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NordVPN disables features when you turn off auto-renew

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Re: NordVPN disables features when you turn off auto-renew

#31

Post by fencepost »

LordHeini wrote: post #7

Why are these VPNs even a thing? The only reason i would use one is to get cheaper steam keys from brasil and for that i can get a free one. From a security standpoint it is awful because you increase the number of providers you have to trust. Apart from your ISP and the server you connect to, you got a third party involved for no reason. And VPNs can not that trustworhty as shown by the leaks of logs and what not. M…

It moves the source of threat from local (eg someone around you on shared wifi) and the local(ish) ISP to remote and abstract and possibly uncaring (foreign company and whoever has the resources to monitor their firehose). It doesn't eliminate threat, but it changes it in ways that may be relevant - eg with a VPN the people around me can't see that I'm surfing midget porn, and my ISP can tell that I'm torrenting but can't tell what or from where. Other torrent watchers (eg whoever goes after pirates these days) will also have a hard time isolating me back to an IP with which they might be able to get account holder information - and entities with the resources to monitor what's coming out of the fat pipes at the VPN provider probably don't care about me.

Re: NordVPN disables features when you turn off auto-renew

#32

Post by yoz-y »

Nextgrid wrote: post #28
bitcharmer wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Although not entirely false, this post is a bit too defeatist. "Don't use a VPN because they may be lying about not logging connections" is the same as saying "Don't get on an airplane because the pilot may be suicidal". I'm not going to stop using vpns nor flying on airplanes because of that.

You typically get on an airplane because you have to travel someplace. With VPNs I fail to see a reason beyond circumventing geo-blocking.

Whereas the VPN provider might do something with your data, your ISP most definitely does.

Re: NordVPN disables features when you turn off auto-renew

#33

Post by wwwwwwwww »

gopty wrote: post #20
notRobot wrote: post #5

Honestly, nothing holds up to Mullvad [1]. They don't even take an email address while creating accounts, and you can pay easily with Bitcoin or even with cash mailed to them. I'm not affiliated, just a very happy customer. Mullvad is also who Mozilla trusts for the Mozilla VPN [2]. You can sign up with that if you'd like Mozilla to get a cut. [1]: https://mullvad.net/ [2]: https://vpn.mozilla.org/

Is mullvad able to drill through the Great Firewall of China? Few VPN can

Nowadays its probably best to set up your own VPN server for that. Back when I lived there, most VPNs got occationally blocked, then they would get new IPs and work fine again. But from what I heard, it got way worse since Winnie the Pooh took over.

Re: NordVPN disables features when you turn off auto-renew

#35

Post by astura »

LordHeini wrote: post #7

Why are these VPNs even a thing? The only reason i would use one is to get cheaper steam keys from brasil and for that i can get a free one. From a security standpoint it is awful because you increase the number of providers you have to trust. Apart from your ISP and the server you connect to, you got a third party involved for no reason. And VPNs can not that trustworhty as shown by the leaks of logs and what not. M…

I suppose Geounblocking is a big feature - I use PIA to watch in-market MLB games.

Re: NordVPN disables features when you turn off auto-renew

#36

Post by uzakov »

isoprophlex wrote: post #4

By now these VPN providers are like toothpaste, diapers or soft drinks: completely undifferentiated between competitors, and so only able to maintain their market share by spending loads on marketing. Of course the company with most egregious dark patterns and aggressive churn dampening wins. Thankfully a tube of toothpaste doesn't allow implementing dark patterns like this... yet.

I would strongly disagree for the following reasons: You can and should differentiate VPN providers. Ways to differentiate them: Have they shared logs in the past, where companies are headquartered, reputation.

Re: NordVPN disables features when you turn off auto-renew

#37

Post by bzb6 »

nicoburns wrote: post #30
LordHeini wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well https takes care of that. The hotel might be able to see that you visited a certain website but thats about it.

Asssuming they don't MITM your connection.

Which you would notice immediately because of the big, scary warnings.

Re: NordVPN disables features when you turn off auto-renew

#38

Post by blindm »

notRobot wrote: post #5

Honestly, nothing holds up to Mullvad [1]. They don't even take an email address while creating accounts, and you can pay easily with Bitcoin or even with cash mailed to them. I'm not affiliated, just a very happy customer. Mullvad is also who Mozilla trusts for the Mozilla VPN [2]. You can sign up with that if you'd like Mozilla to get a cut. [1]: https://mullvad.net/ [2]: https://vpn.mozilla.org/

And with Mullvad you can just make a one-time payment of EUR 5.00 if you need to use it for 30 days. No auto-renew crap / commitment to long subscriptions to deal with.

Re: NordVPN disables features when you turn off auto-renew

#39

Post by yjftsjthsd-h »

LordHeini wrote: post #7

Why are these VPNs even a thing? The only reason i would use one is to get cheaper steam keys from brasil and for that i can get a free one. From a security standpoint it is awful because you increase the number of providers you have to trust. Apart from your ISP and the server you connect to, you got a third party involved for no reason. And VPNs can not that trustworhty as shown by the leaks of logs and what not. M…

> From a security standpoint it is awful because you increase the number of providers you have to trust.

No, a VPN replaces an ISP in most threat models (by shifting who can see your traffic). For some people, this is a good trade (ex. me: my ISP has straight-up admitted to analyzing people's traffic for marketing info).

Re: NordVPN disables features when you turn off auto-renew

#40

Post by TillE »

LordHeini wrote: post #27
ence wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Pirating copyrighted material.

Well afaik seeding on public torrents is just about the only way, where you would get in trouble for pirating. Just don't do that, use a private tracker and use Tor for small stuff like ebooks.

There's nothing magical about a "private tracker", those are regularly infiltrated too.
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