Do you use a VPN ? Do they really help ?

[Kwasaki]

1 minute ago, KannikaP said:

Google Chrome, or any browser,  offers no protection whatsoever.

Possibly adds to your online vunerability.

I'm not technically up on computer stuff if it hasn't got a carburetor I'm stuffed. 

 

All I know is I go on clear history and then you can do a computer security check with chrome does. 

[Lacessit]

I tried Ivacy for a brief period, could not see what I was getting for the money and got a refund.

The other security I have, such as Decentraleyes, uBlock, Privacy Badger and HTTPSeverywhere appear to be giving me all the protection I need.

[The Hammer2021]

I have used one all over the world and check it is not leaking regularly. Apart from accessing porn and political sites and bit torrenting and free  streaming  it enhances security  in general  including when banking. I use mine in Saudi, Thailand,  UK, Europe, It's invaluable  along with anti virus software  and anti mallard software. EXPN is fast  cheap and easy  and does not keep records

[RocketDog]

7 hours ago, Poet said:

Aggressively marketed nonsense.

Not to me. I trialed several VPN candidates before using them. I purposely used a P2P book club download as bait. Sure enough, several VPN candidates gave away my IP address and I got takedown letters from my ISP.

Expressvpn functioned as advertised and 8 years on its still the best. I've used it in numerous countries and have it installed as an image on my home router, thus all my traffic goes through a VPN. I have the app on my phone and turn it on when I go out in the wild.

 

If you want to make such statements it's best to support them.

Your post provides nothing of any value beyond petulant cynicism.

 

OP: PM me if you want detailed information from a long-time user.

[KannikaP]

14 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

I tried Ivacy for a brief period, could not see what I was getting for the money and got a refund.

The other security I have, such as Decentraleyes, uBlock, Privacy Badger and HTTPSeverywhere appear to be giving me all the protection I need.

How do you know they are protecting you?

[RocketDog]

7 hours ago, Peterw42 said:

I have lived here for 8 years and never found a situation were I have needed a VPN. Unless you need to access some geo blocked content from back home I cant see the need. In the rare instance where I need to get around some geo-blocking etc, I just use Opera browser which has a basic peer to peer VPN built in.

It appears to be one of those things, most people are not really sure why, but they feel they need a VPN.

As for which one is the best, it would probably come down to the country/content you are trying to access.

You are correct. There is a lot of ignorance surrounding vpns.

 

They provide a variety of functions that you are unaware of. I know exactly why I've used one for 8 years.

Free vpns are worth exactly what you pay for them. They aren't provided as a good will gesture.  Real VPN companies both own and staff their server farms all over the world. That isn't free.

[petertucker48]

ClearVPN (MacPaw.com)  gets me BBC iPlayer perfectly /easily all I want it for.

[Dirk Z]

I use VPN Express for many year's and am a happy user. No slowing down, need it for geo blocking and geo fooling, as for downloading. In China can totally not do without.

[Eindhoven]

58 minutes ago, Logosone said:

 

Yeah, I used to think that, I also downloaded and didn't have Netflix for years. But you do need it to have full access to what's out there. Even Netflix doesn't have all the series and tvs, you need several sources anyway.

 

What are you going on about? Full access to what's out there? Who needs that? I don't need access to Australian live TV programs for instance.

I have access to everything that I want, without the need for a VPN. Do you want to give an example of something that you can get on NetFlix but I cannot? 

Pay attention to the needs of the OP. He already told you that he had NetFlix.

[Greenhill]

7 hours ago, KannikaP said:

I tried Opera, but it did not have UK as a location, so no BBC iPlayer or UK TV. Express costs me $6 a month and always works.

I use Express VPN but it does NOT give me access to BBC iplayer as, somehow, the 'wonderful' BBC can smell a VPN is being used!!!!    If you do have access to iplayer, please let me know the 'trick'.

[Aforek]

Cyberghost for me, 3 years, very cheap, to look documentaries from my home country, banking 

slower than in normal speed, but with fiber, still very fast 

 

Now, regular TV detect that there is a VPN but I have a program which allows to see them 

[KannikaP]

2 minutes ago, Greenhill said:

I use Express VPN but it does NOT give me access to BBC iplayer as, somehow, the 'wonderful' BBC can smell a VPN is being used!!!!    If you do have access to iplayer, please let me know the 'trick'.

There are four different UK servers. Try them all.

[Golden Triangle]

2 hours ago, Peterw42 said:

Do people know what encryption is ??? Banking, email etc websites and apps have been encrypted for the last 20 years, from your screen through to the banks server, its encrypted.

It appears everyone consumes the VPN marketing Kool-aid. 

 

 

Logically, if someone is capable of intercepting and reading encrypted data, they would be just as capable of intercepting and reading VPN encrypted data. Why is one form of encryption vulnerable and another is not ???

I don't have a VPN because I need any additional encryption, it's because some sites I visit are not government friendly, I can also access content in Oz that is blocked by the Thai government as it's not overly friendly to people living here, I can also watch UK TV which would otherwise be blocked to me, no matter how many years I have paid the UK licence fee, I also like to watch & participate in Khaosod English broadcasts, so I try to keep a low profile, most definitely not for the kool aid ( if I knew what that was ? ) I could be anywhere in the world right now, who would know ? Unless you're gonna tell me different.

[earlinclaifornia]

I renewed my Golden Frog for 5 $ a month. US has music and videos that I then can access on all devices. My Government websites are also accessible too.

[Golden Triangle]

4 hours ago, Logosone said:

You just sign up with Paypal, you link it to your bank account, it's easy you just follow the website sign up fields.

 

Then if you ever want to make a payment you use your email address and password. Very convenient.

The last time I tried to open a PayPal account (last year) I was told by PayPal that new accounts from Thailand were not being allowed, I wonder why that would be ? ????????????

[86Tiger]

7 hours ago, bamboozled said:

Makes the connection much slower, I have found, annoyingly so.

 

 

I have used Tunnel Bear, PIA, firefox browser and probably couple more over the years and they all seemed to cause much slower connection than ISP without VPN.

 

I am using ExpressVPN now and have to report there is a speed reduction but not major and if experiment with several connections usually can find server with speed  near ISP.  Full disclosure:  living in Turkey.

 

VPN is like that pink ID card, totally worthless until it's not..........

[Logosone]

46 minutes ago, Eindhoven said:

 

What are you going on about? Full access to what's out there? Who needs that? I don't need access to Australian live TV programs for instance.

I have access to everything that I want, without the need for a VPN. Do you want to give an example of something that you can get on NetFlix but I cannot? 

Pay attention to the needs of the OP. He already told you that he had NetFlix.

 

What are you on about? There are no Australian Live TV programs on Netflix. Nobody needs those anyway. I was of course talking about US TV series and films, what else?

 

No, you certainly do not have access to everything without a VPN, that's impossible. 

 

You're just kidding yourself. 

[Logosone]

6 minutes ago, Golden Triangle said:

The last time I tried to open a PayPal account (last year) I was told by PayPal that new accounts from Thailand were not being allowed, I wonder why that would be ? ????????????

 

Yah, paypal can be a bit weird. I travel a bit and when I stayed longer term in one country I got an email that Paypal now considered my domestic address in that country and my paypal account would be switched there. Bizarre.

[chakeeoyen]

1 hour ago, KannikaP said:

Google Chrome, or any browser,  offers no protection whatsoever.

Possibly adds to your online vunerability.

 

AFAIK most modern browsers automatically upgrade your connection to HTTPS which is secure enough for your every day user. That being said, it's essential to install something like uBlock Origin to block ads, malware, etc.

 

Anyone using a free VPN should reconsider. Take a look at the service's privacy policy or EULA and more than likely your data is being used and/or logged. Even some paid VPNs have a history of selling out their users when they claim "no logs".

 

 

[rwill]

I use surfshark.  It works good and is cheap.  But I really don't use it all that often.

[Skeptic7]

I use Private Internet Access (PIA). Love it and wouldn't be without it. 

[wwest5829]

7 hours ago, norfolkandchance said:

NordVPN for me. Never had a problem with UK Telly. Cheap as well.

I'm reading this subject because my free NordVPN is ending. Only use for downloading occasional torrents so can't justify adding the monthly charge to the TV (400 baht) and wifi (631.03) monthly costs.

[orchidfan]

7 hours ago, G Rex said:

I use VPN to stream AFL games (Aussie Rules Football) from an Australian provider.  Express was no good to me - the provider could detect VPN , so was blocked.  Bullet VPN works well. They change their IP addresses regularly to thwart the blockers (from Kayo website). I think it is a bit of a cat & mouse game.

 

G Rex. Can you share how you watch AFL using your VPN?

I have Surfshark, but I've always had to pay for an AFL monthly or yearly subscription to watch it live here. 

And that's only "permitted" if you are outside of Australia. 

Any info or guidance would be greatly appreciated !

[G Rex]

9 minutes ago, orchidfan said:

G Rex. Can you share how you watch AFL using your VPN?

I have Surfshark, but I've always had to pay for an AFL monthly or yearly subscription to watch it live here. 

And that's only "permitted" if you are outside of Australia. 

Any info or guidance would be greatly appreciated !

I have a Kayo subscription - needed an Australian mobile phone number for set up - so used a number from my work - you needs to be able to get registration code from this phone. $25 per month. Can watch any game I want - live or delayed.  Also has plenty of other sport to watch. I log in with one of the Australian numbers on Bullet VPN - they have 6 ( Kayo 1 to Kayo 6) . Sometimes all of these will connect, other times you need to try a few first , as Kayo sometimes detects VPN , so will not connect.

The transmission is a bit laggy at times - but - as a Collingwood supporter I am not too fussed about the footy ATM!

[rumak]

1 hour ago, RocketDog said:

OP: PM me if you want detailed information from a long-time user.

 

i just installed free trial on my android (express vpn) .    went to scrubs2 and still can not get the movies like i did before .   weird thing is tv shows work.  

have no time now but tomorrow will try to ask by chat  ........ 

 

then will report back .     will PM  if needed .     thanks

[connda]

VPNs provide the user with another a layer of anonymity.
If you don't care about privacy, then no need to have one.

[rumak]

Just now, connda said:

VPNs provide the user with another a layer of anonymity.
If you don't care about privacy, then no need to have one.

 

Mrs. R  just started the lawnmower.    I thought it was a drone bomb sent by a foreign government.

Privacy ?    haha    we are all public property at this time in history

[Roger That]

6 hours ago, KhunHeineken said:

 

I would be lost without my VPN to get around geo blocking.

 

The other problem the VPN's fix is "a man in the middle attack."  Say you live in a condo with WiFi.  What if your neighbor has cracked your WiFi password?  Maybe someone has spliced into the cable downstairs.  Now, they can place themselves in between you, and the website you are connecting to, which could be your internet banking.  A VPN encrypts all the traffic between you and your bank, so a man in the middle can not use the information.

 

Need to access any sensitive websites like banking, email, security cameras etc from a public WiFi like in cafes, bars, airports, restaurants etc, you should always use a VPN to stop a man in the middle attack, even a free one is better than nothing.     

 

Even cellular data can be "sniffed."

 

Sounds like super spy stuff, but it's not.  This equipment can be bought by the public.  

This is not correct (the condo example). If you are using online banking, it WILL use https (as will >90% of other sites these days) and is therefore already encrypted and cannot be intercepted like that.

 

All you're doing is passing your internet traffic through an additional server provided by an anonymous company with unknown motives.

[Roger That]

Answer to OP: if you have to ask, you don't need one (and neither do most people, despite what VPN adverts will try and tell you).

It can be handy to get around geo-blocking. Alleged "privacy" benefits are questionable.

 

Check Tom Scott's video about VPNs on YouTube for an accurate assessment, not distorted by VPN sponsorship deals (which can be very lucrative apparently, hence the huge number of them on YouTube).

[chakeeoyen]

11 minutes ago, connda said:

VPNs provide the user with another a layer of anonymity security.

 

Privacy does not equal anonymity. If you want anonymity you also have to change your browsing habits which means blocking cookies, trackers, JavaScript and using Tor. If you login to a website, especially one where you've used your real name and e-mail address, well that's anything but anonymous.

 

A VPN might hide what you're doing to your ISP, but most web services have logs...