VPN vs Cloud Computers for connecting to home from Thailand

Barley · January 15, 2023

I wanted to give my opinion, but didn't want to read through 5 pages, so if my advice is redundant, please understand:

My Background: Computer enthusiast and network administrator for several NGOs/Businesses/and private people, though my work is pro bono. I have used VPNs myself and set up several VPNs for others.

Here is my advice: Don't throw money at it yet. Use a free VPN in the beginning, but beware: Most free VPNs want to spy on you and are Chinese owned.

This one does not and is an honest operator and gives you several Gigabyte free traffic every month (I have an unlimited pro account, so not sure about the exact amount): https://windscribe.com/download

Tip: Download only the BROWSER package for the browser that you plan to use. Why? Some websites are picky and don't allow you to connect if your computer time is from a different time zone than your connection would indicate, f.e. Asia time, but you pretend to come in via VPN from USA on Central time. The Windscribe BROWSER extension fixes that, the OS download does not.

Check if this will work for you. Then you can stay with the free program.

Re. Static VPN: If you REALLY NEED this feature (most people don't! - only if the free account isn't working for you) please read this first: https://blog.windscribe.com/port-forwarding-static-ips-and-lies-bcf427fdb283/

and then get a STATIC IP with Windscribe, but NOT a really expensive DEDICATED IP.

I hope this helps. Many companies try to make money in the VPN business by trying to upsell and confuse the customer. Keep it to the simplest working configuration and don't let yourself be confused,

WaveHunter · January 16, 2023

12 hours ago, Barley said:

I wanted to give my opinion, but didn't want to read through 5 pages, so if my advice is redundant, please understand:

My Background: Computer enthusiast and network administrator for several NGOs/Businesses/and private people, though my work is pro bono. I have used VPNs myself and set up several VPNs for others.

Here is my advice: Don't throw money at it yet. Use a free VPN in the beginning, but beware: Most free VPNs want to spy on you and are Chinese owned.

This one does not and is an honest operator and gives you several Gigabyte free traffic every month (I have an unlimited pro account, so not sure about the exact amount): https://windscribe.com/download

Tip: Download only the BROWSER package for the browser that you plan to use. Why? Some websites are picky and don't allow you to connect if your computer time is from a different time zone than your connection would indicate, f.e. Asia time, but you pretend to come in via VPN from USA on Central time. The Windscribe BROWSER extension fixes that, the OS download does not.

Check if this will work for you. Then you can stay with the free program.

Re. Static VPN: If you REALLY NEED this feature (most people don't! - only if the free account isn't working for you) please read this first: https://blog.windscribe.com/port-forwarding-static-ips-and-lies-bcf427fdb283/

and then get a STATIC IP with Windscribe, but NOT a really expensive DEDICATED IP.

I hope this helps. Many companies try to make money in the VPN business by trying to upsell and confuse the customer. Keep it to the simplest working configuration and don't let yourself be confused,

Thanks for your thoughts. Unfortunately, I tried VPN's (Nord) and found it really not that useful for my purposes, although I do kind of like it for my TV here in Thailand.

I discovered that the big problem with VPN's is that they all use datacenter IP addresses which are just as big of a "red flag" as a Thai IP address when you try to log into many US sites that have stringent concerns for ID verification.

WaveHunter · January 16, 2023

13 hours ago, Jingthing said:

No!

I switched to a small cheap "computer" box without a monitor.

I think it was under 100 dollars new.

My host has always used Android but I use Windows.

The device that burned out was a laptop (not a Mac).

It's better if both use the same operating system for version compatibility.

I really like that idea of a "mini-compter" sans the screen or keyboard. I wish there was one that was compatible with Mac OS-X. You don't happen to know of any of these "mini" computers that are compatible with OS-X, do you?

Actually that's more or less how I use my MacBook Pro. I have a 32 inch monitor and separate keyboard connected to it, and usually just use the laptop with the lid closed.

My problem (and I'm sure Apple planned it that way) is that all of my devices are Apple (MackBook Pro, iPhone, and iPad), and all are integrated through Apple's cloud server, iCloud. The interface is one I've grown accustomed to, so to use anything but an OS-X machine for this remote controlled computer would be pretty uncomfortable for me.

I do have a "virtual" Windows 10 operating system loaded on my MacBook Pro using VMWare Fusion but everytime I use Windows, it just feels so clunky, and navigation is very counter-intuitive compared to OS-X, so I really only use it for a few of my applications that only run on Windows.

Jingthing · January 16, 2023

3 hours ago, WaveHunter said:

I really like that idea of a "mini-compter" sans the screen or keyboard. I wish there was one that was compatible with Mac OS-X. You don't happen to know of any of these "mini" computers that are compatible with OS-X, do you?

Actually that's more or less how I use my MacBook Pro. I have a 32 inch monitor and separate keyboard connected to it, and usually just use the laptop with the lid closed.

My problem (and I'm sure Apple planned it that way) is that all of my devices are Apple (MackBook Pro, iPhone, and iPad), and all are integrated through Apple's cloud server, iCloud. The interface is one I've grown accustomed to, so to use anything but an OS-X machine for this remote controlled computer would be pretty uncomfortable for me.

I do have a "virtual" Windows 10 operating system loaded on my MacBook Pro using VMWare Fusion but everytime I use Windows, it just feels so clunky, and navigation is very counter-intuitive compared to OS-X, so I really only use it for a few of my applications that only run on Windows.

I'm Mac illiterate although my first computers were an original Mac and a Trash 80.

I liked the Trash 80 better.

Maybe someone can answer.

WaveHunter · January 17, 2023

22 hours ago, Jingthing said:

I'm Mac illiterate although my first computers were an original Mac and a Trash 80.

I liked the Trash 80 better.

Maybe someone can answer.

TRS 80? I guess it didn't agree with you? My first computer as a kid was an Apple II that had two floppy drives and 48 kB of RAM...that's right, KILOBYTES!!!. The floppy drive disks were capable of storing only 1mB of data each! The price for this set-up at the time was over $1,000 USD! Even so, it seemed like a magical machine to me at the time.

Compare that to the Mac I have on order, the Apple MacBook Pro with M1 chip which will have 16 gB of RAM and 2.5 tB of SSD storage (500 gB internal and 2 tB external). Things have come a long way since back then!

I read that some of the original Apple II computers can fetch as much $5,000 at auction, and one of the original Apple I computers auctioned for over $900,000!

Jingthing · January 19, 2023

The early days of the PC industry especially in the Bay Area were very exciting.

KhunHeineken · January 28, 2023

On 1/15/2023 at 11:28 AM, WaveHunter said:

Those devices sound interesting but I plan to just buy an old used mac laptop off of eBay since I want it to be an OSX system, not PC.

You do like making things difficult and expensive for yourself, all for just 10 months of use.

WaveHunter · January 30, 2023

On 1/28/2023 at 7:55 AM, KhunHeineken said:

You do like making things difficult and expensive for yourself, all for just 10 months of use.

I don't like having to do it but all of this security nonsense is crippling my business. I mean, it wasn't so bad until lately, but now it just over the top. So, it's either I do this, or fly back home and end my stay in the Magic Kingdom...and the latter idea is sounding better every day!

KhunHeineken · January 31, 2023

10 hours ago, WaveHunter said:

I don't like having to do it but all of this security nonsense is crippling my business. I mean, it wasn't so bad until lately, but now it just over the top. So, it's either I do this, or fly back home and end my stay in the Magic Kingdom...and the latter idea is sounding better every day!

Since you have to outlay money on a secondhand Mac, and get an IT guy to set it up for you, why not buy a set of these, as I suggested? They are pre configured out of the factory for you. Cheaper than a secondhand Mac.

Your sister can plug in the home proxy dongle, no need for the IT guy. The set comes with two power supplies and two short ethernet cables. The companion dongle can be posted or couriered to you. Plug it in at your house in Thailand, it then connects to the one at your sister's house, you connect to the one in your house via WiFi, and you are on your sister's IP Address for every website you visit, including streaming websites.

They are small and use no electricity and are left powered on all the time. There's no ongoing subscription fees if you buy a set and don't go through their app and server.

I have a set of these and they work well. I had untold trouble streaming Foxtel in Thailand. I tried many things, including multiple VPN's. These get around all the geo blocked sites I use.

https://www.homingsystems.com

Here's an old youtube video about it. These are the older models but they still do the same thing.

WaveHunter · February 1, 2023

On 1/31/2023 at 8:42 AM, KhunHeineken said:

Since you have to outlay money on a secondhand Mac, and get an IT guy to set it up for you, why not buy a set of these, as I suggested? They are pre configured out of the factory for you. Cheaper than a secondhand Mac.

Your sister can plug in the home proxy dongle, no need for the IT guy. The set comes with two power supplies and two short ethernet cables. The companion dongle can be posted or couriered to you. Plug it in at your house in Thailand, it then connects to the one at your sister's house, you connect to the one in your house via WiFi, and you are on your sister's IP Address for every website you visit, including streaming websites.

They are small and use no electricity and are left powered on all the time. There's no ongoing subscription fees if you buy a set and don't go through their app and server.

I have a set of these and they work well. I had untold trouble streaming Foxtel in Thailand. I tried many things, including multiple VPN's. These get around all the geo blocked sites I use.

https://www.homingsystems.com

What you say sounds intriguing:)

So, let me see if I understand this. My sister would buy it and then ship one of the dongles to me. She would plug her dongle into one of her computer's USB port, and I would do the same on my computer. My sister's dongle would connect to her wifi, and mine would connect to my wi-fi, and that would enable me to access the internet by ging through her computer?

Would she be able to use her computer if I was also using it? I'm guessing she has to have her computer on and an app from homing system running for me em to connect to, right? What happens if her computer goes into sleep mode? I mean, most of the times I would be using it are when my sister would be asleep due to the 12 hour time difference between here and the US, so I could ask her to leave her computer on when she goes to sleep on nights I want to use it, but I could ask her to wake the computer for me at 3am or something, ya know?

WaveHunter · February 1, 2023

@KhunHeineken, I don't recall you describing this solution before; only the one about getting a mini computer. My last reply to you with all the questions about this dongle thing were moot since I thought it plufged into her computer, not her router, as @Salerno corrected me on.

If this really works as you say, I will be THRILLED after so many weeks of explring dead ends and costly options. I will look into it this evening for sure!

Salerno · February 1, 2023

19 minutes ago, WaveHunter said:

She would plug her dongle into one of her computer's USB port,

Into her router, not computer, hence your later questions aren't relevant.

WaveHunter · February 1, 2023

18 minutes ago, Salerno said:

Into her router, not computer, hence your later questions aren't relevant.

Thanks for the correction. OMG, I see now! That sounds so cool!!! After all the things I've explored to solve this issue, this actually sounds too good to be true. There must be a catch, but if there isn't one, it sounds near perfect.

So, hardware-wise, all that's necessary is to have a router with a USB plug, right? There must be some sort of software you need to run to set it up right? But once set up, her computer would never need to be running, right?

spongeworthy · February 1, 2023

5 hours ago, WaveHunter said:

So, hardware-wise, all that's necessary is to have a router with a USB plug, right?

The dongle connects to the router with a standard ethernet cable. The USB portion of the dongle plugs into a wall wart style power supply, similar to what you charge your phone with.

I found the below video which may make it easier to understand.

This looks like an amazing product for 99% of people as it removes the need to have a computer back home with a custom VPN solution running 24/7 like I currently have.

The one caveat here, and which I didn't really see mentioned in this thread, is that you're still using your local computer/device to connect through the VPN to your home internet connection. These days, unless you take a lot of care, websites can see cookies, your local time and time zone, browser fingerprinting, etc., which give away who you are and where you are regardless of the VPN. For me, I log in to the small computer I have running 24/7 back home to do banking and anything else that is location sensitive and where the entity/company I'm connecting to has the resources and know how to see through 99% of the VPN-back-home-from-abroad crowd.

KhunHeineken · February 2, 2023

19 hours ago, WaveHunter said:

What you say sounds intriguing:)

So, let me see if I understand this. My sister would buy it and then ship one of the dongles to me. She would plug her dongle into one of her computer's USB port, and I would do the same on my computer. My sister's dongle would connect to her wifi, and mine would connect to my wi-fi, and that would enable me to access the internet by ging through her computer?

Would she be able to use her computer if I was also using it? I'm guessing she has to have her computer on and an app from homing system running for me em to connect to, right? What happens if her computer goes into sleep mode? I mean, most of the times I would be using it are when my sister would be asleep due to the 12 hour time difference between here and the US, so I could ask her to leave her computer on when she goes to sleep on nights I want to use it, but I could ask her to wake the computer for me at 3am or something, ya know?

The easiest and most reliable way would be you buy a set online and have them delivered to your sister's house. This gives her even less to do. To give her even less to do, I would suggest you get them delivered to you in Thailand, and you courier the home proxy dongle to your sister, but Thailand customs might give you some grief, so maybe easier to have them delivered to your sister.

You could ask the company could they post the home proxy dongle to her and the companion dongle to you. They might do that.

She then keeps the home proxy dongle and couriers you the companion dongle. I wouldn't bother with Thai Post, use a courier.

REMEMBER: they both look the same except for the numbers on the bottom. She must keep the home proxy dongle at her house in America as it's the one sending the American IP address to you in Thailand.

When you register your account, the numbers of each dongle are there, as well as on the bottom. Be sure to tell her the number of the dongle she must keep at her house, the home proxy dongle. Double check this by matching the numbers in your account.

The dongle in the youtube clip is the older model. It's plugged into a USB port for power only. Your sister does not plug the new model into a USB port, neither do you.

The new models come with a power supply similar to a mobile phone charger. They also come with a 25cms ethernet cable. All you sister has to do is plug the power supply into the power point that her router is plugged into, then the micro USB at the end of the cable into the dongle. It's now powered up. Then, one end of the ethernet cable into the dongle, and the other end into one of the four LAN ports at the back of her router. I doubt she is using them all. This is all she has to do, nothing else. She then leaves it like this 24/7/365. Nothing else to do. Don't touch it after this.

When you get the companion dongle, you do the same with the router in your house in Thailand, BUT, the companion dongle broadcasts a WiFi signal. You connect to that WiFi signal using the SSID and password on the bottom of the dongle, and you are now basically on your sister's internet.

Run an IP Address check and you will see it's hers. Run a speed test and you will see it's her ISP in America, and good enough for HD streaming, if your sister has decent internet speed, but it will be more than enough for any American geo blocked websites.

You will receive instruction how to change the name of the WiFi to whatever you want, and to change the password.

So, now your house has two WiFi signals. One is your original signal from True / AIS / 3BB with a Thai IP Address, and the other signal from the dongle with your sister's ISP and IP Address.

Obviously, the Thai internet will be faster, but I have found what I get through my dongle in Thailand is fast enough for me to stream movies and sports in HD from my home country, and I don't have very fast internet in my home country.

REMEMBER: If you are going to stream movies / sports, be sure your sister has unlimited internet, because you will be using a lot of GB's of upload from her internet package. Don't forget, when you are on the dongle's WiFi, it's as good as sitting in your sister's house using her internet.

I leave both WiFi signals broadcasting, and switch to the dongle when I need to get around geo blocking.

They are less than the size of a cigarette packet, and have no moving parts, so really energy efficient. Your sister will not notice a bigger electricity bill.

I emailed the company because the new models can't really be used in airports or hotels because they use an ethernet connection and not a WiFi connection. The old models had this feature. I asked if there was a choice of models. They got back to me quite quickly, which was good support. There was WiFi model when I made my enquiry, however, ethernet is always preferable to WiFi, so I gather they picked up a lot more speed and reliability. I am more than happy with my purchase.

They are so good that I connect my phone and a Google Chromecast to the dongle's WiFi, then go into subscription based sports and movie streaming apps, and cast to the big screen TV, freeing up my laptop for other things while I am watching a match.

I forgot to mention, each dongle comes in a hard shell case for postage purposes, so no need for bubble wrap and padding.

KhunHeineken · February 2, 2023

19 hours ago, WaveHunter said:

@KhunHeineken, I don't recall you describing this solution before; only the one about getting a mini computer. My last reply to you with all the questions about this dongle thing were moot since I thought it plufged into her computer, not her router, as @Salerno corrected me on.

If this really works as you say, I will be THRILLED after so many weeks of explring dead ends and costly options. I will look into it this evening for sure!

I was sure I mentioned it, anyway, it's the perfect solution for what you are trying to achieve.

Also, take the companion dongle with you wherever you go. It's plug and play.

These are being used in America a lot because of the geo blocking in America between the different States for sports.

KhunHeineken · February 2, 2023

19 hours ago, WaveHunter said:

Thanks for the correction. OMG, I see now! That sounds so cool!!! After all the things I've explored to solve this issue, this actually sounds too good to be true. There must be a catch, but if there isn't one, it sounds near perfect.

So, hardware-wise, all that's necessary is to have a router with a USB plug, right? There must be some sort of software you need to run to set it up right? But once set up, her computer would never need to be running, right?

Not a USB port. An ethernet port.

Most routers have four LAN (ethernet) ports on the back. Go and look at yours, you will see them. Take a photo of them and send it to your sister. Tell her that's where it plugs into. Pick any number port, 1, 2, 3 or 4. It doesn't matter.

The dongle just has one ethernet port. That's where the other end of the cable goes.

KhunHeineken · February 2, 2023

14 hours ago, spongeworthy said:

This looks like an amazing product for 99% of people as it removes the need to have a computer back home with a custom VPN solution running 24/7 like I currently have.

That would cost a bit in electricity. Did you consider a VPN back to your router. The router is running anyway.

14 hours ago, spongeworthy said:

The one caveat here, and which I didn't really see mentioned in this thread, is that you're still using your local computer/device to connect through the VPN to your home internet connection. These days, unless you take a lot of care, websites can see cookies, your local time and time zone, browser fingerprinting, etc., which give away who you are and where you are regardless of the VPN. For me, I log in to the small computer I have running 24/7 back home to do banking and anything else that is location sensitive and where the entity/company I'm connecting to has the resources and know how to see through 99% of the VPN-back-home-from-abroad crowd.

I tried everything to stream my Foxtel subscription on my phone in Thailand. Location spoofing apps, VPN's of a few companies, even the VPN back to my home router (although this may have been speed related) and nothing worked, but AlwaysHome.

On my laptop, no problems, but couldn't do it on my phone. Only AlwaysHome would work. If they are good enough to get around whatever Foxtel is doing, then it's a safe bet they will get around just about every other website.

It's too technical for me, but it's my understanding the two dongles basically make a "bridge" as you would with two routers on a home network, except one dongle is halfway around the world.

I tested it thoroughly. They work well.

The model in the youtube clip you posted is the old model. They really need to update their webpage showing the new models, and also to be clear they are no good in airports and hotel rooms, like the old models. The new models are in a small square aluminium case with a small WiFi antenna than can be folded up for use, and folded down for transport. They have a solid build quality.

KhunHeineken · February 2, 2023

42 minutes ago, KhunHeineken said:

There was WiFi model when I made my enquiry, however, ethernet is always preferable to WiFi, so I gather they picked up a lot more speed and reliability. I am more than happy with my purchase.

This should read: "The was NO WiFi model available when I made my enquiry."

To my knowledge, all that is available now in the model I described. Perfect for homes in Thailand, but they can not be used in airports, hotels, Starbucks etc.

If they release another WiFi model in the future, I will be buying a set of them as well.

WaveHunter · February 2, 2023

5 hours ago, KhunHeineken said:

I was sure I mentioned it, anyway, it's the perfect solution for what you are trying to achieve.

Also, take the companion dongle with you wherever you go. It's plug and play.

These are being used in America a lot because of the geo blocking in America between the different States for sports.

I'm so glad you posted your advice. I checked out the site and it sounds as good as you claimed. BIG THANKS!

fdsa · February 3, 2023

On 2/1/2023 at 11:50 PM, spongeworthy said:

The one caveat here, and which I didn't really see mentioned in this thread, is that you're still using your local computer/device to connect through the VPN to your home internet connection. These days, unless you take a lot of care, websites can see cookies, your local time and time zone, browser fingerprinting, etc., which give away who you are and where you are regardless of the VPN.

i've mentioned this several times.

And that's why I advocate for a dedicated computer e.g. a laptop back home, instead of just VPN, because the most sophisticated websites will inevitable detect that you use a VPN and with a dedicated device they most likely will not.

WaveHunter · February 3, 2023

7 minutes ago, fdsa said:

i've mentioned this several times.

And that's why I advocate for a dedicated computer e.g. a laptop back home, instead of just VPN, because the most sophisticated websites will inevitable detect that you use a VPN and with a dedicated device they most likely will not.

You provided a lot of sound advice back when I started this thread. VPN's are virtually useless since they are very easily detected. Yes, a dedicated computer back home that you connect to through something like TeamVIewer or AnyDesk is workable since your connection from Thailand to your home country computer is NOT detectable. Unfortunately it's expensive to set up, and a requires a person at the other end to work with you to maintain it.

The best solution I've found so far was proposed by @KhunHeineken, and involves a simple dongle set up that plugs into your router and the one of a family member or friend back in your home country, that made by AlwaysHome (https://www.homingsystems.com/).

I haven't pulled the trigger yet but I've studied their website and it really sounds workable, cost-effective and simple to set up, compared with buying and set up a home country computer, a cloud computer, or any other solution I've learned about.

Bottom line...VPN's are a waste of time and money. I used NordVPN for a month and it was useless. I got just as many ID verification challenges and lock-outs with it, as without it. The only thing it was good for was getting tv stations and websites that are blocked from Thailand, and for that it worked well...but it didn;t solve my problem of connecting to sensitive US websites that will not tolerate VPN.

gamb00ler · February 3, 2023

3 hours ago, WaveHunter said:

You provided a lot of sound advice back when I started this thread. VPN's are virtually useless since they are very easily detected. Yes, a dedicated computer back home that you connect to through something like TeamVIewer or AnyDesk is workable since your connection from Thailand to your home country computer is NOT detectable. Unfortunately it's expensive to set up, and a requires a person at the other end to work with you to maintain it.

The best solution I've found so far was proposed by @KhunHeineken, and involves a simple dongle set up that plugs into your router and the one of a family member or friend back in your home country, that made by AlwaysHome (https://www.homingsystems.com/).

I haven't pulled the trigger yet but I've studied their website and it really sounds workable, cost-effective and simple to set up, compared with buying and set up a home country computer, a cloud computer, or any other solution I've learned about.

Bottom line...VPN's are a waste of time and money. I used NordVPN for a month and it was useless. I got just as many ID verification challenges and lock-outs with it, as without it. The only thing it was good for was getting tv stations and websites that are blocked from Thailand, and for that it worked well...but it didn;t solve my problem of connecting to sensitive US websites that will not tolerate VPN.

There are two methods to use a VPN to accomplish what you want. You tried using a VPN to a commercial server which then connects your home computer to a US based financial institution. You described very well the issues that arise with that method.

The other method uses a VPN to connect your computer to a home network (your sister's network) based in US. Your computer now functions and appears as if it was physically in your sister's house and attached to her network. There is no direct way for the financial institution to determine the actual location of your computer. A diligent company could possible infer that your computer is not in your sister's home by examining the timezone setting on your computer and perhaps a few other crumbs of information they can extract using the limited capabilities of your browser. It is not too difficult to remove those hints so that your location remains completely hidden.

Those dongles that @KhunHeinekenrecommends use the second method to hide your location. They implement a VPN between your home network in Thailand and your sister's home network in the US.

An extra bit of information: The Virtual Private Network (VPN) function was originally designed to allow computers to appear to be connected to a remote network, not to conceal their location.

WaveHunter · February 3, 2023

5 minutes ago, gamb00ler said:

...There is no direct way for the financial institution to determine the actual location of your computer. A diligent company could possible infer that your computer is not in your sister's home by examining the timezone setting on your computer and perhaps a few other crumbs of information they can extract using the limited capabilities of your browser. ...

First of all, this particular company does not use a VPN at all, and they make a point of that on their website that this is what differentiates them.

Secondly, I don't see how that would even be possible for a site that I am connecting to in this way to possibly see anything on my computer here in Thailand such as my computer's clock or browser details. All they can see is the computer connecting to them which would be my sister's in the USA.

Tell me if I'm wrong,

Salerno · February 3, 2023

2 minutes ago, WaveHunter said:

All they can see is the computer connecting to them which would be my sister's in the USA.

Your sisters computer is not involved, just her router. You in Thailand > your sister's router in the states > the website. Your computer will be on her IP address so geolocation is somewhat covered.

But you may hit problems if the sites causing you problems are using browser fingerprinting (see https://pixelprivacy.com/resources/browser-fingerprinting).

To see the kind of info they can possibly have on you visit https://www.deviceinfo.me/ (or the two options in the link above).

ozimoron · February 3, 2023

Have you tried this?

https://www.oracle.com/cloud/free/

gamb00ler · February 4, 2023

14 hours ago, WaveHunter said:

First of all, this particular company does not use a VPN at all, and they make a point of that on their website that this is what differentiates them.

Secondly, I don't see how that would even be possible for a site that I am connecting to in this way to possibly see anything on my computer here in Thailand such as my computer's clock or browser details. All they can see is the computer connecting to them which would be my sister's in the USA.

Tell me if I'm wrong,

You're not 100% correct. The promotional material the company publishes is probably using the term VPN to refer to actual commercially marketed services not the technical definition of a VPN service.

A VPN is typically created by implementing one of several well-defined protocols specifically created for this task. But as we all know there are many ways to skin a cat. The dongle company is free to implement what amounts to VPN service but call it TSC (top secret communications) or not give it any name at all. They can "reverse engineer" a custom solution instead of using one of the common software stacks that implement a VPN. The fact remains that they are providing a service that from the outside is indistinguishable from a VPN.

The dongle solution requires two dongles and they are not interchangeable. One dongle implements the functionality of a VPN server. That dongle must be physically present and connected to your sister's network. The other dongle provides the functionality of a VPN client and will initiate all connections to its partner dongle at your sister's house.

If I understand the functionality of dongle setup correctly, you would not be using a computer that is at your sister's house. The dongles simple give you access to your sister's home network. If you don't add another layer of isolation, you would still be using your own computer in Thailand to access any website. If you wish to completely isolate the web site from your computer you still need to remotely login to a separate computer that is connected to your sister's network. You would then use the browser on that separate computer.

The dongles are doing nothing more than providing a VPN service that I described in my last post as the second method. The VPN service is not provided by a commercial (and therefor identifiable) server.... it is a private VPN and as such will not be known to any one outside. Your IP address will simply be that assigned to your sister's router by her ISP.

You can also provide total isolation of your computer from any website by using a Virtual Machine (VM) running on your Thailand computer instead of using a machine physically in your sister's house. This VM should be configured to have an appropriate timezone and contain as little personal data as is practical. Assuming you go the dongle route, the steps to access a financial website would then be:

disconnect from your normal internet connection
login/connect to your sister's network
start and login to the VM
start a browser in the VM
open the website and perform transaction
close the browser and VM.
exit/logout of the connection to your sister's network
reconnect to your normal internet connection

Since you are a Mac user you may have to acquire a working knowledge of some other OS to run in the VM. I don't know if MacOS can be run in a VM.

KhunHeineken · February 4, 2023

On 2/2/2023 at 12:06 PM, WaveHunter said:

I'm so glad you posted your advice. I checked out the site and it sounds as good as you claimed. BIG THANKS!

You're welcome.

For everyday internet use like this forum, I use the home router with Thai ISP. When I want to access something geo blocked, I just switch to the dongles Wifi signal and can access anything from my home country. They work well.

KhunHeineken · February 4, 2023

18 hours ago, WaveHunter said:

First of all, this particular company does not use a VPN at all, and they make a point of that on their website that this is what differentiates them.

Secondly, I don't see how that would even be possible for a site that I am connecting to in this way to possibly see anything on my computer here in Thailand such as my computer's clock or browser details. All they can see is the computer connecting to them which would be my sister's in the USA.

Tell me if I'm wrong,

This is getting technical now, but I believe they use a GRE tunnel, but don't quote me on this.

KhunHeineken · February 4, 2023

4 hours ago, gamb00ler said:

You're not 100% correct. The promotional material the company publishes is probably using the term VPN to refer to actual commercially marketed services not the technical definition of a VPN service.

A VPN is typically created by implementing one of several well-defined protocols specifically created for this task. But as we all know there are many ways to skin a cat. The dongle company is free to implement what amounts to VPN service but call it TSC (top secret communications) or not give it any name at all. They can "reverse engineer" a custom solution instead of using one of the common software stacks that implement a VPN. The fact remains that they are providing a service that from the outside is indistinguishable from a VPN.

The dongle solution requires two dongles and they are not interchangeable. One dongle implements the functionality of a VPN server. That dongle must be physically present and connected to your sister's network. The other dongle provides the functionality of a VPN client and will initiate all connections to its partner dongle at your sister's house.

If I understand the functionality of dongle setup correctly, you would not be using a computer that is at your sister's house. The dongles simple give you access to your sister's home network. If you don't add another layer of isolation, you would still be using your own computer in Thailand to access any website. If you wish to completely isolate the web site from your computer you still need to remotely login to a separate computer that is connected to your sister's network. You would then use the browser on that separate computer.

The dongles are doing nothing more than providing a VPN service that I described in my last post as the second method. The VPN service is not provided by a commercial (and therefor identifiable) server.... it is a private VPN and as such will not be known to any one outside. Your IP address will simply be that assigned to your sister's router by her ISP.

You can also provide total isolation of your computer from any website by using a Virtual Machine (VM) running on your Thailand computer instead of using a machine physically in your sister's house. This VM should be configured to have an appropriate timezone and contain as little personal data as is practical. Assuming you go the dongle route, the steps to access a financial website would then be:

disconnect from your normal internet connection

login/connect to your sister's network

start and login to the VM

start a browser in the VM

open the website and perform transaction

close the browser and VM.

exit/logout of the connection to your sister's network

reconnect to your normal internet connection

Since you are a Mac user you may have to acquire a working knowledge of some other OS to run in the VM. I don't know if MacOS can be run in a VM.

Some of what you say is correct, some is incorrect.

This company offers a one dongle solution as well. The home proxy dongle is in your home country, and you access it through their server, from anywhere in the world. This is the paid subscription. I have tried this also. It works, but speeds are slower. For a little extra cost, if you buy a companion dongle, there's no subscription and the speeds are faster.

I said in another post, it's getting technical, but I think they use GRE, but don't quote me on that. For all I know they could be using Wireguard, a super secure and super fast VPN protocol.

What I think is inside these dongles is basically something like a condensed version of Raspberry Pi. People have been setting up Raspberry Pi's to talk to each other in the same way as these dongles.

Here's another company with a similar product. Buy two of these, he can do the same as the dongles.

https://firewalla.com

The OP could also buy one of these and have his IT guy put Wireguard on it, and send him the Config' File, and he can VPN back to it. If he buys two of these, can can do the same as the dongles.

https://www.gl-inet.com/products/gl-mt300n-v2/

These dongles are not anything super special. People have been setting up a tunnel on their router to a remote router for years.

The reason I suggested the dongles is the company pre configures them All his sister has to do is plug it in, and all he has to do is plug it in and connect to it's WiFi. Using other hardware needs some configuring, and extra cost.

It's not like these dongles break the bank, so why not save the grief and just buy a set that are ready to go out of the box?

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