The title says it all. I need pros/cons, good news, bad news. I've never used one before.

I use ExpressVPN. All the reviews made it seem like a good choice. I picked the yearly plan, works just like it should. Open the app pick where I want the internet to think I am and activate. Super easy, doesn't slow down my connection. easy to change to many destinations including overseas. Works seamlessly in the background. I have no cons. I am a very basic vpn user, but it does exactly what I want it do without minimal fuss.

I use Wireguard for point-to-point, network-to-network tunneling, and ad hoc access to my home LAN from arbitrary locations. I previously used OpenVPN, I like Wireguard better, but OpenVPN is a fine choice for this application.

For the usual "home to the world" VPN stuff, I use Proton. Yes, only available with a paid plan, but it passes the sniff test better than the other commercial offerings I've looked at, and I'm already invested in the Proton universe. Many of the commercial VPN "packages" also include ad blocking, virus scanning, and other "safety features" that are not part of an actual VPN. I don't trust this sort of silent aggregation.

For over a decade, I had a VPN called TunnelBear. It was reasonably priced ($60/year), could install on multiple devices (e.g. my laptop and my iPhone), and most importantly extremely simple to set-up and use. I've used it in US, Canada, Germany, Belgium, UK, and Japan. PC World says TunnelBear is "just right for beginners."

Last summer, I had a longish business trip to India and that is when I learned India had a crazy VPN law. Due to the law, TunnelBear wasn unable to provide service in India and I needed to be able to securely check financial websites over the hotel's network. I have to go to India 1x or more per year for work so I've switched VPNs to one not as easy to use and more expensive. I'd still have TunnelBear if not for this.

There are literally a dozen reviews online for VPNs. I realize we like SF opinions and experiences.

I have been researching, and believe NordVPN may be ideal. The Swedish VPN sounds good--was on a dozen Reddit threads--but it has limitations.

I think NordVPN is running a special for about $9 per month now.

VPNs can be annoying sometimes. One of the more major annoyances is that some of the the streaming providers block VPN IP addresses. This is not apparent (obviously) in the VPN's advertising materials.

I've also had hassles completing captchas when behind a VPN.

Here's a link to a review of VPNs that allow access to Netflix. It's a bit dated, but take it for what it's worth.


https://www.pcworld.com/articl...reaming-netflix.html

I've been using Proton VPN for a couple of years now and like it. Youtube doesn't like it, won't work for me with the VPN on, so...oh well, no more youtube for me, not that I'm complaining about more de-googling. Aside from them it works on all the rest of my streaming.

Thanks. This is the type info I am looking for.

quote:

Originally posted by IntrepidTraveler:
VPNs can be annoying sometimes. One of the more major annoyances is that some of the the streaming providers block VPN IP addresses. This is not apparent (obviously) in the VPN's advertising materials.

I've also had hassles completing captchas when behind a VPN.

Here's a link to a review of VPNs that allow access to Netflix. It's a bit dated, but take it for what it's worth.


https://www.pcworld.com/articl...reaming-netflix.html

Thanks for the link. I’m also thinking about a VPN and the article you linked gave a good comparison of the various options.

One question I have is what value is having a website believe you’re in France or Canada versus where you live in the US?

I prefer Surfshark because I can use it on however many devices I want to. The other idea is going with Aura which will cut down on your junk mail and give you a VPN at the same time.

I run a Raspberry Pi with pi-hole and piVPN using WireGuard. This allows me to have ad blocking and use foreign WiFi networks when I’m not at home. It also gives me remote access to my home server if needed.

For me personally, I like to watch NHL games but a lot of times they black out the local to me teams. I have satellite and tried the nhl center ice package and still had many black outs. There is a sports gambling site that aggregates the nhl feeds and allows me to watch any game. The problem is that since its not exactly a “legal” rebroadcast, some of the feeds from NHL network are blocked by the broadcaster. The Japanese feed and the german feed are not blocked. So I use the vpn to trick the website into thinking im logging in from Japan to bypass the blackout.
There are also county specific websites for amazon and other shopping sites. You can set your vpn to a different country and unlock “local” shopping. Im sure there are other reasons, but those are what i use.

quote:

Originally posted by mark123:
I run a Raspberry Pi with pi-hole and piVPN using WireGuard. This allows me to have ad blocking and use foreign WiFi networks when I’m not at home. It also gives me remote access to my home server if needed.

this is exactly what I do, only I run my VPN from PFSense/OPNsense instead of the RPi.

It's free and connection is always fast since the VPN host is on a really fast machine.

quote:

Originally posted by Fredward:
Thanks. This is the type info I am looking for.

but what are your goals with the VPN? What is it that you want to do and why?

this might help narrow down the many options that you are getting.

quote:

Originally posted by radioman:
What is it that you want to do and why?

Valuable advice for any technology-related question, and just about any question. Something that is invariably missing from a "help me!" request.

I suspect the querier is often too deep in the weeds to realize that the people he's asking for help can't read his mind, and why restate the obvious? Except that it is the single most important thing to divulge, maybe there is a solution very different from those previously contemplated.

The whole VPN thing is a case in point. From the ubiquitous advertising, one might be led to believe that "a VPN" is the single solution to all of one's privacy and security concerns when, in fact, there are a multiplicity of threats that cannot be addressed by VPN technology. In fact, inserting an additional party into one's communication profile may well increase the level of threat (e.g. you have to assume your VPN provider has not let themselves be compromised by "hackers" or even nation state actors). "Well, we could make millions by keeping our users data private, or we could just send it all to the NSA, and they'll pay us billions!" Most people can resist anything except temptation.

I've been using NordVPN for 5 years. Easy to use, pretty cheap, not much bad to speak of.

quote:

Originally posted by smlsig:
One question I have is what value is having a website believe you’re in France or Canada versus where you live in the US?

As one example, sometimes location matters re: what a website displays and/or what prices/options are available. Think sports regional blackouts, etc.

My son found that NFL Season Pass was ridiculously cheap when he was studying abroad in Ireland, so he signed up. As soon as he moved back home and signed in from a US IP address, they wanted to block his subscription.

quote:

Originally posted by joel9507:

quote:

Originally posted by smlsig:
One question I have is what value is having a website believe you’re in France or Canada versus where you live in the US?

As one example, sometimes location matters re: what a website displays and/or what prices/options are available. Think sports regional blackouts, etc.

My son found that NFL Season Pass was ridiculously cheap when he was studying abroad in Ireland, so he signed up. As soon as he moved back home and signed in from a US IP address, they wanted to block his subscription.

The YouTuber called Fat Electrician shared recently on one his videos a surprise result from VPN. His channel is military history, and he was researching a war hero in the Scandinavian area. He flipped on his VPN to that specific country and searching with the same terms in Google revealed a treasure trove of new information about the war hero.

In other words, Google and other search engines factor in your location in choosing the results they display.