This is the fifth article of the series “How to choose a hide IP tool“. In the first post I have explained that you can choose between free and paid tools (How to choose a hide IP tool (I) – Free or paid?). If you decide to purchase a product you always have to try before you buy (How to choose a hide IP tool (II) – Try before buy!). Also you should decide if you want to browse anonymously using Internet Explorer or Firefox or use both (How to choose a hide IP tool (III) – IE or Firefox?). A good advice is to see what others recommend (How to choose a hide IP tool (IV) – See what others recommend).
Now … if the free tools do not work for you or your are not happy with their performance, you may consider paying for a hide IP service. Should you opt in for a subscription based service or a permanent license?
What does “permanent license” mean?
Permanent license means that you pay once and you can use the product as long as you want. Usually the producer offers 6 months or 1 year support. After that there is no quaranty. You are on your own. Also there are no updates after the support period ends.
Pros:
- You pay once
- Most of the time you pay less than for a subscription based service
Cons:
- Limited support and updates
- Variable product quality (the producers is not directly interested in improving the service for you as you’re already a client)
What is a subscription based service?
Subscription means that you purchase a service for 1,3,6,12 months. During that period you benefit from support and updates. Also, the producer is interested to maintain the quality of the service in order to make you renew the subscription.
Pros:
- Higher service quality
- Support and updates during the subscription
Cons:
- Overall you’ll pay more
- After the subscription is over you’ll not be able to use the service unless you subscribe again.
Conclusion
Hide IP solutions usually need a lot of maintenance in order to keep the services alive (due to proxies, VPNs, etc). Many such services go offline every day, leaving paying customers behind with no support and service updates. Taking these into account, I recommend choosing a subscription based services. You can go first for a 1 or 3 month subscription and afterwards, if you are happy with the service, go for a longer subscription.
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[...] For a product that can not be evaluated, Best Anonymous Browser is quite expensive: $39.95 for a permanent license. Even though the permanent license seems like a good thing, this is not necessarely the true, as you can read on a previous post: How to choose a hide IP tool (V) – Subscription or Permanent license. [...]