What is the point of a VPN, for a non-business user, in the UK?

[stockhausen]

Firefox keeps pushing me to use Mozilla VPN.
I recognise that VPNs are frequently used in business for security reasons
I gather that some people use a VPN to access "out-of-area" videos and music.
None of these things interest me at the moment.
I believe that Mozilla VPN does not enable access to US Netflix, Amazon Prime Video or Disney+.

What is the point of a VPN?

 

[Buffalo2102]

You've pretty much answered your own question.

Businesses use them for secure remote access but the main use for Joe Public would be for privacy. Your internet usage and your location can be traced (via your IP address) and logged by any number of entities on the web for a variety of uses but especially for advertising purposes.

A VPN lets you use the internet via a secure tunnel that hides your activity (mostly) and your IP address so that you can't be identified. You can choose a tunnel that goes to another country to get around geo-locking for streaming services, as you say.

If you don't really care about targeted advertising and don't really care about Google et al hoarding data about what you are doing on the web then don't worry about it.

 

[stockhausen]

I'm not convinced by the privacy argument. Advertisers can still push stuff onto your browser, they may just be in Japanese rather than English

As to steering clear of Google - I very much doubt that that is going to happen.

From whom exactly is your activity (mostly) and your IP address hidden? Surely you are still going to much the same places, just popping up from somewhere else. Added to this, the VPN provider has your payment details and could presumably be compelled to hand it over.

Sadly, I believe that privacy on the Internet is increasingly an illusion - advertisers and data aggregators will always find a way to classify you.

 

[Buffalo2102]

Your IP Address is effectively hidden from everyone - all of your browsing requests appear to come from the IP address of the VPN endpoint. As long as your DNS requests are also hidden but that isn't always the case if you aren't careful.

Yes, you will still see adverts but they won't be personalised, e.g. you won't get those annoying adverts from Amazon promoting stuff that you've already bought. Grrrr!

Some VPN providers will be able to track back to who did what but some don't so you need to do some research before choosing a provider. Much the same when choosing any service provider.

 

[stockhausen]

@Buffalo2102 OK, thanks for that. I still have to say that I am not entirely sure why most day-to-day users might want to shell out for a VPN, certainly for Mozilla VPN; there must be other ways of avoiding Amazon ads

As an aside, is the fact that your IP Address is an IP address associated with / used by a VPN the mechanism by means of which Netflix, etc. knows that you are using a VPN and are therefore accessing it from the wrong geographical location?

As another (sort of related) question, I take it that China, North Korea, etc. have managed to "see through" VPNs?

 

[Semple]

@Buffalo2102 OK, thanks for that. I still have to say that I am not entirely sure why most day-to-day users might want to shell out for a VPN, certainly for Mozilla VPN; there must be other ways of avoiding Amazon ads

As an aside, is the fact that your IP Address is an IP address associated with / used by a VPN the mechanism by means of which Netflix, etc. knows that you are using a VPN and are therefore accessing it from the wrong geographical location?

As another (sort of related) question, I take it that China, North Korea, etc. have managed to "see through" VPNs?

A VPN won't block adverts. Personalised adverts come from cookies that are downloaded everytime you visit a site. To block ads you need a DNS sink - basically this blocks well known ad servers from resolving their IPs which means that no ad data is transferred to the client.

I suspect Netflix et al will look into ip addresses used by well known vpn providers to enforce geographical restrictions. They never used to care, but license holders started to complain.

Well known providers do not store logs of sites you've visited, so no amount of badgering will make any difference. These companies also pride themselves on being independently audited.

Not sure what you mean by "see through vpns". China/NK cannot monitor what their citizens are doing if done so over a VPN - main reason why they are banned over there.

As to why do people use vpns, its not always a privacy aspect. There's a security aspect too, say online banking, or an investment platform etc. Using a VPN to secure the traffic to these resources makes it significantly harder to be snooped on.

 

[Hotwired]

The main purpose of a VPN on these forums is to enable sock puppet accounts.

 

[Zefan]

The biggest reason to use a VPN is to protect yourself on public WiFi.

 

[stockhausen]

A VPN won't block adverts. Personalised adverts come from cookies that are downloaded every time you visit a site. To block ads you need a DNS sink - basically this blocks well known ad servers from resolving their IPs which means that no ad data is transferred to the client. . . .

Thanks for that. I use AdBlockPlus; quite often when I am following up a story on various news sites some of them will spot ABP and will not let me access the story - would a DNS Sink overcome this?
Also, how does one enable one?

. . . I suspect Netflix et al will look into IP addresses used by well known VPN providers to enforce geographical restrictions. They never used to care, but license holders started to complain. . . .

I suspect that as more and more people use Netflix they will have to find ways of restricting access to their service - a bit like the UK TV Licence investigators

. . . Not sure what you mean by "see through vpns". China/NK cannot monitor what their citizens are doing if done so over a VPN - main reason why they are banned over there. . . .

How exactly do China/NK "ban" the use of a VPN? Is it on the basis of draconian punishments for anyone "discovered" to be using one or can they remotely determine that one is being used?

. . . As to why do people use VPNs, its not always a privacy aspect. There's a security aspect too, say online banking, or an investment platform etc. Using a VPN to secure the traffic to these resources makes it significantly harder to be snooped on.

This is a particularly interesting idea - but I can't really see how it would work.
Are you suggesting that people who want to access your bank account would do so by targeting your IP Address?
Surely that really wouldn't help in that most online bankers will use 2FA or a card verification device and HTTPS?

Thanks anyhow, to you, @Buffalo2102 and @Zefan - it has been thought provoking. Incidentally, I am always VERY cautious when using Publioc WiFi

 

[Buffalo2102]

All Semple is pointing out is that all traffic inside the vpn tunnel is securely encrypted, making it ideal for secure transactions like banking and personal data. As you say, most banks use other secure methods these days but its quite common for people to remotely access their workplace network via vpn (I do).

 

[Fishman]

How exactly do China/NK "ban" the use of a VPN? Is it on the basis of draconian punishments for anyone "discovered" to be using one or can they remotely determine that one is being used?

Deep packet inspection, can tell it's an OpenVPN or whatever packet and drop it.

Wrap the VPN traffic in SSL is a possible solution as less likely to be dropped.

OpenVPN in TCP mode and stunnel.

 

[stockhausen]

Deep packet inspection, can tell it's an OpenVPN or whatever packet and drop it.

Wrap the VPN traffic in SSL is a possible solution as less likely to be dropped.

OpenVPN in TCP mode and stunnel.

I'm sure that "those in the know" will know what all this means; sadly I am not and don't
Despite my posing the question (and thanks for answering), I can't see that this addresses the underlying question which I should probably have phrased as "What is the point of a VPN, for a non-business user, in the UK?".

Thanks anyhow, one lives and learns.

 

[Vimes]

@Cardinal_Fang posted this over in a VPN thread within the Network section, VPN thread....

dispels some reasons as to why someone might need a VPN and perhaps helps others to be sure that they do. It also touches on the "public Wi-Fi" (non) concerns.

After you have watched the video you might decide that sock puppets are way down the list, as gay pirate assassins come out on top...!