Is it really necessary to have a VPN?

[gamb00ler]

34 minutes ago, RedPill said:

Sorry, I have question, what is VPN?  

 

Virtual Private Network  - it is called virtual because it is created by software and is independent of the hardware that creates the actual physical network of machines and wires.  It is private because every chunk of communicated data is encrypted and can realistically only be un-encrypted by the authorized receiver.

[RedPill]

6 minutes ago, JHolmesJr said:

 

I will let my spellcheck know.

haha, sorry ... just an old joke ... this company name got spelled incorrectly since Donkey years ... don't take it personally ????

 

[RedPill]

11 minutes ago, gamb00ler said:

Virtual Private Network  - it is called virtual because it is created by software and is independent of the hardware that creates the actual physical network of machines and wires.  It is private because every chunk of communicated data is encrypted and can realistically only be un-encrypted by the authorized receiver.

Private Key - Public Key - IPsec - Encryption

 

I wanted to fish Mazzo a bit this morning for fun, but thanks for your answer ????

 

Edited December 5, 2019 by RedPill

[CNXexpat]

I am using it only to watch German TV (sports) for what I need a German IP. 

[Matzzon]

1 hour ago, RedPill said:

Sorry, I have question, what is VPN?  

 

Virtual Private Network: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_private_network

[Matzzon]

48 minutes ago, RedPill said:

Private Key - Public Key - IPsec - Encryption

 

I wanted to fish Mazzo a bit this morning for fun, but thanks for your answer ????

 

Yeah, I know you are getting a kick out of that. What your problem is, I do not know, though. You got your answer above. Anything else, funny guy?

[Stocky]

5 hours ago, SteveK said:

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/

 

Which is alarmist nonsense, no one's anonymity was compromised, see NordVPN's response below with link. 

 

A few months ago, we became aware of an incident in March 2018 when a server at a datacenter in Finland we had been renting servers from was accessed without authorization. This was done through an insecure remote management system account that the datacenter had added without our knowledge. The datacenter deleted the user accounts that the intruder had exploited rather than notify us.

 

The intruder did not find any user activity logs because they do not exist. They did not discover users’ identities, usernames, or passwords because none of our applications send user-created credentials for authentication.

 

The intruder did find and acquire a TLS key that has already expired. With this key, an attack could only be performed on the web against a specific target and would require extraordinary access to the victim’s device or network (like an already-compromised device, a malicious network administrator, or a compromised network). Such an attack would be very difficult to pull off. Expired or not, this TLS key could not have been used to decrypt NordVPN traffic in any way. That’s not what it does.

 

This was an isolated case, and no other servers or datacenter providers we use have been affected.

 

https://nordvpn.com/blog/official-response-datacenter-breach/

Edited December 5, 2019 by Stocky

[rech]

illegal activity ! this thread should be closed !

 

[torturedsole]

11 minutes ago, rech said:

illegal activity ! this thread should be closed !

What was that about?

[Max69xl]

On 12/4/2019 at 3:03 PM, giddyup said:

Tell me why.

Some people never download torrents, but they want to watch Netflix US,BBC Player or other stuff from their home country which isn't possible to watch without a VPN. 

[sirineou]

VPNs are a lot more than anonymously downloading torrents. , I never download torrents, not because of any value judgments, but simply because I don't watch movies as much, 

 But for someone like me who travels a lot I find them indispensable. There are many people and agencies that I do business with  and I don't want any of them to know where I am at the time, or at least make it easy for them to know. 

 For the price it is stupid not to have IMO.

PS: do not get a free one, Nothing in life is free.

[Captain 776]

 Not having one and being on the Internet is like being in an AIDS clinic with your pants down 

[Captain 776]

8-9 out of 10 dont understand the security risk of not having one

[Nemises]

VPNs are also required for off-shore Australians wishing to buy tickets in Powerball, Lotto etc; or to place a bet on sports or racing events. 

[DoktorC]

If you want to keep your downloading activity hidden from your ISP then use a VPN.  If you don't care, then don't bother.

[rbkk]

I haven't seen this mentioned yet. https://www.smartdnsproxy.com/ I get very good speeds and have been using it for about 2 years. There is a free 14 day trial. Good customer service set-up support and fast online help/chat. As my ISP changes my IP address I do have to reset my address with their servers . This takes 10 seconds (hit reset button) so not a problem for me. BBC iplayer. ITV Hub, All4 and My5 (UK TV) all work great as do torrents.

[ubonr1971]

On 12/4/2019 at 5:33 PM, Daffy D said:

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

 

 

 

 

most vpns dont keep the history logs. If yr talking about the browser history then its easy to clear it

[grobec]

On 12/4/2019 at 6:09 PM, giddyup said:

What excuse do you have?

Gee what a testy bunch.

how about some Christmas cheer and hugs?

[xylophone]

On 12/6/2019 at 10:58 AM, rbkk said:

I haven't seen this mentioned yet. https://www.smartdnsproxy.com/ I get very good speeds and have been using it for about 2 years. There is a free 14 day trial. Good customer service set-up support and fast online help/chat. As my ISP changes my IP address I do have to reset my address with their servers . This takes 10 seconds (hit reset button) so not a problem for me. BBC iplayer. ITV Hub, All4 and My5 (UK TV) all work great as do torrents.

I use it and thought I had mentioned it here, but I posted about it on another similar thread, and like you I'm very pleased with it and it has enabled me to get rid of True Visions and also access some very good programs on BBC iPlayer.

[torturedsole]

6 hours ago, ubonr1971 said:

most vpns dont keep the history logs. If yr talking about the browser history then its easy to clear it

And if you're the forgetful type then browse in a private window / incognito mode which doesn't save your browsing history, cookies and passwords.

 

Edited December 8, 2019 by torturedsole

[KiChakayan]

Today, out in the sticks, with TOT via a Nord VPN server in Switzerland.

 

[sunnyboy2018]

On 12/4/2019 at 10:15 AM, 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.

They give added security when banking for example. The make you secure on public WiFi networks in hotels etc. If your neighbours are malicious a VPN will help you protect against hacks. Some websites are blocked or political or censorship reasons so a VPN will allow you to access such websites many of which are innocuous. Always use a VPN where ever you are in the world for all your devices. Also use anti malware and anti virus soft ware and keep them all up to date.