Is it really necessary to have a VPN?

[J Town]

11 hours ago, Skallywag said:

I cannot access my U.S. online banking or Social security website without a VPN.  I also use it here on ThaiVisa, even though I try not to say anything derogatory about Thailand or the government.

I also use it to download my favorite television shows from torrent sites. 

And it's interesting that one of my bank accounts will NOT allow access if I AM using a vpn.

[Langsuan Man]

I get a monthly free allowance from Tunnel Bear and only use it when accessing certain sites that will not allow a foreign connection, which I might add is exceedingly rare

 

All my US Banks don't require it, US Social Security does not need it (just log in during US business hours) but every now and then a new restriction from an unlikely source pops up.  For instance,  I use to check a traffic cam near my friends home in the US to view the actual snow conditions, yet this year they are suddenly restricting access from overseas, so Tunnel Bear to the rescue

 

I will use a torrent for those few times I need to torrent something while in the US since if I don't I will get a notice from my ISP but here in Thailand I could care less about the authorities, and all this privacy stuff is over rated 

[recom273]

Someone else mentioned, you are better off using a seedbox, I pay 350THB for 750GB or storage, it’s nothing special but it does the job.

You should then look towards private trackers which have a better level of security they also offer an organized and maintained source of movies, tv and music. These are all free sites, behind passwords maintained by enthusiasts, 
 

I have read your posts in other threads, your workflow is pretty time intensive, with a seedbox / private tracker you have a combination of organized and ultra reliable content with features like notifications of tv shows, rss autodownloaders and seedbox sync, the seedbox will also provide you with a VPN. With a bit of legwork, thought and a small monthly outlay you can rig a system to out-do Netflix. 
 

 

[prism]

1 hour ago, J Town said:

And it's interesting that one of my bank accounts will NOT allow access if I AM using a vpn.

My bank always makes me go through a CAPTCHA authentication. They can detect a shared IP address. The solution is to use a VPN service with a dedicated IP which is expensive. My reason to use a VPN is to get around the streaming services geo restrictions. Also a must when using an open WiFi spot. 

[1FinickyOne]

15 hours ago, giddyup said:

I can't really work out if I need one or not.

I guess no matter what you are talking about, if you can't figure out why you might need it, you probably don't... 

[SteveK]

A VPN hides your IP address so gives you an extra degree of anonymity. Until, of course they get hacked like NordVPN:

 

https://techcrunch.com/2019/10/21/nordvpn-confirms-it-was-hacked/

 

Like LangSuan Man, I use Tunnel Bear Free Edition, gives a free allowance every month and is incredibly easy to use.

[4MyEgo]

15 hours ago, giddyup said:

10 years, still waiting.

Knock, knock, knock ????

 

[Daffy D]

Things have sure changed in the years since I was worried about this VPN thing.

 

Anyway, after some Googling to catch up seems some but not all VPN will hide client download IP.

 

This site has a maglink to test what IP your client is using:- https://torrents.io/site/ipmagnet 

 

Here some information if you're interested:-

 

 http://ipmagnet.services.cbcdn.com/?hash=6d2aa579b5fcd02966e78516432539edf19d15e8#

 

https://www.vpnuniversity.com/bittorrent/how-to-check-your-torrent-ip-address

 

https://www.technadu.com/check-torrent-ip-address/38544/

 

https://www.vpnranks.com/torrent/check-torrent-ip/#1

 

Plenty more information available on the Internet.

 

I don't use a VPN and never had a problem in over 10 years. I do have a free VPN that I sometimes use for sites that are blocked, but hardly ever bother with it.  

 

????

[Wuvu2]

There is a valid question here:  "Has anyone had a problem from the Thai government for downloading torrents without a VPN in Thailand?".   Anyone had a problem?

[swissman53]

If you want to watch TV from your country, you can do that with a good VPN. Many TV stations have a barrier

if you want to watch from outside the country.

[KOZMO]

Only an Idiot would not have a VPN in Thailand !!!

[giddyup]

1 minute ago, KOZMO said:

Only an Idiot would not have a VPN in Thailand !!!

Do you have anything more constructive to say than that? I would say only an idiot would make a comment like yours.

[Card]

16 hours ago, Daffy D said:

A VPN will hide your browsing but will not hide your browsing history or Torrent downloads.

 

 

 

 

Correct. VPNs do not hide you from your ISP and hence ultimately the govt. The ISP knows everything about your internet activities. The VPN only hides your location and internet address from the remote server that you are trying to access.

[giddyup]

39 minutes ago, Wuvu2 said:

There is a valid question here:  "Has anyone had a problem from the Thai government for downloading torrents without a VPN in Thailand?".   Anyone had a problem?

No one has been able to answer that question.  I would imagine there would be hundreds of thousands of people downloading pirated content here, the only way to overcome that is close the torrent sites, not prosecute an individual.

[sammieuk1]

Don't have one either on my laptop been downloading since the internet began have a camera on the front gate though just in case a swat team arrive ????

[recom273]

53 minutes ago, Wuvu2 said:

There is a valid question here:  "Has anyone had a problem from the Thai government for downloading torrents without a VPN in Thailand?".   Anyone had a problem?

I had quite the opposite, I had 3BB up ladders and a team in my home trying to work out why I wasn’t getting full speeds when moving video files over FTP vs torrents. 

[Daffy D]

11 minutes ago, sammieuk1 said:

Don't have one either on my laptop been downloading since the internet began have a camera on the front gate though just in case a swat team arrive ????

Doubt that would save you as your download history and any illegal files will still be on your computer - Best get an instant self destruct button  ????

[Daffy D]

1 hour ago, Wuvu2 said:

There is a valid question here:  "Has anyone had a problem from the Thai government for downloading torrents without a VPN in Thailand?".   Anyone had a problem?

No - Been downloading for years since it all began and have not had any problem. 

 

[sammieuk1]

3 minutes ago, Daffy D said:

Doubt that would save you as your download history and any illegal files will still be on your computer - Best get an instant self destruct button  ????

Myself and Thais like the Japanese culture a lot I'm hoping my Tokyo Hot collection would save me in that eventuality ???? 

[Will27]

I don't think they're necessary at all.

 

I only use one when I access cricket from Australia on Kayo Sports

or want to watch something on SBS - on demand.

 

If it wasn't for the cricket, I wouldn't bother.

[Matzzon]

18 hours ago, giddyup said:

Not really, it just seems that VPN's are a popular subject and I can't really work out if I need one or not.

I tried to explain it to you. I can not help you to understand it.

Go back in the thread and find the answers. After that if you feel the need get one, if not continue without. Simple, right?

[RedPill]

2 minutes ago, Matzzon said:

I tried to explain it to you. I can not help you to understand it.

Go back in the thread and find the answers. After that if you feel the need get one, if not continue without. Simple, right?

Sorry, I have question, what is VPN?  

 

[gamb00ler]

17 hours ago, torturedsole said:

I don't concern myself with odds, I protect my interests.  I use a VPN constantly with all my online activities - iPad, Mac, PC, smartphone - all constantly running VPN.  If truth be told I don't download torrents but protect myself from all the other invasions of privacy and security concerns.  

These days the biggest security threat is from dodgy smartphone apps.  A VPN won't help you in that case.  I don't know of any way to protect yourself other than avoiding relatively unknown app developers.  Even the app store guardians have not been able to completely prevent these data stealing apps.

 

A few years ago VPN's were more relevant for security but now that almost every web page uses HTTPS they are not as important.  Their main use is now location spoofing.

[RedPill]

10 minutes ago, gamb00ler said:

These days the biggest security threat is from dodgy smartphone apps. 

Not really. 

 

It still is the 'stupid user' reading and believing and clicking on everything.

 

Email & Websites ... go to an infected website, just passing through, you are already infected.

 

Installing any non-secure app on your phone ... same thing ... stupid user ????

 

Responding to fishing email attacks ... stupid user ...

 

2020 ... same same

 

The weakest link ... People ... technology can never safe you ... the stupid user.

 

People 

Process

Technology

 

People are always people ... the stupid user. No one can protect you against this.

 

 

 

 

[gamb00ler]

16 hours ago, Skallywag said:

I cannot access my U.S. online banking or Social security website without a VPN.  I also use it here on ThaiVisa, even though I try not to say anything derogatory about Thailand or the government.

I also use it to download my favorite television shows from torrent sites. 

I think your problem in accessing SSA without a VPN is probably due to an error by your ISP, perhaps a DNS (Domain Name Service) issue.  I have a good friend who is very computer literate who was unable to get to SSA website until his ISP (3BB) upgraded his service.  After that he had no issues with online SSA access.  He never did try to use a VPN.

[JHolmesJr]

4 hours ago, Langsuan Man said:

I get a monthly free allowance from Tunnel Bear

 

Tunnel Bear has been acquired by McAffee....it's good to know these things

[gamb00ler]

7 minutes ago, gamb00ler said:

These days the biggest security threat is from dodgy smartphone apps.  A VPN won't help you in that case.  I don't know of any way to protect yourself other than avoiding relatively unknown app developers.  Even the app store guardians have not been able to completely prevent these data stealing apps.

 

3 minutes ago, RedPill said:

Not really. 

 

It still is the 'stupid user' reading and believing and clicking on everything.

 

Email & Websites ... go to an infected website, just passing through, you are already infected.

 

Installing any non-secure app on your phone ... same thing ... stupid user ????

 

Responding to fishing email attacks ... stupid user ...

 

2020 ... same same

 

The weakest link ... technology can never safe you ... the stupid user.

You're right... I should have said indicated my security concerns were with the equipment and infrastructure not the user errors.

[RedPill]

2 minutes ago, JHolmesJr said:

acquired by McAffee

It's McAfee, not Affee, John McAfee, good to know ????

 

 

 

[RedPill]

5 minutes ago, gamb00ler said:

 

You're right... I should have said indicated my security concerns were with the equipment and infrastructure not the user errors.

Exactly ????

 

Equipment

Infrastructure

User

 

Technology

Process

People 

 

People never change, it's only getting worse ????

[JHolmesJr]

1 minute ago, RedPill said:

It's McAfee, not Affee, John McAfee, good to know ????

 

 

 

 

I will let my spellcheck know.