Is having a VPN worth it?

[Buckman]

Got an email out of the blue regarding discounted priced for some VPNs. One of them was NordVPN starting at £2.29 for the first 27 months, but after that it starts at £104.28 annually. It seems to get very good reviews. There are others that are cheaper, but the question is whether a VPN is okay for domestic use and what are the advantages? Thanks.

 

[RogerL]

Got an email out of the blue regarding discounted priced for some VPNs. One of them was NordVPN starting at £2.29 for the first 27 months, but after that it starts at £104.28 annually. It seems to get very good reviews. There are others that are cheaper, but the question is whether a VPN is okay for domestic use and what are the advantages? Thanks.

Disadvantages of using a VPN include slower internet speeds due to encryption and routing, potential security risks with untrustworthy or free VPNs, and the possibility of being blocked by certain websites or services. Additionally, VPNs can increase data usage, may have compatibility issues with some devices or applications, and are illegal in some countries

 

[Buckman]

Disadvantages of using a VPN include slower internet speeds due to encryption and routing, potential security risks with untrustworthy or free VPNs, and the possibility of being blocked by certain websites or services. Additionally, VPNs can increase data usage, may have compatibility issues with some devices or applications, and are illegal in some countries

I thought one fo the ideas of a VPN was an extra layer of security? The NordVPN is not free, but take your point about free VPNs. Never heard of a VPN blocking certain websites as one of its main features seems to be preventing websites from identifying your location i.e. country? As far as I am aware, there is no restriction on VPNs in the UK?

 

[otherclive]

I use the Apple VPN, and previously used Bitdefender Antibirus where you got 200mb free VPN usage per day. So I switched it on only if away from home in public places like cafes, pubs etc. But the next level up Bitdefender gives unlimited VPN in many countries as part of its premium package for £59.99 pa in year 1. I found some websites would not respond with VPN switched on.

 

[Jcloughie]

I use F-Secure. Because I get a package at a discounted price as I had a Virgin contract. (please don’t tell them I have not been with them for 3 years). I get the VPN, a password manager, browser protection, WiFi protection, SMS protection. Banking protection and Email monitoring.

I can install it on up to 5 devices. It seems to work fine.

A granddaughter has Nord which she has installed on my Apple TV, she also has an F1 subscription. By combining the two I get to watch F1 as though I was in Houston.

John

 

[RogerL]

I thought one fo the ideas of a VPN was an extra layer of security? The NordVPN is not free, but take your point about free VPNs. Never heard of a VPN blocking certain websites as one of its main features seems to be preventing websites from identifying your location i.e. country? As far as I am aware, there is no restriction on VPNs in the UK?

It's not the VPN blocking a website - it's the other way round with certain websites detecting and blocking the use of VPNs.

 

[Sam Vimes]

Got an email out of the blue regarding discounted priced for some VPNs. One of them was NordVPN starting at £2.29 for the first 27 months, but after that it starts at £104.28 annually. It seems to get very good reviews. There are others that are cheaper, but the question is whether a VPN is okay for domestic use and what are the advantages? Thanks.

Personally for a home user I think its a waste of money and don't bother. It can add an extra layer of annonimity since your actual IP address will be masked but I wouldn't say that there's much more in the way of added security. Especially if you've set your browser to always use DNS over HTTPS.

Its not going to block spam or viruses or more commonly Phishing. And security agencies may still request what you've been looking at from the VPN service.

Now that certain, lets say adult web sites, are doing age verification within the UK and Europe the take up of VPNs was boosted as people wanted a way around it. You can select a VPN server that gives the appearance you're in another country.

 

[otherclive]

Personally for a home user I think its a waste of money and don't bother. It can add an extra layer of annonimity since your actual IP address will be masked but I wouldn't say that there's much more in the way of added security. Especially if you've set your browser to always use DNS over HTTPS.

Its not going to block spam or viruses or more commonly Phishing. And security agencies may still request what you've been looking at from the VPN service.

Now that certain, lets say adult web sites, are doing age verification within the UK and Europe the take up of VPNs was boosted as people wanted a way around it. You can select a VPN server that gives the appearance you're in another country.

So it’s not just Formula 1 that can be viewed by your VPN saying you are abroad. Funny how every new restriction leads to workarounds. Me , I’d be happy to watch the Autumn Internationals for free, as it is I can only watch the Wales matches free on S4C and hopefully listen to a radio broadcast in English with the tv sound on mute. 😂

 

[Buckman]

Thanks it seems my question ed as been answered and not to bother with a VPN.

 

[Sam Vimes]

If you really want to try one the Proton VPN is free but has a limited amount of countries you can pretend to be in. I've used it occassionally - honestly just to see what it was about.

Proton VPN

 

[Johnb]

Thanks it seems my question ed as been answered and not to bother with a VPN.

Have to smile!

You've had, I think, opinions given by 5 practical Caravan Forum members. Of course in no way would I presume to cast any doubt whatsoever on their posted opinions. We all have every right to our own opinion that goes without saying.
However it's good to find someone who reads a thread in a Caravanning Forum and forms an opinion from half a dozen posted views. Wish life was so simple for all of us!

Just for information I have a VPN (Nord) and have had for a number of years. I find the password manager to be useful. My browsing speed is unaffected by the VPN. A VPN can provide an extra level of security - it encrypts your internet traffic ensuring it is unreadable to hackers and, of course, your ISP. Yes I can appear to log in from dozens of countries and my real IP is masked.

Of course no VPN should be seen as the ultimate security. They do not "completely protect" but you may decide the extra cover that comes with them worth the cost.

Well - obviously you won't but maybe others will.

 

[GUMPY]

Thanks it seems my question ed as been answered and not to bother with a VPN.

Depends entirely on what you want to view.😲
There has been a massive VPN take up in the UK since the government insisted on age verification on porn sites.
Opera browser has a free VPN.

 

[Woodentop]

If the OP is handy with computers and knows what he is doing with them he can build a Raspberry Pi as a VPN, leave it connected and plugged in at home, and use OpenVPN wherever you venture. Open VPN will access your RPi and route the address you want as if you were in the UK. As your addressing will be unique there is almost zero chance of you being blocked. Means you can access bbc.co.uk from anywhere and not bbc.com which they force you to use from outside the UK.

 

[Sam Vimes]

You need quite a bit of Savvy to setup a Raspbery Pi. If you can then a better option would be set set it up using Pi-hole in conjunction with Wireguard as a VPN. That way you can block ads as well.

Lot of effort for limited return in my opinion as there are easier ways.

 

[Buckman]

Have to smile!

You've had, I think, opinions given by 5 practical Caravan Forum members. Of course in no way would I presume to cast any doubt whatsoever on their posted opinions. We all have every right to our own opinion that goes without saying.
However it's good to find someone who reads a thread in a Caravanning Forum and forms an opinion from half a dozen posted views. Wish life was so simple for all of us!

Just for information I have a VPN (Nord) and have had for a number of years. I find the password manager to be useful. My browsing speed is unaffected by the VPN. A VPN can provide an extra level of security - it encrypts your internet traffic ensuring it is unreadable to hackers and, of course, your ISP. Yes I can appear to log in from dozens of countries and my real IP is masked.

Of course no VPN should be seen as the ultimate security. They do not "completely protect" but you may decide the extra cover that comes with them worth the cost.

Well - obviously you won't but maybe others will.

I understand where you are coming from and agree with your post about forming an opinion. I have Eset and mainly browse the Internet to read the newspapers. Occasionally I will try and do a bit of research on something I may want to buy. The NordVPN at £2.28 is a good deal, but then after the 27 months at +£100 I don't think it is worth it for me. From what I gather a VPN still does not prevent Malware etc., but Eset does?

 

[Jcloughie]

I understand where you are coming from and agree with your post about forming an opinion. I have Eset and mainly browse the Internet to read the newspapers. Occasionally I will try and do a bit of research on something I may want to buy. The NordVPN at £2.28 is a good deal, but then after the 27 months at +£100 I don't think it is worth it for me. From what I gather a VPN still does not prevent Malware etc., but Eset does?

Not all VPN packages are equal. Some, like mine, provide a suite of programs. This is what makes it attractive to me, well that, plus getting it at a discount.

This is my package. I am not pushing it. There may well be better packages out there.



I pay £45 as a Virgin customer.

John

 

[Tobes]

Have to smile!

You've had, I think, opinions given by 5 practical Caravan Forum members. Of course in no way would I presume to cast any doubt whatsoever on their posted opinions. We all have every right to our own opinion that goes without saying.
However it's good to find someone who reads a thread in a Caravanning Forum and forms an opinion from half a dozen posted views. Wish life was so simple for all of us!

Just for information I have a VPN (Nord) and have had for a number of years. I find the password manager to be useful. My browsing speed is unaffected by the VPN. A VPN can provide an extra level of security - it encrypts your internet traffic ensuring it is unreadable to hackers and, of course, your ISP. Yes I can appear to log in from dozens of countries and my real IP is masked.

Of course no VPN should be seen as the ultimate security. They do not "completely protect" but you may decide the extra cover that comes with them worth the cost.

Well - obviously you won't but maybe others will.

I totally agree with the idea that forming an opinion based on the unqualified opinion of fellow forum members does seem odd.

A VPN only encrypts your traffic to the other end of the VPN. Then it’s open to the internet.
The only value of a VPN is to change either your IP address as it appears in the internet, or to change the apparent geographical location of your internet presence. Any other value comes from the additional capabilities surrounding the VPN (add blocker, additional firewall, inline IDS, IPS).

My credentials for the above comment is 30 years in the computer networking industry, the last 26 of which have been as a senior systems architect for the largest networking vendor on the planet.

 

[Buckman]

I totally agree with the idea that forming an opinion based on the unqualified opinion of fellow forum members does seem odd.

A VPN only encrypts your traffic to the other end of the VPN. Then it’s open to the internet.
The only value of a VPN is to change either your IP address as it appears in the internet, or to change the apparent geographical location of your internet presence. Any other value comes from the additional capabilities surrounding the VPN (add blocker, additional firewall, inline IDS, IPS).

My credentials for the above comment is 30 years in the computer networking industry, the last 26 of which have been as a senior systems architect for the largest networking vendor on the planet.

Just to add I also got opinions from other sources. My usage does not seem to warrant the outlay of a VPN even though it is minimal.

 

[Sam Vimes]

At a slight tangent to the discussion....

Many new PCs come with what many call Bloatware. Programs that you didn't really ask for and in many cases don't really need.

Typical of these are Anti-virus type programs which have now expanded into covering many other aspects of security. Most of which, in the case of Windows, is already handled by the operating system.

These programs are usually free to start with and then you get nagged to buy a subscription. Many people I know don't understand what's going on under the hood and just sign up to a subscription for something they don't really need.

AI apps/programs will most likely be the next. They are appearing on some machines already and the free services are limited and then you'll get nagged to buy the subscription.

 

[Buckman]

At a slight tangent to the discussion....

Many new PCs come with what many call Bloatware. Programs that you didn't really ask for and in many cases don't really need.

Typical of these are Anti-virus type programs which have now expanded into covering many other aspects of security. Most of which, in the case of Windows, is already handled by the operating system.

These programs are usually free to start with and then you get nagged to buy a subscription. Many people I know don't understand what's going on under the hood and just sign up to a subscription for something they don't really need.

AI apps/programs will most likely be the next. They are appearing on some machines already and the free services are limited and then you'll get nagged to buy the subscription.

Good points. I remove as much as the bloatware as possible and only subscription I pay for at the moment is Eset anti virus.

 

[Sam Vimes]

Good points. I remove as much as the bloatware as possible and only subscription I pay for at the moment is Eset anti virus.

If you're happy paying for Eset that's your choice but personally I wouldn't bother. Just let Windows Defender and Malwarebytes (free) do it.

To be honest viruses are low down on the list of threats these days in my opinion. Phising is more likely to get better results for the Black Hats. Clicking on dubious links on webs sites another.

People in front of the keyboard are the weakest link these days as well.

 

[GUMPY]

PEBCAK!

 

[RogerL]

If you're happy paying for Eset that's your choice but personally I wouldn't bother. Just let Windows Defender and Malwarebytes (free) do it.

I used to pay for ESET but changed a couple of years ago and just use Windows Defender (free), Avast (free) and Spybot (free).

 

[Beachball]

Also with Windows Defender and Malwarebytes and free that a no brainer.