Free VPN

[muppetts]

Anyone use a free VPN service they can recommend? Lots online but they look very sketchy!

[Morkonan]

... but they look very sketchy!

There are trial offers for some pay services that aren't quite as "sketchy." Anything else is using you more than you're using it.

VPN has yet to really come into its own in the private sector. It has long been a staple of business sectors, for obvious reasons. (Often, running their own VPNs or using a commercial host.)

If you want something reliable, decent, and "trustworthy" (as far as that goes in today's world) look at the commercial VPN providers. NordVPN comes to mind, despite some controversies they had awhile ago.

There are choices all over the place, but too many of them are selling your activity and, in some cases, more personal information.

A PCMag review, take with a grain of salt because they probably took a few checks... https://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2403388,00.asp

Not sure how updated it is, but there's this: https://thatoneprivacysite.net/vpn-section/

If all you're looking for is a secure tunnel for connecting via public wifi, you can set up a home VPN for free. Of course, your computer at home would need to be hooked up and ready unless you've got some nice hardware that will stand in for that. And, a basic setup would count on you having a static IP or you being able to get your home computer's IP easily in order to make the connection.

VPN for phones is a bit different. It's practically meaningless, to be honest, considering the number of apps most people have installed. But, if you can connect outside of your provider to a VPN, it "should" be OK using a regular browser window/whatever. (I don't "smartphone" so wtf do I know? )

What's your intended use? Just for home? To help secure your info on public wifi? Going to start a revolution and need to order t-shirts printed for it?

[muppetts]

Hi, first thanks!

It's for home, more just to be more secure, hide location, browsing, IP address.

Had an alert from Avast, selling their service but it listed all the stuff everyone can see and I thought it might be worth looking into.

I actually just removed avast, sounds silly but I never knew Win 10 had antivirus build in, so just switched it on as they Win Fire wall and Anti V are good enough I recon for a home user like me.

[mrbadger]

If you need a VPN then why is it not worth paying for one?

It's not as if they cost too much.
I use NordVPN, it's inexpensive and works really well.

[red assassin]

Using a VPN just replaces "your ISP can see all your browsing" with "your VPN provider can see all your browsing". Nothing else really changes, and the likes of the big advertising networks are still perfectly capable of working out lots about you. Ask whether it's worth it and how much you trust your provider... especially if you're not paying.

[burger1]

What do you need a vpn for?

If you want to bypass US region restrictions keenow has a free thing. It bypasses US region checks. It also gives you 500 mb of US netflix unblocked for free per day. So about 1.5 hours per day at the lowest settings. The client only measures the data you use for netflix so stuff like Fox, Abc, Cbs, yahoo view, vudu, crackle US, etc........ aren't limited and you can watch all you want. The paid version is no longer worth it since netflix cracked down on them in October. They had about 9 countries unblocked before then.

https://clients.keenow.com/panel/cart.php?a=view

Vpn gate has free vpns but you hook up to random peoples servers. If I want to watch netflix in a country I can't get I can do it this way. But I consider it risky and have only used it a few times ever.

http://www.vpngate.net/en/

I can't recommend getflix. Their vpns are wacko and most are slow. The region you try might not be the region you end up with. I don't think they block google dns either but I could be wrong. - nvm it's a paid service only but it does unblock US netflix and it has vpns but they aren't good as far as I can tell.

[mrbadger]

I use mine so I can browse and use my various online accounts while on 'free' wifi'. Even Eduroam, which is after all just another company providing internet access I don't pay for.

I like to limit the people who have easy access to my data. I realise how impossible this is to manage ultimatelly, but some effort is better than none.

Free VPN always struck me as being particularly risky.

[muppetts]

I would pay but that would require money, which is a bummer as my budget on expendable cash has gone from 1000 a month 10 years ago to 0 and no job for 4 years !

I am just trying to be secure and limit access to my data but if you (as a group) in general think as a home user it is of no use then I will not bother.

I'm asking here as I get allot of, what I consider 'hyped' alerts from various things like Avast, I prefer to ask about and check it out, rather than download dodgy software.

[burger1]

A sandbox might help. The free version of Sandboxie (auto delete on exit turned on - might have gotten bugged in last win 10 update).

[segmentationfault]

I have been thinking to give WireGuard a try. Does anyone here have experience with it?

[mrbadger]

I think there is a browser that has an integrated VPN, not sure which one. Opera maybe?

Or you could try using Tor. That's not quite a VPN, but it might suit your needs. It's certainly free.

It's a bit too tin foil hat for my tastes, and I'm not sure if it would work for online shopping.

My credit card fraud detection got triggered when I made a purchase using my VPN a few weeks ago. That was annoying, and my VPN still shows my location as being in the UK, unless I tell it not to.

[X2-Illuminatus]

I think there is a browser that has an integrated VPN, not sure which one. Opera maybe?

Yes, Opera.

[Antilogic]

free VPN service they can recommend

No.

Pay for one.

[felter]

free VPN service they can recommend

No.

Pay for one.

I would agree with this.

There are a few things you need to consider when going for a VPN, the first is why do you want a VPN, what are you going to use it for, and there are a few things that if you do online you should be using a VPN.

If you shop or do online banking, then a VPN should be a must, as it adds another level of security to your banking and payment methods. If you connect to public access points, then you should do so using a VPN. If you want to use it to watch lets say netfilx in America and you are in the UK, certain VPN's will allow you to do this but not all of them do, I use Nordvpn and I can watch American netflix though sometime I have to change the American server I am using. If you want to cover your tracks and stop your ISP and government spying on you, then a VPN can also do this, but if this is what you want then you have to watch what VPN you use, as both American and British run VPN's by law just like your ISP they have to keep a record of what sites you visit. Nordvpn are a Panamanian VPN and they are not legally bound to keep records so they do not do so, with them there are no record of what sites you visit or what you do online while all your ISP will see is the VPN servers IP address that you use.

If you want to visit sites that your government has blocked then a VPN will allow this. If you visit or live in a country that has a nationwide internet censorship like China or Saudi Arabia to mention a few then some VPN's will help you bypass this censorship safely.

There can be some downsides as Some VPN's will slow your internet connection, while others don't. If you do online gaming doing it behind a VPN can lead to problems and I would always recommend turning it off when playing online games. Saying that there are online games that are only playable from certain countries, a VPN will allow you to play these games as you can use the VPN to make it look like that is where you are, just like for watching Netflix.

They can also be good for browsing, example a few months back I was looking for something Japanese related, I couldn't find it with a normal google search, I changed to a Japan server and found what I was looking for straight away.

Do look around or take the recommendation from some of us and go for NordVPN they cover all the things I mentioned, they have good speed, privacy, plenty of servers in a lot of countries and good connection choices, they even had an add blocker though I cant recommend using it, it caused me problems. Also there are some good deals for NordVPN, for example I know you can get it right now for $99 for 3 years, which is pretty darn good.

I can't recommend free VPN's as they are normally slow, lack choice and they are there to collect your data so they can sell it on, so lack privacy. I also tried one once that was even recommended to me, and it had a virus in the installer.

[Morkonan]

...Had an alert from Avast, selling their service but it listed all the stuff everyone can see and I thought it might be worth looking into...

What sort of stuff did the Avast advertiwarning... say that that "everyone can see?"

Some of what some marketers say is bullcrap or meaningless or isn't really solved with whatever solution they're trying to sell you.

...It's for home, more just to be more secure, hide location, browsing, IP address. ..

A VPN service would be good for that, in general.

What browser do you use?

Making the shift to Opera, like linked above, might be interesting. I didn't know they bundled VPN, but I do have to wonder exactly how they're doing that for "free."

Using something like "HTTPS Everywhere" is generally a good idea. It forces the connection over https instead of http, but only if the website supports it. Most do, but not all. Any website that handles credential information, like credit-card transactions and email sign-ins, should be providing that at least on those pages. If you don't see an https connection indicated there, something's just... wrong. (Note: Notices/warnings for https connections are not always correct for pages. There could be an https connection, but elements on the page from non-secured sources as well, which could present issues.)

https://www.eff.org/https-everywhere

Using something like NoScript, is a good idea, but you'll have to put some effort into configuring it so that your favorite websites function well. NoScript is only for Firefox. There may be others for your preferred browser, but research them heavily before installing.

https://noscript.net/

"Adblockers" are largely crap. Most sites are already figuring out how to avoid them. They're not worth mentioning in this context except that you should probably avoid most of them as many have just turned into tools for their creators to make money by pushing ads or selling user data.

As usual, I wrote a bunch of other stuffs nobody wants to read. So, I just deleted it.

The point being this - How far down the rabbit-hole do you want to go?

PS - Be wary of "free" when it comes down to anonymity tools, especially "addons" for your browser. Also, "play stoopid games, win stoopid prizes" is true. Risky behavior exposes one to risks. Avoid such things and you're much safer.

[X2-Illuminatus]

Making the shift to Opera, like linked above, might be interesting. I didn't know they bundled VPN, but I do have to wonder exactly how they're doing that for "free."

How does Opera make money?

Opera provides cloud-based mobile services and solutions to operators, publishers and advertisers and enables hundreds of millions of consumers, via the Company's global cloud infrastructure, to connect to the internet content and services that matter most to them. Along those lines, Opera has different revenue models, depending on the customer type:

• Operators. Opera's revenue sources from this hosted solution include active user fees, data fees, NRE/development fees, hosting services, advertising and maintenance, and support.

• Mobile consumers (via partnerships with search providers and advertisers). The primary driver of mobile consumer revenue is revenue from mobile search, the Opera Mobile Store and active user growth.

• Mobile publishers and advertisers. Revenue comes from Opera's mobile advertising services and technology solutions, offered to premium and performance advertisers, ad agencies, publishers and developers.

• Device OEMs. Revenue comes through license agreements with a wide range of consumer-electronic-device OEMs.

•Desktop consumers. Revenue comes primarily from search and e-commerce partnerships.

[Morkonan]

How does Opera make money?....partnerships

And then, I went looking: https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2016/04 ... vpn-proxy/

Should read "Opera "VPN*" then. It goes through Surfeasy: https://www.surfeasy.com/

I've found conflicting reports on their "NoLog" policy related to Opera "VPN" users as well as the number of proxies available to them.

The "average adolescent" does stoopid crap online and desperately needs iron-clad protection as well as a safety helmet. Given that, though, I wonder how many VPN "services" end up exploiting the rebellious desires of young people online by gobbling up every bit of data they can while Junior downloads his DRM-stripped games and music through their "be anonymawesome online" service.

(Wasn't or isn't there a sort of "nanny" VPN/Parental Controls service that is/was popular? Not for the subject of this thread, just trying to remember what it is/was.)

I also can't stand someone advertising their services as a way to avoid copyright and publication violations. ("See blocked content" etc) Sure, I know that's why some people want proxies and vpns, but it's still violating these protections. /grumble

[X2-Illuminatus]

And then, I went looking: https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2016/04 ... vpn-proxy/

Should read "Opera "VPN*" then. It goes through Surfeasy: https://www.surfeasy.com/

Meanwhile this has been changed: Opera 50 Beta with renewed VPN (Opera 50 is the stable release version now.)

Moving to Opera data centers
Previously, the VPN service was hosted and operated by SurfEasy LLC, a company recently acquired by Symantec. We have investigated the best options for hosting the service and concluded the browser VPN service will be moved to our own data centers. Opera’s current server infrastructure, one of the highest capacity super-computer clusters in the world, is already hosting services such as the compressing engine for Opera Mini.

The colocation of the browser VPN service to our data centers is expected to give increased performance, scalability and balancing capabilities, while keeping it a free and no-log service.

Mind you that "VPN*" is still a good name for it, as they compromise in certain ways with regards to usability in comparison to a real VPN service ("comfort vs. absolute privacy" as they call it). (The above post mentions the example of using search engines - local IP is transmitted to the engine - as well as being able to only choose regions instead of actual countries as server locations.)

Also, just to clarify: I'm by no means recommending the use of the Opera VPN service. As a user of the Opera browser, I just happen to read their blogs and changelogs, too. I think the previously mentioned suggestion of paying for a VPN service gives the best results with regards to privacy. Whereby not every paid service is, of course, equally good. And then again, what services one chooses depends a lot on their actually security concerns.

[Morkonan]

...Also, just to clarify: I'm by no means recommending the use of the Opera VPN service. As a user of the Opera browser, I just happen to read their blogs and changelogs, too. I think the previously mentioned suggestion of paying for a VPN service gives the best results with regards to privacy. Whereby not every paid service is, of course, equally good. And then again, what services one chooses depends a lot on their actually security concerns.

No, this is all good stuff! I don't use Opera, so had no reason to know about its incorporation of VPN services. I honestly think that's great as these sorts of things are becoming more commonly needed, these days. It's only going to get worse, too, until the realization that continuing to force users to have their information exposed and tracked in order to make money is going to allow them to be exposed and tracked by people who also want to make money... using much more intrusive means. Note "much more intrusive." I didn't say they weren't "equally" as destructive. I don't want some commercial concern dictating what I see, where I can go, and how I have to get there in terms of my internet experience anymore than I want some 1337 haxxxors hijacking my system. Both = bad.

So, all in all, this is cool stuff, bro!

The one thing people should know is that improved security doesn't mean that they are then able to take more risks. The wolves are always wolves to the sheep and everyone is capable of being one of the sheep, especially the overconfident.