As the Title requests: I am curious where the protection differs with price point and form of technology. please list one - two options for any given or all categories if you like
What is, in your opinion and from experience, the best FREE VPN for 2021?
What is, in your opinion and from experience, the best paid for software VPN service?
What is, in your opinion and from experience, the best Hardware VPN for 2021? (included or free VPN Software - no sub)
What is, in your opinion and from experience, the best Hardware VPN for under $1000? (NGFW, Subscription based, no limit under budget)
This is an interesting thread. I wasnāt aware that the Patriot Act restricted the usage of logs or no logs for Internet providers in the US. Where is the documentation for this? Also, the "anything cleared for āNATO Restrictedā " is an interesting tidbit, just how does one find such available hardware for consumer use?
Section 206 of the Patriot Act (Roving Wiretaps) has a lot of āIt is soo difficult for us to use thisā going on around it. There is hardly any denying that it circumvents the 4th amendment.
VPNās are not internet service providers and the ones that state they are not keeping logs, probably are actually not keeping logs, as it would also be illegal for them to lie about that. Some of them can actually prove this as well.
However they can be compelled to start logging by a court at any time, without disclosing this publically, in complete secrecy. TBF this is true to almost any VPN or indeed any hosting service in the world, but US based companies and even companies hosting servers in the US are especially vulnerable to this because of draconian laws like the patriot act.
None of this by default makes much of a difference to normal users who arenāt interested in doing something illegal that would make them a target in such surveillance or criminal/national security investigations. Or at least thatās what you might thinkā¦ who knows what will happen or is happening already in this crazy worldā¦
Donāt have personal experience but ProtonVPN are offering a free plan, which is basically funded by the paying customers. This ofc is only suitable for light use, as I expect all the free plans areā¦ Take a look for yourself and see what you think.
Im currently using protonVPN(paid). Its not US based (super +) but I have heard a little troubling news. I guess all a VPN has is its reputation vs performance.
ProtonVPN has been fine performance wise and the linux app seems to work well.
I have been test driving SurfShark for a few weeks. I had ExpressVPN until that last little brouhaha about their CIO and his former work as a government state hacking exploits came to light, at that point I no longer trusted their policies. Surfshark is based in Amsterdam, and supposedly has a total no log policy, as in they donāt even run HDDās at all, itās all RAM based and flushed at intervals from what I understand.
If this is the case, then that changes everything.
Correct, vpn companies are not the same as isp companies. They can keep logs, technically, whether they do or not is circumstantial at best it seems. However, I feel, that the legal authority has been established to encourage both isp and vpn companies to simply port their data thru the ICās cables, and THEY can do the logging. Who ever owns the technical equipment at any given station along the pipe would have access to said data, and after discovering today that our famous and reputable three letter agencies have the capability of using quantum compute to break any encryption method used on public utility classed communication systems. This relates to phones, comptuers, and all companies that provide encryption including TOR services. Not only can the encrypted packets be decrypted, but the identiable information can also be tracked and is stored on their servers along with the meta data AND content. OooFf that was a long one. What I am reading today tells me, if you pay for service, and use equipment that is provided as a service anywhere in the world, its bascailly being decrypted and stored in chilled server rooms or in bunkers deep in a mtn in some āsafeā country like Denmark.
This used to be the bottleneck me thinks. But with the Patriot Act in play, it basically overrules the protections giving the IC full capacity to mass dragnet not just meta data but also content. Now, it makes more sense what Snowden was saying in a recent document . . . and I had not realized to the scale and magnitude he was inferring. Its just easier for the IC to force all companies available to run their data thru controlled gates.
Yea I have been a user for a year now, ish, and I love and dislike it in a few different ways. I am looking for an alternative, including paid service now.
I have had issues with performance during the day time in my location. I am noticing these issues more recently being last 2 - 3 months. I like the CL version more than the app for my distro of linux tbh, and I am seeking today to get a solution to my VPN needs. (hopefully)
Interesting, I will have to check them out. Thanks for mentioning them!!!
Seems that if our VPN provider resides in the authority of the 14 eyes then, ou r data could be at risk. Just to note, the 14 Eyes make up: those 14 nations but there are still more, and contineous efforts in place to recruit nations to this intel sharing collab. I would list the nations but I keep reading and there are more nations to add, and then more again. So I need to really read it all up first.
Interesting, I will have to check them out. Thanks for mentioning them!!!
I actually found them from one of the Youtuberās I watch, then did a few google searches on reviews and they always ended up in the top 5. Speeds with them are really good, the client is easy to use, allows unlimited device connections to the account, etc. So more features for the same price as ExpressVPN was offering. Also, the client allows you to decided WHAT apps use the VPN tunnel and which ones bypass it, even with the client connected and running. Itās pretty slick.
