VPN

[Kiltrash]

Is it a good idea to have a VPN?. Not sure I need one but it was suggested I use IPVanish in USD $77 for the year and I am in UK.
thanks in advance

[awair]

Try Witopia or AirVPN.

[cavuman1]

Kiltrash: I am very happy with ExpressVPN, which offers numerous servers worldwide and excellent support. $99/15 months. My only caveat is degraded download speeds - 50 Mbps maximum on a 400 Mbps line.

[SpringHeeledJack]

I've been using NordVPN for the last year and so far no issues to speak of. I think that it's around £80 per year and has servers all over the planet (not much use at the moment!). As always there will be some slowing of the speeds, but for my needs it didn't make much difference. If safety is more important than speed when travelling then a VPN is a no-brainer. You only have to be hacked/spoofed/whatever once for a whole lot of headaches to appear, so it's worth doing if away from the home connection.

[SignalSquare]

Does TOR browser do what you want?

[Nightstop]

+1 for ExpressVPN. However, I find ExpressVPN increases my up/download speeds due bypass of your ISP throttling. If you find a much reduced speed when using ExpressVPN, I suggest you select an alternative ExpressVPN server...that’s always worked for me.

[India Four Two]

I've been using NordVPN for the last year and so far no issues to speak of.

Me too. When I signed up, I got a very cheap three-year deal. They are currently offering a discounted multi-year deal.

[FullOppositeRudder]

I once used Express VPN - quite expensive when one starts with the $AU, but totally satisfactory.

More recently I've switched to Hideaway from Firetrust - the company which developed Mailwasher.

After six months of occasional use, I am quite happy.

https://www.firetrust.com/products/hideaway-secure-unlimited-vpn

[Kiltrash]

Hi all thanks for the suggestions. Went eventually with IPVanish set to France and as far as i can see the speed has almost doubled and videos / streams don't buffer normal searching seem ok
Won't initially use when banking.
thanks

[cafesolo]

Loss of All Sound. I have lost all sound on my Hewlet Packard. Any quick fixes ?

[SpringHeeledJack]

That's a strange one, perhaps the old remedy of switching the device off, wait, back on and see if it changes ? Also disabling the VPN, checking for sound function, then enabling the VPN again and going from there.

[419]

Loss of All Sound. I have lost all sound on my Hewlet Packard. Any quick fixes ?

There has recently been a new Windows 10 update released and it's possible that if this was installed on your computer, it has screwed something up a bit like this:
How to Fix No Sound Issue After Windows 10 Update 2019 (1903) (guidingtech.com) (https://www.guidingtech.com/no-sound-issue-windows-10-update/#:~:text=1%20Open%20Windows%20settings%20from%20Start%20Menu %20or,panel.%20Then%20hit%20the%20Run%20the%20troubleshooter %20button.)

[56BY111]

I am researching VPNs at the moment and looking closely at the encrypt.me VPN.
Anyone out there have any issues with the app? (iOS)

[Freda Checks]

I have been using Unlocator (https://unlocator.com/account/aff/go/zw40dROE5LdMRK7s) for some years now. Very pleased with it (there is an App and it can be used with a smartphone)

[jetjockey696]

surfshark very cheap. but very good. and $60 for 2 years with unlimited connect devices.

[PlusNet]

Proton do a free version

[crewmeal]

Does using a VPN allow access to a better USA Netflix package?

[PJD1]

If you use a VPN that allows you to set your location to USA then yes, you will have access to Netflix USA content (as to whether it is better is of course a matter of opinion!). There is content on the USA site that is not available in the UK but the reverse is also true. Of course if you have a VPN that allows you to choose your location (most do) then you can set it to whichever you want and have the best of both worlds.

[DaveReidUK]

Loss of All Sound. I have lost all sound on my Hewlet Packard. Any quick fixes ?

Probably not related to installing a VPN ...

[Asturias56]

Ah - I've had this problem several times recently on my HP

Eventually traced to Senora A. using it for zoom calls with her friends and plugging in a set of headphones which overrides the normal sound settings and leaves them that way when they're unplugged

As with much of W10 there are two sets of controls - Settings - System-Sound gives you a list of output devices - you may need to set this to your HP speaker

HOWEVER sometimes it doesn't appear there so click on the ^ arrow on the taskbar at the bottom of the screen and then right click on Sound Manager (the speaker icon) and check the settings in Sound- Playback

[Fareastdriver]

I got a VPN when I renewed my AVG antivirus.. Up till them my internet was running very satis at 33mb/s. The VPN screwed it up.

It took two or three seconds to load anything compared with almost instantaneously. Sometimes changing pages on the same website would bring in a page unobtainable warning so I was having to switch it off. I have now defaulted it to remain in the background unless required.