blonde poker forum

Do you have one and if so why?

When I'm away from home I often use free WiFi, does this mean that I need one?

How do I get one?

Are they difficult to manage?

Do you leave them 'always on?

Do they increase the load on your CPU?

TIA.

The only time I use one is when free wifi has a nanny filter that stops me reading blonde etc. I use the free to use Hoxx extension in Firefox, works fine.

If you want one NordVPN seems to be the market leader even after a rap on the knuckles (https://www.theregister.co.uk/2019/05/01/nordvpn_tv_ad_rapped_advertising_standards_authority/) from the Advertising Standards Authority.

Difficult? No.
Always on? Could do. May slow down internet traffic ever so slightly.
CPU load? Not that you'd notice.

Thanks Mr L.

Would Hoxx allow me to say, view BBC iPlayer programmes while I'm abroad?

Do you have one and if so why?

Yes I use an android tv box and would rather that my ISP didn't know that I was streaming from a dubious source and also some sources can be blocked.  I also use it for gambling when abroad (non-poker as they can get shirty about vpns).

When I'm away from home I often use free WiFi, does this mean that I need one?

I tend to use it out and about when I login to anything using a password, maybe over cautious.

How do I get one?

I use one called IVPN at a cost of $100 a year.  It has a simple app (ie you just pick the server country and connect) and a number of protections to avoid your IP address being revealed if the connection drops.  You can get various cheaper deals but I would advise against the installation of any free app as they have been implicated in dubious practices.  Opera has a free one on their browser.  If you stream stuff you would probably need to pay for one.

Are they difficult to manage?

Mine isn't but there are a lot of options in the vpn area eg you can set up a bespoke network.

Do you leave them 'always on?

Mostly when abroad and always on my android box

Do they increase the load on your CPU?

No they shouldn't as they are just like connecting to the internet (having said that my provider added a "no tracking" button to their app which seemed to use a lot of cpu when I tried it).

Several ex-pat forum posts suggest it will. Several VPN affiliate sites who can't earn an income from Hoxx suggest it won't.

I'd bet on will.

Very useful too thanks.

Already I can feel the 'I'm out of my depth option overload confusion' setting in.

10 years ago I downloaded firefox to my laptop and started using it.

Now I have a new laptop and have done the same thing. It's behaving diferently though. For example, the spell check doesn't seem to work although I think I have it turned on.

BTW- I can see an 'add Hoxx to firefox' button, do I just press that and hey presto?

Do I need to download a dictionary?

Iplayer won't work if you use a vpn.  They appear to be blacklisting VPN providers IP addresses.  So even if you find a vpn that works now, it will probably be blacklisted at some point in the future.   

Thanks. Got my spellchecker working now. (Needed a dictionary)

re Hoxx see

I would advise against the installation of any free app as they have been implicated in dubious practices

Even from a big hitter like firefox you reckon?

I wouldn't put that much faith in firefox to control their addons.  The chrome vpn is an integral part of the browser not an addon created by third party.  Hoxx extensively collect your data.  Why install a privacy device that moves your data to the USA where your rights are negligible.

As has been often stated.  If you aren't the customer you are the product.

Fair comment, thanks.

Just because I'm paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get me.

Have one on all devices.

I do use torrents, stream movies and have a dodgy sky/by/us cable package, so there's reason for me to have one.

But I would not use public WiFi without one, and even home networks are easily gotten into. For the cost there's little reason to not have one if you do any sort of financial transaction online

So you're saying paid for version, always on?

Recommend?

As a side note, I use a 5yo android smartphone which I don't want to update yet because I will have to lose at least one of the fetures that I like on this one. However....

The last and final security update for this model was ~ Aug last year. Will using a VPN help keep that secure or is that a whole nother pile of pancakes?

If I pay for a VPN, can I use the same one across several devices?

Yeah you can usually have 5+ connections

Paid versions will be faster (less traffic on servers) more stable (better spec on severs + protection against attacks - popular ones are constantly attacked by foriegn governments and hackers trying to leak people's IPs) and will generally have better security and flexibility. (ability to chose country for example  which is useful for cheaper Netflix subs, evading geoblocking etc)

A vpn simply keeps your web traffic safe.

Imagine someone wants to see who you are writing to. They simply read the address labels on you letters. A vpn is like a PO box. Anyone wanting to see your web traffic simply sees stuff being sent to and from a single server. The content is opaque to even your service provider.

So yes it will make you more secure esp on public wifi

https://www.ultravpn.com/

?

Not used them, but looks at the pricier end. For that price you could go with protonvpn which is designed by the team at CERN and hosted in Switzerland (mega tight security and privacy  laws) and is the go to for journalists in countries that will kill you for writing the wrong words, and for whistleblowers (they also made a hyper secure email service)


I've used Xpressvpn and proton and they were both excelletn, bit at the expensive end of the market and probably overkill.


Nord, private internet access and IP vanish have been used by people who's opinions I trust and are much cheaper options.

I couldn't recommend anything outside of them as I don't know enough about other providers.

Nord do 3 years @ £82.40 with a 30 day trial.

Seems OK to me. I'm going abroad next week so I could give it a bit of a test run with BBC iplayer.

Even if it works for iplayer now, it eventually won't.  BBC log where multiple connections are made using the same IP and now that they make you register, it's pretty easy to work out that vpns are being used.  So don't use iplayer as a reason to take up a provider.

I used Tunnelbear and NordVPN from France a couple of years ago to be able to stream Game of Thrones on Sky.  Both were easy to use, but both were hit and miss with regard to being accepted by Sky, which supports the earlier comment regarding them being detected and blocked by sites.

Free trials are a good bet to do test logins, but will typically have restricted data limits.

I'm sure you are right.

I guess I need to do more research into what is and isn't possible.

I know nothing about torrents for example.

Do you have a second pc/laptop that you can leave running in the UK?

Leave a laptop running? Mrs Red would have a fit. She's convinced we would come home to a smoking crater if I leave the sky box plugged in.

If I left a laptop on she would swear blind that someone was casing our gaff and stealing our valuables through the camera.

 

If you want to watch TV shows there are apps that let you watch pretty much anything for free (on android anyway)

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ytyc8ix7cpo1ffv/Titanium_TV_AF_2.0.16.apk?dl=0

For example.

Install at your own risk. I've used it for a while and it works fine (I have a debrid account which pulls more HQ links, but you can get links without one)

Yeah what doubleup says. Had loads of problems trying to get iplayer. Just catches you eventually until it becomes too much of a hassle. Got rid of mine in the end.

I use IPVanish and can highly recommend it.

I use it on public WiFi networks and at home when streaming or wanting to read something on a site which is not available to the UK.  Some sites will detect you are using a VPN and ask you to turn it off.

Otherwise I leave it off.

Is Crown Derby the new Bitcoin?

I'm not the best with computers and software, but have used tunnelbear for about a year with no issues. Free to use.