good VPN service?

Posted in: Forums > Living in Kunming • 20 posts • Newest

• • Dagoutuo
    November 8, 2009
    10 posts
  • I would be very appreicate of any advice on good (and cheap if possible) VPN services in order to get through facbook, youtube etc.

    I've used the 11vpn.com service but it looked more like a scam thought it was only 100 kuai a year.

    Thanks in advance.

• • LaoBenDan
    November 8, 2009
    37 posts
  • There may be many reasons why VPN may not work with your computer or connection. If you need advice, look here :

    http://www.strongvpn.com/faq.shtml
    http://www.strongvpn.com/forum/
    StrongVPN's site is one of the best VPN I have seen.
    (I cannot see a reason, why 11vpn.com shouldn' work)

• • Dagoutuo
    November 9, 2009
    10 posts
  • Thanks LaoBenDan, the 11vpn.com works but the only reason I refuse to use it is because it has a tiny little usage allowance which doesn't even allow you to visit sites such as youtube, nor to stalk your friends' photos on facebook as it claims you will use a lot of traffics by seeing many pictures. The strongvpn looks quite good, a little expensive though, what about Linkideo or Witopia?

• • dianjing
    November 9, 2009
    17 posts
  • I've found Witopia to be excellent, have never had any problems with it, though when local internet access is slow, Witopia also crawls.

    Just make sure you get at least the $59.99/yearly pkg vs. the 39.99 one. The former is SSL, the latter PPTP. The PPTP service is blocked in China.

• • Greginchina
    November 9, 2009
    239 posts
  • the witopia PPTP service is not blocked in China, however it is sporadic and does need a couple of attempts to connect.

    I've used witopia for a long time and find them ok but slow quite often.

    the openvpn client slows things down a bit so if you can get a vpn with native operating system support it'll work a bit quicker.

    I've found that L2TP/IPSec VPNs work really well now and the protocol is not blocked by China Unicom or China Mobile (which PPTP is), therefore I can even use facebook from my phone on the street. A couple of services I've tried recently are www.vpnaccounts.com and www.vpngates.com (both offer PPTP, L2TP and Openvpn).

    If you've got Windows Vista or Windows 7 you can get an SSTP VPN. This is a new protocol which uses SSL like openvpn but is natively supported in newer versions of Windows and runs a lot faster than OpenVPN - if you have XP, OSX or Linux unfortunately you cant use SSTP.

    One thing that is advisable is to change your DNS settings to use OpenDNS (see www.opendns.com). Sometimes VPNs still don't work for certain sites because the local ISP (China Telecom) has messed around with the DNS settings so that the domain name doesn't match the IP address. If you use OpenDNS you can get round this (although you'll still need a VPN to connect to the site itself). It is best to edit the DNS settings on your router if you can but failing that it can be done at the computer level.

• • kickkick
    November 9, 2009
    51 posts
  • ultravpn.fr is free and gets the job done.

    you just need to play with the config file for it to work here.

• • Dagoutuo
    November 9, 2009
    10 posts
  • Thanks Greginchina the L2TP/IPSec sounds great but I don't really use facebook on my phone here so i guess i'd stick to the OpenVPN.

    Also many thanks to kickkick for reminding me to change the config for the ultravpn!! It's now working again!!!!

• • DanTheMan
    November 14, 2010
    235 posts
  • Bump. Anybody got a recent recommendation for a reputable VPN service for OSX. My Witopia account just expired and I'm not going to renew. Too slow and the connection seems to drop out constantly. Cheers.

• • DaMiao
    November 14, 2010
    61 posts
  • I use AceVPN $5/mo reliable with no problems. I've used ExpatVPN also with no problems.

• • GBTEXDOC
    November 14, 2010
    105 posts
  • Quote: "the openvpn client slows things down a bit so if you can get a vpn with native operating system support it'll work a bit quicker."

    I realize that advice was from a year ago and the situation may have changed.

    I still use Open VPN and find it reliable, with very little speed degradation. What are examples of services for use inside China with "native operating system support?" (I use Windows XP and am only interested in VPN for my laptop, not for a mobile device.)

    Thanks.

• • ggmandy
    November 15, 2010
    7 posts
  • I am using a simple proxy application to get access to fb, twitter and youtube. It is easy to use and totally FREE.

    Anyone needs that, just drop me line:)

• • JustSomeGuy
    November 15, 2010
    23 posts
  • I use Witopia (www.witopia.net) and have had very good success with it. I have also used OpenVPN and I consider it just as good.

• • Greginchina
    November 16, 2010
    239 posts
  • Witopia is a VPN provider while OpenVPN is a VPN protocol. Saying one is as good as the other is like saying a car is as good as a road.

    Infact Witopia uses the OpenVPN protocol anyway (as well as PPTP for backup)

    My favourite VPN of the moment is 12vpn. They're not expensive and they give you access to multiple servers (US & UK) and a range of protocols (PPTP, IPSec, L2TP, OpenVPN). You can switch between servers and protocols at any time and for no charge. For example I might one minute be using an IPSec VPN to Los Angeles on my iphone over the mobile network and then decide I want to watch the BBC Iplayer so I'll load their London VPN using PPTP or OpenVPN on the PC.

    "Native operating system support" means something can run via the OS without installing a client. On windows this is true of PPTP, L2TP, IPSec and SSTP (Vista and Win7 only). OpenVPN requires a client application and virtual network adapter. Can be a bit CPU intensive depending on your machine.

• • GBTEXDOC
    November 16, 2010
    105 posts
  • I get it. Thanks for clearing it up, Greg.

    This is the provider I was referring to: http://www.strongvpn.com/

    They suggested an OpenVPN protocol because they said some Chinese ISP's block PPTP. And like you said, it does require installing a client application.

    I'll take a look at 12vpn. Appreciate it.

• • hedgepig
    November 17, 2010
    275 posts
  • @Greginchina

    you continue to be a source of superior knowledge on this subject (and others of related ilk). techie though i am, your knowledge extends where mine does not. thank you for your useful contributions :)

• • Greginchina
    November 17, 2010
    239 posts
  • @GBTEXDOC - I used strongvpn a couple of years ago. They are good but at the time you had to make a choice about protocol and server location and stick to it. If you wanted to have access to a server in US and a server in Europe you paid twice. If you wanted PPTP, IPsec, L2TP and OpenVPN you paid 4 times. Each product was totally separate. I am not sure if this is still the case but its worth checking.

    I like to have different server locations. Servers on the West coast of the US are the fastest for all connections because they are closer to China. However I need a server in the UK so I can watch the BBC iPlayer because its restricted by the BBC (not by the great firewall of China).

    Even if you don't care about different server locations I think its still important to be able to switch easily between multiple protocols. Mobile networks in China do not support PPTP. Many devices (such as the iphone) do not natively support OpenVPN. Some wireless routers have been set up to block PPTP, IPSec and L2TP forcing you to use OpenVPN. There are too many variables so its best to have it all available.

    With 12vpn you just pay once and get access to all protocols and all servers. They also have automated setup for most operating systems and even the iphone - they have a page which you visit from the iphone which installs all the profiles for you immediately. I just checked their website and its currently 35 USD a year for this.

    Just checked strongvpn and the best deal is 55 USD per year for 4 cities (US and UK) on PPTP only. PPTP is blocked by some wifi routers (Prague Cafe for example) and doesn't work on mobile networks. They also do a 4 city package for 85 USD where you have to choose between OpenVPN or PPTP.

    They do a lite package for 7 USD per month which gives you PPTP only access to one US server.

    So overall I think 12vpn offers the best deal. No matter what device I'm using and whatever network or router I'm hooked up to they'll be a way of connecting. By the way I don't work for 12vpn!

• • GBTEXDOC
    November 19, 2010
    105 posts
  • Very helpful. Thanks a lot.

• • gerrycarlos
    October 3, 2011
    1 post
  • VPN not only use to get access from Facebook but VPN Services will allow you to bypass with all types of Internet censorship. I haven' heard about 11vpn and though just tried to open their website but it is nor working i guess.
    I knew few VPN providers who are offering their services all over the world and they are reported constant and stable through out.

    I would not list 1 or 2 VPN Services but i will endorse here with the Best and authentic VPN Guide which would give you detailed view for VPN.

    I found a Review Site i.e: http://www.bestvpnservice.com

    This is currently the Best VPN Review site and in this site you will get everythin related to VPN.

• • johnnyfreud786
    January 26, 2012
    5 posts
  • Well, after reviewing so many sites for vpn connection I came to know about this company which gives special facilities to their customer like hiding their identity and more than 7000 internet protocol address on 163 servers. I trusted this company http://www.bestvpnconnection.com/ and they really did a good job, totally recommend it without any hesitation you can use their best vpn services for home or business network.

• • henk0781
    January 26, 2012
    1 post
  • I suggest you use SSH, the annual cost of no more than 50 yuan,
    Download speeds up to 200kb / S, YOUTUBE very smooth

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