Like ive looked around for free vpn’s and the free ones seems to stink, also what are the points of a vpn besides being safe online? ive heard its used for torrenting and such acts.

is there is no such things as a free vnp that what options does one have becasue im an autistic young adult so im kind alimited in what i can do/learn and i dont hav ea job for many reasons, and my family members think vpn’s are just for companys is there a cheap one i can convince them with like how do i tell them to get a vpn, also my close by family members are kinda old and such.

  • Daftling@lemmy.fmhy.ml
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    1 year ago

    Every free VPN company is going to track and sell your data. That’s how they make a return on giving you a free product. If you’re wanting to pirate things without worry, just avoid torrents and you’ll be fine. HTTP (direct downloads through your browser from site like archive.org) can’t be tracked by copyright holders. They’re perfectly safe to download from. If you’re just looking for some sort of privacy while browsing websites I recommend checking out TOR browser. It offers all of the regular safety precautions anyone would need while simply browsing the internet (aside from common sense).

    • ShySpark@lemmy.fmhy.mlOP
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      1 year ago

      thanks for the info so internet archive plus tor, but what are some safe sites i can get direct downloads from? also whats a good way to store most of the media without getting in trouble.

      also thanks for answering my many dumb and random questions also i use windows so there that.

      • nullishcat@lemmy.fmhy.ml
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        1 year ago

        Depends on what type of stuff you want. Obviously check FMHY for DDL sites.

        The best way to store stuff is to do it locally… you can use cloud storage (w/ rclone encryption if you’re paranoid) but most of them you’d have to pay for. You can also give Telegram a try, unlimited storage, all you’d need to do is split the files to 2GB chunks.

        • Daftling@lemmy.fmhy.ml
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          1 year ago

          This is some great advice! Especially the bit about Telegram. I’ve been using it to back up game and TV collections for a couple years now.

          • nullishcat@lemmy.fmhy.ml
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            1 year ago

            It’s a good service, I don’t personally use it cause I have slow upload speeds and teledrive is slow af but I can see why a lot of people do.

  • duckythescientist@lemmy.fmhy.ml
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    1 year ago

    VPNs don’t really help with online safety nowadays. Nearly all websites are encrypted, so you don’t have to worry about someone on your WiFi network stealing your data. VPNs are reasonable for getting around location blocks with streaming services (e.g. watching a UK-only show on Netflix while in America), but some streaming services are wisening up. VPNs can be helpful for piracy, but I’m not sure if they are necessary. If you are torrenting, set your client to “require encryption”, and disable DHT and all local peer discovery.

    I barely trust paid VPNs. I definitely don’t trust free ones.

    You probably don’t need a VPN.

  • shawn@lemmy.fmhy.ml
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    1 year ago

    I use a VPN to access my home computers securely when outside of my house. Mainly for monitoring 3d printers, but it has occasionally been helpful for other things too.

    Checkout tailscale. It’s free until you want more than just a few users.

    https://tailscale.com/

  • denyago@lemmy.fmhy.ml
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    1 year ago
    1. You can instead use a privacy-focused browser or a TorBrowser to stay anonymous. They are free.
    2. I’m unsure of your definition of “safe”, but having an up-to-date browser is good enough. If you have Windows, don’t disable the anti-virus.
    3. If you really need to stay anonymous, use a VPN provider that accepts payments in crypto or cash (yes, it’s a thing). You can watch https://odysee.com/@AlphaNerd:8/now-this-is-what-a-private-vpn-looks:9 to see what the private VPN means.

    Overall, I wish you not to trust stupid ad integrations about “hackers can steal your cookies if you are not on VPN, instal %PRODUCT_NAME% and get a 10% removed with my code”.

    • erikk2@lemmy.fmhy.ml
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      1 year ago

      VPNs like proton and windscribe have free plans and you can use trial resets for some paid vpns