Advice Request What impact a VPN has on Accounts? Can it mess up Facebook, Google, etc... because of IP changes?

[RoadRashWolfenstein]

OK guys, first of all i'd like to thank you all for your comments. A lot of good infos and personal opinions there, it really made me understand more about VPNs.

Still i can't help but notice that these VPN companies, and even most VPN reviews, simply don't mention all the troubles you can have using a VPN. By reading some reviews you'd think that all you have to do is just set the soft and enjoy surfing anonymously or viewing content in the country you want.

As i expected, I can notice that in reality it's completely different. While i understand that using a VPN is important for some users, and that it can certainly be of use if you know what you're doing, it is simply not worth it for most users, especially people that just want to view some region locked content once in a while like me.

I think my best option here is to keep using Chrome as my main browser, and setting up Firefox with a VPN extension such as Hotspot Shield for accessing some content. No hassle, no problems with accounts, softwares or games and also no real security risk as i would not log in or enter any sensitive data in that browser.

 

[Zero Knowledge]

*Sigh*

There is nothing technical about using a vpn. It's a very simple setup.

Using a vpn in today's political climate is considered industry best practice by many security experts.

*Sigh*

Nothing more I can add to this discussion.

 

[509322]

Sure seems to make things kind of complicated, even beyond what i imagined. VPN extension on a separate browser is definitely the best solution for me, as i just want to access some videos in the US (on legal sites, but that can be viewed only in the USA). Thanks for your answer !

As @Zero Knowledge points out, browser VPN extensions are bad ju-ju. They leak, the ISP detects the leak, and then sends you a "You were caught downloading copyrighted material. Your network account will be frozen." I know people that tried to use a browser VPN extension and Comcast eventually shut down their accounts for repeated offenses. Could have been a user misconfiguration that resulted in a leak. Could have been something else. I don't know. If you are not under an ISP's thumb like Comcast, then the point is moot.

The old adage is "If it's free, it's good enough for me." I get that. However, free VPN services come with issues and risks that just might create an even greater rigmarole for you.

 

[RoadRashWolfenstein]

*Sigh*

There is nothing technical about using a vpn. It's a very simple setup.

Using a vpn in today's political climate is considered industry best practice by many security experts.

*Sigh*

Nothing more I can add to this discussion.

Sorry if i got you exasperated, but i don't like your condescending tone.

Setting up a VPN would take me a few minutes and using it would be easy for me.

That doesn't change the fact that, before using one, i had some pretty legitimate questions about the problems that could occur using one, especially regarding companies policy.

I don't want to get my Steam account terminated, have Facebook constantly asking me security infos, get some warning emails that my account has been accessed from another country or having my bank calling me because they've notice something that they consider suspicious.

I'm sure there are some workarounds to these problems, but it's worth it considering what i'm planning to do with a VPN. Using a browser extension VPN in a separate browser is the best for my use. Having a VPN redirecting all my web traffic data just to access some US website once in a while is not worth it.

I'm NOT saying VPNs are useless or cause too much trouble and i perfectly understand and respect people that uses it. I'm just saying that there are some disadvantages that are not often spoken off, and that in my case it's not worth it.

 

[RoadRashWolfenstein]

As @Zero Knowledge points out, browser VPN extensions are bad ju-ju. They leak, the ISP detects the leak, and then sends you a "You were caught downloading copyrighted material. Your network account will be frozen." I know people that tried to use a browser VPN extension and Comcast eventually shut down their accounts for repeated offenses. Could have been a user misconfiguration that resulted in a leak. Could have been something else. I don't know. If you are not under an ISP's thumb like Comcast, then the point is moot.

The old adage is "If it's free, it's good enough for me." I get that. However, free VPN services come with issues and risks that just might create an even greater rigmarole for you.

Thanks for the info. But i'm not using Comcast (i'm in Europe) and, as strange as it may sound, the country i live in doesn't have any law for copyright content.

I understand Zero Knowledge's point, but that could have been said more nicely...

 

[509322]

Thanks for the info. But i'm not using Comcast (i'm in Europe) and, as strange as it may sound, the country i live in doesn't have any law for copyright content.

I understand Zero Knowledge's point, but that could have been said more nicely...

Just consider all the information and make a plan. It probably isn't as bad as it comes across. That was the point of you asking for advice - correct ?

 

[Zero Knowledge]

Yeah sorry RoadRashWolfenstein. I could of said it in a nicer way.

Do what you feel you need to do to safeguard your personal security and privacy.

 

[RoadRashWolfenstein]

Yeah sorry RoadRashWolfenstein. I could of said it in a nicer way.

Do what you feel you need to do to safeguard your personal security and privacy.

Yeah me too i'm sorry, i might have over reacted

Anyway all is well now, thanks for your answer.

 

[RoadRashWolfenstein]

Just consider all the information and make a plan. It probably isn't as bad as it comes across. That was the point of you asking for advice - correct ?

Yep exactly. As i said in my previous message, i'm really glad of all yours answers. I now know more about VPNs and their impact on everyday usage.

Thanks a lot to you and to everybody that took the time to answer me