Because a vpn can monitor all the websites that you visit. Not directly what you’re looking at, but definitely where you’re looking. Just line your provider can, if you’re not using a vpn. But at least with your provider, you have a contract with them - you pay them to transport your data and nothing more. Some very scummy providers aside, that’s where it stops.
A free vpn, however, needs to pay for transporting your data somehow. And if you’re not paying for it with money, then who/what is?
It’s not even free, the service itself is a payed subscription. But it’s there and it could be working and funneling data without the user knowing it if they wanted to.
I actually work in cyber security and I was really happy Tom Scott released that video. VPN companies are some of the scummiest companies out there, and their rampant sponsorships on YouTube were shameless misinformation and fear mongering in order to scare you into giving all your internet traffic to them.
There are good VPN companies out there, and there are use cases for them, but what Tom is addressing are the shady ones that lie to you about what they’re for and how they help you for their own monetary and in some cases data mining benefit.
Since we’re throwing creds out…I’m a sysadmin who had cyber security training in college, training and classes throughout my 20-year career, and I have and had multiple cyber security certs. No, I do not get my info from these shills, I do my own research when I’m interested in a product.
My main reason for use is privacy because I refuse to be a corpo product. When I’m away from home, I use my own Wireguard VPN back into my private network, where all of my traffic is filtered. I also have Proton VPN for when I think I need it. I didn’t subscribe to Proton for the VPN though. I did it for Protonmail because I was sick of how shitty gmail became. I will dump Protonmail if/when they become shitty too. They were meant to be temporary until I have the time to set up my own mail server among the myriad of other home lab projects that I have in mind.
I use a VPN for my job as well, and it isn’t to protect company products. It’s to keep prying eyes out.
Yeah, you don’t NEED a VPN always on, but you should have one available to use for specific things. However, the regular person doesn’t understand the inner workings of these companies, tech in general, and how their data is being used to make them the product without paying them for their data. They use corporate and legalize lingo in their privacy policies so that no regular person understands what they are signing up for. Or there is so much in the policy that no one will bother to read it.
I’m sorry, but when my wife and kid’s phones are showing them ads for things we talked about 5 minutes ago, they appear horrified by it. Then they move along like nothing happened. Then you see how corps are utilizing your location, cookies, and browsing history to also change prices on you on the fly, just because of where you live or how you shop. I will continue to not be spied on 24/7 by corporations and my government.
I don’t remember if I saw that video from Tom Scott or not, but I imagine his argument was along the lines of, “if you aren’t doing anything nefarious or you don’t live in a nation state that censors you, then you have nothing to worry about”.
Yes, there are scummy VPN companies, just like there are scummy companies in any other industry. Yes, I see all of these YouTubers out here shilling for VPN companies, but I also see them shilling for food subscriptions, clothing subscriptions, and web browsers, among other things. YouTube, in general, has become predatory for ads both in and outside videos.
I’m interested to hear what you think a vpn will protect you against. Or what you think the flaws in Toms arguments are.
Edit: I don’t know about you, but I trust my own, GDPR-backed isp far, far more than I trust whichever foreign based vpn company. Especially if they for it for free or cheap.
Because a vpn can monitor all the websites that you visit. Not directly what you’re looking at, but definitely where you’re looking. Just line your provider can, if you’re not using a vpn. But at least with your provider, you have a contract with them - you pay them to transport your data and nothing more. Some very scummy providers aside, that’s where it stops.
A free vpn, however, needs to pay for transporting your data somehow. And if you’re not paying for it with money, then who/what is?
See also Tom Scott’s explanation about vpns, why you probably don’t need one, and why he refused their advertisement money.
Here is an alternative Piped link(s):
Tom Scott’s explanation about vpns
Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.
I’m open-source; check me out at GitHub.
It’s not even free, the service itself is a payed subscription. But it’s there and it could be working and funneling data without the user knowing it if they wanted to.
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I actually work in cyber security and I was really happy Tom Scott released that video. VPN companies are some of the scummiest companies out there, and their rampant sponsorships on YouTube were shameless misinformation and fear mongering in order to scare you into giving all your internet traffic to them.
There are good VPN companies out there, and there are use cases for them, but what Tom is addressing are the shady ones that lie to you about what they’re for and how they help you for their own monetary and in some cases data mining benefit.
Since we’re throwing creds out…I’m a sysadmin who had cyber security training in college, training and classes throughout my 20-year career, and I have and had multiple cyber security certs. No, I do not get my info from these shills, I do my own research when I’m interested in a product.
My main reason for use is privacy because I refuse to be a corpo product. When I’m away from home, I use my own Wireguard VPN back into my private network, where all of my traffic is filtered. I also have Proton VPN for when I think I need it. I didn’t subscribe to Proton for the VPN though. I did it for Protonmail because I was sick of how shitty gmail became. I will dump Protonmail if/when they become shitty too. They were meant to be temporary until I have the time to set up my own mail server among the myriad of other home lab projects that I have in mind.
I use a VPN for my job as well, and it isn’t to protect company products. It’s to keep prying eyes out.
Yeah, you don’t NEED a VPN always on, but you should have one available to use for specific things. However, the regular person doesn’t understand the inner workings of these companies, tech in general, and how their data is being used to make them the product without paying them for their data. They use corporate and legalize lingo in their privacy policies so that no regular person understands what they are signing up for. Or there is so much in the policy that no one will bother to read it.
I’m sorry, but when my wife and kid’s phones are showing them ads for things we talked about 5 minutes ago, they appear horrified by it. Then they move along like nothing happened. Then you see how corps are utilizing your location, cookies, and browsing history to also change prices on you on the fly, just because of where you live or how you shop. I will continue to not be spied on 24/7 by corporations and my government.
I don’t remember if I saw that video from Tom Scott or not, but I imagine his argument was along the lines of, “if you aren’t doing anything nefarious or you don’t live in a nation state that censors you, then you have nothing to worry about”.
Yes, there are scummy VPN companies, just like there are scummy companies in any other industry. Yes, I see all of these YouTubers out here shilling for VPN companies, but I also see them shilling for food subscriptions, clothing subscriptions, and web browsers, among other things. YouTube, in general, has become predatory for ads both in and outside videos.
I’m interested to hear what you think a vpn will protect you against. Or what you think the flaws in Toms arguments are.
Edit: I don’t know about you, but I trust my own, GDPR-backed isp far, far more than I trust whichever foreign based vpn company. Especially if they for it for free or cheap.
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