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If it weren't for the internet, I would not be able to do my job. Can you imagine not being able to access the news, bank accounts, or social media? It would be so difficult to keep up with all of the changes happening in the world. Although it was simpler back then, I don't think any of us would ever want to return to the dark ages.
The internet has enabled an unprecedented level of ease and convenience in our lives. Anything we need to know is just a quick Google search away. We can purchase items from Amazon or Grub Hub with the convenience of having our product shipped to our front door overnight. Food is no problem either, we can go to any number of restaurants and find what we are looking for with ease thanks to the internet. It truly is a beautiful time to be alive.
That is not to say, however, that the internet, alongside all of its benefits, does not come with inherent dangers as well. For every website and app that makes our lives infinitely easier, there are several bad actors lurking on public internet connections, waiting in the shadows to strike. They know how to view and use our personal information, from credit card numbers to addresses, personal pics, videos, and all the rest. Anything that is transmitted over a public wifi network is potentially exploitable.
But it isn't just the occasional hacker looking to take advantage of the security flaws of public wifi connections that we have to worry about. In fact, some of the most reputable companies out there are also mining and using your data in ways that could make you uncomfortable. Believe it or not, the very companies that provide us with our internet connections are also tracking our activity and data. That's right, your Internet Service Provider (ISP), it turns out, could be using your data against you. Many of them, unfortunately, even sell your information to third-party corporate interests, allowing them to better target you with advertisements and the like.
State agencies routinely monitor civilian internet activity, often under the guise of keeping citizens "safe." The fact that this is an invasion of privacy is not denied. It is reminiscent of what was mentioned in George Orwell's book 1984, where Big Brother was alive and well.
Sadly, though, that is not even the worst of it. In more repressive countries, the government goes far out of its way to censor plenty of content as well. The internet is supposed to be a free and open transaction of information. But freedom, of course, depends entirely on where you live. And since censorship is the go-to strategy of any despotic regime, you cannot expect your internet access to be fully open if you live in a country that hates free speech.
However, I have some good news. Hope is not lost entirely. Regardless of the issue of privacy you wish to combat - hackers, ISPs, the government, etc. - a majority of your online problems can be solved by using a VPN. But in order to protect your privacy, first you must know what makes you vulnerable.
If you find yourself frequently Connecting to public wifi networks, either in a coffee shop or during travel, a VPN is definitely worth considering. Public internet connections are far from secure. Anyone with a little bit of savvy when it comes to tech can easily spy on your online activity. By downloading a VPN, though, you can protect yourself from hackers, spies, and even bypass the most oppressive governments. You just have to find the right VPN for you.
History
The founders of Hola VPN, Ofer Vilenski and Derry Shibman, began working together on technology that would wind up being Hola's predecessors in 1998. With the profits from this company, they created Jungo in 2000 in order to develop an operating system for home gateway networks. In 2006, Cisco acquired Jungo for $107 million.
In 2007, Hola began serious work on reinventing HTTP through a peer-to-peer overlay network. This technology was implemented in order to speed up the act of accessing proxy sites through P2P connections. In 2012, Hola Networks Limited launched its first Virtual Private Network (VPN). Hundreds of thousands of consumers began using Hola for internet privacy, as well as anonymity. Hola's main tool for being able to provide this is its signature P2P IP masking.
Design
I find that Hola VPN has gone out of its way to provide an aesthetically pleasing and easy-to-use design. With a sleek and lighthearted blue and white theme, Hola looks great. It is simple to use, easy to navigate, and easy on the eyes. All you have to do is pull up the app, extension, or program, choose your server location of choice, and activate the software's privacy function. And that's really all there is to it.
Despite the fact that the design of Hola doesn't matter all that much when it comes to using a VPN, the app is available on a wide range of devices and operating systems. Additionally, it's nice that they put in the effort to make it look nice even though you are unlikely to use it and close it, hardly using the app or program itself much at all.
Content
Hello VPN,
As I briefly touched upon, Hola VPN is available on nearly every single device and on every single operating system you can think of.
You can use Hola VPN as a Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, or Opera extension; an Android or iOS app; a Windows or Mac program; or an extension/app for X Box, Playstation, Nintendo, routers, Apple TVs, and any smart TV. Hola VPN has one of the longest lists of compatible systems of all the VPNs available.
Pricing and Plans
I love the fact that Hola VPN is offered as a freemium service with various levels of service. The baseline service is free, but some sites are blocked with this and will require you to upgrade to the pro version. There is also a business option called Luminati which charges per gigabyte.
For our purposes, we'll just look at the payment structures for Hola VPN Pro. You can sign up for an 11-month contract at $11.95 per month. It gets cheaper from there, depending on how long you are willing to commit to. For a 1-year plan, you will pay $6.99/month. And for a 3-year plan, you can expect to pay as low as $2.99 a month. As far as VPN prices go, if you are willing to commit to 3 years with Hola, you could be paying less than you would for any other VPN on the market - which will provide you with what some would call the best VPN protection.
Suggestions that I have for Hola VPN
One potential suggestion for Hola VPN is to offer a payment option that lasts for a month. The shortest-term that Hola offers is 11 months, but this does not meet my needs if I just want to try out Hola Pro for a single month and then move on. Besides that, I love how versatile and easy to use Hola VPN is - as well as the breadth of protection and censorship subversion it provides.
Conclusion
If you are looking for a VPN that will work as hard as possible to protect your privacy and completely obliterate online censorship, Hola is one way to go. Excellently designed, easy to use, and affordable, Hola VPN is the best way to go.
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