Best VPN for pc?

[Tim Milligan]

I need the best vpn for my pc and android. What do you think?

[Keith Saunders]

Hi Tim
(from downunder:))

I have Tor browser on my laptop, and Orbot on my android.
We can only go by what we read and cross check.
I chose these because they are open source and free. Donation funded.
VPN's are good for some use and can lock you out of some sites because they can't tell who is trying to gain access.
Cheers
Keith

[Scott Snyder]

I thought a VPN kept your ISP from knowing what sites you visit. How would it keep a site from knowing who is trying to gain access? Thanks.

[Paul F Franklin]

I use cyberghost and have been happy with it's performance and reliability. It's not free, but not expensive either.

I've never had an issue where a site totally blocked access because I was using a VPN, but it's common for VPN use to trigger additional security challenges and requests for additional user verification (such as the site sending you an email or text with an additional access code, or prompting you to answer security questions). This is because many sites, especially banking and investment sites and the like, use techniques to verify users beyond just the entered userid and password, and many of those techniques (such as IP address checking, location verification, fingerprinting, and the like) may not provide the expected result when a VPN is in use. So the site flags the access as suspicious and that triggers the additional verification request. It can be a little annoying, but to me it's just a sign that the site is taking good precautions against improper access. Using privacy software that blocks cookies and fingerprinters often triggers the same challenges. Same deal when you are traveling or using a different computer than usual.

[Barry McFadden]

I have been happy with NordVPN......works well....

[Jim Becker]

VPNs for consumers have good points and bad points. Yes, they can mask your location and mask some aspects of your activity from your ISP, etc. But they can also interfere with your access to certain content providers including streaming services, depending on where the VPN dumps you out on the Internet. The encryption can also slow your effective connection because it requires processing. And...you still ultimately end up on the Internet where whatever you are doing isn't shielded. IE....they are not the privacy nirvana they might at first seem to be.

VPNs for businesses, on the other hand, can permit more secure communication between a remote worker and the business's internal resources. The business can have control over what the remote worker can do while on the VPN, too, such as forcing all Internet traffic through the business's connection/proxy/policy, etc. Many businesses do not permit a split tunnel where only business-bound traffic goes to the business and non-business traffic can go to the remote worker's local LAN and internet connection.

[Curt Harms]

I have Private Internet Access. I don't use it at home, got it primarily for travel usage. I assume that wifi connections in airports and hotels are insecure, even if they show https:// and a lock symbol. Perhaps I'm being overly paranoid. A handful of sites won't connect with PIA, most connect without a problem.

[Jim Becker]

I have Private Internet Access. I don't use it at home, got it primarily for travel usage. I assume that wifi connections in airports and hotels are insecure, even if they show https:// and a lock symbol. Perhaps I'm being overly paranoid. A handful of sites won't connect with PIA, most connect without a problem.

Actually, that is an example of one of the really beneficial uses for a VPN...times when accessing "not from home" from public or quasi-public connections. Given the nature of your occupation and the travel it entails, that was a really good choice!

[Keith Saunders]

I thought a VPN kept your ISP from knowing what sites you visit. How would it keep a site from knowing who is trying to gain access? Thanks.

Hi Scott

I'm not up on the tech side, just commenting from my personal use.
I think it depends on what info the site wants from you before allowing access.

As Curt Harms says "got it primarily for travel usage"
As Jim Becker says "that was a really good choice!"

cheers
Keith

[glenn bradley]

I thought a VPN kept your ISP from knowing what sites you visit. How would it keep a site from knowing who is trying to gain access? Thanks.


The term VPN can apply in many ways. I believe in this instance we are talking about a VPN client on your machine connecting to a VPN termination at a provider collapse-point or an ultimate destination. This relationship can be used for isolation, encryption, identification or combinations of these things. We ran hundreds of VPNs for client isolation, traffic classification, traffic engineering and so forth. The technology for a Virtual Private Network is just that, a virtual space used as agreed upon by the participants/protocols. Point-to-point VPNs can proxy your traffic for further forwarding. In that case the source appears to be the relay agent and not the original sender. If what you are trying to do relies on knowing "who" you are, services can break when your original source is hidden/transposed/translated, etc.

[Scott Kilroy]

Private Internet Access has worked well for me.

[Alan Rutherford]

One more vote for PIA (Private Internet Access). I also got it for travel but sometimes use it at home although it's been a while. It will probably also be a while before we travel anywhere given the pandemic, but that's getting off the subject.

As mentioned, some sites see that you are using a VPN and become uncooperative. When I'm using PIA, Google wants me to prove I'm are a human by solving those puzzles where you check all the cars or stoplights or stores or something, and they seem to use very low-res difficult pictures.

[mike stenson]

I thought a VPN kept your ISP from knowing what sites you visit. How would it keep a site from knowing who is trying to gain access? Thanks.

Using a VPN is one way to skirt the content agreements that streaming providers offer. For instance, the the CONTENT available in iTunes Store, Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, etc are ALL geo specific. This is due to the licensing contracts that these providers have signed with the content owners. It's very common to see people get VPNs to be able to access these sites as if they were from another country.

This is also why some sites will block VPN access if they can detect it.

[Bruce Wrenn]

When I'm using PIA, Google wants me to prove I'm are a human by solving those puzzles where you check all the cars or stoplights or stores or something, and they seem to use very low-res difficult pictures.Check the headphone below pictures for an easier way in. With my slow internet connection, I have to do this regularly.

[Curt Harms]

There is a new entrant in the VPN business, Mozilla/Firefox. They're reselling Mullvad (Swedish VPN provder) services. I try to support Mozilla, I think they come the closest to having my best interest at heart, not Wall Street's.

https://www.tomsguide.com/features/firefox-vpn

[George Gibson]

You may try F-Secure.

[Amara Martin]

I am not sure for Android but Wind scribe is pretty OK for PC.

[William Chain]

I have been using ExpressVPN with really nice results. It's a small monthly subscription, but we've been pretty happy with it. I use it at remote WiFi spots that I do not trust, and we use it at home to access different online streaming content that would not otherwise be accessible. ExpressVPN is widely advertised, and I have no comparisons with other products to say its better or worse than others, but I can say it has done everything we've needed it to do.