Path: csiph.com!fu-berlin.de!uni-berlin.de!individual.net!not-for-mail From: Jaimie Vandenbergh Newsgroups: uk.comp.sys.mac Subject: Re: Mac VPN Recommendations Date: 5 Mar 2025 16:14:11 GMT Lines: 76 Message-ID: References: Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8; format=fixed Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit X-Trace: individual.net 8yEoZBrLsxNN58QKf1rQKALnJjBG7xr8oTx/ZH+z+N70dp15Lj Cancel-Lock: sha1:q+Yn3AZdlpQzF8eaQlkJyHFe+Ms= sha256:ftCDVTsSJxXNpmkeFDgIY1hgDD6yBj8ZSCKVZa1yhjs= User-Agent: Usenapp for MacOS X-Usenapp: v1.27.4/l - Full License Xref: csiph.com uk.comp.sys.mac:180582 On 5 Mar 2025 at 08:35:49 GMT, "RJH" wrote: > On 4 Mar 2025 at 17:13:08 GMT, Jaimie Vandenbergh wrote: > >> On 3 Mar 2025 at 16:13:04 GMT, "RJH" wrote: >> >>> On 27 Feb 2025 at 09:48:18 GMT, Theo wrote: >>> >>>> RJH wrote: >>>>> On 26 Feb 2025 at 10:00:36 GMT, Theo wrote: >>>>>> >>>>>> What do you need a VPN *for*? >>>>>> >>>>> >>>>> Hide my identity and/or location. >>>> >>>> VPNs don't really hide your identity. Everything is encrypted via TLS these >>>> days - all your hotel/etc can see is your DNS. They can see you connect to >>>> google.com, facebook.com, youtube.com which doesn't tell them very much. >>>> Maybe there's a tiny bit of profiling they can do if they see you are >>>> connecting to bank.com, but not very much. >>> >>> It's not so much my identity, as what I'm accessing/downloading. >> >> Accessing/downloading will still be trackable at the server side. > > Ah. Didn't know that. So the server knows my 'real' IP address and ISP even > while using a VPN? Possibly, but it's not what I mean. If you're interacting with a server, it'll know what you've done. If you have an account there, they'll know who did it (up to whatever limit of information you've provided them in the account setup). > And by extension my ISP knows which server I've accessed? No, this is indeed prevented. Early 'domestic' use of VPNs was to prevent other people's local wifi from being able to tell what you're doing on them, or indeed from being bad actors redirecting you via DNS faking and such - eg cafes, hotels. > > I'd always thought that information was concealed - the 'private' in virtual > network. And checking Nord, they say that the ISP 'loses access to': > > "The websites you visit > The specific web pages you browse and the time you spend there > Your browsing and search history > The files you download from or upload to unencrypted websites > The info you type on unencrypted websites" > > That's incorrect? It's correct, but not what I was talking about as elucidated above. >> As an alternative I tend to bypass such region limitations by just >> torrenting media. If they chose to make it unavailable they clearly >> don't want my money anyway. >> > > Which may well be illegal? Meh. It's harmless and I have no ethical qualms about it. > Of course, I know my ISP knows I use a VPN. I'd always thought that's as far > as it goes, and not what went on 'inside' the VPN. Seems I've got that wrong . No, you're fine there. Unless you do stuff you'd usually do in a vpn accidentally through the ISP directly. At which point the far end server knows more about you too. Cheers - Jaimie -- "Everyone generalizes from one example. At least, I do." -- Steven Brust