Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Tell me about vpns

I know a little bit about what they are supposed to do, are they worth paying the subscription for?

Primarily, a VPN will make it look like you are streaming /downloading data somewhere else, so if you are watching bootleg stuff, anyone paying attention won't know its you.

The other side of the coin is if you are at work , school or on a public wifi and they have websites blocked, you can go thru a VPN to see them because they won't have the VPN server blocked and you use it to surf the internet.

a VPN isn't particularly better at encryption though as most websites use the HTTPS:// protocol now including the campfire - the "S" represents an encryption layer, so right now anyone watching the data we send here would only know we are connected to the campfire server, they couldn't see what we are sending ( well, I mean we are posting text and pictures but you get the idea)

A VPN will tell you they don't keep logs of your usage. I believe that about as much as the government not keeping gun purchase records. I have read about a pedophile using a VPN to mask his identity, the feds went after him and his VPN provider gave him up.

I don't know that there is much difference in most of them, but I use Surfshark which has Windows, iOS, and Android so I can use it on my laptop, phone and firestick. They also have the ability to set it up your router level which means all your internet usage goes thru their VPN, but performance sucks so I wouldn't recommend that. But once you have it installed and set up, then it just runs in the background and you don't have to mess with it every time you start up a browser or app.

That's the downside of a VPN, since you go thru a server somewhere in the world as a portal to the internet, your internet speed slows down. If you are getting like 200mbps, you'd be lucky to get 40 thru a VPN so you have to be selective in using it. Surfshark and I'm sure others lets you select apps that you want to go thru the VPN and apps that bypass it. So for example, I bypass Netflix and Amazon Prime because it blocks content available to me, apps that I stream content from like IPTV, I have it go thru the VPN.

So Netflix and Amazon Prime stream at the high speeds I would expect

I haven't used one yet, but the Brave browser has an option for "Private window with TOR" which is a free VPN. Brave itself is pretty private. The only data it transmits is the anonymous number of installations. All they know is how many people are using Brave, but not who.

Thanks that was well explained, I heard they are handy if you are trying to get the best price on flights and hotels, by preventing them from tracking your search history

Tag and thanks.

At their core, VPNs encrypt your internet connection, providing a secure pathway for your data to travel through. This encryption means that even if someone manages to intercept your data, they won't be able to decipher it without the encryption key.
One of the primary reasons people opt for VPN subscriptions is privacy. By masking your IP address and encrypting your internet traffic, VPNs shield your online activities from prying eyes, whether it's your ISP, government agencies, or hackers.
Regarding security, while VPNs alone won't guarantee protection against viruses and malware, they can be part of a strong security strategy. This article on how VPNs protect from viruses explains it best. But in short, when combined with other measures like antivirus software, firewalls, and safe browsing habits, VPNs add an extra layer of defense. By encrypting your connection, VPNs make it more difficult for malware to infiltrate your system, thus reducing the risk of infection.
I use NordVPN. It offers a wide range of servers across the globe, providing fast and stable connections wherever I go. The monthly subscription fee is around $12, which is reasonable compared to other providers.

A while back I read that VPN's were created by DARPA in order to make the general public 'think' they can have some privacy.
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Maybe they work as stated and the Gov. inserted what I read to get citizens to not use them. We live in a time when absolutely nothing can be fully trusted. IMO the fedgov would spend a gajillion dollars of our tax-dollars to find a way to retain control.

I laugh when I read;; use xyz search engine it's safeNprivate. What's the one go-dog-go or something? Many think it's safe - it goes through the back door of google.

Ostrich pulls head out of hole with puzzled look on face. laf

False sense of security/privacy.

Some do and some don't. There is no way to be certain they don't but you can be fairly confident by checking out forums where torrent enthusiasts post to see if customers of any VPN companies are getting DMCA notices from their ISPs. Hollywood, music companies, software licensing groups...are all still aggressive in going after people who torrent copyrighted content. People who do that don't have their internet services long their VPNs give them up.

You should also avoid any VPN companies owned by Jews or with Jews in leadership positions.

A lot of VPNs also supposedly open up their systems for third party auditors to look at, Deloitte for example, who back up the claim no logs are kept. I have no first hand experience with audits like that but I gotta wonder if the best and brightest are out there doing them.

Probably also look at a VPN that is based somewhere outside the US.

Also once you are using it, test for DNS leaks regularly. This is easy to do by searching "DNS leak test" and running the test on the first couple of web sites you hit. DNS is by far the easiest exposure point for someone trying to track what you do on the web.

I don't know what I have on my Chromebook that does it, but my location is hidden or misrepresented. For example, I go to Home Depot and even if I log in the store they have me shopping will be 50 to hundreds of miles away until I change the zip code. And a lot of sites ask to show location.

But the .gov knows who and where I am, and that I don't like them.

VPNs are very useful when traveling overseas. Many US based websites and streaming services (Netflix, etc) are unavailable in some countries so a VPN bypasses all those issues.

I have used NordVPN for years and it offers a lot of flexibility and speed.

For what it's worth, I never use a VPN in the States. The idea of internet security and anonymity in today's world is fictitious.

You’d better take a Sober Look at the New and Improve Section 702 Provision FISA a VPN will not stop the NSA from Finding You or Collecting

Why do you think Your House Representatives put a clause to Exempt Them from Surveillance and Collection

Would look bad if they were caught in a Drug Deal, Stock Insider Trading , Sex Slave Trade ,
Looting Money from one of their CR Bills like Transgender Studies in Pakistan..

Somebody ought to Remind the Wicked about J. Edgar Hoover..

VPN's were not invented by DARPA. They are a basic internet technology. If you have a business with multiple sites any of the large internet companies can set you up with a VPN.

Regardless of any laws, from a technical standpoint it's very hard to hide from NSA, VPN or not. A large portion of the nodes on the TOR network are operated by NSA.

Google is very open about their data collection - They keep your name, email address, birthday, gender, phone number, location, data on what videos you watch, the ads you click, your device information, IP address, and cookie data. In other words, pretty much everything you do via the Internet.

On the other hand, it's common knowledge that the NSA collects all this and all your other digital and voice traffic - they don't bother with the FISA courts.

There is no hiding in the data universe so get over the idea you can beat them.

Tag

oh

Daughter's first husband was a computer and internet whiz. Data collection for predictive marketing and NSA contractor data collection was his job. I asked him about VPN.
He laughed and said there was nothing you could do inside the United States on the internet with any expectation of privacy from government.

You have it for the Other Evil Do’rs Harry ..

Hiding from businesses is one thing, hiding from NSA is very different.