Still waiting and seeing what happens with possible internet privacy changes in the news to see if I want to go the Virtual Private Network (VPN) route or not. In the meantime, got a few questions that maybe folks who are on a VPN can answer.
1) Is there set up required on the user's side? For example, would I have to make some settings on my router?
2) Does a VPN handle recognized sites transparently? For example, if I use a VPN and the IP has me in the UK instead of USA, does that confuse current sites like Amazon and Vanguard and others with 2FA?
3) Does having a VPN cut down on ads?
Thanks
Just to answer some things in my own [long] way:
1) Yes, setup is required. If you want the communications of your entire home to go through the VPN, then you will need a router that has a "VPN Client" built into it. You configure the router to connect to the VPN so that all devices use it. I don't have a scientific study, but I believe relatively few routers contain this functionality. Odds are that most people have a router without this feature. Alternatively, if you only want a few devices to connect to the VPN, you can configure the VPN Client on the individual devices. Keep in mind that most VPN services only allow a fixed number of concurrent connections (maybe 2-3). Meaning, you can only connect 2-3 devices simultaneously. Also keep in mind that many devices do not have a VPN Client. For example, Amazon Fire TV does not have one. XBOX does not have one.
2) This is a good question, and the answer is no - things are not automagic. If you are in the USA, and you connect your VPN to - say Germany - the Internet is going to think you are in Germany. When you type "www.google.com" into your browser, you are going to get the German version of Google. This will break somethings and not others. For example, there is no problem being from the USA, traveling to Germany and using your Google account with 2FA. The VPN is essentially like going on an instant holiday. However, now that you are in Germany, your subscriptions to Netflix, Hulu, etc will either not work, or work differently. Some shopping sites like Walmart and Khol's also are problematic. Some things are better through an overseas VPN, like MLB.TV which has no blackout restrictions for overseas customers. See below for a solution to this problem.
3) No. As someone else said, it will usually change the ads though. Prepare to get some German ads if you are connected there.
Keep in mind:
1) The current controversy is that your ISP is/might be allowed to snoop on and sell your information. If you want to protect from what your ISP can see, the VPN does not need to connect to an overseas service. For example, if you live in California, you can simply connect to a VPN service in California. This will hide your traffic from your ISP. All of your Internet services will still think you are in California and work like you expect. Even choosing another state will make most things work normally. Somethings won't (like MLB.TV and their blackout restrictions).
2) VPNs can be slow and you will likely notice. For example, I usually have a 30Mbps connection to the Internet. When I connect my VPN, it is often 5Mbps. There are some locations I connect to and only get 1-2 Mbps. There are two main factors: distance and servers. If you connect your VPN from California to Hong Kong, expect it to be slower. The second factor is bigger. The way these VPN services work is that they host a server and allow many customers to connect to that server. The more people they allow to connect to that server, the slower the connection can be. That is because the servers has to encrypt/decrypt all customer traffic putting a lot of strain on the CPU and slowing things down.
3) I don't think many people understand this point: VPNs only protect between you and the VPN server. If you connect a VPN from you home in California to a VPN server in New York, that is where the traffic is encrypted. Let's say you then browse to cnn.com which might have servers in Texas. You're browsing traffic will be encrypted to New York, but then the traffic from NY to Texas will not be. However, you have largely accomplished your goal because your ISP in California can't see it.
Sorry that was so long.