Best Value VPN

[driver52]

10 minutes ago, Neeranam said:

Is it important to get your own IP address?

not really, cos you can always use a service like dyndns

[Pink Mist]

1 minute ago, Roger That said:

That's an article from a commercial VPN provider extolling the virtues of using a VPN. Hardly surprising.

If you don't see that information as truthful then here you go another link.

 

Is Using A VPN Safe? What You Need To Know – Forbes Advisor

 

A virtual private network (VPN) is a service that guards your online privacy by creating a sort of digital tunnel that encrypts your data so that third parties cannot understand it. This prevents other users on your network from seeing and stealing your personal information.

[Neeranam]

1 minute ago, driver52 said:

not really, cos you can always use a service like dyndns

Sorry, no idea what you mean! 

[Pink Mist]

A post written in a foreign language has been removed as well as a post where a portion of the post was clipped instead of using the whole post in the quote as forum rules state.

 

28. You will not make changes to messages quoted from other members posts, except for purposes of shortening the quoted post. Do not shorten any post in a way that alters the context of the original post. Do not change the formatting of the post you are quoting.

 

Please also review the Forums Standards of Conduct.

 

3. English is the only permitted language anywhere on ASEAN NOW, except within the Thai language forum, where using Thai is allowed. Short Thai translations of technical terms are permitted in specialty forums. While we make allowances for members who do not speak English as their first language, we expect everyone to make an effort to post in a manner that allows others to understand their posts. As an international forum we have members from many countries in the world, and English is not the first language of every poster.

[topt]

16 hours ago, JustAnotherHun said:

Not the cheapest, but surely on the top of the range when it comes to safety is Mullvad VPN

 

4 hours ago, JustAnotherHun said:

It does, if you want to use the web anonymously for whatever reason.

Agreed. Pretty much all the reviews, especially the more independent privacy advocates, seemed to rate Mullvad as "probably" the most private of all the mainstream providers if that is of interest to the user.

 

[Neeranam]

Oh, and BBC so I can watch the Coronation! 

[Neeranam]

Can I use the VPN on my smart TV?

Sorry for the newb questions,

[JustAnotherHun]

6 minutes ago, Neeranam said:

Can I use the VPN on my smart TV?

Sorry for the newb questions,

Yes, but it's a bit more tricky than on computer or mobile.

The easyest way might be SmartDNS. Another option would be a router with openVPN client function.

[torturedsole]

2 minutes ago, JustAnotherHun said:

Another option would be a router with openVPN client function.

This is how I run my network back in the UK.  I have a Linksys WRT3200ACM router flashed with the ExpressVPN firmware and control all our devices, including TV, on my Mac, and can assign each device an individual server.  

 

I've had the router and same firmware for over three years now and don't regret it.

[Neeranam]

I just bought Nord, seems OK so far

Not sure how to get on my phone yet

[JustAnotherHun]

3 minutes ago, Neeranam said:

I just bought Nord, seems OK so far

Not sure how to get on my phone yet

Just download and install the NordVPN app. 

[recom273]

4 hours ago, Neeranam said:

I have rather a lot of cryptocurrency on certain exchanges on my computer. I know this is not what some advise, but the staking rewards are worth the risk for some of my portfolio. 

I don't understand what you mean about servers. 

 

I would like to use a poker platform from the UK. Online poker is not illegal in Thailand if it is based abroad but this platform doesn't allow Thaialnd. 

I am not too sure if a VPN will secure your crypto currency wallet. I think better to isolate your machine from the rest of your network. Don't use pirate software / malware / untrusted software / etc on that machine and then put that machine on a separate VLAN - away from things like IOT devices. Maintain strict network practices - for instance create a guest LAN for kids and visiting friends who may not understand the rules. I will check out "what some advise" as I'm interested but not fanatical about security.

 

Yup, your Nord purchase will allow you to play poker and watch Charlies coronation on iplayer.

 

A server, is a basically a remote computer, when you use your new NordVPN, you click, "London, UK" and your traffic will appear with a UK IP address, that's the address of the server in London. Lots of other people use that server, so basically, Nord knows everything that happens - I maintain my own server, its a shared IP between a handful of people, the datacenter where the server is housed may monitor / log that traffic, but I doubt they harvest the data, in a way that a VPN provider certainly does.

 

[NextG]

2 hours ago, Neeranam said:

Can I use the VPN on my smart TV?

Sorry for the newb questions,

Try VPN Tethering before looking at something like https://www.smartdnsproxy.com/ or a dedicated router. 

[Skipalongcassidy]

18 hours ago, NextG said:

Proton VPN..

Thank you

[Skipalongcassidy]

OK... I downloaded the VPN... now how do I use it to get online?

[Neeranam]

14 hours ago, recom273 said:

I am not too sure if a VPN will secure your crypto currency wallet. I think better to isolate your machine from the rest of your network. Don't use pirate software / malware / untrusted software / etc on that machine and then put that machine on a separate VLAN - away from things like IOT devices. Maintain strict network practices - for instance create a guest LAN for kids and visiting friends who may not understand the rules. I will check out "what some advise" as I'm interested but not fanatical about security.

 

Yup, your Nord purchase will allow you to play poker and watch Charlies coronation on iplayer.

 

A server, is a basically a remote computer, when you use your new NordVPN, you click, "London, UK" and your traffic will appear with a UK IP address, that's the address of the server in London. Lots of other people use that server, so basically, Nord knows everything that happens - I maintain my own server, its a shared IP between a handful of people, the datacenter where the server is housed may monitor / log that traffic, but I doubt they harvest the data, in a way that a VPN provider certainly does.

 

Thanks for the advice and explanation. 

[NextG]

58 minutes ago, Skipalongcassidy said:

OK... I downloaded the VPN... now how do I use it to get online?

https://protonvpn.com/support/protonvpn-setup-guide/

[xylophone]

On 5/6/2023 at 4:32 PM, JustAnotherHun said:

Yes, but it's a bit more tricky than on computer or mobile.

The easyest way might be SmartDNS. Another option would be a router with openVPN client function.

There was another thread which was dealing with various VPNs, but I can't find it at the moment so I will post on here because SmartDNS is mentioned in this post and I have been lauding the praises of this for quite some time because I've never had a problem with it – – until last night when I tried to watch BBC iPlayer using it (yet again) but I got a message saying that it wasn't available in my location! First time this has ever happened.

 

So I reset it and tried again, but to no avail, however luckily I have kept Nord VPN on file because that did work most of the time (not all of the time I will admit) and I was able to use this to watch football on BBC iPlayer.

 

Today SmartDNS is working so I will revert to this as my main "VPN" and investigate further.

 

Has anybody else had any problems with SmartDNS?

[NanLaew]

On 5/5/2023 at 8:30 PM, NanLaew said:

After running a few premium services on trial a few years back, I settled on PureVPN as they manage to keep the pipes to BBC iPlayer open. I use it on laptop and smartphone in some remote locations (via satellite) and it reliably connects with usable throughput. Their GUI used to be a bit cheesy but they've smartened that up recently.

 

Well it is almost one year on and I find that the BBC iPlayer's relentless VPN hunters have blocked PureVPN's London and Manchester servers. I did the ritual cookie cleaning to no avail, so went ahead and deleted their auto-renew from my PayPal account.

 

Now looking for a working alternative.

 

On 5/6/2023 at 12:57 PM, NextG said:

Proton VPN..

 

I had great success with Proton while offshore Indonesia on a glacial satellite link via Hong Kong. This was firewalled and proxied up the ying-yang due to the Chinese government's restriction on internet access (the vessel was Chinese owned and operated). I only needed Proton's free VPN's via Japan or Netherlands to keep Outlook and Chrome working so I don't know if their paid subscription UK servers are already blocked by BBC iPlayer.

 

If anyone has a paid Proton account and can confirm BBC iPlayer access, that would be appreciated.

 

On 3/4/2024 at 12:07 PM, xylophone said:

...

So I reset it and tried again, but to no avail, however luckily I have kept Nord VPN on file because that did work most of the time (not all of the time I will admit) and I was able to use this to watch football on BBC iPlayer.

...

 

Good to know that NordVPN allows BBC iPlayer access. It was on my short-list last year until PureVPN made me an offer that I couldn't refuse.

 

Of course, information on any others that are tried and tested and work with BBC's iPlayer will be great.

[scottiejohn]

I use windscribe to connect to BBC iPlayer with no problems.  The chrome/edge extension or ap are both OK!

[xylophone]

9 minutes ago, NanLaew said:

Good to know that NordVPN allows BBC iPlayer access. It was on my short-list last year until PureVPN made me an offer that I couldn't refuse.

Very timely post NanLaew, because I tried Nord VPN on BBC iPlayer a couple of nights ago and it was picked up and I wasn't allowed to access iPlayer, despite trying a few times. So it was back to Smart DNS, which I had forgotten to log into!

 

When I looked at the Nord VPN servers in the UK, it only had one "available" in the north of England, or possibly in Northern Ireland (can't remember now) and that was not working.

 

All up, having tried quite a few VPNs, including Cyberghost, Express VPN, Nord and Total VPN, I have found that Smart DNS is the best one and the most reliable, with just one or two hiccups in a year, and now it has also included an extra add-on which you can load, called "Smart DNS Proxy VPN" and that's an option which allows you to choose the country into which you want to gain access, although not all countries are listed.

 

So I'm letting my Nord VPN subscription run out, although it is handy as a backup at the moment, and I'm continuing with Smart DNS.
 

[scubascuba3]

I bought hide.me VPN a few weeks ago after trialling their free version for a while. Works well circ £30 a year, a week later they offered it for £18. One device at that price, premium is more

[London Lowf]

I've used Nord for a couple of years, primarily for streaming my paid UK subscriptions while I am in Thailand and vice versa.

 

However, in the last couple of weeks Eurosport have finally sussed Nord out and I am blocked.

[rexpotter]

On 5/6/2023 at 8:39 AM, driver52 said:

how does a VPN make you 'safe'? answer, it probably doesn't.....

OP what are you trying to achieve?

Same to both questions. Another way to sell me crap I don't need.