Hidemyass VPN review for using Gumtree.com.au from overseas
Wed 19 Feb 2014
During time overseas I have found the growing need to overcome problems with web site that require me to be in a certain country. In Australia, the primary web site that causes problems is Gumtree.com.au.
The center of the online market places for Australia, Gumtree has a security provision which prohibits things being posted from overseas. This basic anti-spam mechanism stops questionable marketers and sellers from perpetuating scams on Australia people.
The problem with this is that while overseas I can't post on Gumtree.com.au, even though my purposes are completely legitimate ... and usually for posting share accommodation ads.
To overcome this, as many do, I need a VPN service.
What is a VPN?
A VPN is a "Virtual Private Network". Its a technology that was created back in the early days of the internet to allow businesses to connect remote offices or remote workers to the Internal computer network belonging to the business. In a simplistic way you can consider that a worker in a remote office or home office has their computer right there in the head office computer network LAN.
Today, the same technology is a very effective way to place any computer anywhere in a virtual way back to appear to be a given city of the world. In my case, I want to appear in Brisbane, Australia. This is the closest to the truth that I want to portray to the likes of Gumtree.com.au.
The result is that Gumtree looks at my updates and posts and the source IP address and its believed location in the world. There is extensive tables available mapping ip Internet addresses to a place in the world... which Gumtree and others uses to determine location. In this case, when I have the VPN active, all my Internet traffic is taken down a pipe to Brisbane and then sent to the public Internet from there. Hey presto! Gumtree looks at the IP address I am coming from and says "Yes, that guy appears to be in Brisbane".
From this, I can then do as I please using Gumtree to post my ads and update others.
The applications for this VPN system multiply and have other uses. Take China for instance - Facebook.com, Couchsurfing.org, and a number of other websites are blocked. Using a VPN, you can reach out of China to appear in another location and simply circumvent the block.
Selecting a VPN provider.
After an extensive research, reading blogs, comparing products, ease of use and pricing, I settled on Hidemyass. Here are the reasons.
1. Diversity of server locations.
This network appears to have the largest network of servers to choose from. ie, for Australia, I had the choice of Brisbane, Sydney or Melbourne - and this was a distinct point of difference from other providers. In internet terms, I can appear to be just about anywhere in the world.
2. Simplicity of product choice
Some providers of VPN Service go into way to much detail and complicate choice to the point where even I am lost among the choices (some times that is the sales strategy). Hide My Ass has a simple product selection.
3. Easy sign up and payment means.
I have rarely found a sign up process as simple as Hide My Ass. It took about 3 minutes and most of that was inside Paypal. You can subscribe also by submitting a credit card direct to Hidemyass. I choose paypal as this lets me control my subscription with ease.
4. Software installation
Once signed, I was prompted to download the HMA (HideMyAss) windows software. It installed with out a hitch. Once started I entered username, password and selected Brisbane Australia. I then clicked "Connect to VPN" and its done! Up and running in less than 10 minutes total!
If you like this review and want to find out more about Hidemyass, then click this link to go to their web site.
Click here to find out more about HideMyAss
| Story by: John Nayler Profile John Nayler has been a flat-out-traveller for almost 20 years. 37 countries, but who's counting - he is likely to have been there, done that AND probably recorded something about it. You want entertaining answers? You have come to the right place. |
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