The Shady Business of VPNs

[@NathanaelV]

A VPN tierlist would actually be hillarious

[@staypuft6753]

I second this

[@joshingwithyahaha]

all vpns in garbage tier except Mulvad & Proton. Self hosting is always S tier 📡

[@MarioShotgun]

@@joshingwithyahahaI self host but what I'm worried about is the IP being the same which can make it easier for tracking

[@tumescent]

@@joshingwithyahaha since mullvad dropped port forwarding airvpn > mullvad

[@Rederis]

​@tumescent does Protonvpn support port forwarding?

Privacy and security is a constant, ever-changing effort. Before choosing a VPN, you have to think about your threat model. Who are you worried about, the ISP? The government and/or three letter agencies? Big corporations like Google or Microsoft? Your parents? The school/university? Advertisement companies? Each answer requires different efforts, and it also depends on what exactly you don't want them knowing.

[@rootcanal7188]

For the government and three letter agencies, what do you recommend? Thanka

[@vylbird8014]

@@rootcanal7188 Tor. The protocol itself is neigh-untraceable - even the best intelligence agencies would struggle to tell where a connection originates from. But it is vulnerable to side-channel leaks and social engineering tricks*, so if you're going up against government intelligence you also need rigorous compliance to operational security protocols, which needs a knowledge of computing and networking and level of discipline few possess.

[@wile123456]

So you're doing serious crimes that warrant agencies looking for your activity? Good luck Bro, but 1 vpn isn't enough and you need tor or multiple nodes to have any chance. Also moving to another country where cybercrimes are not cared about much is the best

[@rootcanal7188]

@@wile123456 there are multi-hop VPNs, and you can chain VPNs with virtual machines.

[@wildowarkson8774]

The fact of the manner is that 99% of the viewers here are nobodies but think they big fishes

[@false_positive]

the saying 'nothing personal, just business' gets a new interpretation, when talking about vpns : 'nothing private, just business'

[@weltsiebenhundert]

7:46 Speed test by Ookla OWNED by a VPN provider - Explains the ADs

[@thiesenf]

What ads? uBlock Origin... :-) No ads.

[@SteveNeighbor]

Better or worse than the previous owner, Comcast?

[@ivankaliankovich1752]

Good vid, VPN tier list pleaseee.

[@AndreasMolnar-Dev]

Now I wonder whether he is already accepting bids 😂

[@comesignotus9888]

#1 - the one that you host yourself in the place you chose yourself.

[@MarcelMorisot-xf8fo]

​@@comesignotus9888then you won't be able to download Linux ISOs though

[@lemonadeforlife]

​@@comesignotus9888👑

[@UndercoverDog]

S) Tor, Mullvad F) Nordvpn, expressvpn, Cyberghost VPN G) Opera GX "VPN" 💀

[@CuteSkyler]

Go to a random relative's, who doesn't know much about internet security, house, set up a server in their attic connected to their router via ethernet, open ports that only you would access, install a local VPN service on the server, connect to it via your own machine at home. Boom, perfectly private internet. (Can be improved by going to a stranger's house and doing it there instead)

[@MrPir84free]

You don't need a server. You don't need to get into the attic either; most attics aren't cooled, so not the best place for electronics anyways. A good many wifi routers already have VPN servers already built in as really most routers are just linux servers; with a few packages installed, and a configuration file or two later, it then hosts a vpn server. It'd be relatively easy to configure one, then gift it to someone, and voila.. However, your connections would still come from your home to theirs, and most would log the connection, or at least see the connection if someone digs into the matter. Won't do you any good after a hard reset either, which is the default action when someone has an network issue. There are legal concerns however as well; if you are caught... But then you could simply use the TOR browser, or get a router that already has TOR configured with a "slider" switch to turn it on.

[@CuteSkyler]

@@MrPir84free I was joking.

[@domojestic4155]

Goddamn, these vids are just so good now. I mean, you had some solid work before your hiatus, but this is just a whole different level!

[@EricMurphyxyz]

Thanks, high praise!

[@Shiv-vb1re]

Fingerprinting is actually scary

[@sprinklednights]

This is why I have never paid for a VPN. Use Tor if you want to be more private instead of using a VPN. It's not a panacea either, but much better than using something like NordVPN.

[@Cre4tor.]

I don’t really trust tor anymore. More than a vpn but im still not really sure how secure it is and I can’t be certain that theres no data that leaks.

[@Sasha-zw9ss]

@@Cre4tor. I have used Tor as a free and non-shady way to access blocked sites, but don't use it that much anymore since I got my own proxy for that.

[@false_positive]

@@Cre4tor. TOR aint help you much when you use linux terminal

[@Rad1ation]

Tor is basically a vpn times 3, they use 3 onion seervers or what they are called. But it does make you look shady to the FBI and other govermental stuff.

[@Rad1ation]

The adresses are so hard to know tho :(

[@TheLexikitty]

Yea, I only use a commercial VPN because I’ve seen too many ISPs believe they are the enforcers of copyright law. Everything important is airgapped, and three letter agencies already know what they want to know about anyone.

[@rabbitos]

I hate that VPN companies lie to the general public about what they can do, but there is something comforting about a bunch more people using them these days since the first assumption is no longer you must be downloading super secret linux distros lol

[@ariathyf144]

Thank you for saying out loud what many in the field have concluded. Exposing the track records and historical associations is important to realize the magnitude of what is going on. You're a true internet Chad.

[@L5nd]

a few days ago LTT accepted PIA sponsor and made a new video about VPNs and didn’t even mention another good alternative to PIA like Mullvad or Proton

[@Cre4tor.]

Proton? Ew. Wouldn’t call that a *good* vpn

[@EricMurphyxyz]

Bought and paid

[@xevilrabbit12]

proton is good

[@xevilrabbit12]

​@@Cre4tor.proton pretty good

[@notweewee]

​@@Cre4tor.Proton is second to mullvad. Why you think proton is bad?

[@golderzoa]

finally someone actually is talking about this! vpns are scams unless you make it yourself but most people don't know how.

[@Emancipatriot]

I love the way you write your scripts. The random quips mixed in the way do is basically your brand at this point.

[@sireasy3899]

I was waiting for the sponsor. really hit the nail there!

[@somni4867]

I use proton vpn for spotify cos the ads are less annoying when I can’t understand them.

[@Twtgod]

Why not have a mod APK of Spotify?

[@somni4867]

@@Twtgod Idk if that’s safe, bc what if I download malware without knowing.

[@ArturdeSousaRocha]

VPNs were created for a different type of use, like connecting to your company's intranet from a remote location. Personal use is just an attempt at monetizing the technology further.

[@HDoom.]

What? Noo.. That one Privacy/VPN guy got bought out? That's something I didn't expect.

[@itsjustbusiness1989]

>guy that is knowledgeable in privacy >"I won't give you any specific recommendations" .

[@Robbie-mw5uu]

Just use Tor if you cannot afford a VPN. Tor is free and is more secure than using a VPN anyway. The only problem with Tor is that it is slow because it builds every web page from scratch. Some ISPs and countries won't work with Tor so you need a bridge to bypass censorship of Tor.

[@bmssenjoyer]

google 'mullvad raid'

[@kotakuk6533]

@@Robbie-mw5uuAnd don’t forget that any ip that’s from the Tor network will be flagged by a lots of companies as malicious.

[@kotakuk6533]

Also won’t work on sites that use bot detection based on individual traffic. This may lead to getting suspended on Facebook, instagram, and so on.

[@nijucow]

​@@Robbie-mw5uudon't forget about getting billions of captchas

[@honguyenminh]

I got an ExpressVPN ad before this lmao

[@hyplayer]

5:36 Yo bro how did you get my search history?? 😲

[@TheBenSanders]

Mullvad really is the better choice for a VPN.

[@friponraymond]

Thanks for your videos. You brought awareness to me and this is more than enough already. I'd happily watch a VPN tier list video. Good work, keep it up sir.

[@hoomanbing]

Another banger. I had been waiting on your take on vpns for some time now.

[@EricMurphyxyz]

Yep, I've had a lot of requests to cover VPNs, figured I'd better make a video on them

[@hoomanbing]

@@EricMurphyxyz That was a great decision indeed! Waiting for the tierlist, wish you all the best!

[@neowave777]

That ending was hilarious. Another amazing video, Eric, keep them coming! I wonder if the no.1 spot on the vpn tier list will end with "vad" 😁😁😁

[@comesignotus9888]

Nice, got some info I wasn't aware of. I hope this video ranks higher in recommendations.

[@benjotest5990]

I know vpns are not a bulletproof vest! But give some respect man Pia been tested multiple times in court

[@Free_Palestine_and_Fukk_israel]

I won't believe any company that has literal spyies of the mossad working for it

[@kelownatechkid]

I went to that fingerprint site and it said I was on a VPN even though the IP it displayed was clearly a residential IP lmao

[@mshaftenberg]

Awesome video, Eric. Thank you!

[@MetroAndroid]

3:04 A browser that could natively spoof random information for these attributes would be so good. Imagine if every time you load a page your user agent was randomized (within a regularly updated list of user agents that won't break sites).

[@Robbie-mw5uu]

I hope you are joking because you are basically explaining the Tor browser.

[@MetroAndroid]

@@Robbie-mw5uu Tor is slow and lacking in a lot of features. You can literally just edit your user agent on the software side when using command line programs, I don't see why it would be different when using a browser, and it would add one more layer of obfuscation to potential trackers. It wouldn't be as secure as Tor, but it'd be an extra layer that non-Tor browsers could use.

[@ThePingedOne]

Brave does exactly this.

[@Huskuku]

Public wifi is still dangerous to use ESPECIALLY if you're making online purchases. My mother has gotten their credit card information stolen at a public library so please use your at home wifi or data when making purchases online.

[@mjc0961]

How long ago was this? Everything should be https now, as covered in the video.

[@Huskuku]

@@mjc0961 like 5 months ago and it was https

[@notafbihoneypot8487]

​@@mjc0961literally

[@russellmania5349]

@@mjc0961 I think the hacker can do a man in the middle attack easily on Public Wifi, so it renders the HTTPS encryption useless.

[@Bllueee]

I'd love to see a VPN tier list! I need one

[@D.von.N]

The harder they push some product down my throat, the more I resist. I see it is a good strategy to save myself a little fortune. In public places I usually use my own mobile data wherever available or I don't go online. There still is life out there off the screen.

[@Robbie-mw5uu]

ipv6 chads

[@FireMao]

Thanks for this info, Eric, much appreciated.

[@ABDCDBDBDBDB]

using a product made by a 8200 graduate is actually a pretty good thing. the people that go there are usually scientists that want to avoid killing people and as a member of a family associated with important professors i can say they're very trustworthy

[@tank5381]

Thanks man this is actually an honest review I was thinking about getting a VPN but with everything you're saying I'm not going to bother

[@HalPlax]

"This video is sponsored by Nord VPN" at the end lmao

[@supking403]

You make this video and didn’t expect us to demand a tier list

[@momentomori1747]

Kinda feel like a lot of these anti vpn videos are overblown a bit. VPNs aren't a cure-all, but the average person would be more secure connecting to mullvad w/ their DNS ad and malware blockers turned on and using mullvad browser for their browser. As this video briefly mentions, VPNs are just one part of an overall strategy for improving your privacy.

[@EricMurphyxyz]

I am planning on also doing a video on when you should use a VPN, because I believe there are good use cases for them that don't get talked about a lot. But most of the industry is a grift

[@momentomori1747]

@@EricMurphyxyz 100% agreed there. Mullvad is basically the only one that I think has any integrity. The rest will say anything to make a buck.

[@vylbird8014]

@@EricMurphyxyz The use case for VPNs usually means torrenting movies.

[@Nixeu42]

@@vylbird8014 Or your ISP is terrible and blocks a website for stupid reasons, because they're tinpot dictators with no competition. That's why I got mine. Literally all I want it to do is keep my crappy ISP from seeing my traffic. That's about all I expect.

[@MrVecheater]

If you're paying for a service, you're still the product

[@therobotjesterz]

VPN tier list when

[@bigratmonster]

that last part got me lmao

[@svsilentpartner647]

We need more videos like this 100% amazing work mate

[@asshole1673]

this is why i’m not paying for a vpn for privacy. i’m paying for a vpn to bypass network blockers on school’s wifi

[@vonweiss7149]

Proxys and Dns have left the chat.

[@martinlutherkingjr.5582]

Why not just use a free vpn then

[@jebril]

@@martinlutherkingjr.5582those are very slow but yea they would work, a free proxy would work the same way too.

[@aimdrip1074]

​@@martinlutherkingjr.5582 watch the video

[@Guitartube25]

4:13 "you're secure" is a big claim 🙃😂

[@1amy0u1amy0u]

This video is more entertaining then a nowadays movie 😄 . Loved it keep up the good work and keep digging

[@onyekachiadamesegbue5764]

Just got an ad of ExpressVPN before this video started, wow......

[@0DarkTime0]

Dignity is worth more than money, thank you for this video.

[@internet8080]

Proton Open Source FTW

[@eeeeee-ih6cz]

Mullvad is better

[@Vintagesonic1]

@@eeeeee-ih6cz They're both good and trustworthy.

[@jaewanplayzofficial]

Proton and Mullvad are the 2 best

[@sumabich721]

I just use VPN for torrenting my legal Linux isos. If I really wanna be anonymous, I use tor. Oh, and I use my own VPN to get into my home network from everywhere. There's no reason really to hate VPNs, they have their place. But the whole "security and privacy" stuff is a bit much yeah.

[@Ben21299]

More people should see this video!

[@blameitonnick]

Loving the regular uploads :)

[@conradmbugua9098]

Your content has been amazing Eric🔥

[@some_lurker]

Tor also has its share of problems now though. Three letter agencies have been de-anonymizing through Tor nodes for awhile.

[@Nixeu42]

Nothing is going to stop the TLAs if they really want to find you, unless you are really keeping up with the bleeding edge of tech. "Secure" is a relative term, and most security measures are just a matter of throwing up hoops to be jumped through.

[@jwicy]

i'm pretty new to online privacy but i've noticed that all social media sites grab your location from your ip to target ads even when you turn off all info sent to them, so now i'm curious as to do they just determine your location once when making an account, which could be stopped with a vpn, or do they track you every login?

[@bean1sprout]

Awesome video! Thanks for not being a shill!

[@heinzriemann3213]

I won't touch anything KZbinrs advertise for. It's all scams.

[@metroop]

Good video and a reminder that cash is king.

[@nezu_cc]

I think the funniest thing that nobody is talking about is the hosting and ISPs most VPNs use for their servers. If you're on a VPN right now, check what your ISP is, chances are it's m247 ;)

[@F_Around_and_find_out]

Things go bad when they're merging. It's not a coincidence.

[@LiveforHM]

Any five eyes based VPN has to give over logs when subpoenaed. It is the law in those countries. They also cannot inform the customer of it.

[@Nixeu42]

I'm pretty sure they just have to start keeping logs. Possibly only on specific users. Not sure, though. But yes, outsourcing your security when doing things your federal government objects to is a bad idea. I'm not sure why that's shocking to anyone. Then again, I do have this bad habit of assuming people bother to inform themselves of risks before doing things.

[@argy22_]

I really LOVE your content! Keep going Eric!

[@EvolutionDataOptimized]

Making your own VPN is possible and I would recommend it instead of paying for something that’s another one of those old Indian call center scams.

[@realorfake4765]

Eric, create you own review company and when they offer you money, demand even more than the last guy got. And then you take the back bone of the site and give it to a friend to start their own review company so they can make money that way.

[@estiennetaylor1260]

I've stopped using VPN years ago. Less websites are being blocked when detecting a VPN.

[@ProblematicParag0n]

The Kendrick Lamar reference is awesome

[@Horseyh]

@@ProblematicParag0n where are our thinkpads chuckenuts

[@jamessteele7102]

Hopefully these companies will get hit with class action lawsuits.

[@GoogleAdmiin]

10:53 respect Bro you're honesty and morals and voice shouldn't be sold like other fake 🤥 KZbinrs .. that's what make you different and standout from others 🗿 Respect+

[@netprofm]

Nice video, thanks for clarifying this

[@ego-lay_atman-bay]

What's illegal about downloading linux isos? Linux is open source, and most (good) linux distros are completely free to download and install. I don't understand why you keep saying downloading linux isos is a use case for vpns. If anything, I'd expect you to say games.

[@ФилипФилмар]

If you use BitTorrent your provider might throttle you anyways.

[@Rtk-wayne]

Using a vpn is just like saying, "Dont trust ur wife? Give ur phone to ur secret girlfriend and maximize ur privacy"

[@benjotest5990]

But ExpressVPN had a server seize, reason was because someone important got killed in Turkey and no data was found…

[@johnnycincocero]

Make that VPN tier list. Liked and subbed.

[@nacho8049]

Make a tier list for VPN. Thanks for your great videos!!

[@TRUEGKL]

Hey dude i lobe your videos, btw can you pls explain me difference between dns and vpn? I saw many post related to this on Reddit but really didn't understood any of that :(

[@lolikpof]

Thoughts about Mullvad?

[@iheartlreoy8134]

Compared to google analytics and ad sense it doesn’t seem as bad, a simple log tracking time on and off app may have practical uses for the developer and it simply got caught in the warrant but at least it shows they aren’t building user profiles and it also doesn’t change whatever their stated policy on data sale is

[@istdaslol]

Nowadays you get very cheap VPS that charge by the our. So for the same money - or mostly less - you get use your self hosted VPN. Most hosting providers have a option to install a mostly ready Linux with openvpn or wireguard. All the benefit of circumventing geoblocking without the malware

[@incandescentwithrage]

"without the malware" - most commercial providers will let you download just a config file.

[@thecat5284]

i can testify that i want a vpn tier list

[@urphakeandgey6308]

There are also plenty of free VPNs, which are more or less going to be identical in usefulness to a paid VPN. So if you really have to use a VPN for some reason, look for free options. Realistically, the best thing about a VPN is watching foreign Netflix. Yes, they'll sell your data, but so will the paid ones. You're basically getting the same amount of protection.

[@LEGnewTube]

I also call for a tier list.

[@scarletsence]

At this point every invasive ad actually convince me to not use it, like really they are just annoying.

[@roborob347]

Mullvad is one of the only VPNs worth using

[@Sami_K99]

Genuinely interested in a VPN tier list. Please

[@wrenchproductions]

Damn it, i’m not going to use internet anymore

[@knaz7468]

It's really VPN vs ISP. Who do you trust more? Would love to see a tier list. Or just your own personal setup.

[@Nixeu42]

The VPN I use hasn't blocked a site just for using DDOS protection. My ISP has. A site I use daily. That's why I got my VPN in the first place. Hell, it was less than $10 for like 4 years of service, IIRC. With no affiliate link, either. Mind you, apparently they got bought out since then, so I should probably look into if they raised rates...

[@realchikinmcnugets]

the only thing vpns are good for is getting around (weak/basic) firewalls.

[@Nixeu42]

Or around your ISP. Which some of us unfortunately find necessary. Because apparently mine decided to start blocking a widely used anti-DDOS service. Less than $10 for multiple years of VPN service fixed that.

[@alicethegrinsecatz6011]

I don't not even have to move outside. Just dis- & reconnecting my router or my phone gives me a new IPv4 address because the providers in most countries around the world dynamically distributes the IPv4 addresses to all newly dialing-in devices based on what is currently free, and again when you log out of the provider's network assign to the next user who's connecting to the provider's network. So, I always have a radom IP from a Telekom server with the lowest latency when I reconnect. That's why business contracts claim static IP addresses as a selling point.

[@sibeck5024]

So Mullvad is running ads now? Back when I first subscribed to them they claimed on their website not to run any

[@mubashirbhai6147]

I use rise up vpn.. due to techlore youtuber...i would prefer and love your opinion over him... you are the only youtuber i wait to upload..keep up the greatness

[@BCDkontoru]

lmao that ending hahaha. im gonna subscribe :D

[@fire-thoughts]

your browser looks clean, how and what browser you are using?

[@TheSuperNova994]

Is it true that Tor is more private than VPN's but also free? Because that would be really funny

[@tech-bore8839]

It's true. However, the problem for most people is going to be the speed. You're not going to be streaming videos at the same speed as you would without TOR. That's one of the reasons why VPNs have become massive, because there's not a huge sacrifice to internet speeds.

[@vincenthills5024]

​@@tech-bore8839the other use for vpns is torrenting because TOR straight up won't work for that

Tor is more private, in the sense that there isn't one centralized authority controlling the traffic. But it is much slower and relies on the entry and exit nodes also not being controlled by a single entity.

[@PracticalPcGuide]

Tor is more private, until a shady agency sets up its own relays. read about Malicious relays and the health of the Tor network..

[@vincenthills5024]

@@PracticalPcGuide KAX17 owned 35% of the middle nodes at one point

[@ghiffaribara2949]

This video needs to be popular

[@W.A.-Linux]

With VPN you need browser change your fingerprint every time like Liberwolf if you don't know how to do it.

[@tanmaskeddoesvideos]

This might be a stupid question, but... I use Mullvad VPN. Will it at least hide my browsing habits from my ISP, like if I was torrenting something?

[@EricMurphyxyz]

Yep, that is one of the best uses for a VPN

[@tanmaskeddoesvideos]

@@EricMurphyxyz Nice. Thanks. :D

[@chai01724]

If the goal is just to access geo-restricted contents for say, Netflix, free VPNs can be a viable use case?

[@Robbie-mw5uu]

yes

[@GoogleAdmiin]

this video deserve more attention 🗿

[@darsharora6]

I just use hotspot shield to get unblocked sites in school.