VPN Should I be using one🧐

[Old Ant]

Hello fellow ladies and gentlemen, a quick question if I may, is it wiser to utilise the services of a VPN before posting lovely pics of our little green friend on this website? I would especially love to hear from the esteemed long term regulars here on whether they do if that is not too rude to ask yet

 

[Harry bootlace]

My computer I ( think ) I am on vpn. But I’m usually looking on my phone and that I have no idea.
I’m really only stopping by to read the answers myself ;!

 

[Indy]

Not a necessity, but I'd recommend it. Not just for here though, I like to mask my arse from anyone that might be data harvesting shit from me..

 

[Pikey]

I like to use one, for ~$60/year it's worth it for the piece of mind. Plus it allows me to use foreign content sites as a bonus .

If you're looking for a free one then I'd recommend ProtonVPN as they have a strict no-logs policy

 

[ThaliaGreen]

A VPN is like a condom for the internet, and the internet is a dirty dirty place. I never go without protection

I used to use proton vpn, but after I saw this I switched away:

ProtonMail deletes 'we don't log your IP' boast from website after French climate activist reportedly arrested

Cops can read the SMTP spec too, y'know

www.theregister.com

Granted it was ProtonMail not ProtonVPN, but same people, so eroded my trust a little.

 

[Pikey]

Thanks for that @ThaliaGreen, I hadn't heard about that. Glad I spent the money and went with Nord ...though I do use ProtonMail for some things which makes me a little concerned .

 

[ThaliaGreen]

Thanks for that @ThaliaGreen, I hadn't heard about that. Glad I spent the money and went with Nord ...though I do use ProtonMail for some things which makes me a little concerned .

I've seen this in regards to NordVPN.

NordVPN: Actually, We Do Comply With Law Enforcement Data Requests

UPDATE: NordVPN publishes a new blog post that thoroughly explains the company's approach to handling law enforcement requests and why users shouldn't worry.

www.pcmag.com

But I've also seen them pass multiple audits saying they keep no logs. I'm not smart or technical enough to know what to think about them.

I'm not sure how concerned you need to be. I think they only had to comply because of something to do with Swedish law, and we're not in Sweden. But again, I'm a dummy so no idea.

Edit:
I did a quick search and found a VPN comparison

VPN Comparison Table

Comparison VPN SERVICE,EXCLUSIVE DEALS,AVERAGE,JURISDICTION,AUDITED NO LOGS POLICY,SPEED,PROTOCOLS,ENCRYPTION,LEAK PROTECTION,AVAILABILITY,OWNED SERVERS,RAM SERVERS,TRANSPARENCY: OWNERSHIP,TRANSPARENCY: BUG BOUNTY,PAYMENTS,PRICING,BYPASSING RESTRICTIVE NETWORKS,CUSTOMER SUPPORT,ETHICS,AD-BLOCKER...

docs.google.com

Nord was rated highest so seems ok.

 

[Old Ant]

A huge thank you for all your replies, my greatest concern was actually my service provider / network not this forum per se but I see now that piece of mind is worth the asking price.
As such I decided to go with Express VPN, they dont use hard drives apparently only ram, or record any logs and have a good reputation as well Now with all your wonderful insight and recommendations, hot diggity dog its time to start my grow diary

 

[ThaliaGreen]

It’s also worth noting that Australia has data retention laws

https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/about-us/our-portfolios/national-security/lawful-access-telecommunications/data-retention

So your isp has to maintain metadata for two years. A VPN would help avoid this too, if it’s something you’re concerned with.

 

[R3za92]

It’s also worth noting that Australia has data retention laws

https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/about-us/our-portfolios/national-security/lawful-access-telecommunications/data-retention

So your isp has to maintain metadata for two years. A VPN would help avoid this too, if it’s something you’re concerned with.

VPN isn’t stopping the government. They’re requiring telcos to do deep packet analysis’s so they are sniffing all data that passes through every Australian telcos network even if your using a vpn.

Can also bet due to 5eyes that nsa would have access.

 

[ThaliaGreen]

VPN isn’t stopping the government. They’re requiring telcos to do deep packet analysis’s so they are sniffing all data that passes through every Australian telcos network even if your using a vpn.

Can also bet due to 5eyes that nsa would have access.

I don’t know anything about that. I was just looking at the metadata that that particular law requires them to keep.

I’ve never heard of DPI, but a quick Google seems to suggest a vpn can still be useful.

My ISP uses deep packet inspection; what can they observe?

I found out that my ISP does deep packet inspection. Can they see the contents of HTTPS connections? Wouldn't having HTTPS ensure that they can't see the contents being transferred? And can havin...

security.stackexchange.com

With a VPN, they will still see 100% of the data. However, other than the connection to the VPN provider, they'll only see encrypted data. They will know that you downloaded 800GB from VPNco.com, but will know nothing of the data inside. Even things that are not encrypted via protocol will get encrypted since a lower level is encrypting. Now, the VPNco.com will then see your data.

I’m not a computer person though, so I don’t know.