Thread: Is a VPN plan worth it?

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I've been researching VPNs, considering getting a multi device plan to cover my laptop, tablet, phone. I've never been hacked, but I do worry.

My question is - What does it really offer? If I want to access my bank account, or use my credit card to pay for things while traveling, does a VPN truly keep me safe? Seems there are still significant holes, if this is the case, why bother?

Expert advice welcome.

I don't think it can hurt, but I mean nothing is bulletproof.

Do you live in the United States? If so, then a VPN certainly comes in handy if you dodgy sites to pirate things.

Where are you at and what do you want to do?

I use it for a lot of things, but I'm day drinking right now, so ill just hit the main ones.

I use Express VPN with a subscription.

Unlock US Netflix wherever I am.

Unlock web pages that are blocked in certain countries. Thailand has a bunch. Indonesia has a bunch. Saudi/ME has a bunch.

Thailand, for example, unlocks porn, Andrew Drummond, Ministry blocked sites for whatever reason.

I don't use it for security much. Not for banking. Not for DL. Just location spoofing.

Think I pay like $3.99/Month and well worth it, but bottlenecks the shit out of your connection.

Never used it for Torrents. Downloaded several TB of stuff and never had a problem.

Well he said he wants access his bank account and make payment safer while traveling. I'm honestly not sure how much more secure a VPN is in those scenarios. I'm assuming safer?

Originally Posted by Slick

Andrew Drummond, Ministry blocked sites for whatever reason.

Tor browser for free does that....

Originally Posted by CSFFan

Tor browser for free does that....

Slow as balls. Unbearably slow.

Express VPN to Jurong Singapore is lightning fast comparably.. To unlock thailand stuff.

Originally Posted by Slick

but bottlenecks the shit out of your connection.

I use Private Internet Access and can barely even tell the difference in terms of speed.

Originally Posted by Slick

Never used it for Torrents. Downloaded several TB of stuff and never had a problem.

If you mean downloading from within the US, just wait long enough and you will. There are scum sucking lawyers crawling all over those torrents.

But if you are DL'ing from Thailand or somewhere else where you won't get sued, yeah there is really no point in using one for that purpose. In the US, its essential.

Originally Posted by redhaze

I use Private Internet Access and can barely even tell the difference in terms of speed.

In the states though, right? Cause Thailands international gateway is a major bottleneck even before location spoofing.

Originally Posted by redhaze

just wait long enough and you will.

My last crib had a Verizon Fiber connection and I DL'd TB's of shit for a couple years.

Only thing I ever got was a notice from Verizon saying that I violated their "Fair Use Policy" and that my connection would be throttled "for the remainder of the pay period"

To be fair, Using my mac, and torrenting, I can choke the fuck out of a small street.

Originally Posted by Slick

Originally Posted by CSFFan

Tor browser for free does that....

Slow as balls. Unbearably slow.

Express VPN to Jurong Singapore is lightning fast comparably.. To unlock thailand stuff.

Im on a 200/50 fiber connect in Thailand, but with VPN enabled to Singapore I got this speed, which is still faster than most



So to unlock stuff its pretty worth it imho.

Originally Posted by Slick

In the states though, right? Cause Thailands international gateway is a major bottleneck even before location spoofing.

Ah, yeah not sure how it would go in LOS.

Originally Posted by Slick

My last crib had a Verizon Fiber connection and I DL'd TB's of shit for a couple years.

My guess is that Verizon was refusing to forward these notices on or to give away your info. Because they were receiving the notices on that level of traffic without a doubt.

It does depend on the carrier is my understanding. Most of them aren't that kind.

Originally Posted by redhaze

My guess is that Verizon was refusing to forward these notices on or to give away your info. Because they were receiving the notices on that level of traffic without a doubt.

In this instance, it wasn't a notice about pirated stuff, but Verizon getting pissy that I was using a retarded amount of bandwidth & data, thus violating their "fair use policy". Meaning they have a small-print deal that basically says something like "a reasonable amount". Basically I was fuckin over other people in their eyes.

I called Verizon to ask & didn't get much info.

I asked around on reddit (heh) and they are quite forthcoming with details. There are redditors that actually work for Verizon and they like to answer this stuff, behind the scenes.

(heh)

For websites you can use Browsec in Chrome and that's all you need.

I have Ironsocket which runs on an internal router, so everything I attach to that is VPN'ed.

Useful for getting round geolocation or other blocks on apps like Kodi addons or Netflix.

Got a great deal on Ironsocket when someone recommended it here.

Cost $30 a year for 3 VPN and 3 IP concurrent logins.

^^I understand, the notice they gave you was about bandwidth.

What I'm saying is that with you downloading TB's of pirated torrents without a VPN to mask your IP, Verizon was almost certainly getting loads of requests for your information from copyright holders.

Every service provider handles these requests differently. The worst ones hand your info over to these sharks virtually spot on site (these are the horror stories you hear where people are getting extorted for thousands at best, or taken to court for tens of thousands at worst).

The next level is they don't hand your info over when they get these notices, but instead agree to send you a notice themselves directly from the ISP telling you that you are at risk of being sued and/or having your internet service suspended for violation of copyright (most common). These notices include what you downloaded, the day and time, etc. These go out all the time, and you'll see people commenting on them on piratebay and other such sites, particularly on certain content like anything HBO owns, etc.

The last type of service provider takes these notices from the law firms representing copyright holders and basically throws them in the trash. It is almost certain that, at least at that time and location during which you had them as your ISP, that Verizon fit into this last category.

Originally Posted by redhaze

Well he said he wants access his bank account and make payment safer while traveling. I'm honestly not sure how much more secure a VPN is in those scenarios. I'm assuming safer?

Correct, this is my main issue. I'm not a downloader of pirated content (not saying never, but hardly ever).

But even though I am not up to anything, I am anti-surveillance (corporate and government) because who knows where its going. Privacy should be a right.

One thing a VPN is a must for is using any form of untrusted Wifi.

If there is something you don't want people to see, whether it's banking passwords or your favourite goat porn site, use a VPN.

Use Chrome browser with the Browsec plug in. It free.

Excellent NEO. Thanks. I will look at this for my next set of travels.

https://browsec.com/en/

Originally Posted by UrbanMan

Excellent NEO. Thanks. I will look at this for my next set of travels.

https://browsec.com/en/

Let's hope it's better than BUTTSEC .....

Originally Posted by CSFFan

Originally Posted by UrbanMan

Excellent NEO. Thanks. I will look at this for my next set of travels.

https://browsec.com/en/

Let's hope it's better than BUTTSECS .....

The BUTTSECS server is impenetrable to even the most deviant of hackers... but Browsec will let you watch Premier League football wherever you are

I do all my bank transactions on the company laptop and that has Junos Pulse as the VPN.. got to be pretty damn good as it gets I figure, but I don't know how much that costs for a subscription.

Browsec...? Yup like I say and as harry agrees, v.good for surfing, but as for secure transactions..? Better than no VPN if you're working over wifi and free with no catches.

You have to ask yourself... how much are your bank details worth..? what price do you put on security..?

For occasional quick transactions Browsec will do the job in the local area network, for prolonged sessions you need more security.

Originally Posted by CSFFan

Originally Posted by Slick

Andrew Drummond, Ministry blocked sites for whatever reason.

Tor browser for free does that....

Indeed, but Tor is reemarkably slow (at least it was when I last used it a few months back). Also, some sites refuse connections from Tor exit nodes.


I use IPVanish, it's the fastest I've found, though I understand there are others on a par.


I've found security to be very good, but their support isn't. They also provide a SOCKS5 proxy address (in the Netherlands - it's less secure but faster and I've not had a problem with P2P ).


These days, to be honest, you ought to have a VPN, just for some peace of mind. The Internet is no longer a friendly (or safe) place.