What's the deal with a VPN? Do I need a VPN for personal use?

[ExtraSlow]

Hey, so I've used VPN's previously for work, to access company network drives. No issues there.

Maybe we've all been seeing too many YouToob adverts, but VPN's have come up in family discussions recently. But honestly, what are the benefits for personal use? I can maybe get cheaper streaming subscriptions or something? If I got the teens and kids using teh intarweb soshuls is a VPN good?

What do I need to know about a VPN?

[2Legit2Quit]

Masking your virtual footprint, if you want any of your online activity to appear that it's coming from another country/location. Depends on if you care about this or not.

Torrents, anything you download would be tracked/associated with the VPN endpoint you're connected to opposed to your local IP that would be assigned from your ISP.

Streaming services, do you want to watch US netflix? Connect to a US endpoint and stream netflix, and so on for other countries.

Getting around geo locked content, some content whether it's text or video can be locked to only display if your IP is from whatever country they're checking for.

Signing up for services unique to other parts of the world...ex. Youtube premium subscription, you can get a cheaper monthly cost if you sign up under a country that has a cheaper rate.

So pretty much hiding what you're doing or taking advantage of appearing you're in another part of the world.

[littledan]

I just need someone to mansplain to me how to download skysports app on my firestick so I can watch premier league games without subscribing to fubo like a dumb fuk

[Xtrema]

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What do I need to know about a VPN?

1) When you travel and attached to random wifi, may be nice to stay in a tunnel. +1 to tunnel back home and surf from your home connection.

2) When you want to pirate without getting nasty notifications from ISP

3) Trying to spoof your location (for various reasons)

Pick your poison on which VPN to use.

[msommers]

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I just need someone to mansplain to me how to download skysports app on my firestick so I can watch premier league games without subscribing to fubo like a dumb fuk

Also want to know this...

And streaming F1 would be nice too

Also what VPNs are even fast enough for torrenting?

[firebane]

What people don't tell you is that there is a good and dark side to vpns.

https://www.techradar.com/news/whats...at-we-now-know

personally the use of a VPN for personal use is not necessary

[ExtraSlow]

I've had my AHS medical data exposed as part of a breach, and all of our credit and financial data is terrifically insecure. I can't see any way in which a VPN membership makes that situation worse.

[killramos]

Yea VPN’s seem incognito, except you are just changing who you give all your data to lol

Depends if you trust your vpn provider more than your ISP?

Not exactly an onion router.

[firebane]

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I've had my AHS medical data exposed as part of a breach, and all of our credit and financial data is terrifically insecure. I can't see any way in which a VPN membership makes that situation worse.

It won't make it better. Breaches or data is from other sources than something you did.

[taemo]

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Also want to know this...

And streaming F1 would be nice too

Also what VPNs are even fast enough for torrenting?

I have been using PrivateVPN for a couple of years and have torrented something from the bay through it at full Shaw speed.

there's a few guide on how to side load Sky sports on the firestick, whether you trust the source is another question though.

[Thaco]

[mr2mike]

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I just need someone to mansplain to me how to download skysports app on my firestick so I can watch premier league games without subscribing to fubo like a dumb fuk

Try this. Used to work for me with Kodi when I would sideload it.
https://www.firesticktricks.com/side...firestick.html

Only thing I don't know is the location to get the skysports app url. Someone else can probably PM that to you.

[thetransporter]

Opera browser has built in free vpn

[davidI]

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And streaming F1 would be nice too

Just get F1TV Live.

I actually use a VPN from Spain to use a Canadian F1TV Account because it's only like C$60 vs like 300€ for a cable subscription here (F1TV Live not available because Movistar locked up the rights).

[eblend]

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I've had my AHS medical data exposed as part of a breach, and all of our credit and financial data is terrifically insecure. I can't see any way in which a VPN membership makes that situation worse.

VPN isn't helping you in this situation. They got hacked, your use of VPN has nothing to do with that aspect at all. Most all online communication happens via HTTPS nowadays, so all data is already encrypted anyways. VPN is mostly for paranoid people, or those who want to get around geo-blocking. I have access to free VPN service as part of my usenet subscription, I don't use it at all. I much prefer to talk to my bank over a secure HTTPS connection than to route it through some no name VPN provider, but that's just me. Without VPN, a firewall log would show YOUR HOUSE IP --> YOUR BANK IP over HTTPS, and that's the end of that. It doesn't know what happened in the communication stream, it just knows it happened. With VPN, it will just show YOUR VPN IP --> YOUR BANK IP over HTTPs...same deal, just your IP is not exposed to the bank directly in this example.

All the shit they say in those VPN commercials are just scare tactics to get people to sign up, when in reality most uses are for geo-blocking. If you live in China and want to access Google, VPN is what you would need. I used my VPN once...to sign up for YouTube premium at $3.15 CAD a month, or whatever it is in Indian Rupees. Also used VPN in the past for USA/Japan Netflix. It's great for those things, but I would probably more hesitant with routing my personal secure data over VPN than just doing it directly.

[Kloubek]

It's not useful for most people in most instances. I've run VPN-less for a multitude of internet activity, including dl'ing and streaming pirated material.

However, there's always that slight chance you might get looked at from the authorities or my ISP, so in those cases, it's probably a good idea.

I just installed my first VPN (Chrome Extension) 2 weeks ago. It was required to watch my hockey games on NHL66.ir as this year they added geographical restrictions. (Which, as a side note, is an AMAZING website to stream any NHL game. Just make sure you're ready to close down any ads or redirections that come up)

[ExtraSlow]

Yeah, OK thanks everyone that's all been really clear. Maybe worth it so I can pay for disney+ from Argentina or whatever. But not needed for security.

[eblend]

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It's not useful for most people in most instances. I've run VPN-less for a multitude of internet activity, including dl'ing and streaming pirated material.

However, there's always that slight chance you might get looked at from the authorities or my ISP, so in those cases, it's probably a good idea.

Ditto. If you use encrypted protocols though, all they can say is that you had a connection between two IPs, yours and the destination, but not what kind of traffic you are moving. I have been using SSL encrypted usenet for YEARS without VPN, 0 issues.