How to setup HideMyAss Pro VPN Client

If you don't have a HMA Pro VPN account yet and need help with registering, see: How to register for HMA Pro VPN Below find detailed information about how to install use the HMA Pro VPN client for Windows:
Installation of the HMA Pro VPN client
First you need to download the HMA Pro VPN client for Windows:  HMA-Pro-VPN-2.8.0.7-install.exe The Microsoft NET framework is required for this. Get it here: NET Framework Now start the clients setup file. The installation will run as displayed in the animation on the right -> Please note: You need administrator privileges to install the HMA client. To ensure this, install the HMA client by rightclicking the setup file and select "Run as Administrator" Should you receive a warning that the TAP driver did not pass the driver signing check by Microsoft - this is nothing to worry about. Just confirm and let the installation finish. Should the installation get aborted because of this, or if you're unable to connect with the HMA client, you may need to disable the Windows Driver Signing check first and then install the client. See instructions for that here: Driver Signing Check
Using the HMA Pro VPN client
Important settings: When starting the HMA client, you'll see the "Dashboard". To get started, first things to do are: Entering username and password select a VPN protocol (OpenVPN/PPTP) select a VPN server  See the image on the right; once done that, hit "Connect to VPN" and the client will start to connect. In the left menu, you can switch between the tabs of the HMA client, which are: Dashboard Index page, for controlling connection options and login details Country selection Shows a worldmap with all servers, so you have a better geographical overview IP address settings Set automatic IP changes, IP verifying options and see your IP history Secure IP bind Force applications to only work while VPN is connected (e.g. filesharing tools) Speed guide Compare speeds of all HMA servers with a single click (disconnect from VPN first!) Proxy settings Needed if you're online through a local network proxy (does not affect anonymity!) Billing & Packages Quicklinks and info about your billing cycle, payment plan, etc. Below you'll find descriptions of all features of the VPN client software.
Dashboard When starting the HMA client, you'll first see the "Dashboard". For connecting to the VPN, enter here your account username and password. Select a protocol (OpenVPN/PPTP) and a VPN server. It's best to choose a server, which is near your real location, to get the best speeds. Usually it doesn't matter which VPN protocol you choose. OpenVPN is more secure, but PPTP seems to be faster in most cases. If you should be unable to connect, the first thing to try would be changing protocol and VPN server.
Dashboard - Settings Here you can enable/disable "Load Balancing". Load balancing is a feature that allows you to switch to a less-loaded VPN server, should you try to connect to a VPN server that is heavily loaded. You can choose between a) Switch to a less-loaded server within the same location (City) b) Switch to a less-loaded server within a certain country or preselected server group By standard, you'll get asked and need to decide, if you want to switch to a less-loaded server. When unchecking the "Show warning before load balancing" checkbox, you'll automatically be switched to a less-loaded server, without confirmation. In addition, you can choose to only use load-balancing if a server is 20%, 30%, 50% or 60% more loaded than other servers from the same group.
Country selection In "Country selection", you'll find an overview of all available HMA Pro VPN servers, sorted for distance and countries.
Country selection - Map overview In the "Map overview" you'll see a worldmap with all server locations marked. It gives a better overview about how far away the servers are, and where the servers are located.
IP address settings In the "IP address settings" tab you can: 1) Change your IP with a single click 2) Setup automatic IP change after every X minutes/seconds  3) Choose a IP-verifying website, to make sure your IP really has changed on connection
IP address settings - IP History The IP History shows you all IPs you have used til now, including country, date+time, server name.
Secure IP bind With the Secure IP binding feature, you can prevent any application from making connections, when the VPN is inactive. This is especially useful if e.g. you let your BitTorrent client running through the night. With enabled IP binding, your torrent client won't leak your real IP when the VPN should get disconnected.
Speed Guide With the speed guide feature of our VPN client, you can always check which VPN server is the fastest for you. For that, select the servers you want to test. You can choose to Test both protocols test only OpenVPN protocol test only PPTP protocol only do a ping test (to check the latency) do an express test (faster than the full test) do an full test (most accuracy) There is also a history, so you can check the results of previous speed tets. Attention: You need to disconnect from the VPN first, otherwise you won't be able to do the tests.
Proxy settings The Proxy settings tab is important if you're connected to the internet through a local proxy, like at school or at work. If you have a direct connection (e.g. DSL, modem, etc.), leave it "Direct connection to Internet" (which is default)
Billing & packages The "Billing & packages" tab shows your VPN account username your billing cycle (1/6/12 months) your subscriptions expiring date current pricing That way you always know when you need to renew your subscription, and if the prices have changed.