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PIA, private internet access...do I need it?


wa4chq

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Whether using PIA or now Mullvad, when I set up my location outside of the US, the ads on things like Youtube reflect the "location".  A great way to see how others advertise and to also see they have a better sense of humor....lol

Edited by wa4chq
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4 minutes ago, securitybreach said:

$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..

I think I was paying $85 for 2 with PIA.  It was because of an ad they sent me saying you could get it cheaper...that was after they did the auto-pay I had set up.  Kinda peeved me hence dropping them.  As far as time for posting...still waiting to hear from the pigeon. 

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V.T. Eric Layton
14 hours ago, securitybreach said:

Huh? It's only $5 a month. A lot cheaper than others.

 

A carton of Marlboro is almost $80 where I am... Florida. They're over $8 a pack these days. The cheapos (305s) I smoke these days are $4 a pack.

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securitybreach
14 hours ago, wa4chq said:

Whether using PIA or now Mullvad, when I set up my location outside of the US, the ads on things like Youtube reflect the "location".  A great way to see how others advertise and to also see they have a better sense of humor....lol

 

You see ads?? I pay for Youtube Premium but there are lots of other ways to block youtube ads.

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securitybreach
14 hours ago, wa4chq said:

I think I was paying $85 for 2 with PIA.  It was because of an ad they sent me saying you could get it cheaper...that was after they did the auto-pay I had set up.  Kinda peeved me hence dropping them.  As far as time for posting...still waiting to hear from the pigeon. 

 

It generally takes about 3 weeks from New Orleans to Sweden. I usually send it like 2 months before expiration.

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securitybreach
18 minutes ago, V.T. Eric Layton said:

 

A carton of Marlboro is almost $80 where I am... Florida. They're over $8 a pack these days. The cheapos (305s) I smoke these days are $4 a pack.

 

I do not know how people afford it nowadays, I quit when a pack was $3.

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22 minutes ago, V.T. Eric Layton said:

 

A carton of Marlboro is almost $80 where I am... Florida. They're over $8 a pack these days. The cheapos (305s) I smoke these days are $4 a pack.

I remember buying off-brands that came with a bonus.... another pack of off-brand smokes.  I think I paid a dollar.  This was back 30 some years ago. 

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7 minutes ago, securitybreach said:

 

I do not know how people afford it nowadays, I quit when a pack was $3.

One way is to buy loose tobacco and papers.  They would actually burn longer than regular cigs.... 

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securitybreach
2 minutes ago, wa4chq said:

One way is to buy loose tobacco and papers.  They would actually burn longer than regular cigs.... 

 

Makes sense.

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16 hours ago, V.T. Eric Layton said:

 

A carton of Marlboro is almost $80 where I am... Florida. They're over $8 a pack these days. The cheapos (305s) I smoke these days are $4 a pack.

 Didn't you quit?
In Australia a pack is ~$AU30, maybe $US22. Most of that is tax as the govt is trying to force people to quit but doesn't want to lose tax revenue at the same time. Bloody governments. 😡

I quit and vape instead now, down to 2mg/ml and costs maybe $20/month. Feel much better too. They also just introduced a regulation where one has to get a prescription from a GP to buy vape juice or pods with nicotine. Stupid government, this will explode the size of the black market (which already exists) and cause some people including kids to smoke stinkies instead. Of course they don't make tobacco smokers get a prescription. Policy is exactly opposite of what smarter countries like Israel, UK, and New Zealand are doing where nic vapes are easily available and considered much safer than cigs.

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Is this normal when using a VPN?  I subscribe to Amazon Prime video and now the only way to watch 24 reruns (I gotta see Jack Bauer's daughter do something stupid, again) is to disable mullvad.  I'm not sure about proxy programs and the link wasn't any help.  tnx

 

amazon_error.jpg

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23 hours ago, securitybreach said:

 

It generally takes about 3 weeks from New Orleans to Sweden. I usually send it like 2 months before expiration.

You're in NO?  That's an interesting nugget of knowledge.  If I ever get to NO, you've been added to my list of places to see and people to meet!  I'm a huge Saints fan in southcentral PA, but stay in touch with other Saints fans on SaintsReport.com.  New Orleans is such a small market team that it seems everyone in NO is a Saints fan. 

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V.T. Eric Layton
On 10/3/2021 at 9:55 AM, securitybreach said:

I do not know how people afford it nowadays, I quit when a pack was $3.

 

True. I can't afford it. That's for sure. However, when you only have a couple of joys left in life, it sucks to lose one. :(

 

9 hours ago, sunrat said:

Didn't you quit?

 

Yes, many times in the last 45 years... couple times for two years, again for about 5 years, then the long stretch (2007-2016) for nine years.

 

I was sitting out on my porch in 2016 one afternoon in the late springtime. An afternoon shower blew in and I sat there thinking, with my coffee mug in hand, that a smoke sure would be good about now. When the rain slowed down to a sprinkle, I got on my bicycle and rode 4 short blocks down the the gas station and bought a pack of Marlboro Reds, my cigg if choice since I was 15 years old. I got home, dried off, and lit one of those babies up. I about choked to death on the first drag. They were ROUGH! I realized I couldn't smoke those "Big Boy" ciggs anymore. I gave the pack to my neighbor after smoking/choking another two or three as the evening waned.

 

The BIG MISTAKE I MADE, though, was getting up the next morning and going to the store to by a pack of Marlboro Lights. They were better, smoother, etc. I couldn't justify that $7+ a pack at that time, so I started (at the recommendation of a pal) smoking 305s Light/Shorts. I've been huffing on them ever since. Even when I can't pay my electric bill or water bill, I still manage to buy smokes. It's a TERRIBLY addicting habit! I'm low on smokes today, actually... rationing. Tomorrow might get UGLY. :(

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55 minutes ago, V.T. Eric Layton said:

 

True. I can't afford it. That's for sure. However, when you only have a couple of joys left in life, it sucks to lose one. :(

 

 

Yes, many times in the last 45 years... couple times for two years, again for about 5 years, then the long stretch (2007-2016) for nine years.

 

I was sitting out on my porch in 2016 one afternoon in the late springtime. An afternoon shower blew in and I sat there thinking, with my coffee mug in hand, that a smoke sure would be good about now. When the rain slowed down to a sprinkle, I got on my bicycle and rode 4 short blocks down the the gas station and bought a pack of Marlboro Reds, my cigg if choice since I was 15 years old. I got home, dried off, and lit one of those babies up. I about choked to death on the first drag. They were ROUGH! I realized I couldn't smoke those "Big Boy" ciggs anymore. I gave the pack to my neighbor after smoking/choking another two or three as the evening waned.

 

The BIG MISTAKE I MADE, though, was getting up the next morning and going to the store to by a pack of Marlboro Lights. They were better, smoother, etc. I couldn't justify that $7+ a pack at that time, so I started (at the recommendation of a pal) smoking 305s Light/Shorts. I've been huffing on them ever since. Even when I can't pay my electric bill or water bill, I still manage to buy smokes. It's a TERRIBLY addicting habit! I'm low on smokes today, actually... rationing. Tomorrow might get UGLY. :(

Sounds familiar.  I stopped several times before I actually quit.  It's a tough habit to get rid of. 

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V.T. Eric Layton

It's funny for me, though... I quit relatively easily. I always just cold turkey. Within a few days, the jonesin' is over with. The REAL DIFFICULT thing is to STAY QUIT.

 

Ah, well... it's one of the reasons I'm looking forward to my long stretch in H3LL... all the fun folks (most of my friends/family) are there, the music is AWESOME, and you don't have to go outside for a smoke. ;)

 

 

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I was a chain smoker and things got really bad if I was at a bar, which was quite a lot back in them daze.  I also was a cold turkey kinda guy.  But one day I reckon, I was ready.  Good tune.  I was thinking the train was gonna move....

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On 10/3/2021 at 12:09 AM, securitybreach said:

I figure its the long journey to Sweden..

 

Naw it just takes a long time to get and check the finger prints of cash. You do wipe the cash before sending it don't you ? 😂

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On 10/3/2021 at 3:04 PM, wa4chq said:

One way is to buy loose tobacco and papers.  They would actually burn longer than regular cigs.... 

 

He could even grow his own tobacco and cure it 😂

 

The advantage of rolling your own is that you do not get all the carcinogenic additives included in expensive ready rolled killer fags. 😎

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20 hours ago, wa4chq said:

Is this normal when using a VPN?  I subscribe to Amazon Prime video and now the only way to watch 24 reruns (I gotta see Jack Bauer's daughter do something stupid, again) is to disable mullvad.  I'm not sure about proxy programs and the link wasn't any help.  tnx

 

amazon_error.jpg

 

I just tried to access and play a video on Prime and it worked just fine.

 

Using Surfshark VPN with a UK  server. I had to verify my Amazon login first though. I'll give it a try from a non uk server and post back. 😎

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20 hours ago, wa4chq said:

Is this normal when using a VPN?  I subscribe to Amazon Prime video and now the only way to watch 24 reruns (I gotta see Jack Bauer's daughter do something stupid, again) is to disable mullvad.  I'm not sure about proxy programs and the link wasn't any help.  tnx

 

amazon_error.jpg

 

Well I just tried to access Prime Videos with a Columbian, Estonian and Canadian server and got your message. Switched back to a UK-London server so still through a VPN and Comrade Detective played just fine.

 

Hope that helps. 😎

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securitybreach
1 hour ago, abarbarian said:

 

Naw it just takes a long time to get and check the finger prints of cash. You do wipe the cash before sending it don't you ? 😂

 

Nah, I wear latex gloves

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2 hours ago, abarbarian said:

 

I just tried to access and play a video on Prime and it worked just fine.

 

Using Surfshark VPN with a UK  server. I had to verify my Amazon login first though. I'll give it a try from a non uk server and post back. 😎

Tnx.  I also tried it with ProtonVPN, the free version and it didn't allow me to watch it either.  But if I upgraded to their ProtonplusVPN I could stream.   I read somewhere that said NordVPN works for Amazon Prime video.

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1 hour ago, abarbarian said:

 

Well I just tried to access Prime Videos with a Columbian, Estonian and Canadian server and got your message. Switched back to a UK-London server so still through a VPN and Comrade Detective played just fine.

 

Hope that helps. 😎

I did switch locations to cities closest to me.  No go.  I'll try again.  Maybe I missed something.  Tnx for the info.

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I just found this on the Mullvad site.  https://www.reddit.com/r/mullvadvpn/comments/g0v9jg/watch_amazon_prime_video_without_disconnecting/  I have 30 to cancel so I think I will cancel.  I don't see the point of having a secure connection only to disconnect it when I want to watch Jack Bauer's daughter do something stupid after already doing something stupid.

 

As a test, I disconnected from Mullvad, logged into Amazon Prime and started to watch 24.  Just after it started, I connected back to the VPN and the stream continued.  But when you go to the next episode, you get the box I show above in one of my replies / posts.  Now, I didn't try watching the whole episode.  Maybe after the first ad it would quit streaming...I don't know.

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1 hour ago, wa4chq said:

I just found this on the Mullvad site.  https://www.reddit.com/r/mullvadvpn/comments/g0v9jg/watch_amazon_prime_video_without_disconnecting/  I have 30 to cancel so I think I will cancel.  I don't see the point of having a secure connection only to disconnect it when I want to watch Jack Bauer's daughter do something stupid after already doing something stupid.

 

As a test, I disconnected from Mullvad, logged into Amazon Prime and started to watch 24.  Just after it started, I connected back to the VPN and the stream continued.  But when you go to the next episode, you get the box I show above in one of my replies / posts.  Now, I didn't try watching the whole episode.  Maybe after the first ad it would quit streaming...I don't know.

That defeats the whole purpose of having a VPN.  If you have to turn it off to START watching something, then they have already logged your real IP as having watched it.

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securitybreach

That will always happen with any vpn with streaming sites that decide to block VPNs. They do that as people use them to get around country restrictions. Luckily youtube doesnt care at all. Personally, I just download what I want or choose a streaming site that allows VPN access. You can't use Neflix with a VPN either. That is why I get my media using other ways.

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