IronSocket is a relatively new name in the VPN space, but behind it is the perfected structure of the former HideMyNet service and an experienced team of IT experts with strong believes in Internet freedom. It is one of the first providers to offer the opportunity to pay for your service using gift cards from major stores for full privacy protection, it’s known to regularly add new servers and IP’s to its decent worldwide network and has its headquarters in Hong Kong. The company will also be releasing its own VPN client software within the next few weeks and is keeping a close watch on new technologies such as the SoftEther protocol. Reasons enough for us to do an interview with this vibrant VPN provider! The company’s President and COO Brian is the one answering our questions in this interview.
Can you tell us a bit more about yourself and your role at IronSocket?
As President and COO, my role is to guide the product strategy, the daily operations and to manage/architect development projects for IronSocket. On a personal note, I am an avid proponent of a free Internet. I have been actively developing Internet-based technologies for over ten years, and in my free time I enjoy reading about advances in science, programming and playing online video games.
How did HideMyNet evolve into IronSocket?
In the first few months after acquiring HMN we reached out to our subscriber base to understand what features and capabilities they wanted to see. It became clear that we needed to re-brand HMN and expand its features and global network capabilities. It took about six months of work to complete the necessary research and development, to select a domain we felt represented our corporate values, to build the new website, launch IronSocket and to smoothly migrate our existing customers.
What’s the advantage of being headquartered in Hong Kong?
There are many advantages to being headquartered in Hong Kong, especially for persons interested in online privacy. We are not subject to US DMCA laws, or EU equivalents per se. Hong Kong believes strongly in the privacy rights of individuals, and there is no current legislation in the works that would mandate usage logs, increase government oversight or require other forms of reporting. There are lots of reasons to consider a VPN service provider that is not headquartered in the US or Europe.
May we expect your own desktop VPN client in the future?
Oh yes, it’s already in development. We will start beta testing the client soon so look for announcements about it over the next 60 days.
How does your SmartDNS feature work together with your VPN service?
SmartDNS goes hand-in-hand with our VPN services. It provides our customers an ideal option when they just want to access geo-restricted streaming media services like Netflix, Pandora, etc. Our VPN and proxy services can be used for much more than just streaming media and are ideal options for enhancing privacy and security.
Why did you decide to accept payments using various gift cards from stores like Wal-Mart?
Accepting gift cards provides our customers with a highly anonymous and hassle free payment option. This is great for those that really want to restrict that amount of personally identifiable information they want to share. Another great benefit is that gift cards are easy to get; you can purchase them at your local supermarket or buy them online. The entire process can be highly anonymous and very convenient.
What are your thoughts on the new SoftEther protocol?
We have been following the SoftEther project since it launched last year and think it’s very promising. We are very pleased that they made good on their promise to “open source” it.
Why should users turn to IronSocket and not another VPN service?
We think IronSocket is your best VPN choice. Not only are we located outside US and EU jurisdictions (for enhanced privacy protection), we offer a full service package at a very competitive price. Every service plan offers a wide range of features including multiple VPN connections, SmartDNS proxy services, Socks 5 proxy, HTTP proxy, and more. You can simultaneously connect your desktop, laptop, tablet, smartphone, videogame machine, and smart TV. We think that is pretty cool.
How do you personally use your VPN?
The privacy aspects are paramount. However, I also use VPN for gaming. When playing multiplayer games where the host is in another country I am often able to get better “ping” by connecting to a VPN server that provides better (faster) routing to the host. I’ve experienced improvements of over 100ms which makes a huge improvement in the overall gaming experience.
What may we expect from IronSocket in the near future?
Stay tuned for our VPN client. And of course, we will regularly add new capabilities to the client, particularly in the mobile area. As our subscribers know, we regularly add support in new countries, support for new devices as well as new streaming channels (and regions) to our SmartDNS service.
Anything else you’d like to tell our readers?
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