IronSocket is a Hong Kong-based VPN provider. They used to go by the name HideMyNet. Their VPN service doesn’t come with a client, but it offers fast servers and a nice jurisdictional layering selection, given that they are headquartered in HK.
Pricing & Plans
This is among the many services that price their plans according to subscription length. All of the plans are unlimited and allow three connections at once. You can add more connections for an additional monthly fee.
- One month for $6.99
- Six months for $35.95
- One year for $49.95
You can pay for your subscription with PayPal, credit cards and Bitcoin. If you want another anonymous option, you can use a gift card from any of a number of different vendors to pay for your subscription, even Starbucks.
Free Trial/ Money-back Guarantee
This service doesn’t offer a free trial, but there is a seven-day money back guarantee.
Privacy & Anonymity
IronSocket doesn’t log your activity, so this service should be suitable for those who are particularly concerned about privacy. The anonymous payment options give them another advantage in this regard.
Provider Logging Policy
According to their privacy policy:
- They DO NOT LOG or record in any manner the content you access while using their Services.
- They DO NOT USE your information for purposes other than those to which you have consented.
- They DO NOT SELL or trade personal information for commercial purposes.
Upon Use of their services, they collect the following session information:
- Time and date of the session connection and disconnection.
- The IP address used for the session and which server was connected to; and
- A numerical representation showing total bytes transferred per session.
They use this data to manage your account, to provide the services, and to prevent fraud and abuse. This session information is retained for a limited period of time, typically 72 hours, after which it is purged from their servers.
Torrent Policy
Torrenting is allowed on selected servers, with those servers being optimized for P2P. It is prohibited on some servers, so be sure to check before you download your configuration files.
Customer Support
There’s a ticketing system available on the site for support requests. The information on this site is excellent, however, so basic configuration questions shouldn’t require a support ticket at all.
Product Testing
Setting up the OpenVPN GUI is not particularly difficult. IronSocket gives instructions for a variety of different devices on their site. Once you have the client installed, all you have to do is download the configuration files for the server you want, and you can connect.
IronSocket offers connection instructions for all major operating systems, mobile operating systems, routers and much more.
VPN Server Locations
IronSocket operates an ever-expanding network of over 90 servers strategically located across 5 continents in countries all over the world. New servers are added constantly.
Countries Supported:
Speed Test
The speed test for IronSocket gave very good results. They came back at nearly 20Mbps, compared to our 44Mbps baseline. This is definitely a fast service.
IPCheck and DNSLeak Test
IronSocket concealed both our DNS and IP addresses.
Feature Summary
- Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android, routers, more
- OpenVPN, L2TP, Dynamic DNS
- Peer-to-Peer allowed
- Accepts Bitcoin
- Unlimited Bandwidth and Data Transfer
- Limitless Device Connections
- Wi-Fi HotSpot Security
- 24/7 Tech Support
We Liked
- Wide compatibility
- Excellent instructions on site
- Good privacy policy
- Anonymous payment methods
- Good jurisdiction
Areas for Improvement
A custom client would really take this service to the next level.
Conclusion
IronSocket is good, but it might be a bit outside the technical ability of newer users, due to the requirement to use the standard OpenVPN client. The privacy policy is good and, where a lot of company’s just say “no-logging,” IronSocket lets you know that they do collect some data—they have to in order to monitor their network—but that they don’t keep it. They restrict P2P on some servers, but only in locations where doing so makes sense. Overall, this is a good provider.
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