PIA VPN (2022) Überprüfungsleitfaden

Suchst du ein neues Private Internet Access VPN Rezension? Das ist logisch, in den letzten Jahren haben diese Dienste enorm an Popularität gewonnen, fast 30% der Internetnutzer haben in den letzten 5 Jahren VPN-Anbieter genutzt. Wir bei Globalwatchonline.com tested and tried all different providers for you, read our comprehensive PIA VPNreview and learn everything about this service, we are sure that once you’re done reading you will know if this provider suits you.

Who and what is Private Internet Access?

PIA is well-known VPN service, but how does it stack up against other popular VPN services? In order to find out, I decided to purchase their monthly plan and tried them out. Private Internet Access (PIA) is probably the most popular VPN on the market today.

• Es wurde im August 2010 von London Trust Media, INC. gestartet. Obwohl es eines der billigsten VPNs ist und Tausende von Benutzern hat, ist es gut genug für eine ernsthafte Nutzung? In diesem Test haben wir die Netzwerkleistung des PIA-Servers, die Benutzerfreundlichkeit ihrer VPN-App sowie die Technologie hinter ihrem VPN-Dienst (OpenVPN + 128-Bit-Verschlüsselung) getestet.
• True to its name, this provider is best known for its strict no-logs policy and commitment to user privacy. It's not one of the am billigsten Lösungen, aber es steht ganz oben auf the best VPN list of 2022.

Is PIA truly as trustworthy as they claim when it comes to protecting user privacy and anonymity? How does it perform in other categories like streaming, torrenting, and safety? We tested PIA ourselves to find out, and the results are in. Some of the highlights of PIA’s VPN service include its user-friendly interface, robust security, anonymous torrenting, and support for 10 simultaneous devices. Downsides include variable speeds and inconsistent ability to access popular streaming sites like Netflix, Kodi or Hulu.

Was sind die Vorteile und Vorteile?

• No-logging policy
• Unbegrenzte Bandbreite und Nutzung
• Bis zu 10 gleichzeitige Verbindungen
• Numerous features, including kill switch, Ipv6 leak protection, ad blocker, P2P support
• Over 35,550+ servers in 78 countries worldwide
• User-friendly interface

Private Internet Access Is One Of The Fastest

One of the most important factors of a VPN is their download speed. If you’re signing up with a slow (read: bad VPN), you’ll end up with ridiculously slow speed. We’ve faced that several times, especially when I tested speed in StrongVPN and Mullvad (both were below 20 Mbps out of 100). However, things with Private Internet Access look quite good actually. As always, to make our PIA review accurate, I went to speedtest.net and put the following locations to the test: US, EU, Asia, and the UK. The location I used to track the speed was in the middle of Europe: Amsterdam

US-Server (New York)

• Ping: 118ms
• Herunterladen: 77,56 Mbit/s
• Hochladen: 36,75 Mbit/s

EU-Server (Amsterdam)

• Ping: 41ms
• Herunterladen: 81,46 Mbit/s
• Hochladen: 40,30 Mbit/s

Asien-Server (Hongkong)

• Ping: 283 ms
• Herunterladen: 69,98 Mbit/s
• Hochladen: 13,04 Mbit/s

UK-Server (London)

• Ping: 48ms
• Herunterladen: 75,67 Mbit/s
• Hochladen: 23,00 Mbit/s

In conclusion – PIA is pretty fast VPN. Not as fast as NordVPN or ExpressVPN, but surely an “OK” alternative as it’s cheaper. Keep in mind, speed is an important factor and is vastly connected with the VPN software you’re using. Of course, there are some ways to speed up a VPN connection, but the main Stärke comes from the actual VPN servers.

PIA Claims No Logging

‘Logging’ is a practice used to monitor and record data points from your VPN activity. For example, your internet service provider (ISP) will log which websites you access along with your personal information used to connect (like email or ISP). And they can actually sell that data. Some VPN providers will log certain details, like when you log in or sign off, in order to monitor their usage to improve service. PIA has a no logging policy that will not track or monitor traffic logs, or communication logs.

However, it does track some information, such as:

• Your email address
• Payment data
• Clients who opt to use the optional control panel will receive a temporary cookie

Keine Lecks erkannt

Private Internet Access is located within the United States, a founding member of the Five Eyes Surveillance Alliance. Not ideal right off the bat. If they were to get their grubby hands on your data, it would end up in government databases all around the world. Thankfully though, this is a system without leaks, which greatly hinders the government’s ability to spy on your browsing activity. As you can see in the results below, PIA passed all of our tests, both to detect the presence of leaks and to ensure that their installation software was 100% clean.

Solid Encryption & Great Features

In addition to important features, such as:

• Anonymous IP
• Ability to torrent
• Kill-Switch (but people have complained about it)
• 10 simultaneous connection
• Total servers: 3300+
• Total countries: 32 (last verified on 28th of May, 2019)

PIA also has several different levels of encryption: The default settings use 128-bit encryption on your data, which is good, but not the best. However, you can step up your data encryption to 256-bit, which is the industry standard, and will give you a very secure connection (it will slow everything down a bit, though). 

1. Sie können auch die Verschlüsselungsstufe sowohl für Ihre Datenauthentifizierung als auch für Ihren Handshake auswählen. Beides hilft Ihrem Computer und dem Server, die Authentizität der Verbindung und der übertragenen Daten zu überprüfen. Die Standardeinstellungen sind für SHA1 und RSA-2048, ein 2.048-Bit-Verschlüsselungsschlüssel. Das ist sehr schwer zu brechen.
2. Sie können jedoch bis zu RSA-4096 gehen und die Größe des Datenauthentifizierungsschlüssels mit SHA256 verdoppeln. Auch hier empfehle ich, die maximalen Einstellungen zu verwenden, damit Sie die bestmögliche Sicherheit erhalten. Wenn Sie jedoch wirklich zusätzliche Geschwindigkeit benötigen, können Sie die Standardempfehlung verwenden. 

And while the Risky Business setting might seem like a good idea if you need extra speed for torrenting or streaming, we’d really recommend against it. There’s probably not anyone trying to break your VPN encryption… but why risk it?

Specialized in Torrenting

Wenn du bist looking for a VPN that won’t restrict your torrenting, PIA is a solid choice. They don’t restrict or monitor any connections, and that includes peer-to-peer file sharing. You can use any torrenting client you like to download whatever you want, secure in the knowledge that your account won’t be blocked or your connection throttled. While Private Internet Access’s website doesn’t specifically say that the company supports torrenting, they do say that P2P is supported. So that’s something. But the VPN has developed a reputation for being torrent-friendly, so people recognize them as being a solid choice for file sharing.

One of The Oldest and Known VPN Providers

In the VPN world, it means a lot to have a reputation. And Private Internet Access has one of the best reputations in the business. They’ve been around since 2010, and they’ve provided reliable service ever since. In late 2017, they won the award for Most Stable VPN, which means a lot. Was it sponsored or not? Hard to tell. They’ve also received multiple editor’s choice award, but we can never know if they were compensated by PIA or not.

• The VPN shows up in a lot of best and fastest VPN lists, and there haven’t been any serious questions about their commitment to privacy (though they’re based in the US, which can be problematic; keep reading and we’ll discuss that momentarily). 

Being in business for almost 20 years is definitely a sign of prestige in the VPN world. PIA’s reputation and longevity make it a very safe choice. The company also supports many organizations that are making the internet a better place, including the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Creative Commons, Blender, Inkscape, Gnome, and the Software Freedom Conservancy.

Decent Device Compatibility

PIA supports most popular platforms. That includes Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and Firefox. They also have browser extensions for Chrome, Firefox, and Opera. They also support routers, technically speaking. But that will require some manual setup through OpenVPN. Not a huge fan of the extra labor. However, it does mean they’re compatible with DD-WRT, Lede, Merlin, PFSense, Tomato, and ASUSWRT routers. Plus, you can then connect both smart TVs and game consoles to those specific VPN routers. So there’s your light at the end of the tunnel.

One Out of Five Servers Worked for Netflix

PIA’s support forums confirm that they’ve been working diligently for years to find ways around Netflix’s detection. How have they fared? We tested four of their servers and saw the same dreaded black screen:

Those four losers included:

• Vereinigte Staaten: New York
• Kanada
• Vereinigtes Königreich
• Niederlande

However, we did get a successful one in Sunny California. Believe it or not, one out of four is pretty good these days. Especially when the majority of VPNs don’t even try to work with streaming services anymore. Do some more research into good Netflix VPN's or check out guides about Kodi VPN providers.

Private Internet Access Cons

The Limited Live Chat Support is a con, although PIA offers “24/7 North American” support. They only offer a live chat option for paying customers, which is kinda bad if you want to inquire about their services. I think that means their support personnel is located in North America. Seeing as the whole “24/7” thing means they should always be available (no matter where you’re located). 

1. However, when I contacted them through a middle of the night, I got a response at next morning. Not so 24/7 anymore, huh? On a positive side, they also provide a separate Twitter account dedicated to customer service. I took a look at that network to see how they interact with customers. 

The good news is that they will still try to provide long, detailed answers (despite Twitter’s condensed medium). Furthermore, they have a FAQ page which might help some of you:

Located in The US, This Can Be A Problem

Private Internet Access is based in the United States, and that’s problematic for many people. The US has some of strictest, most privacy-invading surveillance laws in the developed world, and that applies to VPN providers. 

1. The government has been known to pressure VPNs to give up user data with secret warrants, and that worries privacy advocates. 
2. Of course, the fact that PIA doesn’t keep logs means that they have very little to share with the authorities if they come knocking. But the fact is that they may not have a choice; if they have any data about you at all (such as whether you’re a customer or how long you’ve been one), they may be forced to hand it over.
3. Should that worry you? Maybe, and maybe not. There are rumors that the NSA has been able to break the encryption on some VPNs, which means the government could be snooping on your connection. 

If you’re using the maximum security recommendations, that’s less likely. Because of the combination of surveillance laws and intelligence-sharing agreements in the US, I tend to avoid VPNs based there. But that doesn’t mean it’s completely necessary for everyone.

PIA Pricing

PIA has a single plan with tiered pricing based on the length you’d like to commit and prepay. That keeps things nice and simple. And you can also get a great deal if you’re ready to shell out a single year in advance.

Plan eins:

• Monatlich
• $9.95/Monat

Plan zwei:

• Jährlich
• $5,99/Monat ($71,88 pro Jahr)

Plan drei:

• 2 Jahre
• $3.49/Monat ($83.87 pro 2 Jahre)

Can You Easily Buy Private Internet Access?

They offer a 7-day money back guarantee. So you can give the service a spin over the course of a few days. If you’re unhappy at all during those seven days, you can simply get your money back. Interestingly, PIA accepts all kinds of different methods of payment from credit cards to PayPal & they’ll also accept Bitcoin (which could also help you add another layer of privacy to the transaction).

Even better way to mask behind your identity?

• No logging: No activity logs, only payment and email information.
• Ease of the VPN software: Simple and smooth, installation file was over 60mb though.
• Hidden fees & clauses: None. In fact, their privacy policy is remarkably straightforward.
• Upsells: Keine Upsells.
• Sofortiger Zugang nach Zahlung: Ja.
• DNS leaks: Protection is built in (though you should always test it yourself).
• Jurisdiction: United States
• Protocols: OpenVPN, IPSec/L2TP, PPTP, Socks5 proxy.
• Kill-switch: Mixed reviews. Users can enable or disable it, and some have found that it doesn’t work as consistently as they like (I recommend testing it yourself).

Empfehlen wir einen privaten Internetzugang?

PIA ist ein benutzerfreundliches VPN mit robusten Sicherheitsfunktionen, die einfach nach Ihren Wünschen konfiguriert werden können. Das VPN schneidet in Bezug auf Sicherheit und Anonymität gut ab, aber inkonsistente Geschwindigkeiten und wackelige Geo-Spoofing-Fähigkeiten bedeuten, dass PIA nicht die beste Wahl für das Streaming ist. Auch der Kundensupport von PIA hat uns nicht sonderlich beeindruckt. Trotz seiner Nachteile hat PIA immer noch viel zu einem erschwinglichen Preis zu bieten.

• PIA bietet eine hervorragende Abdeckung in Nordamerika und Europa mit Tonnen von Servern an zentraler Stelle. In anderen Teilen der Welt ist diese Abdeckung jedoch nicht so groß, da nur wenige Server im Nahen Osten, in Asien und Ozeanien verteilt sind und ein einzelner, einsamer in Brasilien für südamerikanische Benutzer.
• PIA verfügt über alle gängigen Protokolle sowie modernste Verschlüsselungsverfahren. Ihre jährlichen Preise gehören zu den niedrigsten in der Branche. Und sie haben eine siebentägige Geld-zurück-Garantie, wenn Sie sie ausprobieren möchten.
• Kein allgemeiner Live-Chat-Support und kein Unternehmen mit Sitz in den USA.
• Benutzerfreundlich, erschwinglich und datenschutzfreundlich, hat aber einige Nachteile