VPN Reviews

SmartHide VPN Review – Feature Packed VPN Service

By Paul Liu
Thursday, July 4th, 2013

SmartHide VPN is a security product from Arovax LLC which is an Oregon, United States based company. Arovax LLC is renowned for its high quality security and privacy products and its VPN service continues with the same tradition. In the exhaustive SmartHide VPN Review below, we check out the features offered by the SmartHide’s VPN service and decide whether it is worth the subscription money.

Server Locations and Site Access

SmartHide has VPN servers in 5 countries – United States, Netherlands, United Kingdom, Germany and France. While the choice of servers is definitely limited, you would be able to unlock GEOIP restricted services and popular websites that are often blocked inside many organizations and countries (for instance in China, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Bahrain). As soon as you get connected to the SmartHide service, you would be assigned a new IP address from one of the 5 countries listed above which in turn will allow you to unlock ABC, BBC iPlayer, Demand 5, NBC, Spotify, Gmail, NFL, Hulu, Netflix, HBO On Demand, Eurosport, Facebook, Rara, 4OD, iTV, Amazon Prime, Twitter, Lovefilm, Pandora, MTV, CBS, YouTube, NBC, Skype and MTV from anywhere. Due to the smart sever switching policy implemented by SmartHide, it is even possible to unlock local content from more than one country with just one VPN subscription.

VPN Speed and Bandwidth

SmartHide VPN does not impose any kind of speed or bandwidth limits on its subscribers. This means that the subscribers are free to download/upload unlimited content, stream HD movies and TV shows, make VOIP calls and play online games without experiencing any kind of throttling or hitting monthly bandwidth limits.

Privacy Settings

SmartHide VPN offers a very high level of security (with 2048 bit encryption) through its VPN service. The high level of encryption available makes it easy to protect personal details like credit cards, passwords and social accounts as well as shield IP address and identity from higher authorities and hackers alike. Plus you would be able to secure your every online activity like emailing, FTP, instant messaging, browsing and downloading even from public Wi-Fi hotspots (free to use networks available at airports, malls, public parks, hotels and book shops).

SmartHide does not capture snapshots of users’ online activities but they do maintain connection logs for few days. The company does not hand over this data to third parties unless it is required to do so by law.

Supported Operating Systems

SmartHide’s VPN solution is compatible with Windows (7, XP, Vista), Mac OS, iPads, iPhones as well as Android based Smartphones and tablets. The service is not yet available for Linux but it works well with DD-WRT based routers. The setup is simple and it should not take more than couple of minutes to install and configure the service on the device of your choice. SmartHide’s 1 click VPN software comes with several innovative features like Auto-reconnection, automatic server change and auto connect at startup. Moreover, the service even works from USB devices (SmartHide Portable Edition) and allows port forwarding for HTTP, FTP, SSH and ICQ protocols.

Customer Support

The company offers great support through email, Skype and remote desktop. For those who love to troubleshoot technical problems on their own, the company has published excellent setup and troubleshooting instructions that will help you to resolve common problems on your own.

Pricing Options

SmartHide VPN offers various VPN plans to suit the needs of its subscribers. The SmartHide VIP Subscription comes with one dedicated US IP, one dedicated EU IP and 8 shared IPs from other countries (up to 10 simultaneous connections allowed), the SmartHide Two Continent Subscription comes with one dedicated US IP and one dedicated EU IP (up to 2 simultaneous connections possible) whereas SmartHide’s USA and Europe subscriptions are available with one US and one EU IP respectively. The VIP subscription is available for $49.97 per month ($129.97 for 3 months, $247.97 for 6 months and $497 for 12 months), the Two Continent subscription is available from $19.96 per month ($54.36 for 3 months, $103.96 for 6 months and $198.36 for 12 months) whereas the US and Europe plans start from $14.98 and $9.97 respectively. The company offers a 7 day trial as well as a 30 day money back guarantee which should be enough for everyone to judge the quality of the service.

Final Verdict

Overall, SmartHide VPN delivers an above average VPN service. While the service is definitely expensive and is not yet available for Linux, it offers several innovative features that are not yet available with its competitors. So if you are looking for an excellent VPN service that has the backing of a professional security company, check the VPN offers from SmartHide today. For more information, please visit: www.smarthide.com.