21–30 of 333 posts
I tried to use ProtonVPN when I switched over to ProtonMail a year ago. But so much of the web does not work when you're on a VPN. For example even HackerNews has VPN restrictions. More and more sites know where VPN endpoints originate. How will VPNs prevent this in the future without them just become easy to block?
All the VPN providers I've used let you select the endpoint from a dropdown menu. I'm not using a VPN to make it appear I'm in Russia, I'm using it as one of many tools to help further my browsing privacy.
My endpoint is one of 2 major cities that are close to me. Could I pick some random 3rd world country? Sure! That isn't the goal. The goal is to prevent my mostly static IP address from being tied to sites I use every day.
EDIT:
Small point of clarification:
All the VPN providers I use have custom or 3rd party software that allows you to select a location for the VPN. All of the VPN providers I've used also select the location with the lowest ping times as a default. I suspect most folks are just sticking with the defaults. I certainly haven't strayed outside the US/EU for any of my attempts. I have occasionally selected an EU location for specific sites not available in the US, where I live, but beyond that?
Edit: Welp. How could this possibly be my most downvoted comment. Am I not entitled to an opinion? I ain't no AI.
Mullvad is the only VPN I will ever trust. Yet again they ace the test.
I tried to use ProtonVPN when I switched over to ProtonMail a year ago. But so much of the web does not work when you're on a VPN. For example even HackerNews has VPN restrictions. More and more sites know where VPN endpoints originate. How will VPNs prevent this in the future without them just become easy to block?
Apple, for better or worse, has been able to use their size to pressure sites into accepting connections from their Private Relay service. If VPN usage becomes the norm, sites will have to give in eventually.
This was a dumb study, and if they'd asked the VPN providers, I'm sure someone would tell them why. All the VPN providers I've used let you select the endpoint from a dropdown menu. I'm not using a VPN to make it appear I'm in Russia, I'm using it as one of many tools to help further my browsing privacy. My endpoint is one of 2 major cities that are close to me. Could I pick some random 3rd world country? Sure! That…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Can really spot someone who has never had to deal with OFAC with a comment like this. Even if I don't necessarily agree with the concept, or who is actually being blocked, my business is dead in the water if I'm a) sent to prison or b) fined out of existence. Geographic IP information is one of our best tools to defend against those outcomes, and if anything it should be better.
If you were serious about limiting who uses your services you'd use an allowlist of ASNs. Even then, what about users using US-based residential proxies?
Mullvad is the only VPN I will ever trust. Yet again they ace the test.
Looks like the link is dead.
Turn off your VPN?