Anyone use a VPN service?

[SecondAttempt]

Almost 2 years ago I was involved with a group online doing research and information gathering for a court case. One of the involved parties was a retired government cyber security researcher, think national labs here. He convinced me of the importance of using a VPN for our work.

Anyway, I signed up for Proton VPN and have generally been happy with it. But in the last few months my financial institutions seem to be locking me out if I try to connect through the VPN. I can understand why Netflix would have a problem with it, though it does not usually lock me out but rather sometimes tells me it knows I am using a VPN.

Has anyone else run into this where your financial institutions (mostly brokerages and mutual fund companies rather than banks) lock you out without explanation from a VPN?

My renewal date is in October and I am questioning whether I should renew. I'm not really paranoid about privacy. Google already knows all my secrets. And I'm not trying to evade regional restrictions on streaming content or anything. It adds a layer of obscurity but I'm not sure I need it. For the court case the argument for it was that we did not want some major tech companies to know what we were researching.

It's not expensive. I would likely renew if not for all the annoying lockouts.

 

[braumeister]

I always use a VPN when traveling. I have 3 or 4 different ones installed, so if one isn't working properly I just use a different one. Most of the time whichever one I have turned on is fine.

 

[EastWest Gal]

We use a VPN through our router. I’ve never had a problem accessing our financial institutions. I avoid financial transactions on my phone except for credit cards.

 

[Time2]

I have used PIA* for several years, I have a buddy that has had it much longer.
I cannot access my bank when it is on.


*Private Internet Access.

 

[misanman]

I recently installed Malwarebytes Privacy vpn. It has worked well so far and I've run into only a couple of instances where I was prevented from accessing a site. Interestingly, one was the local funeral home so I assume they had an interest in knowing who was looking at their obits.

 

[Doribe]

I use Express VPN. This is my first year and have had no issues with is so far.

 

[big-papa]

I use a Cisco VPN from my laptop when travelling or working from home because that's the only way into "the collective".

Don't really see a need for VPN at home, but I use NordVPN when traveling with my personal laptop. I will use my phone for financial transactions when traveling but only when connected to the cellular network.

Cheers
Big-Papa

 

[razztazz]

I have had the above mentioned problem

 

[The Cosmic Avenger]

A VPN is only as secure as the host. If you have confidence in your home network, then you probably only need one while traveling, as others have said. I also just run one off my home router, and log into that with a 40-50 character randomized password. I have heard good things about TunnelBear and NordVPN from others whose opinions I respect, if you want/need an outside service. But I wouldn't expect financial institutions to become more lax about allowing access to your accounts from IP addresses outside the country; in fact I would probably switch banks if they did.

 

[Car-Guy]

In my case SSL/TLS is good enough for my needs/concerns.

I might re-consider if I regularly used my PC's from hotels or public hot spots, etc. But SSL/TLS still covers most of my concerns in such an environment.

 

[foxcreek9]

Good article on why you (probably) don't need a VPN

https://blog.james.cridland.net/why-you-probably-dont-need-a-vpn-e7bb35e7d744

 

[Qs Laptop]

I use SurfShark. It has an app for my phone as well. Both have worked great for me. The only thing that has been glitchy through the Surfshark VPN is using my Amazon Seller account. By "glitchy" I mean it's noticeably slower.

 

[Qs Laptop]

Good article on why you (probably) don't need a VPN

https://blog.james.cridland.net/why-you-probably-dont-need-a-vpn-e7bb35e7d744

The article makes some good points, especially about the VPN company having a lot of info on you that random, remote networks (at coffeeshops, airport, hotel room) can't connect up and attribute to a particular user.

However, this paragraph could be rewritten. Here's the original paragraph:

But they’d better be fine, right? When you log into any VPN, you’re using a username/password, and then they could know exactly which websites you’re visiting and who you are. They know your originating IP address and therefore your location. And if you always use them, you’re handing an awful lot of information and trust to the VPN company. Whoever they are.

Now rewrite it but put "your ISP" in place of "VPN", like this:

But they’d better be fine, right? When you log into your ISP you’re using a username/password, and then they could know exactly which websites you’re visiting and who you are. They know your originating IP address and therefore your location. And if you always use them, you’re handing an awful lot of information and trust to your ISP.

There is another entity that can connect your name, password, location, IP address, browsing history and that's your ISP.

 

[gauss]

I have been playing around with this again recently. Currently I am using the VPN server on my router to allow me into my home network (ie access windows file shares) when I am out and about.

I also explored using the commercial offering of OpenVPN for the server (can't remember if it was Access Server or OpenVPN Cloud), but I think both might allow up to 2 or 3 simultaneous connections without incurring a charge. This may be recognized as a more legitimate service than your current provider (and cheaper), if they meet your needs, in that they are marketed to businesses/enterprises.

-gauss

 

[Sojourner]

I've been a NordVPN user for several years, and I'm pretty happy with it. Not very expensive ($3/month for 24 months, after various discounts and promos), highly rated by independent review sites, and generally works well for all my use cases. Coupled with a good DNS provider (like Cloudflare or OpenDNS), it gives me all the peace of mind I'm looking for when it comes to keeping my web browsing private and secure. I use it anytime I don't want my ISP or WiFi provider (when I'm traveling) to have any visibility into my online activities.

 

[Closet_Gamer]

ExpressVPN. Used it when I was overseas and needed a US IP address as well whenever traveling.

Works well though Google is sometimes finnicky. If you do a Google search with the VPN turned on, it sometimes pops up thing saying theyve detected odd usage from this IP address and asks that you an "I'm not a robot" thing.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

I use PIA every day.

 

[Gotadimple]

The article makes some good points, especially about the VPN company having a lot of info on you that random, remote networks (at coffeeshops, airport, hotel room) can't connect up and attribute to a particular user.

All of this is true, but not necessarily accurate. You can check with the VPN about their privacy policy, what they record, and their obligation to share with government agencies. That becomes one of your criteria for selecting the service. Here is Private Internet Access' (PIA) statement from their website:
"We all need privacy, especially online. Your IP address and your browsing should be hidden from unnecessary surveillance. Rest assured that PIA’s virtual private network never keeps any usage logs — ever."

This VPN allows you to select the server to use. So if you have to do financial transactions when travelling you can establish a connection to one of their US-based servers. That said, the bank may reject your login because it is not coming from your usual IP Address.

- Rita

 

[SecondAttempt]

All of this is true, but not necessarily accurate. You can check with the VPN about their privacy policy, what they record, and their obligation to share with government agencies. That becomes one of your criteria for selecting the service. Here is Private Internet Access' (PIA) statement from their website:
"We all need privacy, especially online. Your IP address and your browsing should be hidden from unnecessary surveillance. Rest assured that PIA’s virtual private network never keeps any usage logs — ever."

This VPN allows you to select the server to use. So if you have to do financial transactions when travelling you can establish a connection to one of their US-based servers. That said, the bank may reject your login because it is not coming from your usual IP Address.

- Rita

Proton VPN is based in Switzerland and benefits from strong Swiss privacy laws. They don't keep any kind of logs. But...I mostly use it through US servers that presumably are required to keep logs. Honestly, I'm not hiding from the US Government so I don't really care about that.

And that is just it. I am using US servers in California and Vanguard, TIAA, and others still block me.

I remember a documentary years ago about US surveillance. The CIA/NSA/whatever-three-letter-agency put a "pin register" on the incoming ATT transpacific cables. This allowed them to know who was calling whom from overseas without violating wiretapping laws. This information helped identify the 9/11 terrorists.

Even if a VPN does not keep logs, that does not mean the NSA is not able to trace connections through the telecoms. This is not a concern of mine. I just want to take reasonable precautions against hackers. I don't have anything to fear from the US Government except raising my taxes!

I only access from my laptop but I do it from many networks, some public, so I think VPN is a good idea. But these companie are making it very annoying!

 

[Qs Laptop]

All of this is true, but not necessarily accurate. You can check with the VPN about their privacy policy, what they record, and their obligation to share with government agencies. That becomes one of your criteria for selecting the service. Here is Private Internet Access' (PIA) statement from their website:
"We all need privacy, especially online. Your IP address and your browsing should be hidden from unnecessary surveillance. Rest assured that PIA’s virtual private network never keeps any usage logs — ever."

This VPN allows you to select the server to use. So if you have to do financial transactions when travelling you can establish a connection to one of their US-based servers. That said, the bank may reject your login because it is not coming from your usual IP Address.

- Rita

Yep. Good advice. If you are going to get a VPN be sure to check their policies about keeping user logs. You want a VPN that doesn't keep user logs and is based out of a country that has user friendly data protection laws.

My point was that if you're not using a VPN your ISP does know your location and browsing history and likely records it and will give it up or could potentially be hacked for that information. The writer of the article should have mentioned this.

 

[SecondAttempt]

My point was that if you're not using a VPN your ISP does know your location and browsing history and likely records it and will give it up or could potentially be hacked for that information.

My ISP is Spectrum. Again, I don't really care if they know which sites I visit. But I think it is becoming increasing common for big companies to get hacked because they hold a lot of valuable data. So my concern now would be that Spectrum gets hacked and hackers then know which sites I freqquent and likely have accounts on.

My company has started sending us "phishing" emails randomly. It is a "service" provided by an outside vendor. I find it extremely annoying but there is nothing I can do about it. Some of the emails I get are VERY convincing because the vendor has access to things like which sites we visit from work and who we email. I'm sure hackers are not too far behind in being able to mine data to produce similarly convincing phishing emails.

 

[mpeirce]

My point was that if you're not using a VPN your ISP does know your location and browsing history and likely records it and will give it up or could potentially be hacked for that information.

If you use Apple products and have iCloud+ you have what they call “private relay” which is in some ways better than a vpn in that no one can track your browsing activity. It’s quite a clever scheme and doesn’t slow your browsing down as a vpn can. You also don’t have to trust a vpn provider.

Normally when you browse the web, information contained in your web traffic, such as your DNS records and IP address, can be seen by your network provider and the websites you visit. This information could be used to determine your identity and build a profile of your location and browsing history over time. iCloud Private Relay is designed to protect your privacy by ensuring that when you browse the web in Safari, no single party—not even Apple—can see both who you are and what sites you're visiting.

When Private Relay is enabled, your requests are sent through two separate, secure internet relays. Your IP address is visible to your network provider and to the first relay, which is operated by Apple. Your DNS records are encrypted, so neither party can see the address of the website you’re trying to visit. The second relay, which is operated by a third-party content provider, generates a temporary IP address, decrypts the name of the website you requested and connects you to the site. All of this is done using the latest internet standards to maintain a high-performance browsing experience while protecting your privacy.​

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT212614

 

[braumeister]

If you use Apple products and have iCloud+ you have what they call “private relay” which is in some ways better than a vpn in that no one can track your browsing activity. It’s quite a clever scheme and doesn’t slow your browsing down as a vpn can. You also don’t have to trust a vpn provider.

This feature is still in beta so it may not work with everything you do.

 

[Qs Laptop]

iCloud Private Relay is designed to protect your privacy by ensuring that when you browse the web in Safari, no single party—not even Apple—can see both who you are and what sites you're visiting.

Yeah... Like a lot of privacy claims by Apple, I guess we just have to take their word on this.

 

[Car-Guy]

Strange to me that so many folks are concerned about their ISP's knowing about their browsing history. I really don't care myself.

So does anyone really believe your VPN service provided doesn't know (log) where you are going once they terminate your VPN session and send your traffic on to it's intended destination?