*** VPN Thread ***

Anyone else getting issues with Nord? Seems to be pot luck if you get put on a fast server (based on speedtest). I start downloading and the whole connection just drops and only comes back if I either disconnect and change server, or I turn VPN off all together. If I change server it just drops out again after a few minutes. Its happened a few times tonight on different servers. Some of their servers I get less than 5mb where as on my own connection I get 55.
 
maj said:
Anyone else getting issues with Nord? Seems to be pot luck if you get put on a fast server (based on speedtest). I start downloading and the whole connection just drops and only comes back if I either disconnect and change server, or I turn VPN off all together. If I change server it just drops out again after a few minutes. Its happened a few times tonight on different servers. Some of their servers I get less than 5mb where as on my own connection I get 55.
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Been with Nord over a year now and it pretty much maxes out my available speed all the time, I manually select the country and then sub select "fastest". Granted i'm only on 25meg with Bt Infinity but still uses all available speed.
 
I've read decent enough things about ExpressVPN but not personally used them. At one point they were touted as the only folks able to keep on top of Netflix US banning everyone on VPNs but I think that situation has changed.
 
ExpressVPN gets glowing reviews. I took out a subscription and found the speeds lacking to say the least. They gave me a no-quibble refund (it probably helped I explained my setup was all Core i7s with 8-12 threads and I'd tried on Linux too), but personally speaking there's better out there if you need to push proper WAN speeds.
 
I use PIA and find it fine...and I can toggle between locations really easily as some downloads I do only allow a few before your IP is temp blocked.

I however don't bother with a VPN connection with torrents as it slows things somewhat, but instead just use the SOCKS5 proxy they provide free of charge to VPN subscribers. Gives me all I need to download at my full 380Mbit virgin speed and an anon IP (just for my torrent client), not bothered about encryption.
 
I have PIA but I chose them for their zero logging policy, which many do not offer and the fact for me that are both fast and reliable.

However as said, if you are looking for Geo location stuff I have had nothing but fail come my motorsport ambitions (ie US live TV and Australian live TV) doesn't work for me.
 
Using OpenVPN over TCP on Linux, with custom config (rxqueuelen, MTU9000 etc) for improved throughput:

7909317475.png


Using WireGuard to the same VPN server and speed test server:



Not bad for a 380/20 connection.
 
I'm using NordVPN now; previously I used Goldenfrog VyprVPN. I read some conspiracy-style scare stories about Golden Frog (Vyper's parent company) being an FBI front (http://cryptome.org/2014/09/giganews-fbi.htm) however they vehemently denied this (https://www.giganews.com/blog/2014/09/it-is-a-gigahoax-giganews-is-not-an-fbi-operation.html). It's all a bit suss and frankly I wouldn't want to be using a company based in the US anyway, even with a Swiss holding company. Most importantly, they *do* log, albeit not comprehensively, but they do retain details.

Nord are a zero-logging VPN provider (apparently confirmed by a recent audit which I've read through via my account portal), registered in Panama with a management company in Cyprus although I've no idea where they all actually live.

Some of their US and UK VPN servers are coloed with M247, which give great throughput on my line, so I'm happy. Nord's Netflix support is also a bit more stable than VyperVPN was, though sadly they only have a handful of supported Netflix countries (no German, no Australian etc).

When I had problems connecting to Netflix it turned out to be because their CDN was being clever and somehow picking up on DNS traffic vs. IP traffic. Once I changed my DNS away from 1.1.1.1 in NordVPN settings to use their own anycast DNS on the VPN, it all started working again.

Their recent desktop client update removed some useful features (server load, ability to easily add servers to favourites, and search the server list in the dropdown selection box) -- you can still use older clients according to support when I emailed with feedback. The link I was sent: https://downloads.nordcdn.com/apps/windows/10/NordVPN/6.16.9/NordVPNSetup.exe

Viberious said:
I have been using NordVPN for about 3-4 months. They started off well, but recently the connection stops, and after upteen emails and proposed fixes with customer support the connection only lasts about 30seconds before it stops all traffic. I've wiped windows and installed only windows and their software but it's utter pants.

I feel the 3yr service I paid for has been a complete waste of money.

I have now purchased Windscribe service for 10years at £50 and this works a treat. Speed wise it's reasonable and very easy to use software.
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I'm a Nord customer and I've seen a few people with this issue as well. I had this problem on my machine but I think I actually caused it (Intel NIC settings, I'd previously adjusted settings for absolute utmost throughput and I think one of the settings conflicted with this).

To rule out their servers or your router being at fault, I'd recommend you download the OpenVPN configs for a server you've had problems with and do the OVPN setup then test with standard OpenVPN TUN. Uninstall the NordVPN client completely and also remove their own TUN adapter before installing OpenVPN.

Useful links:
DD-WRT VPN client setup tutorial: https://nordvpn.com/tutorials/dd-wrt/openvpn-gui/ (some overlap with OpenVPN client on desktop)
OpenVPN config files: https://nordvpn.com/ovpn/
CA certificates and PEMs available from https://downloads.nordcdn.com/configs/archives/certificates/servers.zip

Just follow the guide from the server list, https://nordvpn.com/servers/
 
~cw said:
When I had problems connecting to Netflix it turned out to be because their CDN was being clever and somehow picking up on DNS traffic vs. IP traffic. Once I changed my DNS away from 1.1.1.1 in NordVPN settings to use their own anycast DNS on the VPN, it all started working again.
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This comment has actually been very helpful. I was attempting to set up my raspberry pi as a VPN gateway, where you simply change your gateway to that address but while it was routing everything through the pi and the vpn, my dns was still set as 1.1.1.1 and it kept saying it knew I was using a proxy. Using the Nord App, obviously it didn't... so despite using the exact same server I had the issue.

Now, I need to try this and see what happens.
 
Kol said:
This comment has actually been very helpful. I was attempting to set up my raspberry pi as a VPN gateway, where you simply change your gateway to that address but while it was routing everything through the pi and the vpn, my dns was still set as 1.1.1.1 and it kept saying it knew I was using a proxy. Using the Nord App, obviously it didn't... so despite using the exact same server I had the issue.

Now, I need to try this and see what happens.
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Yeah, it caught me out. That'll learn me for blithely diving past the 'don't change things in here unless you know what you're doing' message. I must have somehow been DNS leaking and Netflix's CDN picked up on it. I did all the various WebRTC and DNS leak tests and they seemed to come back good, but it was like a switch being flicked - change to NordVPN DNS (allow the app to assign to the TUN) and bingo, worked immediately.

103.86.96.100 and 103.86.99.100 are NordVPN DNS servers.

Also NB which servers they recommend for Netflix:
https://support.nordvpn.com/General...ow-to-securely-watch-Netflix-with-NordVPN.htm

I suspect they're playing cat and mouse with IP allocations :)
 
Whats your recommendation for the following:

Monthly Paying - without too much penalisation cost wise for this (in UK prices preferably, as don't want a US conversion charge from the bank?)
Static UK IP
Good average Speeds

Every VPN site seems to come up with US pricing, so I don't really want the currency conversion charge from the bank each month, if possible
 
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