Before installing, you need make sure to sign up for the service, by creating an account on Hidden24 and purchase an active subscription.
After you have subscribed to Hidden24 you need to create a VPN connection on your computer
(and/or phone, iPad or home wifi router), to be able to connect to our datacenters.
You need to do this only once for each computer or device.
1. Which one: IKEv2, L2TP/IPSEC or PPTP?
We offer three different connection options for your VPN: IKEv2, L2TP/IPSEC or PPTP. All three offers good privacy protection for everyday use.
IKEv2 is the most modern of the three protocols. It offers 256 bits IPSEC encryption. It also has the advantage of very quick connection times, and it can “roam”, meaning that if your underlying network changes or drops momentarily, it will still stay connected. Finally, it is the easiest one to set up. We recommend using IKEv2, with one important exception: It currently does not work with our TV service, such as BBC. If you want to watch TV, please use one of the other two protocols below instead.
L2TP/IPSEC is also safe (256 bits IPSEC encryption), and similar to IKEv2. We offer it for backwards compatibility – some devices have support for IKEv2, others have not. It’s also good to have a “backup option” – if you have issues getting IKEv2 to work for any reason, you can try with IPSEC/L2TP instead. Importantly, if you are planning to use the VPN to watch TV, please USE this type of connection (L2TP/IPSEC)!, as our IKEv2 datacentres does not yet work with TV.
PPTP is great if you want to protect your entire home network, and get a UK IP-address for every device on your home network (including SmartTVs, FireSticks and AppleTVs). Many routers can connect to PPTP, and by connecting your router, you will protect every device on your home network in one go. While the encryption is less strong (with 128 bits encryption), it is still secure for all practical purposes.
Please remember that you can create and set up several VPN connections in parallel on your computer, for example one IKEv2, and one L2TP/IPSEC. You can then choose which one to connect with each time, depending on your needs.
Finally a word on security. We can sometimes see and read warnings in the press such as “L2TP/IPSec no longer secure”. This is not entirely correct. It is true that governments with huge resources can (probably) crack some of the older protocols, when they want to go after terrorists for example. But for the average VPN user, who wants to protect their privacy using public wifi’s or from their ISP, all these three protocols encrypts the traffic and makes it unreadable. All three protocols will protect your privacy well enough for everyday use. If you do worry about governments, then please use IKEv2.
You can find instructions for all three types of connections if you scroll down the various sections on this page.
2. Instructions for IKEv2
Please follow these simplified instructions to create an IKEv2 VPN connection, and start using Hidden24 with your new login and password.
2.1 Simplified IKEv2 Instructions
To set up an IKEv2 connection on any type of device, use these simplified Instructions:
Step A: Create a VPN connection with the following settings
Type of VPN Connection: | IKEv2 |
Server Address: | ikev2-uk.hidden24.co.uk |
Remote ID: *1 | ikev2-uk.hidden24.co.uk |
IPSec identifier: *2 | *YOUR USERNAME* |
Account: | *YOUR USERNAME* |
Password: | *YOUR PASSWORD* |
*1 Only MacOS and iOS ask for this information.
*2 Only Android ask for this information. Important: please fill this field out, even if it says “(not used)” in the Android interface.
– When you set up the connection, make sure to actively select the VPN Type “IKEv2” = do not select “vpn type automatic” or similar.
– In Windows, for the field VPN Provider, please select “Windows (built-in)”.
– On MacOS, if you have problems connecting, please download this certificate from Let’s Encrypt, and install it in your keychain: Download Let’s Encrypt R3 Cert. After downloading, open KeyChain Access and “drag-and-drop” the certificate from Finder into the “login” keychain.
Step B: Connect to Hidden24
With your newly created connection, you are now able to connect to Hidden24, and start using the web securely and anonymously with the UK IP address.
3. Instructions for L2TP/IPSEC
Please follow these instructions to create an L2TP/IPSEC VPN connection, and start using Hidden24 with your new login and password. If you need more help, there are more detailed Installation Guide PDFs for all kind of devices further down on this page.
3.1 Simplified L2TP/IPSEC Instructions
If you already know how to set up a L2TP/IPSEC connection, use these simplified Instructions:
Step A: Create a VPN connection with the following settings
Type of VPN Connection: | L2TP / IPSEC |
Server Address: | connect.hidden24.co.uk |
Account: | *YOUR USERNAME* |
Password: | *YOUR PASSWORD* |
Shared Secret/PSK*: | AnonymousMe |
* be careful with upper and lower case
Step B: Connect to Hidden24
With your newly created connection, you are now able to connect to Hidden24, and start using the web securely and anonymously with the UK IP address.
3.2 Detailed L2TP/IPSEC Instructions
Step A: Select your system
Select your operating system in the below table and choose the correct PDF instructions. If the guide provided is not for your exact version, you will still most likely find the guide useful, as creating a VPN connection typically is similar across versions of the same device.
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Windows | Windows 10 | Download .PDF Guide |
Windows 7 | Download .PDF Guide | |
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Apple | Mac OS | Download .PDF Guide |
iPhone | Download .PDF Guide | |
iPad | Download .PDF Guide | |
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Android | Android 8 | Download .PDF Guide |
Android 7 | Download .PDF Guide |
Step B: Create connection
Follow the instructions in the PDF to set up the VPN connection.
Step C: Connect to Hidden24
Login with the user name and password you chose while subscribing to Hidden24. Then press the Connection button to start using Hidden24.
4. Instructions for PPTP
4.1 Simplified PPTP Instructions
Step A: Create a VPN connection with the following settings
Type of VPN Connection: | PPTP |
Server Address: | pptp.hidden24.co.uk |
Account: | *YOUR USERNAME* |
Password: | *YOUR PASSWORD* |
Step B: Connect to Hidden24
With your newly created connection, you are now able to connect to Hidden24, and start using the web securely and anonymously and with the UK IP address.
4.2 Detailed PPTP Instructions
Asus Router | RT-N66U | Download .PDF Guide |
5. Install an IP-address for another country – only with L2TP/IPSEC
With Hidden24, you can choose if you want a UK IP-address (the default), or if you want an an IP address from another country. The additional countries we currently support are USA, Germany, France and Sweden. You can install them all, and easily switch between them as you need. Here is the guide for how to install additional IP-addresses for additional countries. Please download the instructions here.