Latest VPN Reviews 2023

[GeoffH]

Have you considered adding a Google Chromecast to your Samsung TV (plugs into a HDMI port) and using the smart features on that instead of the inbuilt Samsung TV OS? 

They're mostly used to make dumb TVs smart but there isn't any reason you can't use them on a smart TV (I have in the past because the Samsung store didn't have all the apps I wanted).

I just selected the HDMI port the chromecast was plugged into.

https://shopee.ph/Google-Chromecast-with-Google-TV-i.163796627.3961005550

Edited January 14, 2023 by GeoffH

[hk blues]

38 minutes ago, GeoffH said:

Have you considered adding a Google Chromecast to your Samsung TV (plugs into a HDMI port) and using the smart features on that instead of the inbuilt Samsung TV OS? 

They're mostly used to make dumb TVs smart but there isn't any reason you can't use them on a smart TV (I have in the past because the Samsung store didn't have all the apps I wanted).

I just selected the HDMI port the chromecast was plugged into.

https://shopee.ph/Google-Chromecast-with-Google-TV-i.163796627.3961005550

Thanks - yes, I was aware this was a workaround but as it's in my son's room and only really used for his gaming it hasn't been a priority.  It has Netflix anyway which is the only other thing he uses it for.  

If I'm not mistaken I could cast it from the smartphone as well as another workaround, maybe?

[BrettGC]

42 minutes ago, GeoffH said:

Have you considered adding a Google Chromecast to your Samsung TV (plugs into a HDMI port) and using the smart features on that instead of the inbuilt Samsung TV OS? 

They're mostly used to make dumb TVs smart but there isn't any reason you can't use them on a smart TV (I have in the past because the Samsung store didn't have all the apps I wanted).

I just selected the HDMI port the chromecast was plugged into.

https://shopee.ph/Google-Chromecast-with-Google-TV-i.163796627.3961005550

I did the same, we have one on each TV here as a backup.  Only issue is VPNs cut them out of the loop.

[Kingpin]

13 hours ago, Dave Hounddriver said:

I also don't know anyone who's whole family was murdered because they left their doors unlocked with no security. 

But you could find home invasion news or statistics, one reason why most people lock their doors.

Hacked or scammed due to a public IP? Still waiting.

 

[Avalon]

I use ExpressVPN for watching F1 on Luxembourg TV for free and the World Cup on BBC etc but I never, ever use a VPN for financial transactions and never had to - overseas banks and payment gateways have no issue with the IPs I use here.

Paypal for example are hot on VPN IPs and if you use one you risk your account being frozen for suspicious activity for up to 6 months - happened to my friend.

We buy a handful of new VPS servers (not VPN) every week for our business and using a VPN will have the transaction flagged as possible fraud on most occasions.

They use services such as MaxMind's minFraud API that amongst other things hunts for VPN IPs - https://www.maxmind.com/en/solutions/minfraud-services

 

[BrettGC]

20 minutes ago, Kingpin said:

But you could find home invasion news or statistics, one reason why most people lock their doors.

Hacked or scammed due to a public IP? Still waiting.

 

Australian statistics on hacking from Australian National University: https://www.anu.edu.au/news/all-news/six-million-australian-adults-hacked-in-the-last-year

This article explains why they're recommended by cyber security experts that have years of experience: https://www.forbes.com/advisor/au/vpn/will-a-vpn-protect-you-from-hackers/

You use @Dave Hounddriver's analogy expanded:  You've locked the door and put a fence up.  No it's not foolproof, but it makes you a harder target and the attacker is more likely to move onto an easier victim.

I'm going to continue using them based on years working in an environment where we exploited unprotected targets in all forms of communications.  It's up to you to make your own decision, it's not up to us to convince you.

[Kingpin]

3 minutes ago, BrettGC said:

You've locked the door and put a fence up.  

Because of a valid concern, correct.

 

3 minutes ago, BrettGC said:

it's not up to us to convince you.

I just asked a question, there are valid valid reasons for some people to use a VPN and to hide IP, but I haven't seen any evidence that 'getting hacked' is one of them.

 

[GeoffH]

1 hour ago, hk blues said:

If I'm not mistaken I could cast it from the smartphone as well as another workaround, maybe?

You could but I wouldn't recommend it as an everyday choice, it's fine for a short stay at a resort (for example).

It makes your phone work hard, get hot and can reduce battery life if done too often.

[BrettGC]

51 minutes ago, Kingpin said:

Because of a valid concern, correct.

 

I just asked a question, there are valid valid reasons for some people to use a VPN and to hide IP, but I haven't seen any evidence that 'getting hacked' is one of them.

 

Your exposed IP is a target and more open to potential attacks. It's what we did in the navy for our targets, we'd geolocate the target through other methods then once we knew where they were, we'd monitor for any internet activity (amongst other things) coming from that location.  If we knew they were using online resources but couldn't pin down their IP it made our job that much harder due to them using a VPN and we'd have to "brute force" it.  Even with the resources we had, this could take days and sometimes weeks, or we'd get lucky and someone would expose the IP accidentally.

Criminal hackers on the other hand, tend to look for targets of opportunity,  and being unprotected you leave yourself open to that opportunity.  Unless they're government backed, hackers usually don't have the resources or patience to "brute force" encryption and if they do, it's normally a targeted attack against an organisation like the recent Medibank and Optus hacks in Australia.  

In many instances you won't know you've been hacked until your internet security programme alerts you that your credentials have been found on the "dark web", or you get a message of a suspicious login from whichever organisation you have the account with.  A lot of the hackers don't exploit the information themselves, they sell it to the highest bidder but it could go either way.  

Edited January 14, 2023 by BrettGC

[longway]

On 1/13/2023 at 4:51 AM, Kingpin said:

Do you know anyone who was hacked or scammed because they didn't hide their IP? I get your other reasons but they don't apply to me, or if they did it's nothing a free VPN for a few minutes couldn't fix.

 

Can't say that I personally know of anyone scammed or hacked with or without a VPN but from reports I hear it happens. Interestingly, The site that my VPN often has to be turned off to use is our friend GOOGLE for searches. GOOGLE wants to know "who" is looking for "what" so they can sell your Identity. With the VPN on they don't know who you are so they refuse query service until it is turned off. FWIW, DuckDuckgo.com search engine allows the VPN to be active. I travel a lot and use hotel WiFi so that's why I use it. An Once of prevention...