Hello all,

I always thought that a VPN is a VPN and that’s all about it. The privacy aspects can differ, the connection speed can differ, the price can differ but that’s about it. I mean a VPN works like a VPN should work, right?

Unfortunately I learned it is not.

Let me simplify (very much!) the idea behind a VPN:
– you get a different IP than the one from your ISP
– traffic is diverted over several servers
– your identity is unknown because the new IP is not to be traced back to your original ISP given IP and so not to you

So far, so good. I use NordVPN and I am satisfied. I use it for torrents and it works great.

Now I red an article about the browser Vivaldi. It comes with a new added feature: a builtin VPN, and they claim as well that the speed would hardly be reduced.

So I downloaded Vivaldi and checked it out.

Turns out: the download speed is only 10% max.
But, it is free and I have all the time in the world.

I checked whether I got a new IP and I did.
Just for fun I checked my IP in Chrome.
Turns out, in Chrome I still have my regular ISP given IP!

So I checked in Firefox.
The same!

To be sure I checked what NordVPN is doing.
When starting NordVPN, it does not matter what browser I use: all browsers show the same new IP.

Now I am puzzled. I thought a VPN gets you a new IP and all traffic is being diverted via that new IP, whatever browser or program you are using.

Obviously I am wrong, but what is happening in Vivaldi?

 

Why IP Checks Show Different Results Vivaldi: Shows the VPN-assigned IP only for its own traffic. Other browsers: Remain unaffected unless they use their own VPNs/extensions. NordVPN: System-wide rerouting ensures all apps reflect the VPN IP. If you want to ensure that your IP address is correctly hidden, you can perform an IP check while connected to the VPN and ensure there are no DNS leaks.

 

VPN is a virtual private network, it's designed to provide "local" network over internet,
if it's exclusive (all traffic goes through it) or not (for ex. traffic between local devices/servers goes through it but internet traffic goes through your ISP directly) depends on configuration.

if you think anything else you misunderstood it completely,

your identity is never really private, because your ISP still sees unknown traffic activity and you using VPN for it (but not sources/destinations),

Vivaldi uses own VPN and so the speed depends on their VPN infrastructure

- just as if you had VPN server at home its max theoretical speeds would depend on your DL/UL because traffic goes through it

 

I am afraid that is true for more than only the VPN knowledge.....

 

What VPNs aren't suitable for

There's no such thing as complete security online, and a VPN service is no exception. Essentially, the attack surface shifts one level: instead of between your device and the website, data can be read between the VPN server and the website.

The VPN services themselves may also be able to view your data. And even if the VPN service of your choice handles your data reliably and meets the highest security standards, data leaks can occasionally occur.

... want to ward off malware
A VPN is not a substitute for antivirus protection. So don't consider it a security tool that can't protect you from phishing or virus-infected downloads.

 

Thanks for answering. I did not know that IP's could be different for two browsers. I thought the IP was the one and only communication point for internet traffic. Obviously my knowledge turns out to be insufficient to really understand how internet traffic is working.....

It was also just to be sure that when using torrents, my IP must be different from my ISP given IP because uploading stuff is forbidden in my country. So I must be sure that when using torrents, my IP has changed!

 

Opera browser has the same sort of vpn feature, for free. But they also have a paid service.

The speed is fine for browsing, but if you download anything it is very slow. Some sites, like Dropbox, do not function correctly at all due to the low speed connection.

It's more of a proxy server than a true vpn.

 

You are on Linux right, which distro? For an example, you can add a command line tool called Proxychains. If you are on Debian, you can install it by issuing the command : sudo apt install proxychains , and it will download and install from repo.

You setup a list of SOCKS or HTTP proxy servers inside its configuration file. Any command you issue in the command line can be prefaced with "proxychains" which will then pipe the output of that command through the list of proxy servers. They basically become additional hops. The computer at the end of the transaction will only see the very last server's ip address. For purpose of explanation, to some extent, it is similar to TOR.

None of this changes your real IP address. You either have a static ip or a dynamic ip, which is assigned by your isp. These connections are like a sidechain in audio. The difference is the protocol, and wether the tunnel is secured, or not.

 

Well, the 10% is not bad. I mean, it's free.

Still on MX21. I will skip MX23 which has some strange "features" and wait for MX25.

The rest of your story is way too high for my pay-grade and considering I don't have a pay-grade at my age anymore, you can fill in the blanks.
But I really appreciate you taking the time!

 

no, not so good. Nord is known to have collaborated with authorities. Therefore their claims on collecting/storing users logs are b.s.. IMO, nord is a waste of space. A VPN, i.e. why you pay them, makes certain your activities stay private and are never, ever EVER, logged and saved, anywhere. A VPN that strays from any of that is useless and a waste of time & $$..

I would be more concerned about what they log and who they collaborate with and what their track record is... The truth is if you're wanting speed thru a VPN you'll need a dedicated router with the firmware for the vpn running on it. You'll also need vpn protocols that are optimized for speed and privacy. This "vivaldi" thing has neither.

Your "identity" is unknown to sites you go to or places you log into, etc. Your "id" as far as your ISP goes is known because you have an account with them that makes it so... There is a data stream passing thru their system associated to you which they cannot penetrate or trace. With regard to your "comings and goings" and what you are doing, where you are going, etc, they do not have a clue. Which is the way it should be...

 

NORDVPN is banned in Myanmar ... only few working here
better to use deep seeker dpn instead

 

No, "data leaks" do not "occur" or better not. That's not what you pay a VPN for... IF the vpn is true to what you should have been looking for in a vpn - .i.e. ram only based servers that never collect, save, or log ANY users activity data then this "occasional data leak" thing is b.s.. When there's nothing logged, there's nothing to leak and nothing for authorities to stick their ugly snouts into...

 

And don't forget about the '5 Eyes, 9 Eyes, and 14 Eyes Alliances'. Read about it here: https://allaboutcookies.org/what-is-the-five-eyes-alliance

And there's also something called like 'a unique browser ID' that will always be identifiable regardless if you're using a VPN or not. So thinking you're completely save when using a VPN is a fairy tale that's promoted by the companies that want to sell you one!

Of course if you're not engaged into extremely illegal activities and just want to download some warez you're perfectly fine with a VPN. They won't bother to track you down. But if for some reason they want to find you? You can be sure that not any VPN will keep you save!