VPN’S

[Mike J]

22 hours ago, Onemore52 said:

Any bad ones I should stay clear of?

I tried the one that sounds sort of like "Hide my mule".  Nothing but problems and I would not recommend it, but maybe I was just unlucky.

[Peaceful John]

On 2/23/2022 at 8:21 PM, GeoffH said:

Stay away from free VPN providers, they tend to be slow, limited in function and often have dubious security.

I would also avoid "lifetime" license VPNs, they tend to be 'ok' when you sign up but get slower over time forcing you onto monthly plans (it seems to be their most common marketing model).

The big names are generally ok Nord, ExpressVPN, Private VPN, IPVanish, PureVPN etc.

Surfshark is a budget VPN that's reliable and offers decent performance, it's not as good as the above at getting Netflix and Prime video working but it's fine for other stuff.

IMHO the two top VPNs (ignoring price) are Nord and ExpressVPN and the best budget VPN is Surfshark.

Geoff recapped it nicely.  Thanks,  My additional 2 pesos......I was a big fan of Express VPN until recently (around the time the company was sold to a Middle Eastern company).  I started having problems with not being able to get connections with US servers, regardless of the time or location.  The biggest problem was with Netflix.  We would be 5 minutes into a movie or series and it would suddenly stop, and a screen would appear saying I was using a VPN and must shut it off.  EXTREMELY frustrating as we could not reconnect, so off to bed early.  After many "hours" (yes really, hours) with customer service, one tech finally informed me that they had a dispute with Netflix and the connection was not stable.  They said their engineers were working on it, but nothing they could do for now.  So, after a couple of years with Express VPN, I switched  to Nord VPN and BINGO!!! the problem went away and now no issues.  Not sure if anyone else has experienced this, but for me my number 1 is now Nord VPN.  

Edited February 25, 2022 by Peaceful John

[Freebie]

Just remember all VPN;s including Express which I had and Nord which I have all promise and promote  you can use them to change location for Netflix. Neither of them work for me to do that.

[Freebie]

1 hour ago, Peaceful John said:

So, after a couple of years with Express VPN, I switched  to Nord VPN and BINGO!

Wish I knew how you did that.... or what Im doing incorrectly. !

[BrettGC]

3 minutes ago, Freebie said:

Just remember all VPN;s including Express which I had and Nord which I have all promise and promote  you can use them to change location for Netflix. Neither of them work for me to do that.

Nord works with Netflix fine for me as well.  There was a glitch for a day so last year but they fixed it pretty quickly.  

[GeoffH]

35 minutes ago, Freebie said:

Neither of them work for me to do that.

Generally they allow you to choose the server, if the server you're using isn't working try another server.

There is a continuous fight between IT staff at streaming providers and VPN providers, one lot trying to block servers and the other one creating new server addresses.  

Remember that game whack a mole?  It's a bit like that... if the server you're using isn't working (and they all get smashed after a while) use a new one.

 

[hk blues]

Do you guys set your VPN up on your router or PC or Smart TV?  As I understand it, it may be difficult to set up on a router if it's a Globe or PLDT for example as we don't have access to the password etc.  

I don't use (need) a VPN presently but who knows in the future.

[GeoffH]

1 minute ago, hk blues said:

Do you guys set your VPN up on your router or PC or Smart TV?  As I understand it, it may be difficult to set up on a router if it's a Globe or PLDT for example as we don't have access to the password etc.  

PLDT would not give me access to the router (said we don't give out the password), I said "well I can't set up the wireless repeater for the second floor and the internet doesn't reach the third floor how much will you charge to do that?  Oh we don't do that sir..."  (it's more fun in the Philippines).

I got around it by relocating the router to the second floor but getting to the point... eventually... I set up the VPN on a computer and send the video from that computer to the TV via a HDMA cable from the computer.

[BrettGC]

14 minutes ago, hk blues said:

Do you guys set your VPN up on your router or PC or Smart TV?  As I understand it, it may be difficult to set up on a router if it's a Globe or PLDT for example as we don't have access to the password etc.  

I don't use (need) a VPN presently but who knows in the future.

For Netflix and Amazon etc, I have the VPN installed on my phone, connect to the country of choice, and stream from my phone to my TV via Chromecast.  Negates the need for a smart TV as well.  We watch local content only via the smart TV functionality.

Edited February 25, 2022 by BrettGC

[hk blues]

1 hour ago, GeoffH said:

PLDT would not give me access to the router (said we don't give out the password), I said "well I can't set up the wireless repeater for the second floor and the internet doesn't reach the third floor how much will you charge to do that?  Oh we don't do that sir..."  (it's more fun in the Philippines).

I got around it by relocating the router to the second floor but getting to the point... eventually... I set up the VPN on a computer and send the video from that computer to the TV via a HDMA cable from the computer.

That's the problem I anticipated, although the Globe technician was happy to give me the password for the router previously he has moved on.  

My solution would be to set up my laptop (with a VPN installed) as a mobile hotspot and then connect the TV via the laptop.  Downside is I'd need to keep my laptop on.  Not really a great option for me.