Tasks for the weekend – August 21, 2021 – what VPN should you choose?

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Youtube here I spotted this over on Michael Horowitz’s web site with a checklist to choose a VPN. VPNs can be used for more privacy as well as to over
[See the full post at: Tasks for the weekend – August 21, 2021 – what VPN should you choose?]

Susan Bradley Patch Lady/Prudent patcher

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I still (after 50 years in IT) never found a need for VPN on a PC.
On my iPhone & iPad I use sort-of VPN (iOS 15 betas) – Private Relay Hide My IP settings.

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Why I needed VPN:  In 2019 and 2020 two TV stations in Hong Kong carried the pro-democracy demonstrations day and night live on broadcast TV and on their Internet sites.  Those Internet sites were only accessible from Hong Kong, not other jurisdictions.  To view those sites on a PC in the US required VPN.

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Kranium, TechTango, wavy

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I think you are downplaying just how much an ISP can learn about you by spying on the online activity in your home. In the US, ISPs can sell that info.

Get up to speed on router security at RouterSecurity.org and Defensive Computing at DefensiveComputingChecklist.com

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Susan Bradley wrote:

So what VPN service do you use?

ProtonVPN Plus.  As an early (launch) user of ProtonMail, adding ProtonVPN on day one came as a natural.  Works fine .. and worth the extra “Plus” $$ imo.

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With the introduction of decentralized VPNs, choosing a VPN is becoming more complex than ever. See What Are Decentralized VPNs? at How-To-Geek.

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KP

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I’ve tried a couple, but did not find any advantage worth the monthly fee.

Always create a fresh drive image before making system changes/Windows updates; you may need to start over!

We were all once "Average Users". We all have our own reasons for doing the things that we do with our systems, we don't need anyone's approval, and we don't all have to do the same things.

Computer Specs

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Alex5723

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https://windscribe.com/ has a free limited tier, 15 gb/month.  It is legit, and enough for occasional use.

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The question is whether the company is trustworthy. I have dealt with tech support at Windscribe and based on that, I do not consider them trustworthy.

Get up to speed on router security at RouterSecurity.org and Defensive Computing at DefensiveComputingChecklist.com

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Michael: Some more detail would be helpful please for those of us who do use Windscribe.

 

Arthur J Davis
UK

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Totally agree that we need a little detail to such a blanket statement. What did they do or say to lead you believe them untrustworthy? Was it something egregious enough that users of Windscribe need to be concerned about and consider no longer using it?

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Email me.

Get up to speed on router security at RouterSecurity.org and Defensive Computing at DefensiveComputingChecklist.com

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Should I stop using Windscribe?

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I have been using a VPN service for about 7 or 8 years. I started with TorGuard but switched to NordVPN a couple of years ago. I looked at ExpressVPN as well, but opted for Nord because it was less expensive.  Nord is fast, reliable, and with an easy-to-use UI. It also has a no-logging policy with their HQ in Panama. Experienced users will understand why those things are important.  My apologies for sounding like an advertisement, but it’s pretty rare to find good IT products/companies these days.

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For those new to VPNs, let me add that the user interface for any single VPN company will vary drastically with the operating system you use.

Also, a simple user interface is fine for non techies, but the nerds amongst us probably prefer a VPN client with more bells and whistles. There is no one right choice.

Get up to speed on router security at RouterSecurity.org and Defensive Computing at DefensiveComputingChecklist.com

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Several years ago, VyprVPN (bundled with Giganews) gave my IP-address to IP-Echelon Pty Ltd on their simple request.

Apparently VyprVPN did not honour my wish for anonymity.

I terminated Vypr and Giganews subscriptions and switched to NordVPN‘s paid services on TorrentFreak‘s recommendation.

Never again heard from IP-Echelon, nor from any other copyright troll.

1 Desktop Win 11
1 Laptop Win 10
Both tweaked to look, behave and feel like Windows 95
(except for the marine blue desktop, rgb(0, 3, 98)

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I won’t recommend a VPN but would vet any VPN you decide to use, through TorrentFreaks’ list. Here is the 2021 list (NordVPN is still on the list):
https://torrentfreak.com/best-vpn-anonymous-no-logging/

I subscribe to a VPN for the times when:

• I am not on a trusted network
• planning on using free WiFi networks

 

Although it is not exactly the same, I keep TOR as an alternative to VPN (TOR can be block in some cases i.e. AskWoody).

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Kranium

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KP wrote:

I won’t recommend a VPN but would vet any VPN you decide to use, through TorrentFreaks’ list. Here is the 2021 list (NordVPN is still on the list):
https://torrentfreak.com/best-vpn-anonymous-no-logging/

We don’t want to make any recommendations.
…
Instead, we aim to provide an unranked overview of VPN providers, asking them questions we believe are important.
…
*Note: Private Internet access, ExpressVPN and NordVPN are TorrentFreak sponsors. We reserve the first three spots for them as a courtesy. This article also includes a few affiliate links which help us pay the bills. We never sell positions in our review article or charge providers for a listing.

Yet they appear to have sold the top three spots in their “unranked” list of 27 VPN providers?

Windows 11 Pro version 22H2 build 22621.2361 + Microsoft 365 + Edge

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KP

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This is good and bad.

Bad: sponsoured vendors get the advantage of the first 3 spots.
Good: disclosing who got sponsoured positions and transparency of which vendors are sponsours.

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It is our policy to move all of our internet traffic via an encrypted VPN.

Unfortunately, using our VPN, that has 1500+ servers spread across the world, has all but precluded our participation on the AskWoody Lounge. It simply takes to much time to work around the site’s firewall.

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DriftyDonN

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I am still finding it hard to believe that there is no simple solution to your problem. Of course what do I know??
Good luck.

🍻

Just because you don't know where you are going doesn't mean any road will get you there.

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I feel your pain, having experienced this myself. One solution is to use a small mom and pop VPN rather than one of the larger services. That is what let me write this 🙂

Get up to speed on router security at RouterSecurity.org and Defensive Computing at DefensiveComputingChecklist.com

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Kranium

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I’ve been using NordVPN now for 4 years and just re-subscribed for another 2 years (to get best pricing.). Any slight reduction in performance – compared to direct connection via my ISP – has been minimal and not an issue for me.

The only trouble I’ve had is if the specific VPN server I select happens to be “blacklisted” by a website I’m going to. This has mostly happened on banking or other financial service sites. I assume it’s because the server is or has been abused by spammers or other ne’er-do-wells. Sometimes selecting a different VPN server solves the problem — or I just don’t use the VPN when connecting to those sites.

My ISP has assured me they do not track, collect, nor sell my browsing habits to anyone  – though I have no way to verify that. So I take that “assurance” with many a grain of salt.. 🙁

Win10 Pro x64 22H2, Win10 Home 22H2, Linux Mint + a cat with 'tortitude'.

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Been using both NordVPN and IPVanish on Win 10.  Can’t really see much difference from a practical POV.  The multi-year sub option was heavily discounted from a monthly sub.

 

I would be interested in thoughts sometime about using the VPN servers that the consumer / soho NAS vendors provide to access home networks from outside.

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One word of advice- always pay for your VPN services, don’t use a free service.

As with anything “free”, the question to ask is what a vendor gets from providing a service that they’re not directly charging money for.  With VPN, assume the answer is going to be “access to your data”, and where they’re using that access to fund their revenue stream.

IMO, a “free” VPN is automatically should be assumed to be untrustworthy.

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I just terminated my Express VPN subscription.  I only have a home desk computer (don’t have a laptop) and after reading several of the posts here I decided to stop using a VPN.  I figure my ISP Verizon knows all about me by now so I might as well not trust a VPN.  Also, as previously stated, the VPN caused my computer to lose my WiFi connection after I put it to sleep.  I had one heck of a time trying to find the cause before I disconnected the VPN and voila no more problems.

I do recommend Express VPN to those who want to use a VPN.  They are very responsive and although it is difficult to know how honest VPN’s are with our information they seemed to run a tight ship.  The only way to change your email address with them is by contacting them and answering very detailed questions.

 

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