Looking to stream Netflix in your territory? Need to extend your private network to a location overseas? Theres a new free tool that monitors the upload and download speeds of specific Virtual Private Network (VPN) providers located around the globe. Even more, it lists the details of each providers servers, showing which connection is best for your VPN needs.
Upon first loading the site, new users are greeted with a popup welcoming them to the worlds first localized VPN speed testing tool, which was in development for two years before recently going live. The tool is sponsored by Private Internet Access and six other providers, and is accepting donations. Across the top is a list of social networks that allow the user to post news about the new tool.
We have set upfew servers in multiple locations across North America, Europe & Australia, the site states. Multiple intelligent software robots check internet speed of different VPN providers at their VPN servers at every hour every day. Every robot updates speed result at a centralized database. Another robot cleans this data with machine learning algorithm and finally sends accurate speed data to a Web server. The more data it receives the more accurate result it can produce, our current accuracy is more than 90% and at the end of 2015 the estimated accuracy will be 99%.
On the left of the browser window is a sidebar with a list of VPN providers and a list of territories for testing the VPN speed in near real time (if a provider isnt listed, you can request it to be added). The world map spread out across the window displays blue spheres that indicate the location of a VPNs server; each sphere contains a number that displays the servers download speed. Double-clicking on a sphere reveals the server download and upload details. You can zoom in and out of the map using the mouse wheel, and click the wheel to pan around the map.
AS an example of how the tool works, we checked out PIAs server located in Florida. Using a test location in New York, the server had a download speed of 4.42MB/sec and an upload speed of 5.69MB/s. By changing the test location to London, that same server had a download speed of 7.69MB/s and an upload speed of 12.50MB/s. Not too shabby.
As for supported VPN providers, the list includes Private Internet Access (the default), VPN-S, Black VPN, Liquid VPN, Vyprvpn, Invisible Browsing VPN, Cactus, TorGuard, IP Vanish VPN, CyberGhost, ExpressVPN, and Hide My Ass. Test locations include two in the United States, Singapore, London, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Tokyo, Sydney, Toronto, and Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Ultimately users can walk away with valuable information that will help them choose the right VPN for their needs. While privacy is a very important factor in choosing a service, so is speed, especially when streaming video is involved. This tool, which updates server information on an hourly basis, is ideal because users can compare multiple providers in one sitting.
News of the tool arrives as Netflix begins to crack down on users who are using VPNs and proxies to stream content into geographic territories that dont have licensing rights to the media. In other words, theyre getting access to movies and TV shows that arent legally available in their region. Only the US military is purportedly allowed to stream Netflixs US catalog overseas via VPNs.
Netflix vowed to beef up its proxy and unblocker detection in mid-January. The company said this detection technology will continue to evolve, and should not affect members who are not using proxies.
VIA: Ghacks.net
From maximumpc
