Do you use a VPN ? Do they really help ?

[rumak]

2 hours ago, VBF said:

So to remain on topic, to the OP @rumak, my answer is "No I don't use a VPN as such"

 

ha ha   even i stopped looking at this thread    hahaha     i think every topic becomes a match in the octagon ,  just depends how quickly.

I did get some opinions and thoughts........... which i used to make my personal decision.

Disclaimer :   others may make different decisions .  also, much of the back and forth can be useful or interesting ,  to some

[sirineou]

11 hours ago, Mutt Daeng said:

It is slower (for me anyway) when using a VPN but not really noticeable when downloading. I have 3BB 1000/500 fibre package and I use NordVPN.

See speedtests below.

1st speedtest using VPN connected to Singapore. 2nd speedtest no VPN.

 

I just asked the below question at a thread I started.

I Have 3bb and  Nord VPN . how did you get your 3BB router to go through the VPN?

[Mutt Daeng]

1 hour ago, sirineou said:

I just asked the below question at a thread I started.

I Have 3bb and  Nord VPN . how did you get your 3BB router to go through the VPN?

You can't IMHO. See my reply to the other thread.

[fdsa]

3 hours ago, Poet said:

As I said in the statement you corrected, OVH has "a presence in just two countries". If you "check their website" you will see that those two countries are France and Canada:

https://www.datacenters.com/ovh-data-center-locations
 

 

you still should "check their website" not some random website with bogus information. How do I happen to have a server from OVH located in Singapore if they have presence only in France and Canada?

 

Origin-AS: 16276
Prefix: 51.79.128.0/17
AS-Path: 8220 16276
AS-Org-Name: OVH
Org-Name: OVH Singapore PTE. LTD
Net-Name: VPS-SGP2
City: Singapore
Country: Singapore

 

 

full list of their locations: https://www.ovh.com/ca/en/discover/

it's sure that not all datacenters are owned by OVH themselves but I'm totally fine with third party datacenters if they host OVH-owned servers and I could order these servers from OVH user panel.

 

 

 

 

 

3 hours ago, Poet said:

No, I never mentioned and was not talking about any VPN service. I was sharing my experience of using their free self-hosted version

 

please elaborate on how there could be any limitation on amount of devices in the self-hosted version of an open-source software.

 

[Poet]

23 minutes ago, fdsa said:

please elaborate how there could be any limitation on amount of devices in the self-hosted version of open-source software.

I said nothing about Open Source. I said that I once used the self-hosted version provided by their website. I made it clear that I consider OpenVPN or any VPN software unnecessary to achieve what most of the members here wish to achieve.

Plenty of Open Source Software enforces limitations, starting with pretty much every paid WordPress plugin.

 

23 minutes ago, fdsa said:

you still should "check their website" not some random website with bogus information.

I do not use OVH, I don't know anyone who does, and I am not sure why I am supposed to run around double-checking products I do not like and do not recommend.

That was the first result that came up when I searched. Here, however, from their website, is exactly the same information, two countries, France and Canada:

http://status.ovh.com/vms/

 

23 minutes ago, fdsa said:

How do I happen to have a server from OVH located in Singapore if they have presence only in France and Canada?

No idea. Perhaps it is a new offering from a company too flakey to update their own website properly. I don't care.

Again, having managed servers for over two decades, I do not use OVH, I know no-one who does, and all of this is completely irrelevant to the subject of this thread.

All I tried to do was show members here a way to avoid having to pay a subscription and install dodgy VPN software on their devices. You do you.

 

[fdsa]

36 minutes ago, Poet said:

I said nothing about Open Source. I said that I once used the self-hosted version provided by their website.

so instead of downloading the totally free version without any limitations

 

 

you've installed an evaluation copy of their paid software

 

 

well ????

 

 

 

39 minutes ago, Poet said:

made it clear that I consider OpenVPN or any VPN software unnecessary to achieve what most of the members here wish to achieve.

 

I do agree with you here, even more than that - most users don't need VPN or proxies at all.

 

40 minutes ago, Poet said:

No idea. Perhaps it is a new offering from a company too flakey to update their own website properly. I don't care.

Again, having managed servers for over two decades, I do not use OVH, I know no-one who does, and all of this is completely irrelevant to the subject of this thread.

 

it's never too late to begin

having managed servers for one and a half decade I ordered my first server from OVH in Dec 2020 — quite a good choice for a dirt cheap VPS.

 

[Simons3]

Some Main reasons for IPsec tunneling is to protect your privacy and security. If that's a concern then VPN is certainly worth looking into. If you don't mask your IP Address  anyone can pretty much Geolocate you anywhere in the world within a couple of square miles just by using a free google tool ( https://gsuite.tools/ip-location ). Also there are various systems  such as Bluecoat or generic products  ( often referred to as Chinese Firewalls etc. )built by Government entities designed to  break standard SSL encryption so they can inspect your internet traffic. But as long as  you are not concerned with the Government being able to know where you are, everything your looking at, and everything  in your emails, then it's all good.  Personally I don't use mine all the time but when on the WiFi in a Bar in Pattaya it's prudent to just switch it on to stop "Man in the middle" and other attacks. and if anyone is interested I use IPVanish as it has some very good features. 

 

Cheers

[Heng]

They definitely afford some peace of mind when connecting to networks you don't control (for example any airport lounge in the world).  

[jack71]

On 6/3/2021 at 7:57 AM, worgeordie said:

I have used a VPN for years ,at the moment I use Browsec  ,as I found it

very easy to use , the only reason I use a VPN is to gain access to streaming

services in Oz UK or USA ,  maybe it keeps me safe when i visit other sites.

I find for the cheap yearly fees it's well worth it for me.  

They also have a free version, that includes the UK, 

regards Worgeordie

I just looked at browsec url. It says.  'Browsec does its best to hide your identity and lets you stay anonymous.'

 

Does its best.........     This sounds very fishy to me. Is it saying that its not 100% doing its best or doesnt guarantee........  Its a big red flag for a vpn to use loose statements like that. Does it keep log files on its users when they surf the net???

[jack71]

On 6/3/2021 at 8:30 AM, IvorBiggun2 said:

 

I'm currently using 'Hotspot Shield', very good and it's free. Before that I used 'Browsec'. Also free and very good.

hotspot shield seems quite expensive at $12.99 a month. Tunnel bear is only 3.99 a month. Whats with the bigger price??

[jack71]

On 6/3/2021 at 9:10 AM, 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.

 

the website for bullet looks a bit basic. Kind of unsophisticated looking. I could not see any mention of whether or not they keep log files on their users when they surf the net. 

[Moonlover]

On 6/3/2021 at 7:44 AM, 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.

Agreed. I would not want to be without my link to the BBC iPlayer. It's the only TV I watch, so a reliable VPN is an intellectual lifeline for me.

[KannikaP]

11 hours ago, Moonlover said:

Agreed. I would not want to be without my link to the BBC iPlayer. It's the only TV I watch, so a reliable VPN is an intellectual lifeline for me.

Other TV channels are available.

 

Some of the Ch5 documentaries are very good.

[fdsa]

 

15 hours ago, jack71 said:

 Does it keep log files on its users when they surf the net???

 

 

15 hours ago, jack71 said:

I could not see any mention of whether or not they keep log files on their users when they surf the net. 

 

ḞḞS turn your brain On, please.

 

What would stop them from telling "we do not keep any logs 100% privacy guaranteed" while keeping all your logs and selling your browsing history to marketing agencies and whoever else? If you want privacy - run your own VPN, paying for server with cryptocurrency. If you want real privacy - run triple/quad/more VPN tunnel in different jurisdictions, paying for all servers with cryptocurrency.

[JackGats]

On 6/3/2021 at 11:53 PM, gargamon said:

 

 

So, by your second statement, there's no difference then in security connecting to your bank with or without a VPN as both are encrypted. 

I think if you connect to your bank through the bank's app, the app works pretty much like a VPN already. Note that some bank apps refuse to work when the VPN is on. 

 

If you connect to your bank via a browser you only get the SSL which is better than nothing but not very secure.

 

What I often do is connect to my bank on the macbook browser with VPN on the WiFi, but I use the TAN app for 2-factor identification on my smartphone 4G with the WiFi switched off. I guess it is unlikely a hacker would hack both the WiFi and the 4G at the same time. I'm not an expert though.

[jack71]

On 6/19/2021 at 11:34 AM, fdsa said:

ḞḞS turn your brain On, please.

<deleted>. Do you think anyone can run their own VPN. You're having a laugh. 

 

Please cut out your patronising tone. If you fail to do this you are off my xmas card list. 

[fdsa]

35 minutes ago, jack71 said:

<deleted>. Do you think anyone can run their own VPN. You're having a laugh. 

 

Please cut out your patronising tone. If you fail to do this you are off my xmas card list. 

my patronising tone was for the first part of my message, because if someone thinks that a website telling "we really do not keep any logs 100%!" in fact does not keep any logs, then he is, to put it mildly, very naive. Or stupid, if saying straight.

 

as for the second part - there are plenty of manuals online, almost cut&paste commands, which is enough for basic privacy. Almost anyone can do that.

 

It's the last part where things get complicated and not anyone can do - setting up a multi-level VPN tunnel especially if you do not have an IP-KVM access to the server.

 

[jack71]

On 6/20/2021 at 9:13 PM, fdsa said:

my patronising tone was for the first part of my message, because if someone thinks that a website telling "we really do not keep any logs 100%!" in fact does not keep any logs, then he is, to put it mildly, very naive. Or stupid, if saying straight.

 

as for the second part - there are plenty of manuals online, almost cut&paste commands, which is enough for basic privacy. Almost anyone can do that.

 

It's the last part where things get complicated and not anyone can do - setting up a multi-level VPN tunnel especially if you do not have an IP-KVM access to the server.

 

get real troll

[johng]

On 6/20/2021 at 8:42 PM, jack71 said:

<deleted>. Do you think anyone can run their own VPN. You're having a laugh. 

Of course anyone can   even me x 2   the other one ( IPfire)was much harder to setup.

 

[codemonkey]

2 hours ago, johng said:

Of course anyone can   even me x 2   the other one ( IPfire)was much harder to setup.

 

You need to update Merlin f/w, it was released July 2018. 555

[johng]

1 minute ago, codemonkey said:

You need to update Merlin f/w,

I tend to leave things alone if they are working ok  which it is at the moment.

 

If it ain't broke don't fix it    and KISS ????????

[kynikoi]

Always use cloudflare it's not technically VPN I could never get the warp to work on either my phone or tablet. Free.

 

I have another VPN provider that I use which is free and we'll go nameless. It does a reasonably decent job I think I use it for connecting to States and doing financial transactions.

 

When using it for other miscellaneous things I have noticed that despite me hooking into a different country sometimes I see evidence on the web page that it knows that I'm in Thailand.

 

I would imagine that if you're paying for VPN service that it would at least cover that issue.

 

I believe it's becoming more and more important and I use VPN more and more every month.

[WhiteBuffaloATM]

Use Express VPN set to UK to watch UK / US shows & sports

Should use VPN in any unfree country to avoid western online media bans and revealing your IP

assume China blocks ALL Westen media replacing it with its own services monitored for social credit violations, like 1984.......

can some sites recognize VPN use ? even China takes 2-3 days to stop VPN before its resets as active again........

[fdsa]

5 hours ago, kynikoi said:

When using it for other miscellaneous things I have noticed that despite me hooking into a different country sometimes I see evidence on the web page that it knows that I'm in Thailand.

 

I would imagine that if you're paying for VPN service that it would at least cover that issue.

 

VPN service could not block your browser from sharing all the possible information about your computer and you. The simplest way to determine your location is time zone, your browser reports Asia/Bangkok regardless of VPN server country.

 

For example, check this: https://coveryourtracks.eff.org/

[fdsa]

4 hours ago, WhiteBuffaloATM said:

can some sites recognize VPN use ? even China takes 2-3 days to stop VPN before its resets as active again........

 

recognizing the use of VPN is very simple and if some website does not determine that you use VPN then it means that website developers did not make even the slightest effort to do so.

 

 

P.S. the pic above is very lame - it is absolutely pointless to use a chain of VPN servers belonging to the same company.

[kynikoi]

4 hours ago, fdsa said:

 

VPN service could not block your browser from sharing all the possible information about your computer and you. The simplest way to determine your location is time zone, your browser reports Asia/Bangkok regardless of VPN server country.

 

For example, check this: https://coveryourtracks.eff.org/

 

Thanks. I could chat that yes? It can't possibly look at the bios?

[fdsa]

8 hours ago, kynikoi said:

 

Thanks. I could chat that yes? It can't possibly look at the bios?

chat" = "cheat"? It is very difficult, next to impossible, to stop browser from leaking everything. Because they are created in such way - to provide websites with the maximum possible information about visitors. Yes, the website really needs to know your battery charge percentage ????

 

Russian hackers are making attempts to create a really privacy-conscious browser by removing or forging all information leaking features from Firefox, but the results are paid and/or closed source (read as "malware"), you could google for something like "browser antidetect" but I did not use any of them and could not recommend any.

 

//EDIT: I've just recalled ghacks' user.js file, check this: https://github.com/arkenfox/user.js

I use this config and could recommend it, however I use an old version compatible with the old Firefox engine and with some manual modifications. I did not check the current version of this config for few years already.

 

The best way is to create a virtual machine with completely different settings from your main operating system, attach the virtual machine to the VPN network interface of the main operating system, and run a web browser inside the virtual machine. In this way you could easily "reinstall" the virtual machine or remove any malware if you catch it while browsing those "special websites" by deleting the virtual hard disk file and copying it back from the backup. Just create that backup after initial setup ????

 

Also I could recommend using Pale Moon browser as it is a somewhat privacy-conscious and leaks less information than the stock Firefox.

And, of course, stay away from Google browsers such as Chrome, Brave, Opera, Vivaldi, Edge, Iron, and whatever else.

 

What do you mean in "look at the bios"? As far as I know, browsers do not share any hardware ID's or MAC addresses, but I could be wrong.

[codemonkey]

most websites track you, especially this one that apparently logs keystrokes too. VPN is useless for this.

[KhunHeineken]

On 6/3/2021 at 8:28 PM, Roger That said:

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.

 

It's my understanding that if you connect to a "man in the middle" WiFi signal, they get to see your log in credentials. (username and password) 

 

They act like a pass through, still forwarding the the information and receiving the information, but they have access to all the information.

 

Yes, the session is HTTPS, but now a hacker can simply make his own HTTPS session with your bank, or whatever website, because they now have your log in details.

 

Same with a cabled network.  Example, who knows who is listening in downstairs of a condo block.  Not hard to run a patch lead through to a device and listen in to the internet traffic, which could also contain usernames and passpords.

 

 

 

[KhunHeineken]

On 6/4/2021 at 2:30 AM, gargamon said:

Sorry, not as secure as you think. The 'man in the middle' attack will be done when setting  up your VPN connection, which gives the attacker access to everything you do when connected to your VPN...

 

That's possible.  Obviously one has to have some confidence in their network.  Using your 4G phone mobile data is quite secure for what you describe. 

 

I don't use public Wifi like Starbucks, or in airports, for banking and other important things.  

 

My home network alerts me when another device tries to connect, and I have to approve the connection, I also don't broadcast my WiFi SSID, and same thing, when a new MAC address tries to join, I have to approve it. 

 

Will it stop a government agency listening in to my network traffic, no.  Will it keep out a fair portion of hackers, probably yes.