# Talk to me about VPN



## Belfrybat (Feb 21, 2003)

I'm considering subscribing to a VPN service. Yes, I know if I were tech savvy I could set up one for free. But I'm not and am willing to pay a reasonable fee to subscribe to one. Here are the three I'm considering from cheapest to most expensive.

https://www.ivacy.com/bestvpnservice-special/
https://www.purevpn.com/order
https://www.ipvanish.com/?a_aid=jdp&a_bid=48f95966

Any suggestions as to which would be better, OR links to other "user friendly" sites? Thanks.


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## painterswife (Jun 7, 2004)

Why you need a VPN is important. If it is to use services not available in your location like TV overseas you need to choose wisely. VPN's can be blocked and then you have paid for something that will not work for you.


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

Yes, why do you want it? Security, privacy, a restricted user community?


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## mnn2501 (Apr 2, 2008)

VPN - Virtual Private Network, used by companies to let their workers remote into their network securely.

Why do you want it?


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## painterswife (Jun 7, 2004)

VPN's are used to hide your location so you can access websites that won't let people from other locations or even states use their services.

You can also use them to access sites that have blocked your IP.

I have used them to watch English TV shows I can't watch here.


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

painterswife said:


> VPN's are used to hide your location so you can access websites that won't let people from other locations or even states use their services.
> 
> You can also use them to access sites that have blocked your IP.
> 
> I have used them to watch English TV shows I can't watch here.


VPNs were first developed to provide a secure and private environment for corporate employees to operate in. The connection, called a tunnel, uses strong encryption for all communications, and access can be limited to only registered IP addresses.

But VPNs have been found useful for secure browsing, and also for privacy.

Most people are satisfied with the security provided by the web sites themselves. For example, your bank and credit card providers will always use https (strong encryption) when you login to view balances & transactions. Online shopping is often not encrypted, but becomes encrypted when you get to the shopping cart. Most users look for the little padlock icon on the address bar before entering credit card information.

But most of what we do is not encrypted. For example, this forum is not encrypted. For the most part there is no reason to encrypt information at homesteadingtoday.com, but it is possible for someone to view your login credentials in plain text if your communications were intercepted with a packet sniffer. That could be corrected with a VPN.


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## painterswife (Jun 7, 2004)

Nevada said:


> VPNs were first developed to provide a secure and private environment for corporate employees to operate in. The connection, called a tunnel, uses strong encryption for all communications, and access can be limited to only registered IP addresses.
> 
> But VPNs have been found useful for secure browsing, and also for privacy.
> 
> ...


Yes, security is important as well. I am always on an encrypted VPN tunnel because I administer the networks for my boss's several businesses both local and remote. I doubt though that Belfry is looking to spend money for a VPN for work.


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## Belfrybat (Feb 21, 2003)

I like to stream movies and my favourite website has shut down. An alternative streaming website I found suggested using a VPN. I'd also like to watch some English shows that I can't here in the States. The three VPNs I listed above range in price from $2.00 to $7.00 a month, and I've seen some for as much as $10.00 a month. 

I guess my question is would the cheaper one fit my needs for streaming movies and watching movies from England, or do I need to spring for the more expensive one? Sometime you get what you pay for, but at other times cheaper does not mean inferior.


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## painterswife (Jun 7, 2004)

I found that England's TV channels are excellent at ferreting out that you are on a VPN. Corrie watcher here and they seem to figure it out. I have not tried for a while to find one that works. You need to research to find one that works.


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## JRHill02 (Jun 20, 2020)

A while back I changed my ad blocker to one that is not browser dependent. The company also has their own VPN and I purchased the subscription add-on. Why did I buy it? I was impressed and wanted to support the company even though the free stuff was probably adequate. Now that I don't have speed problems (Thank you, Starlink) I also did that company's VPN. Full time, phone and laptop. Since we don't have a cell signal the phone is 100% through the satellite including calls. I'm not sure I need VPN but it does what it is supposed to do with the ad blocker in concert. How do I know? There are web locations that won't let me in because my IP address can not be confirmed. No, I'm not on the run or hiding but I appreciate the anonymity, to the degree that is possible. Video to the laptop is a non issue. Video calls from the phone, to space and back down, and through the VPN are not affected. When I leave a site 30 minutes later anything other than the originating cookie is deleted. And I could set it to kill those too. And I have done so on a few web sites. You can select site specific clean-up.

Do I NEED it? I don't know. I don't down load much, certainly very few if no apps on anything. But even a speadsheet, PDF or a MSWord doc can be a major problem. At this point with an Android and a Windows 10 machine with the native malware stuff, I'm not sure anything else is necessary.

So, if you will admit it, have you ever had a machine or your local network compromised? I have. I've also seen a lot of folks accuse malware of a just plain messed up computer.


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## jjf888 (7 mo ago)

JRHill02 said:


> A while back I changed my ad blocker to one that is not browser dependent. The company also has their own VPN and I purchased the subscription add-on. Why did I buy it? I was impressed and wanted to support the company even though the free stuff was probably adequate. Now that I don't have speed problems (Thank you, Starlink) I also did that company's VPN. Full time, phone and laptop. Since we don't have a cell signal the phone is 100% through the satellite including calls. I'm not sure I need VPN but it does what it is supposed to do with the ad blocker in concert. How do I know? There are web locations that won't let me in because my IP address can not be confirmed. No, I'm not on the run or hiding but I appreciate the anonymity, to the degree that is possible. Video to the laptop is a non issue. Video calls from the phone, to space and back down, and through the VPN are not affected. When I leave a site 30 minutes later anything other than the originating cookie is deleted. And I could set it to kill those too. And I have done so on a few web sites. You can select site specific clean-up.
> 
> Do I NEED it? I don't know. I don't down load much, certainly very few if no apps on anything. But even a speadsheet, PDF or a MSWord doc can be a major problem. At this point with an Android and a Windows 10 machine with the native malware stuff, I'm not sure anything else is necessary.
> 
> So, if you will admit it, have you ever had a machine or your local network compromised? I have. I've also seen a lot of folks accuse malware of a just plain messed up computer.


For your phone service, are you able to have ringing to announce incoming calls? The only reason I keep a landline is for contacting the house when I am out and about. We use Skype but it is not consistent in ringing for an inbound call. Perfect world would be a desktop-style internet phone that can ring when calls come in.


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## JRHill02 (Jun 20, 2020)

jjf888 said:


> For your phone service, are you able to have ringing to announce incoming calls? The only reason I keep a landline is for contacting the house when I am out and about. We use Skype but it is not consistent in ringing for an inbound call. Perfect world would be a desktop-style internet phone that can ring when calls come in.


Just like a cell system call with the caller ID. If I get to a place where I have a decent cell signal the phone uses that connection.


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

jjf888 said:


> For your phone service, are you able to have ringing to announce incoming calls? The only reason I keep a landline is for contacting the house when I am out and about. We use Skype but it is not consistent in ringing for an inbound call. Perfect world would be a desktop-style internet phone that can ring when calls come in.


About 12 years ago I migrated from Skype to Google Voice. The big difference is that Google Voice is free. Google Voice is associated to your gmail account. You can get a free phone number in your area code by requesting a number in Google Voice setup. You get unlimited call & test for the entire US & Canada. You can make and receive phone calls with your browser, or invest in an Polycom analog telephone adapter that can send dial tone throughout your house with existing phone wires.









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Since the phone number is free, it will be my number got life. What I do is forward all calls to my cell phone, so my home phone rings along with my cell phone. I only give out my Google voice number. That way if I get pissed at my cell phone provider and change to a different carrier, I simply forward calls to the new number.


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