Thailand is called the “Land of Smile” but when it comes about the Internet there is nothing to smile about. If you are planning to visit Thailand or you wish to move there, you must consider a VPN for Thailand. The Thai government is applying a strong censorship on Internet usage and if you infringe their law as a foreigners the consequences can be dramatic.
Many countries across the world are adopting a stricter attitude towards internet usage within their territory. Most developed countries of the West, like the US and the UK, already have strict laws against streaming and downloading content online. Besides these laws, these countries also spy on their citizensâ internet activity.
The situation varies to a great extent in major countries in the East, with the exception of China. However, some Asian countries are also moving towards such an approach towards internet access and usage. One of these countries is Thailand. The situation there has changed a lot in a short time, making it absolutely necessary for people there to use a VPN for Thailand.
Internet Laws in Thailand
Thailand has always been popular in the hacking community as the place where you can set your base and work out from. The country has the reputation of providing cheap and fake products of decent quality, which attract tourists from all over the world. While the shopkeepers selling pirated DVDs continue to work without any trouble, the situation has become quite different for internet users in Thailand.
The country began its snooping initiative in 2013 when the countryâs Electronic Transactions Development Agency started working with a host of bodies like TSI, PKI Association, Google Asia Pacific, and eBay to name a few. This conglomerate was used to create Thailandâs code of conduct. The sole purpose of this is to prevent illegal content from making its way to the web.
The paradigm shift in the case of the internet means that users can be punished for downloading copyrighted content, streaming copyrighted content, indulging in dissent against the government, and of course, any illegal activity relating to spamming or phishing. The ISPs are now required to record user data and hand it over to the authorities when requested.
Blocked Websites
Thai internet users might have encountered that web pages they search for taking much longer to load than used to be the case. Sometimes, the URL loads immediately but the web page loads much later. All this is a consequence of the ISPs and government working together to spy on the people.
The fact is that thousands of websites are blocked in Thailand.
Sometimes an entire websites may be blocked or only some pages can be banned. Others may be blocked from time to time. Some of the websites that have been affected by Thai censorship include:
- BBC
- CNN
- YouTube
- wikileaks.org
- wikipedia
- the Age newspaper
- Post-intelligencer newspaper
- more…
So what has changed? Apart from the strict action against copyright infringement and dissent activity on the web, users will be punished for accessing or trying to access websites that are blocked by the Thai government. This means that if you enter the name of the website in the search bar, or click on a link to such a website in your email or IM service, you can expect a fine and possibly even jail time in the infamous Bangkok Hilton.
Thai network providers are busy working with the government to actively spy on the citizensâ internet activity. Everything you do on the internet when in Thailand, is watched and recorded. The slightest of slip-up can lead to catastrophic situations for you.
If you want to have some privacy on the web, you have to use a VPN for Thailand.
It doesnât matter if you donât download songs, movies, or stream TV shows on the internet. Your job might require you to access websites that are blocked by the government.
But even if this is not the case, you have to make sure that the government cannot see everything you do.
Securing yourself against hackers and malicious users, of whom there is a large number in Thailand, can be done using a Thailand VPN.
How to Select the Best VPN for Thailand
With such a dramatic turn of events for internet users in Thailand, using a VPN has become mandatory to have freedom, security, and privacy on the internet. But you should know what to look for when selecting the best VPN for Thailand.
- Find out how secure the VPN is. The standard encryption is AES 256-bit over OpenVPN protocol.
- Check what sort of logs are recorded by the VPN and if they are shared with third-parties. Try and choose a VPN that records zero-logs and so cannot share any data with the authorities. Looking at the privacy policy and/or asking the customer care service about it can help reveal these things
- Find out if the VPN offers good connection speed. Since encryption overhead, as well as the extra number of hops over a VPN connection, reduce the connection speed, it is important you look for a VPN where this reduction is minimal.
- Find out how many servers the VPN has and across how many countries of the world. Itâs always good to have a VPN that has a large number of servers scattered all over the world. This gives you maximum connectivity options and improves your VPN experience considerably
Free VPNs
Many VPN services offer a free package of their service. This package includes the basic features of the VPN that encrypt your connection and hide your IP address.
However, the encryption is not the best encryption, and the servers that are available to you are quite limited. There might also be a limit on the bandwidth you can use with this subscription, or the number of connections you can make.
A free VPN service can help get the job done if you just donât want to pay for a subscription. There is no history of Thai government blocking VPNs or asking them to hand over their data, so they usually work.
However, using a free VPN in Thailand is not recommended.
Free VPNs are not safe enough when it comes about protecting your data. Since the Thai government is totally strict and it can easily jail even tourists or expats that misbehave on the Internet, we advise you to go for one of the best VPN on the market. You will pay a small monthly fee but you will get peace of mind in return.
Plus, even though VPNs are not blocked in Thailand, with such a change in the wind in recent times, it wouldnât be too surprising if that changes as well. So, using a paid VPN for Thailand is the safest bet.
Best VPN for Thailand
ExpressVPN
ExpressVPN is a name that is one of the best VPN for Thailand. The service is so reliable and efficient that hardly anyone finds any fault with it.
ExpressVPN offers strong encryption for its users. The connections are strong and stable, with next to zero connection drops. There are more than 500 servers in over 90 countries under ExpressVPNâs name. The connection speed offered by this VPN is one of the best you will find anywhere in the VPN market. There are no activity logs recorded, the encryption enables you to get past Chinaâs surveillance as well as get access to Netflix USA, it allows P2P, and there is a 30-day money back guarantee.
Thereâs nothing that you find lacking in ExpressVPN. The only thing that might make you frown is that cost of subscription. But you can counter that by subscribing to an annual package that reduces your monthly expenditure on it. Itâs definitely worth the longer subscription. Besides, there is a 30-day money back guarantee. The customer support service is quick and helpful, so you can request a refund within that period and get it done with no trouble.
30-Day Money Back Guarantee
HideMyAss
HideMyAss Pro is a popular name in the VPN for Thailand, as well as all over the world. While it is popular among customers for all the good reasons, itâs the opposite in case of the VPN industry. This is because those with knowledge about it and its peers in the industry know about its follies all too well.
Encryption is good and strong, and the connection speed is good enough as well. So far, so good. When you look at the number of servers under its name, your eyes will widen with surprise.
HMA has hundreds of servers in around 190 countries of the world. No other VPN has such a vast global coverage. This makes it certain that you can access most anything when you use HMA. To make things interesting, thereâs even a 30-day money back guarantee.
Just remember that they only give the refund if you have used less than 10GB of bandwidth in that one-month period. If you paid for the subscription using Google money, then you are ineligible for the refund as well.
30-day Money Back Guarantee
LeVPN
This VPN has quickly become one of the best VPN services around on the back of its stellar performance. LeVPN is a relatively new name in the VPN industry, but its stature has grown at a fast rate.
LeVPN offers OpenVPN AES 256-bit protection for all its users. The connection speeds offered are really good, and with servers in 114 countries across the world, the connectivity options are many and well-scattered. While all this is good, and can be found in many other VPN services, there is something that LeVPN offers exclusively. That is HybridVPN. This combines a VPN and SmartDNS to provide for a supreme service.
SmartDNS services are usually faster than VPNs, and VPNs are usually more secure than SmartDNS. Therfore, a hybrid of the two is both fast and secure. There is also a 7-day money back guarantee for offer.
LeVPN covers almost all areas of requirement with aplomb. The one thing that can cause some hesitation among potential customers is their unclear stand on user privacy. Their policy states they donât actively monitor connection or usage logs, but they might be compelled to do so if they find out a user is using their service for illegal activities.
7-Day Money Back Guarantee
NordVPN
NordVPN is the safest VPN for Thailand. When you think of a VPN, you think of privacy and security. When you think of privacy and security, you think of NordVPN. Itâs that simple.
The reason why NordVPN has the reputation of the most secure VPN service is that it uses a double-encryption system. An extra layer of encryption keeps all prying eyes away from your internet activity and from discovering your identity.
Thereâs no way that anyone can spy on you when you use NordVPN. As for the VPN selling you out, you can relax. NordVPN has a strict no logs policy. Canât share stuff if it doesnât have anything to share to begin with, can it? With a good server count, 30-day money back guarantee, P2P allowance, and VPN over Tor, NordVPN is the best bet when it comes to privacy and security.
Connection speed suffers a great deal when you use NordVPN, though. The double-encryption that the VPN uses becomes a double-edged sword in this regard, since it adds another overhead to the speed. This is one factor you have to consider when opting for Nord. But if speed isnât that big a requirement for you but privacy and security are, then your search for a VPN stops at NordVPN.
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PureVPN
PureVPN is an old name in the VPN industry. It has a loyal customer base, but there are some issues in its service that prevent it from becoming an editor, researcher, or casual userâs first choice VPN.
PureVPN starts off badly, since it does not provide OpenVPN or 256-bit AES encryption. You get 128-bit encryption with PureVPN, which isnât bad as such. But when you see others enjoying a triple sundae with three flavours and nut sprinkles and you see yourself holding a chocolate cone, it makes you sad and wanting for the better option.
PureVPN makes up for this issue with its impressive server count, unbelievably cheap cost of subscription, and no logs policy, but with an inferior encryption and unreliable connection speeds, the service suffers to make a good case to some degree in the end.
31-Day Money Back Guarantee
Conclusion On VPN For Thailand
Using a VPN for Thailand is now a must.
The Thai government has made it clear that it will look into its citizensâ online activity to prevent spamming, terrorism, copyright infringement, and dissent against it. Doesn’t matter if you are a Thai or a foreigners. The same law apply. Moreover, if you are a foreigner infringing Thai laws they will be even harsher.
But you can use a good VPN to hide your online activity and enjoy privacy and anonymity on the internet and stay away from problems in Thailand.
