Hoxx VPN Review
Hoxx VPN started operation in 2014. The service was launched by VPN1 LLC, a company that is touted as being committed to protecting your privacy.
Yes, Hoxx VPN is safe and also legit VPN service. They will never steal your money and your credit card details. And you will definitely get the VPN service you subscribed for. But is the service reliable?
This Hoxx VPN review will reveal all these to you and many more.
The internet is a big threat nowadays because there are various elements intent on capturing all your personal details. Hoxx VPN rightfully says “you deserve 100% safety, privacy and protection”; and that their service will give just that.
Can the Hoxx VPN service give 100% safety, privacy and protection? This review will provide the information to help you answer that question.
RECOMMENDED TOP 3 BEST VPN ALTERNATIVES:
Note: Since you have nothing to loss, it will be a very good idea to register from this post so we can be able to assist you by getting in touch with them if you have any problem in the future. We have the power to force them into rectifying their faults. However, we cannot do anything if you try to trick the system. Just make sure you comply with their rules and regulations to make it easier for us.
Hoxx has two service plans – a free plan and a premium plan. The free plan like every free thing is limited. You get reduced speed, no support, and lower encryption.The highlight of the free plan is that it gives access to all locations in their server network, there are no bandwidth restrictions, and you can have a static IP address.
The Premium Plan comes with all the features of the Hoxx VPN service. It has all the features of the free plan. It gives Hoxx’s maximum encryption and speed, and adds full customer support.
The premium plan has 6 packages derived from 6 billing periods. The packages are similar in features, and different only in the amount of time of access to the service. The packages are: one week package, one month package, 3 months package, 6 months package, 1 year package, and 2 years package.
One week package cost $3.00; the one month package cost $7.00; the 3 months package cost $18.00, which breaks down to $6.00 per month; the 6 months package cost $30.00, which breaks down to $5.00 per month; the one year package cost $40.00, which breaks down to $3.33 per month; and the 2 years package cost $50.00, which breaks down to $2.00.
Like every VPN service in the market, you save more by going for the the longer term subscription. Hoxx VPN says they offer unbeatable prices; and as seen, their prices are really low. But, is this a case of ‘what you pay for is what you get’?
Hoxx VPN offers different methods of payment. They say thag most of their clients pay via PayPal; but they also accept all the major credit/ debit cards including Visa card, master card, America Express, and Discover card. They support other platforms such as AliPay, Neosurf and others. If you’ll rather anonymously, they accept some crypto currencies including Bitcoin.
The different payment methods supported will make them appealing a wide range of users. Whether you want the convenience of the regular methods or the anonymity of crypto currencies; Hoxx will serve you.
Many services automatically renew subscriptions at the end of a billing period and automatically charge the user. With this practice you cannot simply walk away from the service; if you do, you will be charged perpetually. You have to do the extra work of cancelling your account in other to avoid perpetual charges.
Hoxx VPN do not do auto renewals. They do not make you do extra work to opt out. You do not need to do anything special to cancel an account; your premium account will be cancelled automatically at end of the billing period. Easy user experience!
Hoxx VPN gives a 14 days “no exception” money back guarantee. This is to allow users who are not satisfied with the service to request a refund of their payment. The 14 days window means that to get a refund, your request must be submitted not later than 14 days from the time of making payment.
Though they say its a no-exception money-back guarantee, the fine prints reveal that users on the one month package are exempted from the offer. The service only grant refunds to users who subscribe to packages of 3 months or more. They say: “We cannot grant money-back on short term sales“.
On a happy note, they do not ask users to state any reason for requesting a refund. Also, in certain circumstances, they will consider refund request made after the 14 days allowed by the money back guarantee; but such will be at the sole discretion of the company.
To get started; use a supported browser to download the Hoxx software from the download section, open the software and click the “Create an Account” button. You should breeze through the simple account creation process. Simply key in your name, last name, and email address in the relevant spaces; then tick three check boxes to agree with their terms and conditions, privacy policy and license agreement; then hit register. After that you’ll receive an email from the service with your login details (a random password).
No special configurations are needed in other to use Hoxx. All you need is their browser add-ons and a valid Hoxx account. The Hoxx icon is grey when not connected to the VPN network. This means that you are surfing with your real IP address. You can then click the grey icon and proceed to login with your email address and the sent random password. The interface is basic; and selecting servers to connect to is simple. The only negative I encountered in the process is that when I first tried connecting to a server I faced a connection time out; but when i tried again, it clicked.
VPN users seek services that can work with a wide range of platforms and operating systems; so that nomatter the platform they use, they can have VPN protection.
Hoxx says that though they are adding new platforms constantly, they want to focus on browser market rather than special markets.
The service currently works with Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Opera. They also support Android, Mac, and iOS. However, you are out of luck if you want to use the service on Linux, routers, Smart TVs, and gaming consoles.
Hoxx VPN device compatibility list is very limited; considering that there are many VPN services that work with any device that has an operating system.
Typically, users have more than one device that they use at the same time, and would seek a VPN service that will allow them secure all devices with one VPN account without having to pay more.
Hoxx offers unlimited simultaneous connections. This is a generous offer considering that the VPN industry average for simultaneous connections is five.
In truth, proxy services readily accept simultaneous connections from a larger number of users; and anything other than unlimited simultaneous connections would have been a poor service performance.
VPN masks IP addresses by replacing your real IP with different virtual IPs. This can pose problems with certain applications that will need to identify you with a particular IP address. With some applications, you have to authenticate yourself every time you access them with a different IP, while others will block you all together. For example, you cannot do online banking or transactions with different IPs; in other to prevent unauthorized access, the application will need to identify you with a particular IP.
Hoxx VPN offers static IP addresses free of charge in both their free and premium plans. This is a very good offer; because many services that offer static IPs do so as an add-on that attracts extra costs.
Torrenting is one of the fastest and most effective ways of downloading files over the internet. So why would someone need a proxy or a VPN for basic downloads? This is because, torrenting involves connecting to peers to move large files in bits. Insidious peers may use the file sharing activity to get at the personal information stored in your devices. So users need the anonymity that VPNs provide to be protected from such insidious peers.
Hoxx VPN says that they do not allow torrents because it is an illegal network; adding that “Our community needs to be kept clean to save your rights“. This is like saying a kitchen knife is bad and shouldn’t be in any home because it can be used to commit murder.
Many big companies use torrenting to facilitate file sharing. Blizzard Entertainment uses the activity to make its games available; Facebook and Twitter use it to move files around; the UK government and agencies like NASA have used it to make certain files available. That said, Hoxx VPN will have us believe that NASA, the UK government, Blizzard Ent. and co were commiting crime when using BitTorrent. They definitely were not.
Torrenting can be used to illegally download copyrighted files, but there are many legal use of the activity. Torrenting definitely is not synonymous with piracy. Hoxx VPN knows that services that do not support it are at a disadvantage because users are increasingly seeking services that will help them download torrents safely and anonymously.
Hoxx VPN advertises that they are a good service for streaming because they easily unblock any site. In their words: “Watch video content from anywhere, at home, on your mobile device or even on vacation. No limits and no restrictions“
Well said; but we use Netflix compatibility to assess a service streaming capability. The streaming giant has a vast library with countless titles for viewing pleasure; but most importantly, the streaming service is the ultimate VPN blocker, that many VPN cannot unblock Netflix and give access to its vast library. Any VPN that can unblock Netflix is considered a damn good service for streaming.
Unfortunately, the Hoxx VPN service does not unblock Netflix. If you want a service to stream and watch Netflix countless titles, you’ll have to look beyond the Hoxx VPN service.
The Onion Router (TOR) is a network that allow users to connect through a series of virtual tunnels rather than making a direct connection; this enable anonymous communications. Certain vulnerabilities have been found in the Tor network; so for optimal privacy users combine Tor’s anonymity with a VPN’s protection. Therefore, a VPN service that is compatible with the Tor network appeals to privacy conscious users.
Unfortunately, the Hoxx VPN service does not support Tor. It would have been fine if they had stopped there because many other VPN services do not support Tor. However, Hoxx VPN decides to explain why they do not support Tor: “Do you allow Tor? No we do not, Tor is illegal”. In another place they say: “the Tor network is against the law in many countries and many criminals are hosted inside that network. We do not recommend using the Tor network at all“.
Again, don’t you ever ever ever go near an aircraft, because terrorist have used them as weapons of mass destruction by hijacking them and crashing them into populated areas.
Corporations use Tor to protect business secrets from eavesdroppers, activists use Tor for maintaining civil liberties online; the US Navy used Tor to communicate with a team deployed to the Middle East; journalists and law enforcement use Tor to communicate more safely with whistleblowers; Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) use Tor to maintain private communications with both workers and targets (such as rape victims). According to Hoxx, they all are engaged in illegal act.
Hoxx VPN operates servers in over 50+ locations. These locations include choice places in Europe and North America. They also operate servers in Asia and South America.
With VPN server networks, a robust network makes for better anonymity and performance. The anonymity comes from having a long list of locations to use as your virtual location, and the better performance comes from not having servers crowded.
The Hoxx network is impressively robust. They have a large server count. In the US and Canada alone they have 298 and 110 servers respectively. This is more than what some services have in their entire network. The 50+ countries covered by the Hoxx network is also more than double what some services cover. Lastly, the network is widely distributed worldwide ensuring that anywhere in the world you are, you can get a nearby server to connect to for optimal performance
Hoxx VPN also allows unlimited server switches on both the free plan and premium plan. This makes for increased anonymity, because it allows you to change you location as many times as you want.
Hoxx VPN is silent about the VPN Protocols they support in securing connections. Silence in this respect is always a red flag because secure protocols are fine security selling points and services that offers such most often than not shout it.
The OpenVPN is regarded as the most secure protocol; it has been picked for vulnerabilities but none has been found. Hoxx does not support this secure protocol; instead they use Shadowsocks protocol for their Android and desktop apps, and HTTP tunneling for browser add-on. HTTP tunneling does not give the security of OpenVPN, while the Shadowsocks is simply a proxy.
In terms of encryption the Hoxx VPN service encrypt your connection from browser to target with 4096-bit encryption. About this encryption level, they say: “Our service is military trade safe“. They definitely intended to say “military grade” but were “corrected” by the typo-error, because calling 4096 bit encryption military grade in 2018 will be a slight to the military.
Researchers have demonstrated that the RSA 4096 bit encryption can be broken in just about an hour, with a few emails and a microphone.
The golden encryption standard is the AES 256 bit encryption. It is the encryption level used by every security focused VPN service in the industry; it is the encryption used by banks to secure their online data; it is also the true military grade encryption because it is the standard used by military agencies to secure military secrets.
Rather than embrace the unhackable AES 256 encryption, Hoxx VPN defer to the insecure RSA 4096 encryption. Users on their free plan even suffer more; the free plan has only 1024-bit encryption end-to-end. Needless to say, that is very insecure.
When you are online, a VPN gives you protection and anonymity by encrypting your traffic and masking your location respectively. When the VPN connection suddenly drops, your data (now unencrypted) and real location will be exposed. A kill switch saves the day; it cuts off all internet connection the moment the VPN connection drops, ensuring that you do not continue online and risk exposing your data and IP to watching eyes.
As shown, the kill switch is a must have security feature for every VPN service. Unfortunately, Hoxx VPN does not have a kill switch. This means whatever protection they provide, is only until the next connection drop of the service.
The protection that a VPN service gives can be undermined by a security leak. A DNS leak, for example, happens when DNS requests leave the VPN tunnel to the default DNS servers, and it effectively expose online activity as well as real IP. Other security leaks such as WebRTC leak can also reveal real IPs.
Any service that gives optimal security and privacy should effectively plug these security leaks. Unfortunately, Hoxx did not. Testing for these leaks is one of the simplest thing to do; and in the test, Hoxx VPN leaked DNS.
A whole book can be written about Hoxx logging policy, and every user with any privacy consciousness will cringe at every paragraph.
First, Hoxx VPN makes no claim to being a no-log service. Log keeping can compromise privacy, so no-logs is a fine privacy selling point that services would always shout. The question that the absence of a no-logs blurb raised is what information Hoxx VPN monitors and stores, and not whether they keep logs.
Hoxx honestly detail the information they collect in their privacy policy. When you register with the service, they require your name, email address, contact number and password etc. When you reach out to them through e-mail, online ticket, or the social networks, they retain your email address and the correspondence (the content of your e-mail messages and their responses). This is definitely much more than what most services require. The essence of using a VPN is to be anonymous, and having your full name filed away somewhere kind of defeats privacy.
There are many privacy focused services who, out of a commitment to users privacy, limit the personal information they collect to an email address; and they will even recommend that users make use of an anonymous/ disposable but valid e-mail address for optimal privacy.
Hoxx VPN takes the very opposite approach. They state: “We take reasonable precautions to ensure that the Personal Information we Collect, Use and Disclose is complete, relevant and up-to-date“. They even recommend that you should keep them up-to-date with changes to your personal information such as your name or address. If you happen to change your name, fire Hoxx a mail with the update. So much for your anonymity!
What if you want out of the service? With most services, if you deactivate your account, your can request that all information pertaining to you be deleted from their systems; and the request will be granted. Hoxx again goes the opposite way; even after termination or deactivation of your services, and requesting to have your information deleted from their systems, they will stilll retain your information (part or all) for archival purposes. Surprised? I was too.
Not only do they collect so much personal information; it seems that they are also bent on retaining all that they collect. Why, you may ask? Hoxx VPN answers: “Yes, we do save logs for a certain period of time to prevent abuse of our network. We know 99% of all our clients have legitimate intentions by surfing through our VPN network; we cannot let 1% destroy our and your service because they have illegal intentions. We have a strict illegal tracking policy“.
They are so concerned about preventing fraud; they are so concerned about addressing criminal activities; it almost seem they are not concerned about users privacy. For example, when you use their website they log information which includes your browser type and language, access times, pages viewed, your IP address and the website you visited before navigating to their website.
Also, they will disclose your information to comply with a law, regulation or legal request. All services comply with valid subpoenas and other legal documents; the only problem is that since Hoxx collected so much, they will have so much to reveal.
What irked me most in the privacy policy is this statement: “We cannot, however, ensure or warrant the security of any information you transmit to us and you do so at your own risk“. If a service wants to have me on their file, then thd least they can do is guarantee that the information will be secured.
This section reveals one of the reasons why Hoxx’s data logging is unappealing. Hoxx.com is owned and operated by VPN1 LLC, a company headquartered in FLorida, USA.
This means that Hoxx is subject to the mandatory data retention laws of the US. From what we’ve seen so far, Hoxx does not need any nudging to retain users’ data. And since Hoxx VPN will fully cooperate with law enforcement; intelligence agencies like the FBI and NSA will all have their hands on your data.
It does not stop with them; your personal information can be bounced across the world in a global spy network because the US is a member of one such network – the Fourteen-Eyes alliance. The alliance is an agreement between the member nations to work together in gathering and sharing intelligence; therefore, the intelligence agencies of all fourteen member countries of the network (along with the agencies of their sympathizers) will have access to your information.
Speed
This is what Hoxx has to say about their speed: “Our solution is much faster than all others. There are only few competitors that offer similar services to ours“. We ran some speed test to see if that statement will hold up.
The basic VPN speed test is to take speed readings with the VPN connected and compare it to readings taken with the VPN disconnected. The aim is to determine by how much the VPN will reduce the speed of the default network.
On the average, Hoxx VPN reduced download speed and upload speed by 56.5% and 51% respectively. Despite the claims of the service, these are just average speeds; the super fast services drop speed by less than 10%. However, Hoxx speeds are fast enough to do virtually anything online; you can watch HD movies and download files without interruptions.
If you have a question or need assistance with anything about the service, you can contact Hoxx VPN directly through an online support ticket and/ or email. However, Hoxx states that the support ticket should be used if you desire fast response. They suggest that the email service (via support@Hoxx.com) should be used if your inquiries are detailed and will involve attachment.
The effectiveness of a suppot service is measured by the quality of response and the timeliness of response. Hoxx VPN tend to give pointed responses that may come out as too pointed; but timeliness is good. Their typical response time is 6 – 24 hours from the submission of the support request; and they also send acknowledgement emails about receiving the support request.
There is no support for instant response support channels such as live chat or telephone service. Hoxx VPN in their explaining fashion say they do not support a telephone service because “it will balloon our cost and we would need to increase our prices”. However, they didn’t give a reason for not having a live chat. If you’ll rather get help yourself; Hoxx has an FAQ section where you can find answers to questions that users have asked in the past.
Hoxx VPN says its parent company “is committed to protecting your privacy”. We put the service to five security and privacy checks, and was disappointed every time.
Their “lightening speed” turned out to be average speed. They do not unblock Netflix; the service is not compatible with the Tor network; and they do not support torrenting. Their customer support also do not include any channel to get instant feedback (live chat or telephone).
Hoxx VPN have some good points but these are heavily outweighed. The good points are: they have a robust server network, they offer static IP addresses free of charge, and they have low prices.
Submit your review | |
If you're looking for where to buy CBD based products with ease, this PureKana review…
Hostwinds is a web host that has been in operation since 2010. They provide shared…
Zodiac Casino, renowned for its unique astrology-themed gaming experience, offers players a celestial journey through…
Romwe is an online fashion store that was started in 2010. It says that its…
Spin Station is one of the best online casinos at the moment. They offer many…
This HD 600 is a powerful, hi-fi/professional, audiophile-grade and open dynamic stereo headphone. Its advanced…