Windows (7, Vista, XP), Mac OS X (10.2+), Android devices, iPads, iPhones, Linux (Ubuntu, Debian), FreeBSD, OpenBSD, PalmOS and other systems that are compatible with PPTP and L2TP protocols. The company does not provide a custom VPN client but it does offer a Dashboard widget for Mac that allows you to monitor your connection status. The setup and configuration is extremely simple since the support section on the company’s official site provides step-by-step instructions for all systems and devices. For those who wish to send emails through SMTP, the company even provides access to a free SMTP server.
Customer Support
The company provides customer support through an email based system. The company has published extremely detailed troubleshooting instructions on its portal so it is possible to resolve most VPN errors without the need to contact the support staff.
Pricing and Fees
PublicVPN’s unlimited speed and bandwidth VPN plans are available for $6.95 per month ($69.95 per year). The company provides discounts for corporate users and bulk subscriptions. Even though the company does not provide a free trial, it offers refunds on unused blocks of the subscription. It is even possible to transfer unused portion of a subscription to another user.
Final Verdict
PublicVPN does not offer any real choice as far as server locations are concerned. However, the company’s VPN plans are affordable and the service is compatible with a wide variety of devices. We recommend checking the service if you are not happy with your current provider or if other services are not working for you. For more information, please visit: www.publicvpn.com.
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August 7, 2013
~The IP shows as Los Angeles..
not as Hong Kong – I know as I use it, and can see my Ip as LA. in the USA
Publicvpn.com is not working properly anymore. US websites detect it as being based in Hong Kong, and block it out. From email correspondence with PublicVPN.com it appears that this is because they have so many subscribers from China.
Bottom line is this service is no longer useful to avoid geoblocking