Reply With QuoteI use TunnelBear VPN for computers and mobile (iPhone). They do an app for Android as well I believe. Very easy to use, works well in my experience. They offer a free version so people can try it out (2GB data limit).
I'm away for a week as from this coming Saturday and the apartment we're staying at has free WiFi. When in the apartment itself I'd still like to use social media, my banking app and so on so was considering a VPN as it's my understanding that this is the safest way of proceeding, though I've never used one before.
Any pros/cons of particular VPN products/providers? I'm an Android user if that makes any difference. I haven't investigated anything yet though I have heard that some may have free/discounted trial periods that you can cancel after maybe a month.
Cheers!
I use TunnelBear VPN for computers and mobile (iPhone). They do an app for Android as well I believe. Very easy to use, works well in my experience. They offer a free version so people can try it out (2GB data limit).
Proton VPN has a free version.
https://protonvpn.com/
Mullvad (mullvad.net) -- €5/m flat, no strings attached, very happy with them.
Windscribe has a free plan for non-data intense uses, you can check that one out, too. (I remember I couldn't get it to work on one of my phones but then I have a very non-standard Android config and I didn't feel like bending over backwards to get it to work, so there's that).
I’m using PIA VPN https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/. They have 30day money back period - you get refund within 30d if you don’t want to keep using it.
VPN pros: hides your IP address and you can appear to be in one country when in another; encryption of data - avoids spoofing and data scraping on open wifi networks; some have other features
VPN cons: can add some latency but good VPNs this should be low, may take some more CPU cycles on your device - adding 2-3% extra battery usage (guess) when in use.
Different price plans available with PIA.
I sometimes have to disconnect / reconnect to kickstart but this has got better recently.
NordVPN is the benchmark but may be more expensive.
Last edited by MartynJC (UK); 28th February 2023 at 16:50.
“ Ford... you're turning into a penguin. Stop it.” HHGTTG
As others have already mentioned in here, I've tried Proton and Windscribe out for free options, and rate both well. But I always come back to paying for Nord as both the MacOS and iOS versions work consistently well for me. Worth the expense I personally feel, but if you only need it for a week then one of the free ones I've mentioned (choose depending on your usage needs) would probably be a better and cheaper option!
I use Nord so far no issues with it after 4-5 years. As you get 5 devices my family just use the account as and when needed. They always have deals on and they seems to stack too.
Already mentioned, but ProtonVPN.
Using a VPN only means you trust the VPN provider more than your WiFi provider.
"Bite my shiny metal ass."
- Bender Bending Rodríguez
If you pay for google cloud there is a free member vpn in the google one app.
These days unless trying to circumvent regional blocks on streaming services the requirement for a personal vpn is vanishingly small.
This will likely explain why better than I can.
https://www.vice.com/en/article/xgxn...ont-need-a-vpn
We are going on a month long cruise next month across the Pacific and WiFI is included would make sense to have the free one for a month and see how I go. I only need it to watch the BBC i player etc
Last edited by hilly10; 28th February 2023 at 19:48.
I use the Windscribe paid version and it’s spot on, I’ve used Nord and another I can’t remember but happy with Windscribe.
Thanks all, much appreciated
Winscribe free version here, 20gb a month data.
Surfshark works for me. Have also tried Express VPN.
I was in Dubai for work last week and it seems the govt there has disabled Whatsapp voice and video calls so a VPN was needed to use them.
They seem a bit niche and I doubt I would run one in the UK but they can be useful travelling, also last year at a hotel with unsecured WiFi.
A lot of the claims by VPN providers are indeed scaremongering bullshit.Originally Posted by Captain Morgan
It all depends on your personal circumstances. I spend half my time outside the UK and I use one a lot. They're useful for getting past corporate firewalls, and anyone who has tried to do any significant banking outside the country will know they're useful.
That's said, nowadays I have my own vpn running via my router at home, on top of the free Proton.
Nord vpn works fine for me across a range of devices .
On my mobile devices its on permanently if using hotel or free wifi when travelling .
This is not a very good article . From my reading it actually reinforces the need to yse a reputable VPN (I’m already aware that a VPN needs to be from a reputable company to avoid the risk of potential data leaks from the VPN but thats the same as literally any interaction on the net through an ISP , and I’d trust NordVPN over any ISP to be honest).
Also having dealt with “Vice” professionally its probably one of the last places I’d take any information from , its like a trying too hard to be edgy version of buzzfeed. Expect it to be gone in a couple of years .
As ever the only person who has to be happy with personal data security is you.
I wonder if you were served a different article as the one I read makes it very clear that with the proliferation of https on the web the end to end connection between client & server are encrypted. With a vpn the vpn encryption stops at the vpn exit point & then relies on the underlying protocol be that http or https. So if you use http this obviously means you data is encrypted from client to vpn provider, but unencrypted when leaving the vpn providers network on its ongoing journey to its final destination.
So I’d ask what specific threats do you believe the vpn is protecting you against that a https connection does not?
I should have added obviously by the amount of advertising on the web & YouTube among many others there is a clear push from vpn vendors to scare folk who don’t have a good understanding of digital security into VPN’s being a must have.
Which is a massive generalisation unless all you do is use the net for shopping on Amazon and BBC News. And I’m not even mentioning the advantages of masking your location in certain countries .
Yes they are good at masking your location in some countries, if that is for evading location based streaming regional blocks I already covered that.
If it’s because you are entering a hostile county such as say China then I understand most corporations advise you do not take devices such as smart phones / laptops & often issue clean vanilla phones for such trips.
So I’m unsure if you missed my question but I’ll ask again. What specific threats do you believe the vpn is protecting you against that a https connection does not?
I couldn’t give a hoot about what you specifically have said about VPNs or your questions I’m afraid .
I was responding to the content of the Vice article which you seem to value so much and which I consider to be poorly written , generalised , American centric and as I said earlier only applied to people who use the net for basic populist tasks . It doesn’t even mention location masking specifically which in an articke about VPNs is beyond shallow.
In fact the only part of it thats even worth noting is the comment from Nordvpn pointing out the possibly unreliable nature of https . So as I said earlier the article is not only poorly written the takeaway from it is that you should use a VPN rather than it explaining why you shouldn’t which us what the article pertains to do.
Which is about par for the course with “Vice” articles generally .
If you want to have a bloated conversation about http , https and vpns beyond that find someone more enthusiastic about discussing these basic things than me please.
Somehow I knew you wouldn’t want to or is it your incapable of articulating what protection a vpn is buying you.
As I highlighted the article is quite clear that for the majority a vpn does not buy any additional security.
Predictable .
I highlighted specifically and with much more articulation than you have managed that the article contradicts its very own purpose and the takeaway from is that you should in fact use a VPN . Whether you agree about using a VPN in your owb little world or not.
Location masking and encryption regardless of reliance on the website you are accessing for starters are good reasons to use a VPN . Who surfs the net and is even aware if a website is http or https ?? Additionally what if you have no choice but to access it regardless ?
Now please I’m bored already. By all means you run around and don’t use a VPN . Do whatever you want . My point was about the article which I stand by and if anyone bothers to read it you’ll see how logically poor it is … like most of Vice’s output .
https://www.vice.com/en/article/z349...o-embarrassing
Here’s another example of a Vice article for you. I find this one superior to the VPN article ,
You seem to be taking this awfully personally, I’m not sure why someone pointing out why & how VPN’s are not necessary for many people for increased security has caused this reaction but hey-ho…
As already pointed out a vpn does little to secure http traffic as it is only encrypted from the local network to the VPN’s entrance, once it leaves the vpn providers network the traffic is unencrypted, leaving the traffic vulnerable.
Obviously should you need to hide your location for some reason then a vpn is a valid solution.
As for who cares about http vs https I suspect it’s folk who care enough about there personal data to actually understand how VPN’s work, how they do or don’t protect your data & not blindly buy into the slick marketing behind them.
I use a vpn, only it’s my own vpn, I configured it myself & it’s used to access my home network as safely as posable.
As for other articles you might also find these of interest as it’s not just a single vice article that suggests VPN’s are superfluous for many.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/06/t...-worth-it.html
https://www.tomsguide.com/news/you-m...onger-need-vpn
https://overengineer.dev/blog/2019/0...narrative.html
Last edited by Captain Morgan; 16th March 2023 at 17:28.
A couple of pages for research: https://www.privacytools.io/privacy-vpn and https://www.privacyguides.org/en/vpn/
Based on yesterday’s discussion about VPN’s the security they may or may not offer & the quality of a supporting article I thought I’d reproduce some of Dennis Schuberts excellent article on vpn use in general, I’ve focused on the topics of yesterday but if it’s of interest to anyone else I’d suggest reading the full article.
https://overengineer.dev/blog/2019/0...narrative.html
I went with the original vice article as it was less technical which may have been a error, hopefully Dennis’s doesn’t go to far in the opposite direction.
I must admit I have a difference in opinion over use of a vpn in public networks & still believe that https / tls are sufficient, or you have the option of 4/5g data but as ever that’s personal choice & as I’ve said before the only person who has to be happy with your persdata security is you.
If you're looking for additional privacy from your ISP/.../
For this reason alone I can't imagine living in the UK and not using a VPN. Same applied to me in Ireland. (Hell, I remember how I only learned from forums that my ISP was routinely blocking certain sites I used on a regular basis).
Also this: https://www.privacyguides.org/en/basics/vpn-overview/
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