VPN causing email login problems?

[Lee MacMillan]

I installed the Proton free VPN on my desktop yesterday. The good news is it only took about a 10% hit in download speed. Latency on downloads didn't quite double. Not too noticeable. This morning when I turned on the computer and launched Comcast email via Outlook, the sign-in boxes (I have 4 email addresses) kept popping up in a continuous loop. I'd hit OK on each and they would pop up again. Obviously this can't be normal behavior. I had to kill the VPN to get it to stop. Any idea what might cause this?

 

[Tech9]

Security related feature. Your email provider sees login attempts from uncommon IP address and requires additional verification. This will be happening with other online services you use through VPN. Some will simply refuse to work with recognized public VPN server IPs.

 

[Lee MacMillan]

Is there a work-around for this with Proton? Or are other VPNs more Comcast-email friendly? Changing the email provider is not an option I will consider.

 

[Tech9]

It’s the anonymity you are after and more similar issues will surface down the road until you realize running commercial VPN is more inconvenience than privacy. On a PC see if Proton offers selective routing and exclude email, banking, local streaming, etc. services. They all actively track commercial VPN server IPs and block services or require extra user authentication.

 

[CaptainSTX]

Is there a work-around for this with Proton? Or are other VPNs more Comcast-email friendly? Changing the email provider is not an option I will consider.

I use my Comcast supplied email address however I have it forwarded to a Gmail account and I have no problems logging into Gmail when using StrongVPN. I also don't have any issues when logging into the Comcast/Xfinity site when connected using a VPN.

 

[Tech9]

It perhaps depends on the email settings as well. I have Gmail with 2FA and it sends me notifications when I attempt to login with NordVPN.

 

[Lee MacMillan]

Thanks for the replies. I probably don't need a VPN but every once in a while I get curious. I can always use the Tor browser if I want to be anonymous on certain sites.

 

[Lee MacMillan]

Security related feature. Your email provider sees login attempts from uncommon IP address and requires additional verification. This will be happening with other online services you use through VPN. Some will simply refuse to work with recognized public VPN server IPs.

I just remembered I logged into my Comcast email from several countries in Europe last fall without any problem. I have also logged in from Hawaii, California, Florida and New Hampshire (I live in Indiana.) I wonder what the difference was? I'm sure the free Proton VPN server is in the US.

 

[Tech9]

I don't know what security levels Comcast have in place. Could be the recognized public VPN IP address triggering protection. Public VPN server IPs are well known and the database is updated regularly. I know Google/Gmail is quite sensitive and when using it from abroad I first VPN back to my network and then open it. Otherwise I need to confirm it's me on a registered trusted device. The same warning I get when logging into Chrome from not previously used location. If you think about it - it's a good thing.