Why use a VPN

[hargi]

There's been lots of talk recently on here about VPNs and most of you use them and know why.
However for a noob, why would you use one and when? And also how do they generally work.

So to start with say at home do you go through a VPN all the time or just when looking at "dwarfs with vacuum cleaners"?
How's it work with on line shopping etc.

Is it like a program that you start on your desktop and then everything goes through it, or is it logging into a website then going through there?

 

[.SJ]

Why not?

 

[Steveocee]

VPN does have a legitimate purpose. I use one to access a particular network I need for work from home.

 

[Frozennova]

VPN does have a legitimate purpose. I use one to access a particular network I need for work from home.

And I've secured my dedicated server in a way that security critical ports are only accessible from either my home IP address or the servers own IP address, meaning if I'm outside of my home network a VPN is the only way I can access these

 

[meandu229]

And I've secured my dedicated server in a way that security critical ports are only accessible from either my home IP address or the servers own IP address, meaning if I'm outside of my home network a VPN is the only way I can access these

This is my main use, not many ports forwarded but if I VPN into my network I can VNC, RDP, FTP etc to my server/PCs which is very useful.

Also use PIA every now and then to circumvent blocks/shopping in other regions. As long as you check the certificate is correct and the original and using ssl should be safe.

 

[FloppyPoppy]

I use a paid vpn service as I simply like to be sure my data isn't being logged for the principle of the matter. Two reasons I use a paid services though 1: it's not free so I feel they are less likely going to try and benefit from my data like several free vpns have been caught doing in the past. 2 speed in browsing YouTube ect ect I see no speed difference on speed test I've gone from 125 to 115 and my steam downloads for instance reflect that.

 

[hargi]

I think the question should have been how, or when do you use them.
Is it all the time when you are on line or just certain times.

Also dies your iSP know you go through a vpn

 

[r7slayer]

A VPN can be useful for all sorts of reasons, If you stream tv shows or films you may find netflix or other streaming services won't let you stream certain content such as American TV shows unless your based in the US. Using a VPN to connect to an american server gets around this problem.

Also sometimes online gaming where you connect to servers across the world, for example again US servers. You may find that you connect in an inefficient way that adds 100ms ping to your connection. A VPN can mitigate this issue by making a more direct connection to the server and reducing your ping. This doesn't always work though.

And the main reason for using a VPN is anonymity on the internet. Your data/traffic is encrypted which makes using the internet more secure.

And now you may find ISPs are starting to filter/block certain sites, a couple gaming sites i use and a few hacking sites i use for educational purposes are blocked. So using a VPN gets around this for me quite easily.

Another great use is, if your out and about using your mobile/tablet/laptop and you want to use the internet either mobile internet or free Wi-Fi to check emails, Facebook or online banking for example. Your'e potentially leaving your self open to eavesdroppers, so connecting to a VPN here makes you much more secure than without.

 

[r7slayer]

I think the question should have been how, or when do you use them.
Is it all the time when you are on line or just certain times.

Also dies your iSP know you go through a vpn

ISPs could potentially tell if your'e using a VPN. Now if they do log or do check is not something i can give a definite answer to but i would say i doubt they do as it serves no purpose for them to check. If they did find you using a VPN they cannot monitor your traffic.

Also another great reason to use a VPN is torrenting(if your using it for non legal purposes lol)

And if the VPN allows it as quite a few frown upon allowing torrenting on thier networks. A few don't mind however. But atleast no one can monitor if you are torrenting anymore.

 

[Semple]

I think the question should have been how, or when do you use them.
Is it all the time when you are on line or just certain times.

Also dies your iSP know you go through a vpn

Chrome/Firefox have VPN extensions you can install, this will only encrypt the traffic from the browser though. Installing VPN software will encrypt all traffic.

There's no point "selectively" using a VPN, if you need one, use it all the time.

The ISP may be able to log the connection to a VPN service, but all traffic is encrypted, so it won't be able to see what data is travelling between - something the intelligent services are consistently moaning about.

 

[Avalon]

In general if you are doing anything you'd rather not broadcast to everyone else on the planet then use a VPN.

Examples include if you need to misrepresent your geographic location for regionally restricted services eg you're abroad and want to pull BBC iPlayer stuff and are a UK TV licence holder but abroad on holiday etc. or wish to watch region restricted streaming content from a paid service.

If you happen to be inclined to download/stream content of questionable legality such as torrents or online streaming services that are on blocked lists, then use a VPN, the latest example of Sky having to hand over customer details following a court order from a rights holder who produces adult content should make it clear why this is a good idea.

For the pittance it costs to have a VPN service each year I now view it as an essential step in privacy and freedom, allowing me to use services available in other countries that due to draconian rights issues i'm otherwise prevented from accessing despite paying for as well as protecting my privacy when on public wifi etc.

 

[FloppyPoppy]

ISPs could potentially tell if your'e using a VPN. Now if they do log or do check is not something i can give a definite answer to but i would say i doubt they do as it serves no purpose for them to check. If they did find you using a VPN they cannot monitor your traffic.

Also another great reason to use a VPN is torrenting(if your using it for non legal purposes lol)

And if the VPN allows it as quite a few frown upon allowing torrenting on thier networks. A few don't mind however. But atleast no one can monitor if you are torrenting anymore.

^ Mainly free services frown upon this. You will find most once paid for actively support your P2P traffic. some in fact offer proxys for just the likes of utorrent on OP servers running socks5.

 

[emmalopez]

There's many reasons for using them:
Encrypting data from public networks and your ISP.
Encrypting p2p traffic.
Connecting to devices at your home from any other network, by means of VNC and SSH.
Bypassing region locked content on the internet.
And hiding your location.
How VPNs work is through tunneling, which means encrypting your internet traffic starting from your device and stopping at the VPN provider, with use of end-to-end encryption. What the program does is sits at the top of your IP address and spoofs it with an IP provided by the VPN, while encrypting your traffic at the same time. Some VPNs also provide an 'internet kill switch', which, in the event of your VPN being unable to connect, will block your internet connection from going in or out, to prevent any unencrypted data from being sent. The only connection that will be allowed, is the VPN's server request, and your connection will be restored as soon as it is able to get a reply from the server and reconnect to the VPN.

 

[joeyjojo]

And the main reason for using a VPN is anonymity on the internet. Your data/traffic is encrypted which makes using the internet more secure.

VPNs are not a strong way of anonymising your internet traffic. The VPN company have all your data, and the systems on the other end can still form a profile of you.

https://www.torproject.org/docs/faq.html.en#IsTorLikeAVPN

They're only really useful for connecting to a remote machine, spoofing your location, or extra security over an untrusted network (e.g. public wifi hotspot).

 

[Neil79]

Yes and from what has been said on the TV re TOR they are more likely to be on the watch list, because of TOR's reputation for hiding criminal activity

 

[glenimp617]

VPNs have lots of uses. I used one for work.

I also host my own server to the outside world which is secured by an VPN SSL tunnel via a webpage. This is for paying customers who require absolute security.

Then I pay for one myself to access various regions for netflix, and mainly buying cheap xbox one games from columbia (ie: star wars battlefront ultimate for £20)