Table of Contents
Introduction
The need for enhanced online security is more important than ever.
Bad actors are intercepting public network traffic to steal personal and financial information.
Marketing companies are installing tracking software in visitors' browsers to track their browsing habits and the websites they visit.
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) are throttling streaming services, peer-to-peer file sharing, online gaming, and web traffic to popular websites or online applications.
Governments are spying on their citizens, censoring speech, and blocking access to large swaths of the Internet.
A virtual private network (VPN) helps protect your information, prevent eavesdropping and tracking, and allows you to bypass restrictions such as firewalls and country restrictions. With PrivateVPN, a secure connection is established with one if its many secure server locations and traffic is encrypted before being sent across the Internet. This ensures your data is secure and that you can surf, game, bank, or shop without worry.
Hostek has partnered with PrivateVPN to offer this service directly to its customers to complement our growing portfolio of security-centric products and services.
Server Locations
PrivateVPN is one of the largest VPN service providers with over 200 server locations across 63 countries. New locations and countries are being added frequently.
For a list of server locations and countries, see the link below:
A detailed list of servers, hostnames, and port settings is also available:
Download & Installation
PrivateVPN is available for a variety of desktop and mobile platforms.
Mac
Android
iOS
Bring Your Own Device or Client
PrivateVPN also works on other devices (including routers) and VPN software (such as OpenVPN and Viscosity).
Download Link
Once you've signed up for PrivateVPN, you'll receive an email containing the download link for the latest version of the PrivateVPN client software.
Installation Guide
For detailed step-by-step instructions installing the PrivateVPN client software, head over to the official site and follow the setup guide: https://privatevpn.com/support/getting-started/
Startup
Once you've successfully installed the PrivateVPN software, and launched the client software, you'll be greeted with the startup screen.
If you have an existing PrivateVPN account, use the "Log In" button to sign into your VPN service.
If you are a new customer, click the "Sign Up" button to select a plan and create an account.
Log In
Logging into your PrivateVPN is easy. Simply enter your username (typically the email address you used to sign up) and password. Then, click the "Log In" button.
If you have forgotten your password, you can also click the "Forgot your password?" link at the bottom of the application window. You'll be taken to the PrivateVPN website where you can reset your password.
Connecting
PrivateVPN allows you to connect in just one step. Simply click or tap the power icon in the center of the application window and you will be connected to the specified server in seconds.
Once you're connected, PrivateVPN will even provide you with a counter to indicate how long the VPN connection has been active.
You can also connect or disconnect from the PrivateVPN service using the icon in your Windows system tray. Simply right-click the PrivateVPN icon and select "Connect" or "Disconnect" from the context menu that appears.
A pop-up notification will appear to confirm your connection status.
If you have hidden the PrivateVPN window, you can click the "Show PrivateVPN" option to unhide the application window.
You can also shut down the VPN connection and close the application by clicking on the "Quit PrivateVPN" menu item at the bottom of the context window.
Server List
Want to change the server or country associated with your VPN connection? Use the server selector below the connect button.
The Server List window will appear, allowing you to select from a long list of server locations. By default, the "All Servers" tab is selected, and servers are grouped and sorted according to country name. The server's ping in milliseconds will also be shown. If there are specific locations that you use frequently, you can click the star icon next to the server location to add it to your favorites.
You can search for a specific country or location using the search field at the top of the Server List window.
The search results will be filtered, and all available server locations will be displayed. Double-click any server location to be instantly connected.
If you instead prefer to sort the list by the server with the lowest ping or that is closest to your location, you can click the display button next to the search field and choose the "Closest Server" option. The list will then be sorted accordingly.
Dedicated IP
The default server locations are static shared public IPs that obscure your IP address by changing your location.
If you are using an application or service that requires a dedicated IP address, the "Dedicated IP" tab provides a list of server locations that offer a pool of IP addresses that can be assigned to you alone. These dedicated IP addresses allow for port forwarding with not port filtering or restrictions.
Dedicated IP addresses are ideal for streaming, peer-to-peer filesharing, and other similar applications.
Favorites
Are there specific countries or server locations that you prefer or use frequently? Clicking the star icon next to a sever location from the Server List window will add that location to your Favorites. These server locations can then be found under the Favorites tab for quick access.
Application Menu
Clicking the menu icon at the top left of the application window will allow you to choose from several options which will allow you to access your account information, request support, quit the application, or view the version number of your PrivateVPN client software.
Account Information
Get a quick overview of your account information by clicking the menu icon and choosing the "My Account" link.
Here, you'll find your username, your account type, and the date at which your subscription continues.
You can also log out of the application using the "Log Out" link at the bottom of this screen to prevent unauthorized access.
Advanced View
PrivateVPN offers an Advanced View for power users and those looking for advanced networking configuration settings. You can access the Advanced View by clicking the corresponding button on the application's main screen.
Dashboard
The Dashboard provides helpful information including the external IP address provided by PrivateVPN, your connection status and timer, server location and country, connection type, encryption algorithm, port forwarding, and data transfer counters.
You can connect and disconnect the VPN using the button provided at the bottom of the window.
Settings
The Settings screen under the advanced view allows you to control a number of application features. You can toggle the option to start the application when your system is powered on, automatically connect to the VPN when the application starts, enable or disable notifications, hide the application when it starts, select the language of the application interface, repair the network adapter, and even view the application log files.
Connection Guard
PrivateVPN offers a number of features designed to help keep you secure while online and connected to the VPN. These features are found under the Connection Guard screen and are useful if you are concerned about exposing your real location or you need the ability to quickly disconnect from the VPN using a keyboard shortcut. Optionally, you can even configure Connection Guard to automatically close specific software applications when the VPN connection is terminated.
Stealth VPN
Certain countries or Internet service providers are known to block traffic over VPN connections. The Stealth VPN screen allows you enable the Stealth VPN feature so that your VPN traffic is disguised as normal traffic to bypass VPN blocks and DPI firewalls. You can configure the port used by PrivateVPN for the Stealth VPN functionality using the supplied port dropdown menu.
Support
For assistance with billing, or if you have questions regarding the PrivateVPN product, click the chat icon in the bottom right of your screen and connect with one of our sales and billing team members.
If you need technical assistance, you can access options for assistance either from the application menu at top left or by clicking the "help" link in the top right under the window sizing controls.
If you are in the Advanced view, you will instead click the "Help & Support" link on the left sidebar to access the available help resources.
Still need help? PrivateVPN offers free remote help and installation and premium in-house support. Head over to the PrivateVPN website for more information: https://privatevpn.com/support