somnomania wrote: ↑Mon Jun 14, 2021 9:02 am
lmao yeah, that's the advice I've been getting, I'm looking into them now. I'm quite poor, so I have to balance need with cost, but I'm looking at NordVPN, they've got a good deal right now.
@somnomania
Hey Dude,
I started using a VPN for the same reason; I've been using NordVPN for 2.5 years now (bought the 3 year plan for best value).
I could not be happier, and their service is just insanely good - friendly and really know their stuff.
I don't have any connection to them - I'm just a really happy customer especially considering I was really not sure how good/bad it was going to be once I finally paid for one.
The free ones are crap - don't bother - tried many over the years - too many issues/limitations.
Not least is the fact that so many of them do the most dodgy stuff - like stealing your bandwidth to run their service for others without telling you (I think it was Hola who did that?) and so many end up in scandals where they claim they don't log everything you do and then it turns out they do exactly that.
I'm a cheap bastard at heart so I was very reluctant to pay for a VPN - but it has been worth every penny and was way cheaper than I expect (especially with that 3 year plan).
Be warned - the one really odd thing is the bullshit claim that it's 70+% off for a short time etc.
I fell for that scam and was only told late by others that that is how it is listed permanently.
That should not put you off - it is completely out of character for the attitude and quality of their service.
I really do not understand why they persist with that crap as it just makes them look dodgy!
If you want US Netflix or other paid streaming services - NordVPN are probably one of your best bets for those service to consistently work. I haven't done that myself though (again - cheap bastard).... but I have heard so many problems with other VPNs where they all of a sudden can't get US Netflix anymore or it's a crippled, super slow service etc.
Do NOT Forget - ...
If you are going to pay for any VPN, Seedbox, anything where you want to be anonymous online and in the real world.... Make sure you go buy an anonymous VISA GIFT Debit Card from the Supermarket etc and use that to pay.
MAKE SURE YOU BUY IT WITH CASH ONLY - NOT YOUR BANK CARD ETC!
Sounds obviously - but I forgot and bought a $300 card with my own VISA then had to buy another one with Cash... idiot.
I was just tired after shopping and totally forgot.
I would seriously suggest you literally take your Credit/Visa Debit Cards etc out of your wallet when you go to buy it - just that once.
So easy to forget and you can't get a refund (usually).
Keep good records of the gift card, take photos, notes of where and what you use it for how much etc.
Make sure you get a card with enough credit to cover any exchange rates and fees etc. You can always use any left over to just buy groceries etc later.
BTW - it's also just as useful to use it to stream Free TV / Movies from other countries who have way better and more interesting stuff on offer than my local country.
Eg the British channels - BBC iPlayer, All 4 / Channel 4,
USA's PBS which has some great stuff (not just news)
And it's also useful sometimes for stuff like German DW TV and France ARTE / France 24 etc when they have videos in their website or Smart TV Apps that are listed but won't play due to being in the wrong region.
NHK Japan can be pretty interesting too.
You generally don't need the VPN for the German, French and Japanese but it can help ocassionally.
I leave my Smart TV's set permanently as UK using the Android app so it's set and forget.
That way it's always sorted - you can whitelist other apps too so you don't get your local TV streaming sites blocking you from your own local content etc.
I also find I enjoy using Youtube way more set to UK (or sometimes USA) as they have more interesting and different ads that I don't see everyday on TV and I swear they force less ads on you and shorter ones too.
Also do the same things on my Win 11 PC to a lesser extent.
I leave it set to my local country for the fastest connection but change it sometimes to cast from say BBC iPlayer to my TV if it's easier at the time.
I also find you get much better google search results in general if you set it to USA or UK.
Always make sure you get into a routine where you have your VPN AUTO set to always be on when the PC is on and ALWAYS use the KILL SWITCH.
That way the internet will cut out completely if the VPN connection dies (good to protect yourself from the ISP when Torrenting etc especially if you aren't around or don't notice).
If I'm going to turn off or change my VPN setting/servers/countries etc - I always exit qBittorent first, then check it's finally closed properly in Task Manager (the second list not the first)... then I change the VPN.
My understanding is - if you change the server/some settings while you are torrenting - you are unprotected for that short time.
For me - it's just not worth the risk even if it should be fine.
So yeah - those are my tips - I'm no expert, but that's what I've found useful to know.
Good luck