VPN or not VPN

Rich said:
If I click on the VPN link above it takes me to the vendor's site and at the top of the page, my IP address is displayed. Sites can track you using your IP address.

This is displayed without a VPN(it displays me full IPAddress and my service provider):
View attachment 272424

When I sign onto that website using VPN it shows this (not my IP address and not my service provider):
View attachment 272425
This makes me anonymous online and will prevent a lot of spam, unwanted advertising, and tracking.

I use Private Internet Access, it's inexpensive and doesn't slow things down too much.
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I will have to take some time to check it out. I wasn't aware that the link would do that. My apologies.
 

VPN - Virtual Private Network, you can subscribe to many for a monthly fee, some better, some worse than your normal protection. Opera browser has a free one if you install the browser. It's not rated as highly as others. Advice I've read is it's not a catch all but does offer some protection, it masks your IP address preventing tracking, but it is not infallible & can allow some access. I use addons with Firefox, along with a firewall.

Best advice is to browse safe & don't open emails when in doubt. Monitor your financial sites closely. It's best for public accesses and deletes your info when shutdown preventing hacking your credentials after use. Better to use 'Tor' when browsing.
 
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I’ve used a VPN while traveling for years—especially on public Wi-Fi, it’s worth it. But you do need to research providers carefully; not all are trustworthy. I also use Phonexa to monitor my web traffic patterns for work, which makes me even more aware of how exposed unencrypted data can be. Definitely lean toward using a VPN for peace of mind.
 
One of the selling features that influenced my purchase of a Google Pixel 7 pro was that in addition to 5 years of guaranteed updates, that a VPN was included. Evidently there was some fine print, or else Google pulled one of their typical renege on an agreement shenanigans, because the VPN quietly was discontinued.
 
Rich said:
I think for the most part it's because many sites rely on tracking user data for marketing purposes, and VPNs make it harder for them to collect this information.
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I find that frustrating. I hate being tracked all the time and have spent a good deal of time trying to avoid it (e.g., disabling ad preferences based on my search activity).

I can understand, say, Amazon Prime detecting and blocking VPNs in case someone is trying to access content that is not available in their region. But earlier today Google temporarily blocked me after I accidentally left a VPN on. I had to do a CAPTCHA puzzle to prove I wasn't a bot.

Seems like it's getting harder and harder to maintain one's privacy online.
 
I suspect that VPNs are heavily promoted because they offer single points of contact for global intelligence agencies to tap in and record in plain text everything you do. The side benefit is that this helps winnow down the noise of honest folks with nothing to hide.

The only value I can imagine is in cases where you use public or 3rd party WiFi to perform banking and other sensitive activity.
 
KSav said:
I find that frustrating. I hate being tracked all the time and have spent a good deal of time trying to avoid it (e.g., disabling ad preferences based on my search activity).

I can understand, say, Amazon Prime detecting and blocking VPNs in case someone is trying to access content that is not available in their region. But earlier today Google temporarily blocked me after I accidentally left a VPN on. I had to do a CAPTCHA puzzle to prove I wasn't a bot.

Seems like it's getting harder and harder to maintain one's privacy online.
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I completely agree—being tracked online feels like someone constantly peering over your shoulder. While VPNs provide some privacy, they often come with a noticeable slowdown in speed. To make matters worse, more websites are actively blocking VPN access. For instance, there's an automobile-related forum I visit regularly, and it frequently rejects my login when the VPN is enabled. My workaround is to disable the VPN, sign in, and then turn it back on. Whether this actually improves privacy, I'm not sure—but it seems worth the effort.
 
I use VPN as much as I can when I travel, especially when I use public wifi such as airport or hotel wifi. However, some websites (eg, Forums..etc) do not allow access via VPN, then I would pause VPN for a moment just to access those websites.
 

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