wa4chq Posted September 29, 2021 Share Posted September 29, 2021 Greetings all. When I first brought this up a year or two ago, wanting to know if I should have some online protection, it made sense that I look into something and wound up using PIA. That was when I was always using the internet at various public places ie: local libraries or hot spots. Well, now my house is built and I have wifi here. Should I still use PIA? Thanks and everyone, have a great day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hedon James Posted September 29, 2021 Share Posted September 29, 2021 1 minute ago, wa4chq said: Greetings all. When I first brought this up a year or two ago, wanting to know if I should have some online protection, it made sense that I look into something and wound up using PIA. That was when I was always using the internet at various public places ie: local libraries or hot spots. Well, now my house is built and I have wifi here. Should I still use PIA? Thanks and everyone, have a great day. IMO, yes. Do you perform banking online? Do you use KODI add-ons to stream movies? Do you like to be "anonymous" on the internet and limit others' ability to track or identify you? If you answered "yes" to ANY of these, a VPN is a good idea. And I don't know what the "best" VPN is, but I also use PIA and have been happy with it. Of course, a VPN isn't the ONLY safeguard/option, but it does offer an additional layer of protection against those of questionable intentions. JMO... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wa4chq Posted September 29, 2021 Author Share Posted September 29, 2021 Hi Hedon James....yes, I do online banking and stream Amazon Prime vids..... OK, that settles it. Thanks for the info! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bookmem Posted September 29, 2021 Share Posted September 29, 2021 7 minutes ago, wa4chq said: Greetings all. When I first brought this up a year or two ago, wanting to know if I should have some online protection, it made sense that I look into something and wound up using PIA. That was when I was always using the internet at various public places ie: local libraries or hot spots. Well, now my house is built and I have wifi here. Should I still use PIA? Thanks and everyone, have a great day. Correct me if I'm wrong, but do you mean the VPN provider co. named Private Internet Access? If so, that co. was bought out and there have been bad reports about it since then. I don't personally use a VPN but one can provide a bit more privacy in your online activity. So if you want to use a VPN service just use one from another provider. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wa4chq Posted September 29, 2021 Author Share Posted September 29, 2021 One other thing....I remember having an issue doing a PIA update. I've notice the message saying another one is available. HJ, did you have problems updating PIA? tnx. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V.T. Eric Layton Posted September 29, 2021 Share Posted September 29, 2021 It's ALWAYS a good thing to be behind a VPN for any type of Internet access with any device. I used PIA for two years or so. I had no issues whatsoever. The prices was right and all that. However, their ownership changed. I was not too keen on the company or its umbrella corporation that acquired PIA, so I cancelled it. I did not re-up with some other VPN because I haven't had the $$$ to be able to do so. I've been resorting to TOR browser in the meantime. That being said, if I were to re-up with a VPN service, I would probably go with Proton VPN or Mulvad (what Josh uses) because you MUST TRUST the integrity of your VPN. Anyway... just my thoughts on this. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wa4chq Posted September 29, 2021 Author Share Posted September 29, 2021 I was just auto-charged for $84 by PIA. I looked up the plan I had and it's a 2 yr plan. I went to their website and see they offer 3yrs for $79.... Now I'm chatting with some PIA person to see about refund. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wa4chq Posted September 29, 2021 Author Share Posted September 29, 2021 Pia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wa4chq Posted September 29, 2021 Author Share Posted September 29, 2021 41 minutes ago, V.T. Eric Layton said: It's ALWAYS a good thing to be behind a VPN for any type of Internet access with any device. I used PIA for two years or so. I had no issues whatsoever. The prices was right and all that. However, their ownership changed. I was not too keen on the company or its umbrella corporation that acquired PIA, so I cancelled it. I did not re-up with some other VPN because I haven't had the $$$ to be able to do so. I've been resorting to TOR browser in the meantime. That being said, if I were to re-up with a VPN service, I would probably go with Proton VPN or Mulvad (what Josh uses) because you MUST TRUST the integrity of your VPN. Anyway... just my thoughts on this. I was fine using PIA but I'm gonna try something else when I see the refund. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abarbarian Posted September 29, 2021 Share Posted September 29, 2021 (edited) 1 hour ago, wa4chq said: Should I still use PIA? Reading this may help you make up your mind. I posted a thread about hacking but it due to be taken down of here, for some reason it has been labelled as a political thread and seems to have caused some controversy here. You Should Probably Stop Using ExpressVPN Quote Other recent events have caused some to question ExpressVPN’s direction. The company was recently purchased by Kape Technologies, an Israeli technology firm with a controversial past. Formerly known as CrossRider, the company was renamed in 2018 after it got a little too much publicity for, as CNET recently put it, being the “notorious creator of some pernicious data-huffing ad-ware.” Since then, it has been on an apparent rebranding effort accompanied by a privacy product buying spree. In recent years, the firm has procured the VPNs CyberGhost, Zenmate, and Private Internet Access, and purchased ExpressVPN for $936 million earlier this month. If you can afford a $ a week then Proton VPN is not a bad choice, even cheaper if you do the two year deal. Edited September 29, 2021 by abarbarian 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abarbarian Posted September 29, 2021 Share Posted September 29, 2021 57 minutes ago, V.T. Eric Layton said: I did not re-up with some other VPN because I haven't had the $$$ to be able to do so. https://protonvpn.com/free-vpn/ Proton do a free three server offering. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bookmem Posted September 29, 2021 Share Posted September 29, 2021 To me, there is an inherent problem with all VPN services. A VPN co. can spends years building a rep as a fair and dependable service, only to be bought out by crooks. I think this has happened with both PIA and Express. And the TINSTAAFL principle makes ALL free services suspicious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wa4chq Posted September 29, 2021 Author Share Posted September 29, 2021 3 hours ago, abarbarian said: Reading this may help you make up your mind. I posted a thread about hacking but it due to be taken down of here, for some reason it has been labelled as a political thread and seems to have caused some controversy here. You Should Probably Stop Using ExpressVPN If you can afford a $ a week then Proton VPN is not a bad choice, even cheaper if you do the two year deal. I wasn't using ExpressVPN, I was using PIA.... Thanks for the link. I'll take a look at it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abarbarian Posted September 29, 2021 Share Posted September 29, 2021 1 hour ago, wa4chq said: I wasn't using ExpressVPN, I was using PIA. You must have missed the RED highlight in the quote from the article then 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bookmem Posted September 29, 2021 Share Posted September 29, 2021 (edited) 2 hours ago, wa4chq said: I wasn't using ExpressVPN, I was using PIA.... Thanks for the link. I'll take a look at it. I think what Abarbarian is trying to point out is that both Express and PIA were bought by the same co. So what applies to one, also applies to the other. Edited September 29, 2021 by Bookmem 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wa4chq Posted September 29, 2021 Author Share Posted September 29, 2021 54 minutes ago, abarbarian said: You must have missed the RED highlight in the quote from the article then I sure as mud did! Thanks for pointing it out to me....again! lol. I'm going to be looking at some of the other ones you guys have mentioned. But something is weird. I told the fellow from PIA I was chatting with that I was gonna let it drop, and I'd decide later if I want to use it again. Well, on my desktop, I can no longer use PIA but I can on my phone.....strange Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wa4chq Posted September 29, 2021 Author Share Posted September 29, 2021 2 minutes ago, Bookmem said: I think what Abarbarian is trying to point out is that both Express and PIA were bought by the same co. So what applies to one, also applies to the other. Yes....I finally saw it and was responding to him....just a bit slow...lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wa4chq Posted September 29, 2021 Author Share Posted September 29, 2021 Eric mentioned using TOR and I'm trying it now... as a browser it's doing fine but for trying to log into my gmail account, not easy....in fact, not working. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wa4chq Posted September 29, 2021 Author Share Posted September 29, 2021 (edited) "The Some websites, such as banks or email providers, might interpret this as a sign that your account has been hacked or compromised, and lock you out. The only way to resolve this is by following the site’s recommended procedure for account recovery, or contacting the operators and explaining the situation." ...referring to logging into something like GMAIL.....This is getting a little over my head. Edited September 29, 2021 by wa4chq Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hedon James Posted September 30, 2021 Share Posted September 30, 2021 8 hours ago, wa4chq said: One other thing....I remember having an issue doing a PIA update. I've notice the message saying another one is available. HJ, did you have problems updating PIA? tnx. I have always had issues updating PIA on one machine. On that one machine, updating via GUI just hangs; I always have to download the new DEB and install with gdebi. All other machines update without issue. With all that said, I wasn't aware of the PIA buyout, and now that I know, I'm none too impressed with the buyer's rep either. My subscription runs through January or February, but I'll be switching once that script expires. Appreciate the recommendations for Proton and Mullvad. Don't know much about either, so I'm really just relying on the excellent reputations of my fellow Linux users on this forum and will probably follow their recommendation. If Mullvad is good enough for SB, it's certainly good enough for me, although maybe perhaps is overkill? Dunno. Anyone use Proton? They've got a free version for 1 machine, and paid version for 2 machines, but then jumps to 8(?). Figures....I've got 3 devices configured for VPN, so that's the version I'll need. $96/year seems kinda pricey compared to what PIA was charging. But maybe that's the going rate and PIA was just cheaper because they were huffing data? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abarbarian Posted September 30, 2021 Share Posted September 30, 2021 (edited) 8 hours ago, wa4chq said: "The Some websites, such as banks or email providers, might interpret this as a sign that your account has been hacked or compromised, and lock you out. The only way to resolve this is by following the site’s recommended procedure for account recovery, or contacting the operators and explaining the situation." ...referring to logging into something like GMAIL.....This is getting a little over my head. I use the following for banking in addition to a VPN. https://forums.scotsnewsletter.com/index.php?/topic/76690-firejail/&do=findComment&comment=459788 These are the alias's I use with firejail alias lonup="nmcli con up uk-lon.prod.surfshark.comsurfshark_openvpn_udp" alias londo="nmcli con down uk-lon.prod.surfshark.comsurfshark_openvpn_udp"alias lonup="nmcli con up uk-lon.prod.surfshark.comsurfshark_openvpn_udp" alias londo="nmcli con down uk-lon.prod.surfshark.comsurfshark_openvpn_udp" You could also set up FireFox containers which can work alongside a VPN for a little more protection. What Are Firefox Containers and How to Use Them to Protect Your Privacy For a VPN I use Surfshark they are based in the Virgin Islands as it was the cheapest vpn I could find and allowed multiple connections. Seems to work well on all my devices and has a lot of features. Is stable and does not seem to slow down any devices too much.Has a browser add-on which is handy. Bad side is the AUR gui program did not work on my Arch when I tried it so I run it through an alias, alias lonup="nmcli con up uk-lon.prod.surfshark.comsurfshark_openvpn_udp" alias londo="nmcli con down uk-lon.prod.surfshark.comsurfshark_openvpn_udp" https://surfshark.com/features Using all the above I can do banking and access gmail ok though I have to prove who I am every now and again with some sites depending on how many times I swap servers, which is no big deal. Hope all that helps. Edited September 30, 2021 by abarbarian 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zlim Posted September 30, 2021 Share Posted September 30, 2021 Search for Kape technologies, formerly known as Crossrider. Avoid anything that company owns! PIA, ExpressVPN, CyberGhost and Reimage to name a few. 1 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wa4chq Posted September 30, 2021 Author Share Posted September 30, 2021 Well, I ended up with going with Mullvad VPN. It is a little pricey but it's about the price for one carton of Marboro's here in the Old Dominion. I quit smoking back in '93. I am trying to setup Mullvad on my laptop running MX-**. That may be a little tricky. I'm finding that I may need to either install wireshark or openvpn. I haven't tried it with Slack yet. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V.T. Eric Layton Posted October 1, 2021 Share Posted October 1, 2021 I run a modified Network Manager in Slackware compiled with OpenVPN. Works fine and dandy. There's a SlackBuild for it here -> https://slackbuilds.org/repository/14.2/network/NetworkManager-openvpn/ 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wa4chq Posted October 1, 2021 Author Share Posted October 1, 2021 2 hours ago, V.T. Eric Layton said: I run a modified Network Manager in Slackware compiled with OpenVPN. Works fine and dandy. There's a SlackBuild for it here -> https://slackbuilds.org/repository/14.2/network/NetworkManager-openvpn/ Thanks for the info, Eric. I'll take a look at it. Have a good one. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
securitybreach Posted October 2, 2021 Share Posted October 2, 2021 On 9/30/2021 at 1:52 PM, wa4chq said: Well, I ended up with going with Mullvad VPN. It is a little pricey but it's about the price for one carton of Marboro's here in the Old Dominion. Huh? It's only $5 a month. A lot cheaper than others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
securitybreach Posted October 2, 2021 Share Posted October 2, 2021 Plus Mullvad is opensource and an official sponsor of the Tor Project. I bought my first month with bitcoin and now I just send cash to Sweden every 6 months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wa4chq Posted October 2, 2021 Author Share Posted October 2, 2021 4 minutes ago, securitybreach said: Huh? It's only $5 a month. A lot cheaper than others. Pia was cheaper...but that is all history now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wa4chq Posted October 2, 2021 Author Share Posted October 2, 2021 4 minutes ago, securitybreach said: Plus Mullvad is opensource and an official sponsor of the Tor Project. I bought my first month with bitcoin and now I just send cash to Sweden every 6 months. I paid the year and used carrier pigeon...lol 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
securitybreach Posted October 2, 2021 Share Posted October 2, 2021 $60 a year for a good vpn isnt bad. About how long did it take yours to post? It usually takes a few weeks for mine to post. I figure its the long journey to Sweden.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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