Recommend a VPN

[Regulator]

Can anyone recommend a VPN? I use one for work and I’d like to be able to use one for domestic stuff as well. Preferably able to cope with multiple devices.

[Rocky]

This sounds like a thing @Joan might know about. I'd be interested in setting one up myself, as well, although I know very little about them beyond what a quick search of Youtube delivers.

[Rutabaga]

I don't know what they are.

[Rocky]

I don't know what they are.

Nor did I until earlier today. It's a way of sending secure messages across different laptops/tablets/phones but also a good way to hide your identity. How it does it, I'm not sure. I'm hoping Joan will give us a simple guide as well as some recommendations.

[Joan]

VPN is a virtual private network. Instead of connecting directly to the internet, you connect via one of these. There are two main reasons for doing this:

1. Privacy at your end: normally your ISP/phone provider/employer can see everything you do on the internet, at least every website you visit
2. Privacy at the remote end: any website you visit can see your IP address and get your location and much else from that.

To connect to a VPN you install some software on a machine, and then all (or some) of you internet traffic goes through that software. It encrypts everything, and then sends it to a remote server. All your ISP will see is a stream on encrypted data all going to one address, the remote server. The remote server decrypts it, visits the appropriate sites, and sends the data back to you encrypted again. The remote server sees that that request coming from a random machine that could be anywhere in the world, and has no idea where you actually are. If you combine this with incognito mode on your browser, there is very little way for anyone to see what you are doing. Except of course the VPN itself, so it's important you can trust it.

If you want to see what me (or any other website) can see about you, try visiting https://www.whatismyip.com/

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Specifically to answer @Regulator problem, I can't really be helpful. I only use a VPN for youtube on my phone. This is because I want to watch John Oliver, and you they won't let you watch it in the UK. Also, youtube for android has a picture within picture feature that is free if you are in the US but costs £12/month in the UK!!

For this purpose, I use a free app https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta ... n&hl=en_GB. It's pretty good for what it does, especially for free, but doesn't help reg.