Pros and cons of using a Vpn.
- Thread starter Boomerang
- Start date
- Location
- Hammerwich
Its included for free as part of Norton. That's what I use at home and what is installed at me parents, not that they even know that.
Pro
a good vpn protects your private info/data.
it allows you to access geo-blocked content ie if your were on holiday outside the UK and wanted to watch something on the IPlayer you could .
cons
it slows your internet down slightly
it costs money for a good one
there no such thing as free, some were, some one, is making money off you.
while all VPN offer the same basic thing they all offer it slightly different ways and it really depends on what you want the VPN for. If i was downloading loads of Bit Torrent files i would be looking different a features set, to wanting stream netflix usa in the UK, to wanting to keep my info out of the corporate/government eyes
a good vpn protects your private info/data.
it allows you to access geo-blocked content ie if your were on holiday outside the UK and wanted to watch something on the IPlayer you could .
cons
it slows your internet down slightly
it costs money for a good one
there no such thing as free, some were, some one, is making money off you.
while all VPN offer the same basic thing they all offer it slightly different ways and it really depends on what you want the VPN for. If i was downloading loads of Bit Torrent files i would be looking different a features set, to wanting stream netflix usa in the UK, to wanting to keep my info out of the corporate/government eyes
MrKip
Member
- Location
- Shady town of Burnley
Just be careful with some of the VPNs which promise you can watch Netflix, Prime Video, etc in other countries. I was listening to a security podcast the other week which was discussing some shady practices by some of the newer/cheaper VPN companies which have popped up lately.
Basically, the VPN software you install from the provider allows other VPN users (on the company’s network) to use your IP address for browsing and other things. Also, some of these VPN providers also rent out your IP address to businesses/users who need residential IP addresses and proxies.
You might be wondering why someone would want to use your IP address? Well, Netflix & Amazon and their like, actively block most of the big VPN providers IP addresses. One way around this is to distribute your traffic via a residential IP address as it would mimic how a regular Netflix/Prime video user would view a video legitimatly in their own country.
Also, a residential IP address is less likely to have ended up some spamming/rogue web bot blacklist. So, it’s quite possible that the people hiring your residential IP might be up to no good
The bigger and better VPN providers just use hired servers as their endpoints. They don’t route traffic back through your or their customers residential IP addresses. The downside of using servers as VPN end points is that it’s easy for video streaming providers to block them.
The VPN business has grown massively in recent years and it’s now quite a big industry. Also, it's an unregulated industry so it's a bit of wild west at present. There’s loads of new players entering the market and not all of them have your best interest at heart.
So before investing, check the TOS and reviews for any VPN company you have your eye. But be aware, many of these newer VPN companies are paying people to post fake good reviews.
I can thoroughly recommend these two well established companies. I’ve used the both in the past:
https://airvpn.org/
https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/
Also, they paid me handsomely to write this comment. Only joking
Basically, the VPN software you install from the provider allows other VPN users (on the company’s network) to use your IP address for browsing and other things. Also, some of these VPN providers also rent out your IP address to businesses/users who need residential IP addresses and proxies.
You might be wondering why someone would want to use your IP address? Well, Netflix & Amazon and their like, actively block most of the big VPN providers IP addresses. One way around this is to distribute your traffic via a residential IP address as it would mimic how a regular Netflix/Prime video user would view a video legitimatly in their own country.
Also, a residential IP address is less likely to have ended up some spamming/rogue web bot blacklist. So, it’s quite possible that the people hiring your residential IP might be up to no good
The bigger and better VPN providers just use hired servers as their endpoints. They don’t route traffic back through your or their customers residential IP addresses. The downside of using servers as VPN end points is that it’s easy for video streaming providers to block them.
The VPN business has grown massively in recent years and it’s now quite a big industry. Also, it's an unregulated industry so it's a bit of wild west at present. There’s loads of new players entering the market and not all of them have your best interest at heart.
So before investing, check the TOS and reviews for any VPN company you have your eye. But be aware, many of these newer VPN companies are paying people to post fake good reviews.
I can thoroughly recommend these two well established companies. I’ve used the both in the past:
https://airvpn.org/
https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/
Also, they paid me handsomely to write this comment. Only joking
ollie989898
Member
The first question is what do you want/need it for??
Boomerang
Member
isn't that obvious , privacy and security. can't be too careful . these pooters can have eyes, ears .
ollie989898
Member
Well yeah, but I was more wondering if it was more for a third party application type dealie or something specific like that. A lot of browsers have VPNs built in now and can be turned on/off with a mouseclick. For the ultimate you can just use Tor.
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