It looks like ProXPN offers a limited account for free, but to get full speed, access to all servers, torrent support, all ports open, etc you'll need to pay $6.99/mo. That's more than PIA. Personally, after 2 years I'm still happy with PIA.
I use an LinkSys WRT54G (an old wireless G router) setup as an Access Point. It expands my single connection TWC cable by creating a home network consisting of 4 wired ethernet clients and multiple wireless clients.
How are you trying to connect? Thru a browser? A little more information will improve the answers.
Diagnosing internet issues can be complicated. Let's see if the WiFi is actually making a good internet connection.
Start by opening a cmd window and typing ping google.com