Surf Shark VPN

[Tofer]

  On 11/13/2022 at 1:41 AM, Mutt Daeng said:

Surfshark now has the Wireguard protocol available. It's much faster than OpenVPN protocol. iPlayer works very well with Surfshark in my experience. I've just changed from NordVPN to Surfshark. Never had any probs whatsoever with Nord over 3 years, but decided to give Surfshark a go, largely because it's cheaper. So far I think SS is very good. Does what I want it to, but at a cheaper price than Nord. As already stated by @Tofer above, SS is now part of NordVPN's portfolio.

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Sounds like the best option, and they've got a fairly good black Friday offer on at the moment.

[recom273]

 

An interesting view, especially those on free VPN (or proxys)

[recom273]

  On 11/13/2022 at 11:32 AM, recom273 said:

 

An interesting view, especially those on free VPN (or proxys)

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LOL - I didn't watch it until the end. It seems PIA that I always connect to, and then just leave running for days because its often easier than reconnecting, is owned by a dodgy company.

 

Hands up who still wants to run a system wide VPN on their router?

 

I like the researchers enthusiastic manner for the topic, interesting to find that China runs a good percentage of the free VPNs/

[Tofer]

  On 11/13/2022 at 11:32 AM, recom273 said:

An interesting view, especially those on free VPN (or proxys)

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If they're all as devious as the presenter / expert portray, then why would anyone trust ANY VPN provider.

[dddave]

Just adding to the chorus.  I've used SURFSHARK for the last two years after two frustrating years with PUREVPN.  Night and day difference. Very fast to connect, stable with no buffering ever.  I connect with Netflix USA content without difficulty but AmazonPrime always defaults to the skimpy international content.

The few times I used CS, it was quick & helpful.  No hold times.

[KannikaP]

  On 11/8/2022 at 9:47 AM, The Fugitive said:

Two year's with Surf Shark. Never failed to connect or unblock geo-blocked websites. Use on Windows (XP and 7), Linux, iPhones and Android mobiles. Sent an email to their Customer Services the other week and it was answered within an hour. Great service.

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Do you think it will be OK on W8, 10 & 11.?

[The Fugitive]

  On 11/16/2022 at 8:33 AM, KannikaP said:

Do you think it will be OK on W8, 10 & 11.?

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Yes, proved it myself. Windows XP too!

[recom273]

  On 11/16/2022 at 8:02 AM, Tofer said:

If they're all as devious as the presenter / expert portray, then why would anyone trust ANY VPN provider.

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They gave an option at the end - the presenter also suggested in the show notes that "Proton" was a trusted VPN - Proton also offer a free secure email service.

 

Your data is being sold anyway whatever you do, but it doesn't hurt to be aware - If you use Facebook, gmail, Spotify ( how about collecting your choice of music and correlating to your websurfing habits, for me, that's scary enough that I don't use a music streaming service), free VPNs, cheap cloud storage that comes with your security camera, free pirate video streaming services all monitor your data - then its just another channel, even the Chinese company that I work for monitors my facial responses and vocal output.

 

Why do we trust them? because we need to use their service and we are told by them that they are a tool to trust, we need the VPN to access geolocked content - Maybe use a VPN with an app that allows the VPN to be switched on and off and a personal firewall to monitor outgoing calls. Maybe not a good idea to use a systemwide VPN on your router.

 

 

[fdsa]

  On 11/16/2022 at 9:59 AM, recom273 said:

the Chinese company that I work for monitors my facial responses and vocal output.

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[recom273]

  On 11/16/2022 at 3:28 PM, fdsa said:

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I guess Zoom / LINE / wechat all video communication platforms must harvest this data too. 

[Jingthing]

I was just today shopping for a VPN to watch the World Cup but also interested in logins to US banks, etc.

 

Coincidentally Surfshark is leading.

 

But I have a question. 

 

obfuscated servers?

 

Doesn’t using them indicate streamers and banks etc. won't be able to tell you're using a VPN and less likely to block access?

 

Or am getting this wrong?

 

https://surfshark.com/features/obfuscated-servers

 

[fdsa]

  On 11/16/2022 at 5:20 PM, Jingthing said:

I was just today shopping for a VPN to watch the World Cup but also interested in logins to US banks, etc.

 

Coincidentally Surfshark is leading.

 

But I have a question. 

 

obfuscated servers?

 

Doesn’t using them indicate streamers and banks etc. won't be able to tell you're using a VPN and less likely to block access?

 

Or am getting this wrong?

 

https://surfshark.com/features/obfuscated-servers

 

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Besides the marketing bullshít they did not state which IP address they use, so it's impossible to tell for sure if streamers/banks won't be able to determine if you are using VPN or not.

 

The easiest and most reliable method to tell if a user connects thru VPN is checking who owns the user's IP address - if it belongs to "Amazon AWS" or "SurfShark LLC" instead of "Verizon Home Internet" then it's definitely a VPN.

[Jingthing]

Yeah I'm definitely skeptical.

Surfshark seems to be hinting that they're offering this feature without explicitly saying it which of course suggests they don't actually have it.

 

Another thing they have is an entire page detailing the benefits of using a VPN for bank logins without mentioning the issue of banks sometimes freezing accounts  of such users.

 

Another small clue. I watch a major YouTube channel of some American expats in Mexico. They sell Surfshark as an affiliate program and they feature US bank logins as a major reason to buy it never mentioning any problems on the banks side.

 

So I am left wondering if Surfshark or any other VPN actually solves this issue.

[The Fugitive]

  On 11/17/2022 at 4:34 AM, Jingthing said:

Yeah I'm definitely skeptical.

Surfshark seems to be hinting that they're offering this feature without explicitly saying it which of course suggests they don't actually have it 

 

Another thing they have is an entire page detailing the benefits of using a VPN for bank logins without mentioning the issue of banks sometimes freezing accounts  of such users.

 

Another small clue. I watch a major YouTube channel of some American expats in Mexico. They sell Surfshark as an affiliate program and they feature US bank logins as a major reason to buy it never mentioning any problems on the banks side.

 

So I am left wondering if Surfshark or any other VPN actually solves this issue.

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Don't forget, you get 30 days in which to test. If it doesn't do all you require they will refund your subscription in full. I did the same firstly with ZenMate which was slightly cheaper at the time. Everything else worked except it wouldn't unblock BBCiPlayer. I complained a couple of times to be told 'we're working on it'. However, by day 29 it still wasn't unblocked so I got my money back, paid in full within a few days.  

[Mutt Daeng]

  On 11/17/2022 at 4:34 AM, Jingthing said:

Yeah I'm definitely skeptical.

Surfshark seems to be hinting that they're offering this feature without explicitly saying it which of course suggests they don't actually have it.

 

Another thing they have is an entire page detailing the benefits of using a VPN for bank logins without mentioning the issue of banks sometimes freezing accounts  of such users.

 

Another small clue. I watch a major YouTube channel of some American expats in Mexico. They sell Surfshark as an affiliate program and they feature US bank logins as a major reason to buy it never mentioning any problems on the banks side.

 

So I am left wondering if Surfshark or any other VPN actually solves this issue.

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Surfshark offer have a refund policy of 30 days if you aren't happy, so you could take out your desired subscription and within those 30 days, test whether you can access your foreign banks successfully and consistently (or not). If not, ask for a refund. Might be worth a look.

[Mutt Daeng]

  On 11/17/2022 at 4:43 AM, The Fugitive said:

Don't forget, you get 30 days in which to test. If it doesn't do all you require they will refund your subscription in full. I did the same firstly with ZenMate which was slightly cheaper at the time. Everything else worked except it wouldn't unblock BBCiPlayer. I complained a couple of times to be told 'we're working on it'. However, by day 29 it still wasn't unblocked so I got my money back, paid in full within a few days.  

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Just beat me to it @The Fugitive. 

[Jingthing]

The problem with bank logins is much more about them freezing accounts than login access. 

When  that happens it can be a major headache and could even lead to banks kicking you out as many don’t want expat accounts.

So I would want to have high confidence that the banks are not seeing logins as by VPN before even taking the risk of testing!

I assume this is largely an issue for Americans because of American Know Your Customer laws.

So for me refund policies are trivial because losing accounts is a massively bigger risk than losing a VPN fee.

[The Fugitive]

  On 11/17/2022 at 4:56 AM, Jingthing said:

The problem with bank logins is much more about them freezing accounts than login access. 

When  that happens it can be a major headache and could even lead to banks kicking you out as many don’t want expat accounts.

So I would want to have high confidence that the banks are not seeing logins as by VPN before even taking the risk of testing!

I assume this is largely an issue for Americans because of American Know Your Customer laws.

So for me refund policies are trivial because losing accounts is a massively bigger risk than losing a VPN fee.

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Are there USA banks that will allow you to have an address abroad and will send renewed/replacement debit/credit cards to Thailand? 

[Mutt Daeng]

  On 11/17/2022 at 4:56 AM, Jingthing said:

The problem with bank logins is much more about them freezing accounts than login access. 

When  that happens it can be a major headache and could even lead to banks kicking you out as many don’t want expat accounts.

So I would want to have high confidence that the banks are not seeing logins as by VPN before even taking the risk of testing!

I assume this is largely an issue for Americans because of American Know Your Customer laws.

So for me refund policies are trivial because losing accounts is a massively bigger risk than losing a VPN fee.

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@Jingthing could you not contact your bank and ask them a "theoretical" question as to whether you would be able to operate your US based accounts "normally" if you were to relocate to another country? I did this before I changed my registered address with my UK bank (HSBC) to my Thai address and got them to confirm that my accounts/credit/debit cards would operate as normal. Do you know what you banks policy is regarding accessing your US bank accounts from abroad?

[Jingthing]

Asking them will put you into suspicion.

It's known in general that US financial institutions are expat hostile.

There are a few exceptions but I need multiple accounts 

A major exception is SDFCU which I do use 

Fidelity brokerage which I've used over 50 years was cool about it over the phone before I moved to Thailand, then changed their policy and began aggressively treating me as a suspect.

Also banks frequently merge and then change policies. 

 

The trend is always worse towards expats such as requiring US cell phones in your name, blocking voip for 2FA.

[Mutt Daeng]

  On 11/17/2022 at 5:18 AM, Jingthing said:

Asking them will put you into suspicion.

It's known in general that US financial institutions are expat hostile.

There are a few exceptions but I need multiple accounts 

A major exception is SDFCU which I do use 

Fidelity brokerage which I've used over 50 years was cool about it over the phone before I moved to Thailand, then changed their policy and began aggressively treating me as a suspect.

Also banks frequently merge and then change policies. 

 

The trend is always worse towards expats such as requiring US cell phones in your name, blocking voip for 2FA.

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Sounds like a "rock and a hard place" situation. Not sure what to suggest if you're wary about asking or trying anything with your providers. Best of luck.

[topt]

  On 11/16/2022 at 9:59 AM, recom273 said:

They gave an option at the end - the presenter also suggested in the show notes that "Proton" was a trusted VPN - Proton also offer a free secure email service.

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Proton gets generally good write ups that I have seen but also had a hiccup in recent times - I think because Swiss based they have to comply to requests.

I almost missed it but the guy did mention Mullvad just before the end. Based on my readings over the last couple of years on VPNs that is probably one of the few VPNs which actually do what they say. 

[Tofer]

  On 11/17/2022 at 5:01 AM, The Fugitive said:

Are there USA banks that will allow you to have an address abroad and will send renewed/replacement debit/credit cards to Thailand? 

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I don't know about US accounts, but I never had a problem with my UK bank when I was using OpenVPN, but they are well aware I reside overseas, and maintain my UK account through a UK correspondence address.

[Tofer]

  On 11/17/2022 at 5:18 AM, Jingthing said:

Asking them will put you into suspicion.

It's known in general that US financial institutions are expat hostile.

There are a few exceptions but I need multiple accounts 

A major exception is SDFCU which I do use 

Fidelity brokerage which I've used over 50 years was cool about it over the phone before I moved to Thailand, then changed their policy and began aggressively treating me as a suspect.

Also banks frequently merge and then change policies. 

 

The trend is always worse towards expats such as requiring US cell phones in your name, blocking voip for 2FA.

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Is it not possible to simply use a US correspondence address and not tell them you're overseas? 

My UK First Direct Bank (HSBC) have no problem with that arrangement, and also have my Thai phone number registered.

[Jingthing]

  On 11/17/2022 at 9:27 AM, Tofer said:

Is it not possible to simply use a US correspondence address and not tell them you're overseas? 

My UK First Direct Bank (HSBC) have no problem with that arrangement, and also have my Thai phone number registered.

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I don't tell them.

This is more of an American problem. 

US financial institutions are aggressively hostile to expats and the laws there push them in that direction.

[The Fugitive]

  On 11/17/2022 at 1:05 PM, Jingthing said:

I don't tell them.

This is more of an American problem. 

US financial institutions are aggressively hostile to expats and the laws there push them in that direction.

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There must be many in USA facing this same problem. I'm from UK so pardon my ignorance, but are the banking regulations federal or do they differ in each State? There are US overseas territories. Do the territories have the same banks as The States? Or do they have their own? Or both? Other than that, although it will cost, the legal professions being the rogues that they are sure to know workarounds.  

[Jingthing]

  On 11/18/2022 at 5:09 AM, The Fugitive said:

There must be many in USA facing this same problem. I'm from UK so pardon my ignorance, but are the banking regulations federal or do they differ in each State? There are US overseas territories. Do the territories have the same banks as The States? Or do they have their own? Or both? Other than that, although it will cost, the legal professions being the rogues that they are sure to know workarounds.  

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Federal.

I have no idea about territories.

Each US expat tries to craft their own workarounds but its a moving target.

Very wealthy people of course can have private bankers 

A very common gambit which I do is FAKING being a US resident using a US friend or relative but that is always at risk of falling apart.

Really US expat's problems are a separate topic.

 

If any US expats don't know the State Department Federal Credit Union can be very useful. If that's all you need that's a total solution.

 

I only wanted to know if there is a VPN that can reliably never appear as a VPN to banks etc. I thought maybe Surfshark is that.

[Jingthing]

This is interesting but again does it really work consistently?

 

https://www.vpnranks.com/blog/securely-access-bank-accounts/

"Surfshark offers obfuscated servers so the servers you are connected to won’t be able to detect that you are using a VPN, which is just ideal if you want to access your bank from some other country. Our Surfshark review explores these aspects of the service in more detail."

 

 

[fdsa]

  On 11/18/2022 at 5:37 AM, Jingthing said:

I only wanted to know if there is a VPN that can reliably never appear as a VPN to banks etc.

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You need a VPN server that has a "residential IP" - i.e. an IP address belonging to the home Internet provider rather than a datacenter. The best option is asking your tech-savvy friend in the US to share their Internet connection with you.

 

Also there are services such as Luminati and Peer2Profit that sell VPNs and proxies made from hacked routers with admin:admin credentials, disguising themselves as a legit "get paid for sharing your internet" services. But I would not use those for banking.

[Jingthing]

  On 11/18/2022 at 6:57 AM, fdsa said:

You need a VPN server that has a "residential IP" - i.e. an IP address belonging to the home Internet provider rather than a datacenter. The best option is asking your tech-savvy friend in the US to share their Internet connection with you.

 

Also there are services such as Luminati and Peer2Profit that sell VPNs and proxies made from hacked routers with admin:admin credentials, disguising themselves as a legit "get paid for sharing your internet" services. But I would not use those for banking.

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The former is like my current solution but it's a bit of a burden.

 

I have a PC box set up in his house.

 

I power it on from Thailand logging on to his network. 

 

Then I use TeamViewer to use that US computer to login to my Financials.

 

I was hoping that a VPN might potentially replace that.