VPN recommendations

[Draco1962]

I am looking to increase my family's online security (I know - why haven't I done so YET!) so in the market to get a solid VPN. Some criteria that I need to consider:

- Security (does not collect search, site, and connection data)

- Ease of Use/Reliability

- Speed (unlimited, no throttling, streaming optimized)

- Multiuser/Device Support  (myself and my wife, multiple TVs and PCs

- Multisystem Support (Windows PCs, Amazon FireTV ecosystem, misc Android devices - phones, tablets)

- Allows torrent passthrough

- COST

I have read through lots of reviews and everyone has their favorites so the top contenders vary. Please take the poll in the first post and reply with your reasons/suggestions below. Thanks!

[hansolo77]

I've not experimented with others.  I had a few free ones that just suck.  Speeds were terrible, etc etc.  I'm using IPVanish right now.  I do a lot of online gaming and video streaming.  So far, they've been a good choice, but that might just be because they're not free.  There may be better ones out there.  I went with IPVanish for a couple of reasons.  The biggest reason was because it came highly recommended by Leo Laporte on a number of his talk shows, and it was offered at the time with a substantial lifetime discount.  Another reason is they brag about their security, with no collection of data, etc  The speed is decent, although it does take a noticeable hit when you have it on versus off; but definitely faster than those free ones.  Another cool feature is that I can use it with my FireStick, so if I want to watch something from a foreign country I can easily turn it on and magically appear in Japan to watch some Anime streamed that otherwise isn't available.

[tthurman]

I bought a lifetime pass to PureVPN about five years ago and it's okay.  I don't like that you have to install their dashboard frontend, seems it would be awful easy to get rooted, but it has some nice features, such as split tunneling.  

Port forwarding, etc. are all optional at additional costs.

I think they all collect logs, regardless of claims otherwise.  PureVPN actual proved this, do a search for more info.  

I use Brave in TOR mode, but the onramp will still be logged, or not (if they do as they claim)

 

Don't forget to disable WebRTC whenever possible.  Also, if you run a Pi-Hole server and have it configured to use Cloudfare, those DNS leaks will still be there, in my experience anyway

 

[Tom Speirs]

Im not going to announce what I am currently using but have used torgaurd several years ago which did allow me to directly run it on my router.

Speaking of DNS and routers I cant recommend pfsense highly enough. Its replaced pi-hole here too and runs as a DNS Resolver by default (your "own" DNS server).

If I was trying to protect others such as a family I would definitely be looking it to run it directly on the router rather than clients.

[tthurman]

11 hours ago, Tom Speirs said:

If I was trying to protect others such as a family I would definitely be looking it to run it directly on the router rather than clients.

I agree with this! 

[Draco1962]

Recently sprung for NordVPN 2 year basic sub. It seems to work fairly well with my FireTV, Android phone, and PC. Will need to test it on my wife's iPhone. 

Got a year +3 months from my son's referral link (and he got +3 months for the referral as well).

 

[Tom Speirs]

NordVPN is not the most secure or private but about the best option for viewing streams in another country. it is a decent option.

Its a sad world that we even need to do this. Trust me when I say everyone is spying on you without permission or a warrant, including the police/fbi. One wrong click by someone and you will get an early morning knock on the door.

Make sure your local network, devices and wifi is secure too. Especially in flats and condos. Its better to be rude and not share too. if you can afford to upgrade your equipment force WPA3. Alternatively review current guidelines of wpa 2 password length. If a device becomes eol and no longer receive updates you really should replace it too.

Scary shit but your not really safe whatever you do this decade. Don't make yourself a target is good advice. Don't get too paranoid though, we shouldn't flatter ourselves, we are not important enough.

[hansolo77]

+1 to pfSense.  I'm still learning, but it's a very strong commercial grade router.  I bought a used 1U server off ebay that came driveless.  Installed a small 120gb (overkill by far) SSD and I was off to the races.  For $189, it beats the pants off those off-the-shelf routers.  It has 6x10Gbe ports, great for future expansion should I get Fiber some time, and good for 10Gbe between network devices directly.  Port forwarding has been a trip learning, but that's half the fun.  I still have the old trusty standby if I screw something up.  But pfSense lets you backup, experiment, restore if something craps out.  And it has a ton of plugins and addons.  They have OpenVPN, which I setup a server on, and now I can connect remotely to my home network super simple.  They also do OpenVPN clients, so you can configure it with your VPN service (like the IPVanish service I have).  Without even worrying, my router is always connected to the VPN, meaning all my devices are too!  They have other addons too, like AdGuard, to do advanced DNS blocking like Pi-Hole.  I'm really loving it.  Here's a more recent listing for the hardware I'm using:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/133772637020

[Tom Speirs]

I use something along these lines for pfsense. 

PfSense – The best firewall with free shipping | only on AliExpress

[hansolo77]

Yea I thought about going that route, and maybe even buy the system the pfSense guys sell.  Honestly, I don't even know why i went through route of a server, but i'm glad i did.  It works for me at least.

[tthurman]

I would think your biggest problem with that type of server is energy consumption.

I used to run server farms for distributed computing projects made up of EOL equipment, and it really adds up. Those machines are typically power hogs in my experiences. A modern solution would likely prove to be faster and pay for itself in a relatively short amount of time.

[Tom Speirs]

1 hour ago, tthurman said:

I would think your biggest problem with that type of server is energy consumption.

I used to run server farms for distributed computing projects made up of EOL equipment, and it really adds up. Those machines are typically power hogs in my experiences. A modern solution would likely prove to be faster and pay for itself in a relatively short amount of time.

Ive been through the server thing too. Dual high watt cpus with heat sinks the size of bricks and fans sounding like 747's!

Im well into KISS mode these days. 10gb is lovely though and I've got the carbon footprint of a whore who never wore a condom! My old Jamma cab was probably like 2 of those servers. Even the PinCab has an i7.

 

[Tom Speirs]

Not VPN on router but just setup Diversion with Merlin on an Asus router and it works just as well for ad blocking as pihole and pfsense. Actually better than pihole as it will do 1 pixel images for ads like pfsense does.

Definitely recommend it.

 

[Tom Speirs]

Looks like you can setup vpn client on merlin too. The issue I tend to have though is i need exceptions. Some stuff just not like VPN like banking, ebay, amazon etc. With pfsense I can do exceptions.

[Tom Speirs]

Looks like you can do exclusions.

Excluding specific clients from VPN | SNBForums

Next project!

[Tom Speirs]

As for setup on this occasion with the ASUS, its overkill but used a 980 pro in usb enclosure as swap flash drive.

gt-ax11000 for sale | eBay

 

Stay safe out there guys.

 

"Arguing that you don't care about the right to privacy because you have nothing to hide is no different than saying you don't care about free speech because you have nothing to say"

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