HMA! Tip: Virtual locations!

What are they and what can I use them for?

When you connect to one of our HMA! VPN servers, you’re assigned an IP address from the country server you connect to. For example connect to any HMA! server in America and you’ll get a US IP address. You can verify this here



Connecting to different countries is great for accessing geo-restricted content – for example, if you’re in the UK and you want to watch US television, many US websites will see that you are in the UK and will block you from viewing the content.  A VPN will help you get around this issue; simply connect to a US VPN server which will assign you an American IP address. This will allow you to watch the shows, as the website will now see you as connecting from within the US – you’ve tricked the website into thinking you are physically in the US.  However, connecting to a country that is far from your physical location can occasionally result in slower connection speeds and decreased reaction time which can make streaming online media difficult.  “Virtual Locations” can help solve this problem.

When you connect to a ‘virtual location’ server, you’re assigned an IP address of the country you would like to appear from, but you connect to a country server that is physically closest to you. For example, if you are based in Europe and would like to access the internet from the USA, you would connect to the UK, London – Virtual USA server.

This will give you improved speeds because now you’ve taken a shorter route, a “virtual” one.

When you connect to this virtual server location and check your IP you’ll see that you have a working virtual IP address, although the server you just connected to is located in a different country. You can now expect improved speeds and better reaction time.

Give it a try – check the HMA! Pro VPN clients server location list, the PPTP/L2TP server list or the OpenVPN configuration files for the “Virtual” server locations:

TCP OpenVPN config files

UDP OpenVPN config files

L2TP server lists

PPTP server lists: These can be found in your control panel

You can find out more information about virtual locations here

Name of the Provider	Website Address
Hide My Ass	Visit Provider
Strong VPN	Visit Provider
Switch VPN	Visit Provider
Pure VPN	Visit Provider
IPVanish VPN	Visit Provider
Hotspot Shield Elite	Visit Provider

 

First it was a block on Twitter, and now YouTube. Hide My Ass! continues to offer free VPN services to help Turkish citizens beat censorship

 

Turkey has now blocked two social media sites, Twitter last week and today, YouTube.
We at Hide My Ass! continue to support HMA! users in Turkey at this time by offering free VPN during this ban.

This new block comes a day after a court ordered the suspension of a ban on Twitter, which PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan supported.


An anonymous audio recording of Turkish officials discussing Syria appeared on YouTube appears to have prompted this new move. The recording relates to possible military operations in Syria, which included the Turkish head of intelligence talking to the deputy chief of the Turkish military and the Turkish foreign minister.

Whilst some users are able to access the site, others are receiving the message (translated into English) “Access has been blocked by the Telecommunication Communication Presidency”
We are proud to support Turkish citizens in their pursuit of online freedom, and Hide My Ass! will extend free services to our Turkish customers while this ban on Twitter and YouTube continues. See below for details of how to claim your free VPN time.

With our service, you can bypass censorship and access any blocked website, like Twitter and YouTube. Once you connect to HMA! with any of your devices (mobile or desktop), you can choose one of our servers located in 65 countries and you will obtain an IP address which will hide your real location. Your traffic will be encrypted and you will enjoy free and uncensored access to any website you wish while you are virtually residing in a different country.

We urge all VPN users in Turkey to spread the word and help their less knowledgeable friends, co-workers and neighbors avoid this stupid ban.

How to claim – terms of this offer

All existing active customers who have an HMA! Pro VPN subscription purchased through SMS from a Turkish mobile phone number will automatically have their subscription extended.

Other existing active customers based in Turkey, who wish to have an extension, should contact HMA! customer support by email with the words “YouTube Ban” in the subject line.  Our customer support will verify your location by IP address and credit card billing details. If you did not pay by credit card, we may request other proof of address.

New customers (including inactive users) in Turkey should purchase a one week subscription via SMS which will be automatically extended. You can order via SMS by visiting the HMA! order page.

This offer is for a maximum of 6 months from 21 March 2014 or the end of the Turkish Twitter ban, whichever is sooner.

The terms of this offer may be amended at any time by Hide My Ass!

Name of the Provider	Website Address
Hide My Ass	Visit Provider
Strong VPN	Visit Provider
Switch VPN	Visit Provider
Pure VPN	Visit Provider
IPVanish VPN	Visit Provider
Hotspot Shield Elite	Visit Provider

 

March Madness is here!

Yes, it’s that time again where the top college basketball teams in the US compete in the 2014 NCAA Tournament, better known as March Madness. This year, eight to ten teams have a good shot at winning the tournament, which is a lot more than in other years.  So, will Wichita State, San Diego State, Harvard: The Ivy Leaguers or as some predict the Florida Gators, take the 2014 NCAA title?

The action begins with the “First Four” games, or the “play-in” games on March 18 and 19 in Dayton.  The “second round” games begin on March 20-21 and the third on 22 and 23 March.
The Final Four will take place in Arlington, Texas at the AT&T Stadium, and the national championship game will be played on April 7.  Click here for a full version of the March Madness bracket 

If you still have room for even more excitement and you can stop biting your nails for a second, you could walk off with a cool $1 billion, yes ONE BILLION dollars. Warren Buffett is offering this incredible sum to any fan who can pick the perfect bracket this year. The competition is open to the first 15 million people to sign up and at the moment it appears there are still spaces available.
However don’t get too excited, The Washington Post calculated that someone picking all 63 games correctly are 9.2 quintillion-to-1. Still, I guess there’s a chance!

If you live overseas, or you’re travelling during the tournament and are unable to watch the games on your laptop,  iPad, iPhone or Android device you will be relieved to know that you can, by using a VPN.  With a VPN, (namely HMA! Pro VPN) you can watch all the games from wherever you are around the world, bypassing all the restrictions on streaming sites. A VPN will cause the USA ISP into thinking that you are physically in the US, so any online activity you perform is as if you are in the USA, allowing you to be part of the action.

So, sit back, make sure you have enough snacks to see you through, it’s basketball time!

For more information about HMA! Pro VPN click here

Name of the Provider	Website Address
Hide My Ass	Visit Provider
Strong VPN	Visit Provider
Switch VPN	Visit Provider
Pure VPN	Visit Provider
IPVanish VPN	Visit Provider
Hotspot Shield Elite	Visit Provider