Pengyou Posted August 19, 2013 at 12:24 PM Report Share Posted August 19, 2013 at 12:24 PM I am a little tired of the vpn service that I am using. I won't mention names...but I am wondering if someone can tell me which kind of vpn technology is best to use here? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PengHaoShi Posted August 19, 2013 at 12:59 PM Report Share Posted August 19, 2013 at 12:59 PM I use ExpressVPN, it is not cheap, but works fine for XP, Windows 8, Mac OS and iOS. We use it frm Shanghai and Beijing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChTTay Posted August 19, 2013 at 01:26 PM Report Share Posted August 19, 2013 at 01:26 PM I won't mention names... I find it weird how secretive people are about which VPN they use, especially in China ... even people who want to know which one I use don't want to come out and ask me for it. A: "You have a VPN?" B: "...yes" A: "....How is it?" B: "err...yeah, it's ok" A: "......Cool......" I get sucked into the whole mindset too and feel like if I tell you it will be discovered and won't work any more!!! better be quiet or "they" will find out! I USE ASTRILL!!!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChTTay Posted August 19, 2013 at 01:27 PM Report Share Posted August 19, 2013 at 01:27 PM Oh... back to the question, I find OpenVPN is more easily blocked round "these parts" than the more basic kind of VPN, I forget the name... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kanjiology Posted August 19, 2013 at 01:54 PM Report Share Posted August 19, 2013 at 01:54 PM I'm using VPNinja and it is reliable most of the time, it has a bunch of different servers from different countries and a stealth mode for users in China. It is compatible with just about any OS, Android, iOS, etc. I used a week trial of Astrill and felt the service was better, but I like the payment options of VPNinja being monthly and only $6. VPNinja sometimes gives a free month from time to time for reviewing their service. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pengyou Posted August 19, 2013 at 11:49 PM Author Report Share Posted August 19, 2013 at 11:49 PM Thanks! Company names are useful...but I was also asking about technologies. I use Witopeia now and their latest and greatest is IPSEC but sometimes I have to reconnect as often as every 5 minutes - very frustrating when I am watching a movie or tv program. Their solution is for me to get online and get more codes of one kind or another - usually ip addresses. I see that Boxpn offers something called SSTP encryption with 2048 bit encryption, but their solution for smart phones is ppp or lt2p. All companies, of course, use phrases like "super fast" and safest, etc Maybe the bottom line of my question is, how do I choose a VPN so that I don't have to keep reconnecting or requesting new numbers? All these acronyms....it all sounds so FUBAR to me I live in Shenzhen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muyongshi Posted August 20, 2013 at 12:08 AM Report Share Posted August 20, 2013 at 12:08 AM IPSec is hardly the latest and greatest from Witopia - it's been around for ages! I still use Witopia and exclusively use IPSec as I have found it to be the most reliable. If you are having disconnect issues I recommend playing with different setting regarding your DNS AND setting a new longer password. The stronger the Phase 1 key the better chance you have of good connection. What OS are you on? I find Vancouver and LA to be the best speed wise btw. Also, don't believe companies that tout encryption stronger than 256-it's simply a marketing ploy. Basically they use fuzzy math to come up with that number. Over the years I have tried EVERY service (okay maybe not every) but I also come back to Witopia. And they do not pay me or give me free stuff for my opinion-sadly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pengyou Posted August 20, 2013 at 12:57 AM Author Report Share Posted August 20, 2013 at 12:57 AM Win 7 on my desktop and 8 on my tablet. I just wish that WTP had a widget that I could install on my computer that would automatically search for new connections without having me to type them in one by one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silent Posted August 20, 2013 at 12:58 AM Report Share Posted August 20, 2013 at 12:58 AM but I am wondering if someone can tell me which kind of vpn technology is best to use here? Best from which perspective? Most secure? Most stable? Least likely to be blocked? Easiest to use? If it's just to get through the great firewall and bypass the censor I think technology makes little difference. However a high security level might be interpreted as that you really have something to hide and may encourage blocking. Maybe source and destination are more important as "holes" in the firewall that are used by many are more likely to be blocked and IP ranges with sensitive content are more likely to be blocked. If technology makes a difference I guess your best bets may be to use something really obscure that 'nobody' uses or use something extremely common such as https as that would be relatively disruptive to block. Blocking https disrupts all secure websites (banks, e-commerce, etc). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abcdefg Posted August 20, 2013 at 02:49 AM Report Share Posted August 20, 2013 at 02:49 AM Company names are useful...but I was also asking about technologies. Connections using PPPT protocols work best for me in Kunming (Win 7 laptop.) I don't know about the level of encryption. SSTP setups have been much less reliable. Not sure if that's what you were after; I'm not terribly tech-savvy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imron Posted August 20, 2013 at 09:00 AM Report Share Posted August 20, 2013 at 09:00 AM Company names are useful...but I was also asking about technologies. If you are in any way mildly technical, set up a VPS somewhere and run one for yourself. Amazon Web Services will even give you a free VPS for an entire year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muyongshi Posted August 20, 2013 at 04:19 PM Report Share Posted August 20, 2013 at 04:19 PM I agree with Imron-if you are interested in technology and are tech savvy set up your own. I know it was discussed extensively in previous threads-a search will bring it up. Regarding VPN technology specifically-OpenVPN really is the "best" from most perspectives; L2TP is secure but generally slow, PPTP is old and slow (I'm over simplifying) and IPSec is very stable and generally fast and is my personal preference. Honestly, read witopias description of VPN and you will get a good overview of the technology-especially if you had no clue as to what the acronyms I used mean. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daofeishi Posted August 21, 2013 at 02:20 AM Report Share Posted August 21, 2013 at 02:20 AM If you are in any way mildly technical, set up a VPS somewhere and run one for yourself Yup. The large providers are easy targets if Chinese ISPs want to block or restrict VPN access, but if you host your own you almost have to be personally targeted in order to be disrupted. I've been running mine for a couple of years now after I got fed up with disruptions with my previous provider, and things have been going smoothly since. For someone who is a bit tech savvy and not intimidated by unix/linux, it's as easy as getting a virtual private server with TUN/TAP enabled at a location with unrestricted internet access and following instructions (well, additionally it might be a good idea to secure the server by e.g. reconfiguring SSH and iptables). 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
valikor Posted August 21, 2013 at 04:18 AM Report Share Posted August 21, 2013 at 04:18 AM I assume that the reason OP didn't want to "mention names" was not to be secretive, but maybe to avoid filling up these forums with keywords that might get the forum blocked in China. I have no idea whether or not this would actually happen, but it might be a valid concern. I am not well-versed in the differences between the various protocols, but for what it's worth, I'm using ExpressVPN now, which I find better than HideMyAss (which I used in the past), and both are better than all the free services I've used. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muyongshi Posted August 21, 2013 at 05:28 AM Report Share Posted August 21, 2013 at 05:28 AM but maybe to avoid filling up these forums with keywords that might get the forum blocked in China. I have no idea whether or not this would actually happen, but it might be a valid concern. Of all the "sensitive" topics that have been discussed here over the years, I highly doubt a conversation about VPN's would do it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gato Posted August 21, 2013 at 05:49 AM Report Share Posted August 21, 2013 at 05:49 AM More likely that the VPN might be blocked once it gets mentioned too much on online forums. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
New Members moiz Posted December 3, 2013 at 08:32 AM New Members Report Share Posted December 3, 2013 at 08:32 AM It totally depends on the purpose of usage. like for example what do you want to from a VPN To access Blocked sites? To secure your privacy and connection? For streaming purpose. Inorder to access blocked sites you just need PPTP protocol, basically this protocol shift your current server location to another country. It is not that secure but you can access blocked sites. For secure connectivity, you need STL connection, which is basically A wall with in a wall and your your data in transmitted within a buttlet proof train. For streaming purpose you can do it on PPTP . My personal opinion is to get a connection which offers STL protocol. It ensures your data safety. which can cater all three problems I used couple of VPN, some of them are listed above but i didnt find any good one. If one is providing security it slows my net to dead speed. Currently i am using PureVPN. and i am using it from months now. Quite happy with the quality of service, and customer support. You should take a visit of their website, http://www.purevpn.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vandalaar Posted December 13, 2013 at 03:03 PM Report Share Posted December 13, 2013 at 03:03 PM I have been using Witopia for a year and found the quality got worse over time. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akclau Posted December 14, 2013 at 12:26 AM Report Share Posted December 14, 2013 at 12:26 AM Of the "Big 4" the general consensus on the internet seems to be: Witopia - works but slow... Astrill - works reasonably well, service is not great, lots of personal ID verification to sign up. Strong - works reasonably well. Express - works reasonably well. Of the big 4, it seems like Express has the most positive reviews (or the least negative reviews). Outside of the big 4 I recommend a small provider call Senvpn.com. It's cheaper and pretty fast. It only supports only PPTP & L2TP so if you need STL or Cisco IPSec you can't use them. But PPTP & L2TP is all I ever needed in my last 8 years in China anyway even when I was with Astrill or Witopia. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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