Do I need a VPN?

[anonymous-user]

At home I have only used a VPN to pretend I am in some country that I am not to view some web site or TV show etc that otherwise isn't available in the UK.

Norton keeps nagging me to use it's VPN but as I see it practically all web sites use SSL nowadays so that reduces the need for a VPN.

The reason I don't want to use a VPN if it gives no real benefits is because when I have used them they seem to slow things down a bit.

Also if I enable Norton's VPN would it route all traffic via Norton thus creating a bottleneck/point of failure that otherwise wouldn't be there?

TIA

[HappyMidget]

At home, no. Not if you are happy with your setup for other countries. Always worth it for when you are on a public hotspot though. I always use the vpn from my home router (ASUS) when on an unsecured public hotspot.

[anonymous-user]

HappyMidget said:

At home, no. Not if you are happy with your setup for other countries. Always worth it for when you are on a public hotspot though. I always use the vpn from my home router (ASUS) when on an unsecured public hotspot.

Thanks, but let's say I take my laptop into a cafe and use a public hotspot, virtually every web site uses SSL nowadays and Google etc warn if you try to access one that is not. So what are the risks of using my laptop in a cafe without a VPN?

[GregK2]

The real question is, do you need Norton..

[anonymous-user]

GregK2 said:

The real question is, do you need Norton..

Haha quite! Call me old fashioned but many years back the bundled AV with Windows wasn't considered to be very good, so I use a third party... whether I need to I don't know albeit that it is Norton that seems to pick up or stop stuff and highlight it to me, don't hear much from Windows at all in that respect (unless Norton disables it?)

[HappyMidget]

MikeStroud said:

HappyMidget said:

At home, no. Not if you are happy with your setup for other countries. Always worth it for when you are on a public hotspot though. I always use the vpn from my home router (ASUS) when on an unsecured public hotspot.

Thanks, but let's say I take my laptop into a cafe and use a public hotspot, virtually every web site uses SSL nowadays and Google etc warn if you try to access one that is not. So what are the risks of using my laptop in a cafe without a VPN?

Man in the middle attacks are brutal in that specific scenario. They can spoof the ssl connection so your browser thinks it is fine.

[HappyMidget]

MikeStroud said:

GregK2 said:

The real question is, do you need Norton..

Haha quite! Call me old fashioned but many years back the bundled AV with Windows wasn't considered to be very good, so I use a third party... whether I need to I don't know albeit that it is Norton that seems to pick up or stop stuff and highlight it to me, don't hear much from Windows at all in that respect (unless Norton disables it?)

Windows defender is better than any 3rd party solution these days tbh.

[anonymous-user]

HappyMidget said:

MikeStroud said:

HappyMidget said:

At home, no. Not if you are happy with your setup for other countries. Always worth it for when you are on a public hotspot though. I always use the vpn from my home router (ASUS) when on an unsecured public hotspot.

Thanks, but let's say I take my laptop into a cafe and use a public hotspot, virtually every web site uses SSL nowadays and Google etc warn if you try to access one that is not. So what are the risks of using my laptop in a cafe without a VPN?

Man in the middle attacks are brutal in that specific scenario. They can spoof the ssl connection so your browser thinks it is fine.

Thanks. This site seems to think SSL eradicates the risk of MITM attacks. Is it wrong?

https://medium.com/@munteanu210/ssl-certificates-v...

[Mr Pointy]

I would certainly use a VPN if I was connecting to the wi-fi in a cafe but I wouldn't use Norton for anything. Personally I use NordVPN but usually connect to my phone via it's hotspot link so a VPN isn't needed.

[McAndy]

I don’t use at home or on mobile network. I use Proton’s free VPN in the unusual circumstance of connecting to a publicly available WiFi (café, hotel etc.)

[eein]

HappyMidget said:

MikeStroud said:

HappyMidget said:

At home, no. Not if you are happy with your setup for other countries. Always worth it for when you are on a public hotspot though. I always use the vpn from my home router (ASUS) when on an unsecured public hotspot.

Thanks, but let's say I take my laptop into a cafe and use a public hotspot, virtually every web site uses SSL nowadays and Google etc warn if you try to access one that is not. So what are the risks of using my laptop in a cafe without a VPN?

Man in the middle attacks are brutal in that specific scenario. They can spoof the ssl connection so your browser thinks it is fine.

MITM stopped being easy over 10 years ago. When someone tries to do a MITM you will get a cert warning on your device. Around 10 or so years ago the operating systems and browsers tightened up trusted certs, so it's really, really hard to spoof a cert. It used to be possible to also hijack the verification channel for certs, but that's also been tightened up. So it's now so hard that no-one that's capable of this is bothered about you down the cafe.

Of course someone with a dodgy hotspot can still see what websites you're going to, even if they can't see the content. So if you're going to websites you wont want people to know about then use a VPN, but I'd suggest that such websites are for the privacy of your own home for other reasons...

[bitchstewie]

If you're doing normal sensible things using modern services on on modern devices that you own and control and keep up to date I'd simply say no.

Focus on using modern services and use strong unique passwords and 2FA wherever it's available and appropriate.

[parabolica]

I never needed one at home in the UK but now I’m living overseas for work and travelling quite a bit I wouldn’t be without one, both for normal browsing using local 4g or public Wi-Fi or back at my apartment where I need it in order to what my F1 sub via NowTV.

[NMNeil]

It would depend what you use the computer for.
Dubious downloads, defiantly, minimal chance of a copyright infringement letter, or maybe you just don't want anyone to know the internet pages you visit via your I.P address.
Mine costs $50 a year so it's not exactly expensive for some peace of mind.
https://www.security.org/vpn/what-can-someone-do-w...

[somouk]

At home with up to date patched machines then no VPN is really needed.

Out and about and if utilising wifi provided by others then I would activate the VPN, even if it breaks out in the same country to avoid latency.

[ZedLeg]

HappyMidget said:

MikeStroud said:

GregK2 said:

The real question is, do you need Norton..

Haha quite! Call me old fashioned but many years back the bundled AV with Windows wasn't considered to be very good, so I use a third party... whether I need to I don't know albeit that it is Norton that seems to pick up or stop stuff and highlight it to me, don't hear much from Windows at all in that respect (unless Norton disables it?)

Windows defender is better than any 3rd party solution these days tbh.

That, I used to install AVG on every computer I used but I haven’t bothered for a couple of years. Defender is well integrated and I’ve not had any trouble since using it.

The reason Norton constantly pings you with notifications is to convince you that it’s needed.

[giveitfish]

Playing devils advocate, why do you think it’s ok to trust the VPN provider with traffic you don’t trust to a coffee shop? The VPN stops the coffee shop seeing it, but the provider sees it all and can also log everything in one tidy bundle linked to your credit card number.

Not sure I see the benefit except to pretend to be in another country for streaming.

[Polly Grigora]

giveitfish said:

Playing devils advocate, why do you think it’s ok to trust the VPN provider with traffic you don’t trust to a coffee shop? The VPN stops the coffee shop seeing it, but the provider sees it all and can also log everything in one tidy bundle linked to your credit card number.

Not sure I see the benefit except to pretend to be in another country for streaming.

Agreed, there's a crack in everything

[Captain_Morgan]

giveitfish said:

Playing devils advocate, why do you think it’s ok to trust the VPN provider with traffic you don’t trust to a coffee shop? The VPN stops the coffee shop seeing it, but the provider sees it all and can also log everything in one tidy bundle linked to your credit card number.

Not sure I see the benefit except to pretend to be in another country for streaming.

What do you perceive as the main issues with this?

[somouk]

giveitfish said:

Playing devils advocate, why do you think it’s ok to trust the VPN provider with traffic you don’t trust to a coffee shop? The VPN stops the coffee shop seeing it, but the provider sees it all and can also log everything in one tidy bundle linked to your credit card number.

It's not the coffee shop but the other people on the open wifi sniffing it that's the issue. You don't know if they have device isolation on or someone could be slurping off all of your packets.

Pick a reputable VPN that is properly secured and there shouldn't be an issue.