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Should I be paying for VPN service ?

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Subzero89

Occasional Visitor
I have Asus NT-N66U and I noticed that in the routers webpage there is a VPN options like PPTP and OpenVPN. I'm interested in getting a VPN and I understand what it is but not sure what way is the best. So I have a few questions.

1. I've noticed that you can pay a small fee every month to a VPN service, then there's the VPN option in my routers webpage. Do I need to use both to have VPN ? If my router offers VPN for free why would I want to pay for a service ?
 
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There are two options, running your own VPN server and connecting to a VPN service (as a client). If you routinely need to access your home network remotely, than you would likely want to run your own VPN server. Another reason you would likely want to use the VPN server on your router is if you use an open hotspot at restaurants, airports, etc. By connecting to the VPN server all of your traffic is being routed through your home network encrypted.

If you're interested in privacy or visit websites that have access restrictions you may want to pay for a VPN service. The privacy that some VPN service providers offer varies (some services keep logs of your connections, so read the fine print).

Hope this helps.
 
Okay I think I understand now.
Well for me it would be the privacy and visit websites streaming. So do I just pay the for the service and basically the way it works I go through them first before I connect to any websites of any kind ?

If I were to just use my PC I wouldn't need to fiddle with any settings within the routers webpage, but if I use any wireless devices I would to setup my router to go through the VPN then. Or do I still need to configure the router even if I use the desktop with cat5 cable ? or it doesn't matter wired or wireless you still have to configure the router ?
 
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Yes to the first. You 'could' configure the router to route all clients or some clients, through to the VPN service provider by setting up the VPN connection via the appropriate client tab. However, you're going to take a hit to your connection speed (the N66U) doesn't really have the horsepower to handle high speed VPN connections.

Most VPN service providers will have a software application that can run on mobile or PCs, so likely the better route to go if you'll only be streaming to one or two of these devices. If you're streaming to a TV / set top box than you'd need to setup the client connection on the router so that the traffic to that device gets routed over the VPN.

Most service providers will have instructions for setting up the client settings on the router. The forums here will likely also have some tips if you run into issues with a particular provider.
 
Say all I wanted to run through the VPN was wireless media streaming box and a wired PC would I just configure the router to only make that box/PC go through the VPN only ? and would I still take a hit in the Mbps department for both devices ? would the NT-N66U handle the load just fine for two ?

Is there any settings I need to do in windows or just on the routers side ?
 
Say all I wanted to run through the VPN was wireless media streaming box and a wired PC would I just configure the router to only make that box/PC go through the VPN only ? and would I still take a hit in the Mbps department for both devices ? would the NT-N66U handle the load just fine for two ?

Is there any settings I need to do in windows or just on the routers side ?

You misunderstand what a VPN is or how it is useful. It seems like you might be referring to LAN traffic (wireless media server to wired PC), which is not proper usage of a VPN.

A VPN offers security between two separated networks.


To answer your original question from your first post: an external (paid) VPN service is primarily intended for users who want increased anonymity and will route all WAN traffic through that VPN server; a VPN that you host is primarily meant for "road warriors", people who are often away from home (where the privately hosted VPN server is) and do not trust the wifi/ethernet (hotels, cafes, etc) that they must use.

You should really, really research VPNs before thinking of using one.
 
Yeah no sh**;) that's what I'm doing here researching and asking questions. I know what it is, but didn't know how I would implement it on my system. Thanks though

Research should be started by searching existing knowledge (books, forums, etc). You are asking fundamental questions that the first paragraph of the VPN wikipedia article can answer.

With all due respect, you do not know what a VPN is.

If you have trouble understanding a certain aspect of VPN tech (like UDP vs TCP, AES-128 vs AES-256, or PPTP vs OpenVPN) then please ask. Otherwise, you should really focus on learning from better sources than blindly asking on internet forums.
 
I do know what it is, I moved on to the minor details now. I do wish I would have worded my topic question differently though and my router having VPN options kind of threw me off.
 
what a VPN does is create a virtual network so it lets you connect networks that are elsewhere. It can also be used to route traffic differently. All a VPN does is route the packets, it doesnt hide or change their content. A proxy on the other hand creates entirely new packets which is better for anonymity.

So get what you need. If you want to access your LAN remotely use the VPN server on the router instead of port forwarding. If you want to connect some networks together that are apart than you would need to buy a VPN service(some people use them as nodes to route traffic) . If you want to hide yourself you get a proxy.
 
I do know what it is, I moved on to the minor details now. I do wish I would have worded my topic question differently though and my router having VPN options kind of threw me off.
A good VPN server is PIA they have a good price and good service.
If you want to use your router to work with VPN client or create a VPN server you will need to update your router.
NT-N66U is only good for maximum 10 mbps for VPN. its very limited.
I would research a bit before you venture into a VPN.
Personally you need minimum AC68U to get the job done right because you need a dual core cpu especially if you are over th 15mbps for your local ISP
If you do decide to go with a paying service like PIA, here is a guide that will help you setup quickly

http://www.snbforums.com/threads/ho...y-step-how-to-guide-ver-380-58-updated.30851/
 
If you want to connect some networks together that are apart than you would need to buy a VPN service(some people use them as nodes to route traffic) . If you want to hide yourself you get a proxy.

VPNs were created to duplicate the privacy on a public network (Internet) that businesses used to get by leasing a dedicated copper wire circuit routed from point A to point B.

To duplicate this privacy on the Internet you would set up a VPN server on your router today at point A and then individuals connecting from point B would connect securely using the correct keys to the VPN server and the network behind it at point A.

To do this you don't need or want to use a commercial VPN provider as only part of your connection's route will be secure. The portion of the route from the computer at point B to the VPN's server at point C, where ever that might be will be encrypted. From point C back to point A will be open and in the data in the clear.

Commercial VPN provider's services can offer certain benefits but end to end data channel security isn't one of them.
 
Commercial VPN provider's services can offer certain benefits but end to end data channel security isn't one of them.

Indeed. That's unfortunately a common misconception that using a VPN tunnel provider encrypts and hides everything. Once the data leaves your tunnel provider's server, it's back into the open until it reaches the final destination server. So instead of having to snoop at every ISP's, spooks only have to snoop at the exit of every VPN tunnel providers. It's a nice aggregation setup...

People need to look at things the other way. It's not "how can I use a VPN service", but rather "what problem am I trying to solve?". If the problem is "I want to hide all my Internet traffic from prying eyes", then no, a VPN tunnel provider cannot resolve that problem. If the problem is rather that "I want to hide my traffic from my ISP", or "I want to go around geolocks", then yes, a tunnel provider CAN fulfill this need.
 
Indeed. That's unfortunately a common misconception that using a VPN tunnel provider encrypts and hides everything. Once the data leaves your tunnel provider's server, it's back into the open until it reaches the final destination server
When the data leaves the tunnel providers server isn't it encrypted? How can someone read the data that is leaving the server unless they can decrypt?
Until now I have not heard of anyone cracking Blowfish or AES so unless they have cracked the encryption, then what you are saying is right, but as far as I know that is not the case yet.
Why use any encryption at all if this is the case? If one uses no encryption I would understanding but I have a hard time believing this statement.
 
When the data leaves the tunnel providers server isn't it encrypted? How can someone read the data that is leaving the server unless they can decrypt?
Until now I have not heard of anyone cracking Blowfish or AES so unless they have cracked the encryption, then what you are saying is right, but as far as I know that is not the case yet.
Why use any encryption at all if this is the case? If one uses no encryption I would understanding but I have a hard time believing this statement.

Think of a tunnel from your VPN client to your VPN provider. That data is secure/encrypted.

but when the traffic leaves your VPN provider the VPN (encrypted) tunnel ends.

This is not a huge problem though, because most important websites use HTTPS, meaning your data is encrypted[HTTPS] at your web browser, then encrypted[VPN] again by your VPN client, then decrypted[VPN] by the VPN provider, then the encrypted[HTTPS] data is forwarded to the end host.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Encapsulation_(networking)
 
When the data leaves the tunnel providers server isn't it encrypted?

No such thing as privacy - just moving the end-point from your local access to a VPN provider, and since there is accounting there, and these are honest businesses - everything is tracked/logged, and you are accountable for what you do on the internet...

Simply put...
 

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