Vpn'S

[sport]

Any information would be appreciated on the various VPN services available to the UK. I have a 3BB 5mb premium DSL connection and already subscribe to a VPN service but am experiencing problems with securing a worthwhile connection to the UK.

I have tested my connection speed with several internet speed testers and am getting between 4.5mb and 4.9mb.

I have read the Thai Visa forum policy on discussing VPN’s so I am not able to discuss the matter in fine detail.

Thank you in advance for any replies I may receive.

[bangkockney]

What do you want the VPN for?

No need to pay for a service, there's plenty of free ways to do it.

[astral]

In this case I suggest those offering advice PM the OP.

[sport]

What do you want the VPN for?

No need to pay for a service, there's plenty of free ways to do it.

Thanks for your reply, would you care to explain the alternative ways to access UK resident only web sites.

[bangkockney]

What do you want the VPN for?

No need to pay for a service, there's plenty of free ways to do it.

Thanks for your reply, would you care to explain the alternative ways to access UK resident only web sites.

PM me what it is you're trying to do.

[Phil Conners]

A free VPN service to Europe? I'd like to hear about that. (I will only use it for strictly legal purposes, i.e. connecting to my business network in Europe in a secure way).

[astral]

I use StrongVPN for accessing my bank accounts etc.

I do notice that DUMeter shows double speed with the VPN engaged.

[bangkockney]

A free VPN service to Europe? I'd like to hear about that. (I will only use it for strictly legal purposes, i.e. connecting to my business network in Europe in a secure way).

Given your VPN is for commercial use, then you likely have to pay for it.

That is unless you have no moral issues with using a free service for commercial activity.

If it's your own business network you are connecting to and therefore I assume you have access to the servers, why not set up a VPN server yourself?

[TerraPosse]

Watching BBC iPlayer or 4oD is against the law?? 

Wow, I knew there was a somewhat heavy-handed approach to censorship but I clearly had no idea how far down that road Thailand already is.... 

Btw. Mr. Conners, you are making there an assumption about the purpose of the OP's initial inquiry (and it's legality) which I find hard to get from the OP or the replies.

[JohnnyFeelIt]

I thought the discussion of VPNs when used to bypass Thai firewalls / routing / DNS was the only thing agains the rules/law? This isn't what the OP's request is about?

[astral]

The OP's question is about VPN services, not how to use them.

Making assumptions about the OP's intentions, is unacceptable.

The use of VPN for business is perfectly legal.

I can cite at least one international company, with offices in Thailand, that has its own worldwide VPN network.

[bangkockney]

No need to close the thread; if you own the corporate network you are connecting to you can setup a VPN server. For free. So don't see why you think this thread is about illegal activity?

You never did come back to me on this point following your initial reply. Unless you're just being sarcastic.

[astral]

Off topic posts removed.

Please stick to the original subject.

Thank you.

[netrix]

I agree with astral, Strong VPN is very reliable, fast, secure, and inexpensive. I use it wherever I travel.

[wordchild]

I have considered getting a VPN service but am concerned about the impact on my connection speeds for both Thai local and international sites. I have the TOT platinum service and am pretty happy with the connection speeds i get with that. Will hooking up to say a UK based VPN slow things down?

[astral]

IME it can speed it up.

I run a little programme, DuMeter, that shows the data transfer rate in realtime.

With the VPN engaged I get much higher speeds, possibly because some degree of

compression is used?

[wordchild]

IME it can speed it up.

I run a little programme, DuMeter, that shows the data transfer rate in realtime.

With the VPN engaged I get much higher speeds, possibly because some degree of

compression is used?

Thanks for that, that has been my one concern otherwise i would have done it before.

[PatLogan]

I have been using Witopia for 2 years + (http://www.witopia.net/welcome.php). That was the most reliable one for me when living in China, thanks to their SSL/PPTP combo.

I also liekd the fact I could choose among pleny of possible IPs in HK, UK and US. You can even get the software to scan all UK possible IPs and choose the most reliable one

[negreanu]

if you use usenet for downloads. I would suggest changing to Giganews Diamond account. It is the best usenet provider and you now get a free VPN included in the monthly subscription.

[JohnnyFeelIt]

IME it can speed it up.

I run a little programme, DuMeter, that shows the data transfer rate in realtime.

With the VPN engaged I get much higher speeds, possibly because some degree of

compression is used?

Also due to ISPs setup, they rarely tinker with VPN ports and cannot shape based on contents.

[genobkk]

I agree with astral, Strong VPN is very reliable, fast, secure, and inexpensive. I use it wherever I travel.

L

Lately I find Strong to be very slow, if you message them you talk to a bot, yes that is right not a real person but a bot and if you do get a real person it is some rude Russian, stay away from strong!!!

[astral]

IME it can speed it up.

I run a little programme, DuMeter, that shows the data transfer rate in realtime.

With the VPN engaged I get much higher speeds, possibly because some degree of

compression is used?

Also due to ISPs setup, they rarely tinker with VPN ports and cannot shape based on contents.

Interesting thought.

I first noticed the speed difference when I was in the UK last year.

However I still go with the compression idea as the indicated speed

exceeds the theoretical of the adsl link. Up to 2X.

[JohnnyFeelIt]

IME it can speed it up.

I run a little programme, DuMeter, that shows the data transfer rate in realtime.

With the VPN engaged I get much higher speeds, possibly because some degree of

compression is used?

Also due to ISPs setup, they rarely tinker with VPN ports and cannot shape based on contents.

Interesting thought.

I first noticed the speed difference when I was in the UK last year.

However I still go with the compression idea as the indicated speed

exceeds the theoretical of the adsl link. Up to 2X.

Thats using LZO?

[OOB]

I agree with astral, Strong VPN is very reliable, fast, secure, and inexpensive. I use it wherever I travel.

L

Lately I find Strong to be very slow, if you message them you talk to a bot, yes that is right not a real person but a bot and if you do get a real person it is some rude Russian, stay away from strong!!!

Well, the 'Bot' that called me on my cellphone certainly gave a good impression of American English. He also solved my issue real quick, so whether he was human or not really mattered none to me...

I'm no Strong sycophant but I am real happy with their service. I have two accounts with them so I can get US and UK IP addresses as required...

[Phil Conners]

^ Why do you need two accounts to choose between two IP addresses? I had the impression you could at any time chose which IP address you'd use?

[astral]

StrongVPN does offers a number of server locations, but you have to sign up with the one you want.

Only a limited number of changes are allowed.

[PatLogan]

I coincidently spend the weekend with a friend who is using StrongVPN. He told me he had a maximum on number of items per month he could switch IP addresses (like 20 times?)

We compared our experiences (mine with Witopia, him with strongVPN). At the end of the day, he decided to give a try to the one I have been using since he can switch whenever he wants and now can also use French, Belgium, Holland IPs or Malaysian gateways.

I should have checked earlier about the French and Malaysian being available, since as we have something to BBC player in Frogland, and MS office, Windows and all other software are really cheaper in KL, but you need to activate them from Malaysia, hence the interest of the Malaysian IP!

.