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Ask Slashdot: Finding a Trustworthy VPN Service?
New submitter Cheeze ball writes "I've recently moved to Europe and I'd like to setup a VPN so I can get Hulu, Netflix, and a few other services. I've found plenty of sites offering cheap VPN services, but they all seem just a tad too shady. Searching for any reviews on them only brings up pages of positive reviews on sites whose only content is said review. Does anyone have any suggestions on reliable reasonably safe VPN?"
Get a cheap colocated server in the US and then run OpenVPN or whatever flavor of VPN you prefer.
I've been using WiTopia a little over a year and had no problems with it.
BoingBoing recently posted a link to TunnelBear, which has several positive reputable reviews.
You can use basic VPS service (I use vps.net myself for my site hosting and works fine), set up a Linux distro you like and use Putty on your machine to tunnel over. And there you go: Secure VPN.
This combination doesn`t exist: ETIs that know about humanity and want to see us dead. Otherwise we wouldn't exist.
I live in China and use Astrill (www.astrill.com). It's cheap and stable. I run Netflix, stream from NBC, and occasionally Skype with it. Streaming video like Netflix is smooth, but the quality isn't super high. So far my only real complaint is that they have a client software that sits on your desktop. Good luck!
I've been using http://unblock-us.com/ for a few months (not affiliated in any way), and I like their approach. You change the DNS servers in your router, and it directs the traffic for you. That way, you can use Netflix et.al from devices that don't support VPN clients (like your smart TV/XBOX/AppleTV etc).
Why go through all that trouble just to watch crappy, advertising-riddled American TV? You're in Europe! I don't understand why anyone would *want* to watch US TV unless they had no other choice (meaning, they live in the US).
Questionable but... here's a reverse case of it, which won in (a US, I think) court.
Well, keep in mind just about any of them would give your data over if the authorities came knocking, but I know HotSpot Shield doesn't store user IP info (just don't use their free service - puts a big ad on every page you visit). So in other words, even if the authorities came to their door and offered them a billion dollars for your IP, they wouldn't be able to give it because they don't have it. But they have said they would start storing IPs if a law were passed saying they had to.
There's practically zero chance of them finding out. They would need to somehow know that the IP address of the VPN server is illegitimate (that's pretty unlikely already), and then convince that VPN service to hand over your personally identifiable information.
And if they do catch you, what crime do they have you for? Violation of the terms of service?
Okay, for one thing, I'm trying to figure out why you're worried about "safe". Your intent is to watch Netflix and Hulu with the VPN service? What are you worried about? Yes, I know...both take credit cards...but they do so over SSL.
Your biggest problem will be throughput, and potentially latency. A VPN does not help with network performance, and neither does adding more hops to the route that the traffic will have to follow...especially when the server with be US-based and you'll be on the other side of the pond in Europe. So whatever service you do look at, make sure that they will be able to keep the data flowing at the bandwidth rates you need, and without causing problems from latency. And remember...latency and bandwidth are kind of related, but not the same thing. You can have high latency on a huge pipe, and low latency on a skinny one.
For your security, this post has been encrypted with ROT-13, twice.
AIUI using a VPN, proxy or similar service to access the internet is not in itself illegal. However if you use it to access sites that are supposed to be geographically restricted then you are likely to be breaking the terms of service of those sites. This then raises the quesiton of whether those terms of service form a legally enforceable contract.
For pay services you are also likely to need a US payment method.
note: i'm known as plugwash most places but i screwd up registering that here somehow in the past and now can't register
I've been using StrongVPN (OpenVPN) on a Buffalo G300NH loaded with DD-WRT and haven't had any issues. Works great from Belgium for Netflix, Pandora and web browsing. I chose the router solution so that the Roku, iPhone, and Wii can always be on the VPN and the laptops/desktops can be switched back and forth. I have another wireless router that provides local Internet.
Streaming works great here, too. The kids are always watching something on Netflix. I'll sit outside by the fire with a cigar for a couple of hours and Pandora streams the entire time. Depends on your location in Europe and ISP, of course...
-John
If the primary purpose of the VPN is just location spoofing who cares if its safe? Go with the cheapest option, don't give them a direct credit card payment (ie PayPal, a temporary card number, or a one time card) and use the one that works. If you need to do something 'secure' over that VPN double down and use SSL.
The evil hackers in Slobenia aren't interested in your Netflix queue.
Legal? Well, if you're concerned about that - or anonymity - you should probably be looking a VPNs which accept Bitcoin in payment. *Those* are the providers that actually care about protecting their clients. Here's a list:
https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Trade#Connectivity
Bitcoin does have its uses...
Not OP, but it seems rather obvious that he's concerned about his prospective VPN/VPS "neighbors"..
People do use these services for various shady activities, and if a guy is using e.g. a legit Netflix account /w his real name and such, he'd probably prefer not to have the hardware seized and examined by the cops (thus becoming a suspect / accessory) because someone else on the service was using it for illegal purposes.
What really irks me about geographical restrictions is their totalitarian approach. I keep a permanent address in the US along with a few bank accounts and whatnot. But if I subscribe to a US-based service with my American address and bank account, I'm only allowed to use it while I'm physically within the US. I understand the reasoning--that stuff airs abroad at different times and with different distribution/carrier agreements--but as far as Hulu or Netflix is concerned, I live in the US and just travel 99% of the time... I mean, I still have to file US taxes (because taxes are based on citizenship and residence, so I get to file taxes in two countries) but PayPal/Hulu/Netflix/etc. throw a temper tantrum unless I log in through a US-based VPN... Anyway, it seems unlikely that a citizen living abroad who pays for a streaming service in their own country would be extradited for violating the TOS; more likely to happen to someone re-selling access or broadcasting it in a pub or something.
Actually, I wrote my thesis on life experience.
Remember Hushmail? Turns out they were logging traffic after all. I would never trust a random VPN to not log traffic.
I'm currently at a university and don't bother running a VPN, but I'd check out AirVPN. They allow you to pay with BitCoin, so that they don't even have your payment information.
The government can't save you.
The reason you can't use Netflix and Hulu is that the copyright holders have insisted that your money is no good. If they knew some of the money they were receiving was coming from you, they would be furious and look for any way possible to force you to take it back. They're already pissed off enough that Americans are still paying them, and they're constantly working on ways to make us stop.
Bittorrent avoids the problem. Why keep fighting to pay someone who doesn't want your business, when even greater interoperability (anything can play a avi/mp4/mkv file), higher bitrate, better uptime/reliability, and lower bills? They don't want anyone as customers, but especially you.
Either switch to piracy, or come to terms with the fact that you will be playing a constant game of cat-and-mouse and escalating arms races in order to do business with someone who is playing the same game with the goal of avoiding doing business. This is Hollywood we're talking about, who practically invented the idea of accounting tricks to avoid profits. Now that everyone sees through the fraudulent accounting, the endgame is to make the lack of revenue real and if you fight them by paying, you are picking a fight with the very best, most highly experienced, brilliant losers. I don't care how bad-ass you think you are, with your tricks to make a suicidal industry have revenue against its will, but you are likely out-matched. Get realistic.
"Believe me!" -- Donald Trump
So you need a VPN that can not do that. Look here... http://torrentfreak.com/which-vpn-providers-really-take-anonymity-seriously-111007/
Friendly reminder:
legality != morality
It's harmful to confuse the two.