VPN Providers

[Expat]

I have been with Private Internet Access for several years. It is time to renew and I thought I would check to see what the current state of things is. Anyone have thoughts on which one to go with?

 

[BJHay]

I use Proton Mail for VPN, email and calendar. Their stated priority is security and offer zero access end-to-end encryption. I'm forgetting the details but it's easy to look up. IIR they don't have the encryption key so they can't read your email even if ordered to.
The servers are in Switzerland not the US. Their security reviews are excellent. The cost slides from free to business level service.

I don't think any data is fully secure but I feel better with Proton then with Google.

I've been with them for several years and the only complaint is their service isn't as slick as Googles' but the VPN is easy and works great. Because the encryption key is on your computer instead of theirs there are circumstance where a forgotten password might make the account data unrecoverable.

 

[foszoe]

Proton here

 

[Expat]

one of the things that bothered me about PIA, I saw they run Google Analytics on their traffic… why?

 

[WebSnyper]

one of the things that bothered me about PIA, I saw they run Google Analytics on their traffic… why?

To get paid.

 

[Expat]

To get paid.

Feels like putting the fox in the henhouse.

 

[WebSnyper]

Feels like putting the fox in the henhouse.

Agreed. Seems counter to the purpose.

 

[efd1295]

I'm using Nord on all my devices. Allows me to connect to various servers of my choice. No problems for the last two years. The only complaint I have is my bank does not like VPN connetions from out of country. But with the app, it allows me to pause the VPN connection for a few minutes so I can log on, do what I need to do, and the VPN reconnects automatically.

 

[DoggyDaddy]

I'm using Nord on all my devices. Allows me to connect to various servers of my choice. No problems for the last two years. The only complaint I have is my bank does not like VPN connetions from out of country. But with the app, it allows me to pause the VPN connection for a few minutes so I can log on, do what I need to do, and the VPN reconnects automatically.

I have Nord but never use it. It blocks things I don't want blocked, like Kroger.com of all things. That and my connection drops a lot more than without it so I'm just letting my subscription run out and I'll be done with it.

 

[Usmccookie]

US bill S 686

Careful could get 20 years for using a vpn soon.

 

[Gunmetalgray]

one of the things that bothered me about PIA, I saw they run Google Analytics on their traffic… why?

Analyzing traffic??? Before they encrypt it of course. So much for privacy.

 

[J Galt]

The browser "Brave" has a VPN built in. I think this is a recent addition.

 

[Creedmoor]

I have a few AOL version 1 floopys somewhere if someone needs one.

 

[MrGiggles]

I have had good experiences with mullvad. Pricing is transparent, no email address needed, they claim no logs and have gone through independent audits. Speed and server choice is just okay, though.

 

[45sRfun]

US bill S 686

Careful could get 20 years for using a vpn soon.

Would have been hard to believe before the occupation. But we are now under soft totalitarianism:
https://www.commentary.org/articles/abe-greenwald/soft-totalitarianism-hard-truth/
Soft totalitarianism ultimately goes to hard totalitarianism (video)

 

[MrGiggles]

and is this soft totalitarianism in the room with us right now?

 

[MCgrease08]

Anyone using Express VPN? Any experience with the password manger portion of it?

I'm begrudgingly still using LastPass as my manager tool despite me knowing better after the data breach last year. Looking to move away from it but haven't found the replacement solution yet. Express seems to have a decent VPN and offers a password manager as part of the plan as a bonus, but that is something I use more than the actual VPN, so it needs to be better than a random add-on. That needs to work.

 

[BroodXI]

Anyone using Express VPN? Any experience with the password manger portion of it?

I'm begrudgingly still using LastPass as my manager tool despite me knowing better after the data breach last year. Looking to move away from it but haven't found the replacement solution yet. Express seems to have a decent VPN and offers a password manager as part of the plan as a bonus, but that is something I use more than the actual VPN, so it needs to be better than a random add-on. That needs to work.

i switched to 1password after the breach with lastpass. i just let my sub expire. so far it's working fine. The import from lastpass was simple. i also use PIA, but only for the socks5 for torrenting. If i'm away from home and want to secure my traffic, i use the synology vpn service setup on my router.

 

[Haven]

I've been using VPN Unlimited for close to a decade now. They have a bunch of offerings, including a password manager. I bought the Lifetime service, and I have it on my iPad, laptop, iPhone, Android tablet, etc.

 

[Cameramonkey]

I have Nord but never use it. It blocks things I don't want blocked, like Kroger.com of all things. That and my connection drops a lot more than without it so I'm just letting my subscription run out and I'll be done with it.

Not sure we have had the discussion, but make sure you do both steps to cancel your account. I subscribed for a month to test something, and cancelled. or so I thought. I happened to go back into my account and discovered I had to do an extra, vague, obscure step to actually finish the cancellation. I felt like it was a way to get one more month/year out of a customer. You think its done, they charge your card again, and when you call customer service you figure out you didnt quite finish so now you are on the hook for one more term because you didnt really cancel all the way.