Would you recommend Nord VPN?

[Katsika]

Any comments gratefully received

[pi3141]

Depends.

 

Mostly they are as good as each other.

 

Some will say if you want to be truly invisible to TPTB, you need to get a VPN in a non 'five eyes' jurisdiction. 

 

However, even VPN can be traced, even on Tor network, it's not easy but they can do it.

 

Also, VPN's will comply with legal guidelines of the countries they operate in.

 

So honestly if it's just a bit of privacy you want, protection and the ability to watch USA YouTube, then any one will do.

 

I normally wait for Black Friday and take the best deal. They always add a few months so renewal doesn't coincide with Black Friday.

 

So I buy one, use it till it runs out, then wait for next Black Friday to resubscribe. 

 

I've been using SurfShark, really cheap deals and originally not 5 eyes, but they are in Netherlands so will comply with law enforcement requests if asked. 

 

But I don't traffic people or watch child porn so I'm not bothered. I was using it to surf Dark Web, but I'm not doing that much of that now.

 

Currently I'm without one, not sure if I'll bother this year, ignoring those  'come back' emails....

 

I don't use Anti Virus either. 

[webtrekker]

There's a hell of a lot more to online security than just using a VPN and, unless you change many habits, including ditching some of your favourites apps, email, or messaging software, then you're always going to be prone to visibility and attack.

 

I download a lot via torrents. I use Tor browser to access the torrent sites, copy the torrent link, then use uTorrent to download. Certainly not 100% secure, but I've had very few issues over many years. Mind you, I'm not into porn, so manage to avoid all that crap! Never used a VPN and doubt if I ever will.

Edited November 29, 2024 by webtrekker

[lobster]

6 hours ago, Katsika said:

Any comments gratefully received

Depends who or what you are trying to avoid and how much trouble you be in if they catch you

 

Proton VPN is free for the basic package( no torrenting) and subject to Swiss privacy laws, which are quite strict, 

[Katsika]

18 hours ago, pi3141 said:

So honestly if it's just a bit of privacy you want, protection and the ability to watch USA YouTube, then any one will do.

 

I normally wait for Black Friday and take the best deal. They always add a few months so renewal doesn't coincide with Black Friday.

Thank you - I thought of getting one because I want to see many things that say "not available in your region/country - I'm in Greece).

 

I saw the NORD VPN yesterday via their sponsorship of a youtube (it was about one village in Crete that had been abandoned to make way for a new reservoir, the reservoir is yet another failed bit of infrastructure). It was a + 3 months Black Friday deal.

 

14 hours ago, lobster said:

Proton VPN is free for the basic package( no torrenting) and subject to Swiss privacy laws, which are quite strict

I had to look up torrenting   Do you know if the Swiss privacy laws are outside the 5, 9 and 14 EYES alliance?

 

It just found this:

"Many VPN companies, like ExpressVPN and NordVPN, register their businesses in these countries to ensure maximum privacy."

 

 

[lobster]

Have a look at this, the guy does tons of Vids on internet privacy, though he is selling his VPN and stuff. He is very informative

Edited November 30, 2024 by lobster

[webtrekker]

Are you interested in protection for mobiles, or desktop/laptop computers?

[Katsika]

22 hours ago, webtrekker said:

Are you interested in protection for mobiles, or desktop/laptop computers?

So far I've managed to be completely free from mobiles - I have a wired desktop and wi-fi disabled on the router.  I am not exactly a dinosaur (yet anyway!)

 

I think probably I'm more interested in "access" to some things - even e.g. the occasional look at BBC to see what nonsense they are spewing - I don't have a TV but (without any choice) I have to pay for a licence (it's part of our electricity bills) and e.g. my Greek friends who do have TVs can watch BBC with ho problem.  There are also sometimes some decent films/series.

 

I pay for Netflix (which I've decided is mostly rubbish here anyway) and sometimes I get the message about a certain film not being available "in your region" - would a VPN get round that?

[lobster]

1 hour ago, Katsika said:

So far I've managed to be completely free from mobiles - I have a wired desktop and wi-fi disabled on the router.  I am not exactly a dinosaur (yet anyway!)

 

I think probably I'm more interested in "access" to some things - even e.g. the occasional look at BBC to see what nonsense they are spewing - I don't have a TV but (without any choice) I have to pay for a licence (it's part of our electricity bills) and e.g. my Greek friends who do have TVs can watch BBC with ho problem.  There are also sometimes some decent films/series.

 

I pay for Netflix (which I've decided is mostly rubbish here anyway) and sometimes I get the message about a certain film not being available "in your region" - would a VPN get round that?

I haven't tried, People often say it will. But as explained in that vid I posted, if Netflix want to enforce geo locking, they can probably sense your using a vpn

[webtrekker]

5 hours ago, Katsika said:

So far I've managed to be completely free from mobiles - I have a wired desktop and wi-fi disabled on the router.  I am not exactly a dinosaur (yet anyway!)

 

I think probably I'm more interested in "access" to some things - even e.g. the occasional look at BBC to see what nonsense they are spewing - I don't have a TV but (without any choice) I have to pay for a licence (it's part of our electricity bills) and e.g. my Greek friends who do have TVs can watch BBC with ho problem.  There are also sometimes some decent films/series.

 

I pay for Netflix (which I've decided is mostly rubbish here anyway) and sometimes I get the message about a certain film not being available "in your region" - would a VPN get round that?

 

I've got Netflix in the UK but don't use a VPN.

 

Any Netflix shows that are out of my region nearly always appear as torrents to download. Whether you use a VPN, or download a torrent, both are probably classed as illegal anyway, regardless of the fact that millions of people do exactly that every day. My view is that, since I'm already paying a Netflix subscription, then I shouldn't be restricted in watching ANY Netflix streams.

 

I never upload copyright material to any torrent sites though, which is where the risk seems to be, and most cases have been brought against uploaders, rather than the occasional downloader.

 

Here's what Netflix says about VPN's ...

 

 

Also, this ...

 

[Katsika]

57 minutes ago, webtrekker said:

My view is that, since I'm already paying a Netflix subscription, then I shouldn't be restricted in watching ANY Netflix streams.

I agree with that

 

I think I'll give the whole VPN thing a miss - my connection speed is pretty pathetic not to mention unstable. 

 

Thank you for your info/insight.

[SoundOfSilence]

I would add that you don't need protection through privacy laws, VPN traffic cannot be traced in the jurisdiction of the VPN provider.

 

It doesn't work that way.

 

Even if it wanted to, the service provider cannot trace the chain of communication because of the way it is encrypted. Each machine on the chain doesn't know the origin and the destination etc.

 

Where it can be intercepted is through packet sniffing which scans a port on your PC. Like Wireshark. Even then, the only thing that can be captured is encrypted data. The default port is 80 for interweb. You can change the default to another port. If you use 80 for regular and then another port number for VPN you get another layer of security.

 

However, if you're important enough then even the most sophisticated encryption can be cracked (brute force) using quantum computers. But it is very expensive for that sort of data.

 

For a couple of movies, nah.

 

Though, as others have pointed out, Proton basic does not allow peer sharing.

 

So, use Proton VPN and Tor Browser to find what you want. Grab the link (Magnet) and then, disconnect the VPN, and put the link into Utorrent and download.

 

At least this is what I've been told.

 

If you have a slow interweb a VPN is a killer. So only use it for sensitive communications. It can be turned off easily.

 

Here is a good explanation of how it works.