VPN question

[Odd-no-more]

I've just bought a Nord VPN to help with UK TV in Spain. It. Came with upto 10 devices, is there anything to be gained by putting it on my pc and our phones? I've never had a VPN and not missed it

 

[ivorantony]

It adds another level of security plus it easily disables if you want, so imo it’s worth doing,

 

[jerryz]

i have recently dumped Nord as it was so slow and glitchy i still have 2 years subscription until may 25 but their tech support has not solved my problems ,, im now using windscribe

 

[suavecarve]

I've just bought a Nord VPN to help with UK TV in Spain. It. Came with upto 10 devices, is there anything to be gained by putting it on my pc and our phones? I've never had a VPN and not missed it

For the phone, you can then watch the UK iplayers from your phone, so if there was breaking news for example.

For the computer, you might want to watch something abroad.

As has been mentioned before there are some extra security levels.

The plus point is if you add it to either, you dont have to use it, but its there if you do decide it is of some use

 

[swemmy666]

Yes, when using unsecure wifi in cafes etc, it encrypts your data between you and the VPN hub

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[Odd-no-more]

Thanks everyone, sorry another question, we have UK SIMs but as we are staying for months we will get Spanish SIMs as well, we have duel SIM phones, if the VPN is on the phone, would I need to add it again with the new SIM?

 

[swemmy666]

I've no experience but I would thought that the VPN is active for all SIMS and WIFI unless you use split tunneling for APPS that require it, split tunneling is a fancy term for unencrypted non VPN traffic.

 

[Guigsy]

It adds another level of security plus it easily disables if you want, so imo it’s worth doing,

Meh. If you're on a trusted network, like at home, it doesn't really do much. It just makes anyone trying to track you, think you're connected from somewhere else. Downsides are they redirecting your traffic via someone else does slow your connection down a bit. VPNs are useful in the corporate world because it make your laptop appear as if it's in the office network. They're useful if you're trying to fool a streaming service into thinking you're from a certain area they cover. As a security tool for hinge use, it's been a bit over sold.

 

[Odd-no-more]

I've set it up on my phone and not noticed anything different

 

[Gromett]

It adds another level of security plus it easily disables if you want, so imo it’s worth doing,

It adds no security for consumer use and may actually reduce security. In the enterprise it does play a part in security but not for home users.

For those not familiar with what it does or how. Tom Scott did this video a long time ago and it is still the best I have seen to date.

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[Odd-no-more]

I thought it made the user untraceable, is that not the case?

 

[Guigsy]

I thought it made the user untraceable, is that not the case?

It hides your IP address. But given the huge number of other trackers that get used around the internet, it doesn't make much difference. They can still do an effective job of profiling you.

 

[Brummie64]

It hides your IP address. But given the huge number of other trackers that get used around the internet, it doesn't make much difference. They can still do an effective job of profiling you.

It also encrypts all traffic from your device, so if using a banking app over free WiFi your passwords are safe. And that is by far the main reason for using a vpn.

 

[Gromett]

I thought it made the user untraceable, is that not the case?

No it doesn't make you untraceable. The second you log into any site with a tracker they will reconnect the VPN's IP address to you.

 

[Gromett]

It also encrypts all traffic from your device, so if using a banking app over free WiFi your passwords are safe. And that is by far the main reason for using a vpn.

You didn't watch the video did you

That is incorrect. Your web browser already encrypts the links using exactly the same technology. You are gaining nothing in encryption terms by using a VPN.

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[Brummie64]

You didn't watch the video did you

That is incorrect. Your web browser already encrypts the links using exactly the same technology. You are gaining nothing in encryption terms by using a VPN.

Yes and the VPN encrypts it again! Not a bad thing!

 

[Gromett]

Yes and the VPN encrypts it again! Not a bad thing!

Not a good thing either. It makes absolutely zero difference.

Technically speaking.

The problem is that, if an adversary has any chance of breaking a 128-bit key, then having to break two of them makes almost zero difference to them. You are talking about the difference between 2^128 vs 2^129 bits.
If an attacker is capable of cracking a 128 bit key, then a 129 bit effective key will add practically no difficulty for them.

You would expect running it through 2 x 2^128 to be 2^256?

However, Meet-in-the-Middle attacks can reduce the effective complexity. In this type of attack:

• The attacker encrypts the plaintext with all possible values of key1.
• Separately, they decrypt the ciphertext with all possible values of key2.
• By comparing the results (intermediate values), the attacker reduces the complexity to approximately 2¹²⁹ operations instead of 2²⁵⁶.

All you are adding is extra CPU cycles to do the highly complex maths slowing things down slightly and using more power. You do absolutely nothing for security.

But bear in mind, with the current limits of computation, the costs involved in cracking a 128 bit key is somewhere in the region of 1/100th of all the power ever produced by man. Making it currently unlikely to be possible.
Adding that 1 extra bit will make zero effective difference.

 

[Gromett]

Brummie64 I would also add that adding a VPN adds extra layers to your network. This added complexity makes it more likely to be unreliable or outright break. It makes it harder to diagnose an issue.
It also transfer the security from your ISP to your VPN provider. The VPN provider may not be who you think they are, they may sell up to a foreign government or agency without your knowledge. The VPN network is more likely to be hacked etc etc etc.

In my opinion the only reason to use a VPN ever for normal people is to use a geographically different IP address for accessing streaming services.

 

[StillGoing]

I’m not sure I trust any VPN provider with my data other than for streaming. Are they regulated? Does any independent body audit them to confirm what information they are keeping? I suspect not.

I’m quite happy sticking with my own WireGuard VPN server at home.

 

[matbic]

VPN is very unlikely to prevent you from being tracked on the internet. Your IP address is not always necessary to identify you. Your browser has a fingerprint which is usually unique to you. You can test this at https://www.amiunique.org/fingerprint

If you visit websites with https you don't really need to use a VPN when in a public WiFi. The https will already encrypt all your information. It can be “opened up” but takes some significant effort. If absolute security is important - don’t use a public WiFi!

VPN is only useful to make you seem to be in another location to the one you are actually in. Although after a while most streaming services can detect when you are doing this and block it.

Best use for VPN technology is to link back to your home network when away - this is very handy for watching UK stuff when travelling. This sort of VPN requires you to setup your home router correctly.

This is not the same as NordVPN or other paid services like that. It’s usually free and just needs setting up. Look for things like OpenVPN or Wireguard on you home router.

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[stewartwebr]

I found Nord to be too slow for streaming and not the best as BBC had caught onto their IP address and still blocked it. I find Express VPN to be the best, they are currently offering 3 years subscription for £118 which is a good deal.

 

[Odd-no-more]

my opinion the only reason to use a VPN ever for normal people is to use a geographically different IP address for accessing streaming services.

This is why I got it. A friend asked about using an illegal app to stream content without paying. I said a VPN would make it less likely they would be caught

 

[Guigsy]

It also encrypts all traffic from your device, so if using a banking app over free WiFi your passwords are safe. And that is by far the main reason for using a vpn.

It'll be encrypted anyway. Pretty much all web traffic now is. Your browser now warns you when things aren't HTTPS. And banking will definitely be traffic and also payload encoded. The only thing a VPN will hide over a compromised public WiFi is who you're connected to. They won't be able to see any content.

 

[Charente16]

Whilst in Spain I would use your UK Sim specifically for UK TV, if EU roaming is allowed. We use a French sim with Nord VPN and cannot access UK television despite using a UK based server, this is not specific to just NORD VPN. So many people use the same VPN IP address that it is easy for the 'channels' to block it.

We now use a Dedicated IP address with NORD that, currently, by - passes the blocking.

 

[Odd-no-more]

Whilst in Spain I would use your UK Sim specifically for UK TV, if EU roaming is allowed. We use a French sim with Nord VPN and cannot access UK television despite using a UK based server, this is not specific to just NORD VPN. So many people use the same VPN IP address that it is easy for the 'channels' to block it.

My problem is I'm going to Spain for 3 months and our UK Sims only work for 2 up to months. I'm hoping to be able to stream using Spanish SIM. I asked on an expats group, several people said they use Nord. I have successfully used Nord here and had no problems streaming, so it will work

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[MikenPauline]

We bought sim from Vodafone in Spain together with Nord vpn. Worked perfectly

 

[stewartwebr]

Whilst in Spain I would use your UK Sim specifically for UK TV, if EU roaming is allowed. We use a French sim with Nord VPN and cannot access UK television despite using a UK based server, this is not specific to just NORD VPN. So many people use the same VPN IP address that it is easy for the 'channels' to block it.

We now use a Dedicated IP address with NORD that, currently, by - passes the blocking.

That is exactly the issue I faced with Nord but have never had the issue with Express VPN. Streamed all over the world watch BBC currently watching it from Thailand connected via Express and Express does not seem to slow the connection down as much as some others.