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VPN recomendation

M

Moohooya

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 11, 2010
26
10
Given the potential changes to internet privacy I am pondering using a VPN. Being reasonably lazy, I'd much rather this was a set it and forget it, so I didn't have to worry about turning it on and off when concerned about privacy (as I'd likely forget.)

What do folks use that is inexpensive (doesn't have to be free, but not sure I want to spend $100 a year either), has unlimited data, and is fast enough I'm not going to turn it off by the end of the first week using it.

I have two iOS devices and an OSX device - ideally one subscription to rule them all.

Thanks
 
Moohooya said:
Given the potential changes to internet privacy I am pondering using a VPN. Being reasonably lazy, I'd much rather this was a set it and forget it, so I didn't have to worry about turning it on and off when concerned about privacy (as I'd likely forget.)

What do folks use that is inexpensive (doesn't have to be free, but not sure I want to spend $100 a year either), has unlimited data, and is fast enough I'm not going to turn it off by the end of the first week using it.

I have two iOS devices and an OSX device - ideally one subscription to rule them all.

Thanks
Click to expand...

I prefer Opera VPN: https://goo.gl/zo0Lct

It's free, blocks ads and trackers and Opera is awesome company.
 
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I do use VPN Unlimited. They have a lot of servers around the world and some of them are eligible for torrent use and they have an App for nearly every Device. The Lifetime license is frequenty on sale via StackSocial for I think around 30-40$ with 5 devices included.

I do find that most of the servers have pretty good speeds. I tend to have to reconnect around midnight on my iPad every time and I do not know why. Their US based streaming server tends to be painfully slow at times. But overall I am quite happy.

For your further research. torrentfreak.com sends an annually questioner to VPN Companies. You could look at that to see what other firms are out there.
 
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Goatllama said:
Any thoughts on the part in this more recent article about "[t]hey funnel all user traffic through one point, so they are an attractive target for hackers and spies?" Is this something to worry about / are there ways to deter this?
Click to expand...

I'm not overly worried. It is hard to stop the government from prying event using tor, see http://m.slashdot.org/story/323275

Personally I'm more interested in stopping my search and browse history being sold - would my appetite for local craft beer be sold to my auto insurance who then raise my premiums, or my use of job sites sold to my current employer?

Sure I'll get myself on some list, along with millions of other people. That would be a lot of warrants if they wanted to search all the computers of all people who use a VPN, and they won't find anything of their interest on mine.

If you have something you want to hide from the government, don't store it electronically, or ensure it is on a non networked system. Otherwise don't be surprised if one day down the road they come knocking.

So if a hacker or spy hacks the VPN server, let them know I like craft beer, where I bank and how often I shop at amazon. Using a separate email address for the VPN account would add one more layer of protection, making it harder for them to know who I was, and so harder to sell the info to by auto insurance and employer. (I'm sure you can easily figure out a single user just by their network traffic, but automating that for millions of people with high accuracy I'm hoping is harder.) My bank and Amazon still use TSL so they can't steal my online credentials or banking info.
[doublepost=1490845731][/doublepost]Thanks for the suggestions. A free VPN is good, but if I can pay $150 and have a lifetime VPN, (I wonder how long lifetime is), and have all outgoing traffic from my router pass through it, that is also a good deal.
 
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pacorob said:
I also love and use Opera VPN but I'm not a frequent user but the times that I've used it it has been working great to watch UK/US content in the Netherlands on my iDevices via their app and it's free, with no subscriptions or ads. I haven't found the catch yet.
Click to expand...
AFAIK, There is no catch. It is encrypted and free. The only information they keep is for debugging.

Here is the Privacy Policy on Data Collection on Opera VPN:

• usage data, like web addresses (but not content of the web pages) and IP address locations;

• a randomly generated identifier used by Opera VPN;

• Device advertising ID;

• Device type;

• Browser type;

• Operating system type;

• IP address with date and time; and

• Any other information that you may share with Opera VPN through communications with Opera VPN via email, telephone, and/or any letters. There may be certain other information that Opera VPN may collect in connection with the Service for which Opera VPN will seek your consent prior to doing so.
 
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Thanks for the detailed response @AstroAtom
Do you also have though that when you open up the app and not turn VPN on that it will still turn on VPN.
Also when you close the app and turn off VPN in the Settings app that it says its off but a few seconds later it is running again in VPN modus. I did find that really annoying though.
 
pacorob said:
Thanks for the detailed response @AstroAtom
Do you also have though that when you open up the app and not turn VPN on that it will still turn on VPN.
Also when you close the app and turn off VPN in the Settings app that it says its off but a few seconds later it is running again in VPN modus. I did find that really annoying though.
Click to expand...
The only issue I have with the app at the moment, is I'll turn it on, and a few minutes later, the VPN turns off
 
Moohooya said:
I'm not overly worried. It is hard to stop the government from prying event using tor, see http://m.slashdot.org/story/323275

Personally I'm more interested in stopping my search and browse history being sold - would my appetite for local craft beer be sold to my auto insurance who then raise my premiums, or my use of job sites sold to my current employer?

Sure I'll get myself on some list, along with millions of other people. That would be a lot of warrants if they wanted to search all the computers of all people who use a VPN, and they won't find anything of their interest on mine.

If you have something you want to hide from the government, don't store it electronically, or ensure it is on a non networked system. Otherwise don't be surprised if one day down the road they come knocking.

So if a hacker or spy hacks the VPN server, let them know I like craft beer, where I bank and how often I shop at amazon. Using a separate email address for the VPN account would add one more layer of protection, making it harder for them to know who I was, and so harder to sell the info to by auto insurance and employer. (I'm sure you can easily figure out a single user just by their network traffic, but automating that for millions of people with high accuracy I'm hoping is harder.) My bank and Amazon still use TSL so they can't steal my online credentials or banking info.
[doublepost=1490845731][/doublepost]Thanks for the suggestions. A free VPN is good, but if I can pay $150 and have a lifetime VPN, (I wonder how long lifetime is), and have all outgoing traffic from my router pass through it, that is also a good deal.
Click to expand...

You can get lifetime VPNs much cheaper than $150 https://stacksocial.com/search?cat=390&query=VPN

As for how long lifetime really will be, yeah, anyone's guess. But some of the companies offering it have been around for a long time.
 
What VPN service is recommended for iPhones in 2017.

Price is not an issue. Looking for something fast, secure and highly rated.

Please advice. Thanks
 
Not a bad price. I have been using ipvanish with laptop and two phones. Not a single problem and the speed is great. Got a good price. YMMV
 
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Just a heads up but if anyone is looking to purchase a VPN service or anything else from IDB (over $50) - here are two 10% off coupons they emailed me that I have no use for:
c9z10gh
r72wzj8

 
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