VPNs - what do you know?

[oldbluefox]

I have just been reading an article in Which which is recommending the use of VPNs. This is something I know very little about so maybe someone can enlighten me as to how useful they really are, cutting away from the advertising hype.
Which have tested five VPNs - Private Internet Access VPN, Nord VPN, Express VPN, FSecure Freedome and Surfshark. Of those Surfshark seems to offer the best deal at £2.55pm for 26 months then £62.60pa + tax.
Does anybody use a VPN? Do I really need one? Which do people use? Does anybody use Surfshark?
Thanks in advance.

[Stephen]

Depends how discreet you want to be with your porn Chanel’s Foxy

[Onelife]

Depends how discreet you want to be with your porn Chanel’s Foxy

[oldbluefox]

Keefy said there should be no problem.

[Mervyn and Trish]

I had one for a while but one or two on line sales sites (not porn) failed to work because they thought I was some sort of scammer hiding my true identity.

[Manoverboard]

You don't need one to post safely on here ... just a guess

[david63]

The basic concept is to hide your IP address so it may give you an IP address that resolves to, say, Hong Kong. The problem I find is that some sites, such as National Lottery, will not allow you to access them if you are not using a UK IP address. I also find that other random sites don't always like the use of a VPN (BBC can be a bit fickle at times)

Do you need one for home use - probably not but it does add another layer of security.

[Onelife]

Keefy said there should be no problem.

I’m not into porn channels Foxy, neither do I watch the filth Stephen keeps sending me

[Stephen]

I notice your very slow at returning them though.

[Mervyn and Trish]

He's busy copying them.....

[Ranchi]

I have one with my Norton subscription, well actually it’s two (?) I’m not really sure what it does or how it works. I do know that if I change the country location it allows me to stream some NUFC games that weren’t available in the UK ( not league games rather pre season friendliest.) The John Lewis app & website refuse to work until I switch off the VPN and I can’t watch saved programmes from our Virgin box on my iPad unless I switch off VPN -it keeps telling me that I need to be connected to the same network as my Virgin box. This seems to make sense as the VPN is aimed at hiding your address. Is it worth it? Not sure. I wouldn’t buy into one unless it came free with another package.

[allatc]

Have a look on Youtube for VPNs.
The primary case for having a VPN seems to be to be able stream content from counties other than where you live.
Secondary reasons might include an illusion of privacy.
The "All things secured" Youtube channel has a video which covers why you might want a VPN quite well.

[barney]

I know that quite a few exiled Gills fans subscribe to a VPN to watch all games live, as if you are abroad.
Besides that , I know nothing (as usual)

[CaroleF]

I had one for a short while with my Norton subscription but I had so much trouble with some sites that it wouldn't let me access, John Lewis among them, that I got rid of it.

[oldbluefox]

Barney, you've rumbled me!!!! The main reason I had thought of having a VPN was to be able to access my football team through foreign channels. At the moment I hunt around and usually manage to find something, usually in English but sometimes in Arabic or even Chinese. W hen you're desperate you accept anything.
I presume a VPN would make it easier but from the comments on here, thanks everyone, I think its usefulness would be limited and whilst I can usually sniff out a link for my matches I think I will continue as I am.
As with many of these apps etc you can spend a fortune on things you may rarely use and don't necessarily need.

[Manoverboard]

My bestest mate recently told me about a Chinese de-coding Machine that will give you SKY and TNT etc on a standard TV at no cost .. just saying