Using a VPN to access different content

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Video here One of the tools I use to watch different content online is a VPN or virtual private network software. If you choose a different country, m
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Susan Bradley Patch Lady/Prudent patcher

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abbodi86, Kathy Stevens

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Yes, that is one advantage of a VPN, though I have not tried it. I used my VPN with our streaming service when I wanted to get football games in another market than the one we are in.  I could not control where the logon goes (e.g. midwest) but it did show different games.

I will also use the VPN when I want to change my IP address, while searching for flights or things that tend to increase in price if you keep searching from the same ip (although sometimes I notice the vpn chooses the same ip).  It’s nice to have a little control.

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Susan, your video was blocked.

 

“Video unavailable

This video contains content from International Olympic Committee, who has blocked it on copyright grounds”

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Revised it and pulled out the actual demo of the streaming parts. Let’s see how long it stays up.  The Olympic folks clearly police their stuff.

Susan Bradley Patch Lady/Prudent patcher

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Like Susan, we use our VPN to view content not normal available in our home country.

We have also found it useful for on line shopping for those vendors who use regional pricing by hopping from one domestic server to another and doing price comparisons.

And finally, our VPN encrypts our online traffic preventing our internet service provider from reading our traffic and then sending targeted marketing to our cable TV feed.

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And finally, our VPN encrypts our online traffic preventing our internet service provider from reading our traffic and then sending targeted marketing to our cable TV feed

True, but have you read this post by Susan? VPNs have their own set of issues.

https://www.askwoody.com/forums/topic/have-you-done-a-privacy-checkup/

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From Jake Williams /SANS security instructor

“Repeat after me: most individuals do not need a VPN to “protect against eavesdropping from your ISP” or to “maximize your privacy.” Using a consumer grade VPN may result in less privacy. ISPs/LE/etc know VPN exit nodes and they’re likely under near perpetual surveillance.”

Depends on the vendor/service.  If it’s one that is known to be used by dodgy actors you may have more survelliance not less.

Susan Bradley Patch Lady/Prudent patcher

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Naughty Girl 🤨😀

🍻

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

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An example of one VPN’s (NordVPN) privacy position:

“We keep no logs of your activity online”

“When you connect to a VPN server, you shield your internet traffic from your internet service provider (ISP) and others. They can no longer see your online activities — but the one holding your shield can. That’s why it’s crucial to know what kind of logs your VPN provider keeps.

A “no-log VPN” is one that doesn’t collect (or log) traffic that passes through its servers. This is trickier than it may seem, since many countries force services to store data for at least some time — to protect your online privacy, true no-logs VPNs operate out of jurisdictions without data retention laws, such as Panama.”

https://nordvpn.com/features/strict-no-logs-policy/

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This can be seen this time of year when the Olympics are on and you can view other country’s coverage by changing your VPN to be located in that country.

Isn’t this regarded as piracy/Intellectual Property Infringement?

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Is it legal to use a VPN when streaming? | Tom’s Guide (tomsguide.com)

I’m not a Lawyer but per my read no. These sites have licensing agreements with the Olympics organization.

Susan Bradley Patch Lady/Prudent patcher

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Kathy Stevens wrote:

And finally, our VPN encrypts our online traffic preventing our internet service provider from reading our traffic

But your VPN provider can read, log, save.. your traffic.
The connection between your VPN provider and the end server isn’t always encrypted if at all.

The question is : do you trust some VPN provider more than your ISP ?

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We trust our VPN more than our cable television provider that advertises to it corporate customers that they collect user data and use it for targeted advertising.

Do a cancer related web search over the their internet service and all of a sudden you start receiving targeted cancer advertisements over the TV – when you are trying to forget that you are a cancer survivor.

View the same television station over another streaming service and the cancer ads are displaced by ads from trucking companies looking to hire drivers.

So yes, we trust some VPN provider more than your ISP/cable television service.

 

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Alex5723

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As per this article, I would avoid ExpressVPN
https://restoreprivacy.com/kape-technologies-owns-expressvpn-cyberghost-pia-zenmate-vpn-review-sites/

As for the NordVPN quote above, every VPN provider claims they do not log. There is no way to verify this, so its all just hot air. And NordVPN just announced a merger so it is not clear who is running the company.

FYI: some tips in choosing a VPN provider
https://defensivecomputingchecklist.com/vpn.php

As for the cancer advertising comment, I would suggest NextDNS as a way to avoid most ads.

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

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Thank you for your commnets Michael. I currently use NordVPN and was not aware of the merger.  I was considering getting a different vpn provider or not using one at all. I am not sure if I really need it – have to research a little more. But I have a question on your statement from the defensive computing page you posted:

With mobile apps, for example, you can not tell if data is being transmitted securely or not.

Forgive my ignorance, why do you say this?  On safari – I see a lock on websites & duckduckgo says if a site is secure or not.  Doesn’t that indicate if data is being transmitted securely or not? thanks. Donna

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There is consolidation going on with VPN providers.  Good article from CNET about this

https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/3-companies-control-many-big-name-vpns-what-you-need-to-know/

There have been a number of articles recently questioning the need for VPNs. These are click bait, the need is there both at home, so your ISP does not spy on you, and especially when traveling.

Yes, Donna that is what the lock means. My point was that no other app on iOS or Android has visible locks. Only the web browsers have visible locks.

 

 

 

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

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Susan Bradley wrote:

These sites have licensing agreements with the Olympics organization

But not in your country !!
I too am not a lawyer but I disagree with Tom’s guide. VPN streaming unblocking geo-restrictions is no different than Torrenting media files.

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Big difference.  Torrenting you are pulling down and storing files on your computer.  You are hosting the files on your computer.

Susan Bradley Patch Lady/Prudent patcher

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Susan Bradley wrote:

Depends on the vendor/service. If it’s one that is known to be used by dodgy actors you may have more survelliance not less.

That’s also the case with using VPN for location-shifting.  Content providers that do restrictions by IP addresses also pay attention, and if they can identify blocks of IP addresses that are used by VPN providers, they’ll also block those IPs.  If you want content in the UK  from the BBC or ITV that’s restricted to the UK, not all VPN connections will work, because they have been identified as being used by VPN providers.

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not all VPN connections will work, because they have been identified as being used by VPN providers.

I’ve found this to be true for general surfing, not just content providers. I have experienced some sites not working while I am on the VPN (either it says you cannot access the site or it just doesn’t get there) but as soon as I turn off the VPN and go back to the site, it works.  So they know when you are using a VPN IP.

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opti1

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Susan Bradley wrote:

Big difference.  Torrenting you are pulling down and storing files on your computer.  You are hosting the files on your computer.

You can save locally any TV program you watch on your PC or TV set too.

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Not on these sites, I can’t.  It’s watch only.

Susan Bradley Patch Lady/Prudent patcher

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Most major VPNs have already been infiltrated by hackers willing to sell your data to government.  Don’t think it doesn’t affect you because you’re not important enough for the government to care because they don’t sell individual pieces of information, what they sell is their hacked access via a video feed to a government server that scrapes ALL the data for all users of that VPN.

It’s possible to make your own VPN on a cloud service like AWS but it does require some tech savvy, although not as much as you’d probably think thanks to some well written tutorials that will guide you through the process.

TThe other option is to use a micro VPN.  Micro vpns are VPN set up by individuals who order enough bandwidth for several users and then charge those users to split the costs between all of them.

I have a micro VPN on Amazon AWS and enough bandwidth for three or four additional people.  It only costs me about $14/mo.  If anyone is interested $10 a month you can have unlimited bandwidth through Amazon, any foreign IPs you want (just tell me which countries and I’ll set them up).  I’m also willing to help anyone who wants to run their own micro VPN.

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wavy

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anonymous wrote:

Most major VPNs have already been infiltrated by hackers

Your evidence of this is?

cheers, Paul

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Hi, Will Express VPN slow down my sync speeds even when I’m not using it and it’s turned off? Many thanks.

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No.

Susan Bradley Patch Lady/Prudent patcher

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The Surfing Pensioner

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