Rather than go to the Technology forum I thought I'd go here.

The recent Colonial Pipeline hack got me thinking it was time to finally subscribe to a VPN service for my laptop. Any suggestions on which one is preferred? Doing some surfing and discovered Express VPN but open to suggestions/opinions.

Also...how do I secure my iPhone and iPad?

Thanks for helping out the rookie.

Any VPN will do for most people. Express VPN is a good option. More importantly I would look at the security of your network/password, and passwords for all your accounts. If you do not use a password manager already I would highly recommend it. My company and I use 1Password personally and it is great. I do not even know my passwords because they generate and store them for you. Pain in thee ass to get everything converted over but worth it in the end.

I use NordVPN. Has up to 6 connections so I use it on my and my wife's iPhones and iPads. Just paid $89 for 2 years. Has Obfuscated servers as well as several other VPN styles depending on your needs. Has auto connect feature for select networks.

I'm tech ignorant and I don't mean to derail, but, can someone give a quick synopsis of what a VPN does and why it's a good idea?

VPN stands for virtual private network. In a nutshell it hides your internet traffic. You are hidden, and limits tracking, and encrypts internet traffic. Especially important on public networks.

Proton VPN and their Proton Mail, Proton Calendar, Proton Drive

I'm not a tech guy really so someone can probably tell you better if it's good or bad, but we have Avast anti-virus at work at it comes with a VPN.

Comanche_Ag said:

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Proton VPN and their Proton Mail, Proton Calendar, Proton Drive

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Yep.

AgNav93 said:

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I'm tech ignorant and I don't mean to derail, but, can someone give a quick synopsis of what a VPN does and why it's a good idea?

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OK here is a simple analogy. Suppose you mail a letter in an envelope. Anyone can read the delivery and return address on the envelope (your computer and the website you want to visit), and if they open it they can read the letter inside (your interaction with the website). Now, suppose instead you mail a letter to an intermediary (VPN Server) who will then forward your letter to where it needs to go. The destination address on the envelope will be the intermediary, and the letter inside (including the website you want to visit) will be encrypted. Once it gets to the intermediary, it is forwarded but the return address is now the intermediary, not you, so you cannot be connected with the website you are visiting. The contents are also encrypted. Traffic going the other direction is sent to the intermediary and then back to you, reversing the process. So, an eavesdropper can determine you are using a VPN but cannot determine the websites you visit or the transactions, without a heck of a lot of work. Probably not worth their while to even try.

If I got something wrong here, tech experts jump in and correct my understanding.

We recently signed up for NordVPN in order to tell MLB.tv we're in Canada so we can watch the Astros. The VPN aspect works well except it was causing issues on my phone as it relates to picking up (or actually connecting to) wi-fi. AT&T guy said to remove the NordVPN app on my phone and sure enough no issues connecting. So I'm not certain what that is all about or if there's a fix for it. Secondly...I'm getting this error message now on MLB.tv and I've tried everything you can find on Google to no avail. Is it the VPN? Is it my MacBook? Other? Argh.

If you want to protect all your devices (including Apple TV, ROKu, etc) set up a VPN on your wireless router. I just did and other than having to change my VPN location (for some reason Amazon Prime doesn't like the original ) it's worked fine for me an device that uses my wifi is protected. Also, no MLB blackout!

I know Express VPN has updated firmware for some routers which you can download to make life easier.

If you don't have one of the routers your service has a updated firmware for, then you'll have to flash to an open source firmware to your router to set up the VPN (that's what I did). It's kind of a geek/nerd process. If you're not comfortable with that, ask a friend or buy an open source router pre-flashed or a new router that you VPN provider has firmware already developed to use.

jmazz said:

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We recently signed up for NordVPN in order to tell MLB.tv we're in Canada so we can watch the Astros. The VPN aspect works well except it was causing issues on my phone as it relates to picking up (or actually connecting to) wi-fi. AT&T guy said to remove the NordVPN app on my phone and sure enough no issues connecting. So I'm not certain what that is all about or if there's a fix for it. Secondly...I'm getting this error message now on MLB.tv and I've tried everything you can find on Google to no avail. Is it the VPN? Is it my MacBook? Other? Argh.

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. Change your VPN location on your laptop.

mrm5932 said:

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Any VPN will do for most people. Express VPN is a good option. More importantly I would look at the security of your network/password, and passwords for all your accounts. If you do not use a password manager already I would highly recommend it. My company and I use 1Password personally and it is great. I do not even know my passwords because they generate and store them for you. Pain in thee ass to get everything converted over but worth it in the end.

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When I was looking for VPN, most reviews had Express and Nord at the top. I went with Express and have been happy. Part of my reason was wanting to connect to Netflix in Germany to help my study of German. Express seemed to be a better fit. I also use 1Password to manage all my passwords and log ones. Use Face ID so don't even have to use my master password.

One caveat regarding VPNs. I have to occasionally change my server locations to view NF or Amazon Prime. I get proxy blocks sometimes. Express customer support is good about recommending servers that are not blocked. This is not an issue from the VPN provider or, as I understand NF or AP, but rather licensing agreements by third party providers.

F4GIB71 said:

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mrm5932 said:

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Any VPN will do for most people. Express VPN is a good option. More importantly I would look at the security of your network/password, and passwords for all your accounts. If you do not use a password manager already I would highly recommend it. My company and I use 1Password personally and it is great. I do not even know my passwords because they generate and store them for you. Pain in thee ass to get everything converted over but worth it in the end.

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When I was looking for VPN, most reviews had Express and Nord at the top. I went with Express and have been happy. Part of my reason was wanting to connect to Netflix in Germany to help my study of German. Express seemed to be a better fit. I also use 1Password to manage all my passwords and log ones. Use Face ID so don't even have to use my master password.

One caveat regarding VPNs. I have to occasionally change my server locations to view NF or Amazon Prime. I get proxy blocks sometimes. Express customer support is good about recommending servers that are not blocked. This is not an issue from the VPN provider or, as I understand NF or AP, but rather licensing agreements by third party providers.

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This has been my experience.

Unfortunately I'm using an Open Source router firmware and changing locations is not a simple button switch.

I have to manually configure it and it's quite the process....

https://www.expressvpn.com/support/vpn-setup/manual-config-for-tomato-router-with-openvpn/

at least expressVPN is trying to help!

The folks on the Nerdery are actually very nice.

Comanche_Ag said:

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Proton VPN and their Proton Mail, Proton Calendar, Proton Drive

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This! Using proton VPN with mail. Use Brave for my browser and DuckDuckGo for a search engine.

I don't doubt that at all.

I opted to go to the Outdoors board because I'm far from being a tech expert, and I felt the answers from that board would be way too technical for me.

As it turns out, some of the answers on this thread are already over my head.

By the way, thank you all that have enlightened me on my options. I really appreciate it.

Tried that. Just picked Costa Rica...same error message.

Okay...deleted the vpn app altogether. Restarted computer. Re-downloaded the vpn. It's working now through the mlb app on my computer. It's still not working through the mlb tv website though. As long as it works on either the app or the website I'm good.

Check out Surfshark a low cost VPN that works for my home.

+1 for NordVPN

Incredibly easy to use, available on almost all devices, and has military grade encryption.

Win/win/win

Comanche_Ag said:

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Proton VPN and their Proton Mail, Proton Calendar, Proton Drive

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Another recommendation for this setup.

Contact their support services. They can help troubleshoot the issues.

nellywilk said:

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CSTXAg92 said:

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+1 for NordVPN

Incredibly easy to use, available on almost all devices, and has military grade encryption.

Win/win/win

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How often the vpn just disconnects out of nowhere?
Happens all the time on my laptop, do i need to change some settings?

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Try to reinstall the app. I'm using NordVPN on my laptop and the problem occurs with me now and then. Sometimes it' enough to just log out completely, clear cashes, and log in. If not, reinstallation might help. I also use this ExpressVPN for my TV. There was a similar issue, so the well-known reinstallation method worked well here as well.