Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

NordVPN library and client code open-sourced

github.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

41–50 of 276 posts

Re: NordVPN library and client code open-sourced

#41

Post by DeathArrow »

systems wrote: post #27

So, should we, or should we not use a VPN? If most sites nowadays are on HTTPS, is vpn still needed for daily use I think the only reason now to use a vpn, is to login to a site as if from a different location, if the site blocks your region, or sensor some of its content Any other good reason to use a vpn

>So, should we, or should we not use a VPN? If most sites nowadays are on HTTPS, is vpn still needed for daily use

It's good for hiding metadata like sites you access. In my country there's a recent law demanding ISP to record metadata and allowing many agencies to access it without warrant.

Re: NordVPN library and client code open-sourced

#42

Post by hammock »

appleaday1 wrote: post #6

I am taking a look at this. Now do Grammarly next, if we want to go by annoying Youtube ads. Someone should tell Grammarly that they are being excessive and too much advertising actually turns people off your product.

I wonder if grammarly targets people whose search history has misspellings. I haven’t seen a grammarly ad in years

Re: NordVPN library and client code open-sourced

#43

Post by nokcha »

systems wrote: post #27

So, should we, or should we not use a VPN? If most sites nowadays are on HTTPS, is vpn still needed for daily use I think the only reason now to use a vpn, is to login to a site as if from a different location, if the site blocks your region, or sensor some of its content Any other good reason to use a vpn

I imagine a VPN is sometimes still useful when torrenting, to avoid copyright complaints to your ISP.

Re: NordVPN library and client code open-sourced

#44

Post by galleywest200 »

systems wrote: post #27

So, should we, or should we not use a VPN? If most sites nowadays are on HTTPS, is vpn still needed for daily use I think the only reason now to use a vpn, is to login to a site as if from a different location, if the site blocks your region, or sensor some of its content Any other good reason to use a vpn

I use my VPN when connecting to WiFi networks I have less trust in, such as a coffee house or "guest wifi" at a hotel.

Re: NordVPN library and client code open-sourced

#45

Post by koolba »

systems wrote: post #27

So, should we, or should we not use a VPN? If most sites nowadays are on HTTPS, is vpn still needed for daily use I think the only reason now to use a vpn, is to login to a site as if from a different location, if the site blocks your region, or sensor some of its content Any other good reason to use a vpn

Or if you don’t want your ISP to know the host names of the specific porn^Wnews sites you frequent.

HTTPS covers the content, but for most people the DNS lookup would still be in plaintext.

Re: NordVPN library and client code open-sourced

#46

Post by stingraycharles »

acatton wrote: post #7

Reminder that it looks like NordVPN does shady stuff: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29285988 Allegedly, they are using their customers as botnets to resell traffic from residential IPs, mostly for scraping, through their other business "Oxylabs".

As a previous customer of Oxylabs, I can confirm that this was at least used as the explanation by their sales people.

To be honest, apart from botnets, it’s really the only way a company could “legally” get access to millions of residential IPs.

Re: NordVPN library and client code open-sourced

#47

Post by Ekaros »

hammock wrote: post #42
appleaday1 wrote: post #6

I am taking a look at this. Now do Grammarly next, if we want to go by annoying Youtube ads. Someone should tell Grammarly that they are being excessive and too much advertising actually turns people off your product.

I wonder if grammarly targets people whose search history has misspellings. I haven’t seen a grammarly ad in years

They still send spam, but it could be they have run out of money on advertising. Or someone run numbers on the returns.

Re: NordVPN library and client code open-sourced

#48

Post by rafael09ed »

irrational wrote: post #31
systems wrote: post #27

So, should we, or should we not use a VPN? If most sites nowadays are on HTTPS, is vpn still needed for daily use I think the only reason now to use a vpn, is to login to a site as if from a different location, if the site blocks your region, or sensor some of its content Any other good reason to use a vpn

I was wondering the same thing. How would my ISP even know that I am using a site like z-library if everything is over HTTPS?

Because the base URL isn't encrypted. The packet still needs to be able to be routed

Re: NordVPN library and client code open-sourced

#49

Post by TecoAndJix »

acatton wrote: post #7

Reminder that it looks like NordVPN does shady stuff: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29285988 Allegedly, they are using their customers as botnets to resell traffic from residential IPs, mostly for scraping, through their other business "Oxylabs".

Digging into this on oxylabs site i found this document: https://oxylabs.io/Oxylabs_Residential_Proxy_Acquisition_Han...

"Consenting and fully aware individuals become a part of a residential proxy network in return for a financial reward or some other benefit. When they choose to participate in our suppliers’ pools, they consent that a part of their internet traffic and a small amount of the device’s hardware resources will be used for a variety of business cases."

Does anyone that uses NordVPN know how explicit this is in their client/agreement? If they are even using it...

Re: NordVPN library and client code open-sourced

#50

Post by that_guy_iain »

acatton wrote: post #7

Reminder that it looks like NordVPN does shady stuff: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29285988 Allegedly, they are using their customers as botnets to resell traffic from residential IPs, mostly for scraping, through their other business "Oxylabs".

I think that's why they're open sourcing their client to show they're not going that?
Post reply on HN