And if you use one, are you happy with it?
I’m trying to get more into privacy and security and VPN is currently a struggle for me (and it seems also for some people in my social circle). It’s mostly cost, effectiveness, but also connection issues (not being able to connect to servers, not reaching websites, sometimes slower speed.
I strongly believe nobody is entitled to keep a registry of the sites that we visit online. Not the gov, not your ISP, not your carrier. Thats why its essential for me.
A few sites wont load sometimes, which is my only exception to turn it off, and then on again, but its a habit i have gotten used to and its not that much work, given the benefits of an always-on trustworthy VPN.
It’s become a critical aspect of my online experience. I currently use Mullvad since leaving PIA. Mullvad seems to suffer from being too popular for it’s own good. An Increasing amount of websites are trying to identify and block traffic coming from VPN servers, sites like Kroger.com, USPS.com, Reddit. I never previously had this much trouble on PIA, but maybe it’s just that the times are a changing. I may search for alternative VPN when my service is up with Mullvad, though. I definitely don’t like the idea of using the internet without a VPN anymore.
My assumption is that Mullvad allowing port forwarding previously forced a large number of their IPs to be blocked due to misuse and that’s having carryover effects. I know very little about Mullvad or the IP address market though.
I’m doubtful it does much in most cases due to browser fingerprinting, but I still use it and it sometimes can be useful to get around geo issues, plus it’s just a bit more privacy to stack on top of the measures I’m already taking, so for the price I feel like it’s worth it.
A browser can be fingerprinted so I only use it in a separate OS install when I want to keep something private, but it’s indispensable so that I have that option.
It’s not cost effective to lose your privacy, you’ve merely haven’t realized you’ve been paying all along. Also you are the product being sold.
Only Wireguard to connect to the home network on the go. As we aren’t using any WiFi it’s mostly to get pihole, even the kids ask for it
I guess this really depends on the country you’re sourcing from.
I use it everyday, so it’s very important.
My house has 2 other units and we all share one network. Without a VPN, my neighbors could see all my network traffic. I don’t think they know or care how to do that but it’s enough to keep me on a VPN at all times.
Use it daily, Client > Home > ProtonVPN - essentially made my own multiple hop network.
Unfortunately I live in a country where they once banned whole google drive because someone was sharing a pirated movie through it. And just recently they banned proton mail because someone used proton mail to blackmail some one else. OK I don’t condone second one but still would they have banned gmail if those idiots had used that. Yeah I know I don’t need a VPN I need a new government but till then a VPN and Tor is all I have
I don’t think most ppl need a vpn for at home stuff but I do use Mullvad since I spend a lot of time on college WiFi and they might not like how I access my textbooks and research papers.
The only VPN I use is:
Wireguard and OpenVPN to connect to my home network.
AirVPN for a server that I may or may not have on my home network that may or may not be sailing the high seas (allegedly).
I always use a vpn when downloading and managing my linux iso’s. For everything else I can’t really be bothered half the time.
Super duper important. I won’t run my network without one. So if we ever get to a point where a VPN is prohibited by law, I will unplug and go work on some of my other hobbies like creating bonsai. Any no, I don’t run the 'arr stack, I’m not a hacker, nor do I torrent. I just prefer the absolute minimum number of people knowing who I am or what I’m doing. I’m that way irl.
sometimes slower speed.
Indeed, anything you put between you and your target will slow speeds, especially if you’re running everything through a double hop Shadowsocks proxy. That is the trade off. All technology wields a double edged sword. Additionally, you will encounter more captcha than normal, tho 99% of what I see are Cloudflare verification. Again, yet another trade off. You might even be precluded from accessing some websites. Me personally, I’ll accept the captcha/verification, slower speeds, and occasional site blocks, for security, privacy and anonymity. Also, in regards to sites blocking a VPN ip, it’s not a common occurrence on my network, but when it does happen, I find that the information contained on the blocked site, is freely available somewhere else.
