Internet Suspended

[Sandiver]

simple solution don't use VOD. install the Exodus addon in Kodi any movie you can see on VOD you can see on Exodus, also if you missed an episode of a tv program you can watch those as well.

[wag123]

So are you saying that the ones loaded on a computer are not protecting every device that is connected to my network?

Yes, and ilan is correct. If you use the VPN software on your computer it is only protecting THAT computer and nothing else on your network. Most VPN providers will allow 2 to 5 simultaneous VPN connections on their network, so you could use it on multiple devices without running it in a router, including many/most set top boxes.
If you are wanting to protect everything on your network simultaneously you will need to purchase a relatively high-end router in order to run the VPN from the router itself. The prices on these start at around $100 but if you shop around you might find one a little cheaper. I'm using an ASUS RT-AC56U router and it runs the VPN well, but it does slow down my Intenet connection by about 1/2, from 60mbps to about 30mbps (still plenty fast for my purposes), and my ISP (or anyone else) doesn't have ANY idea what is coming and going through my Internet connection or where I am going when I am on the Internet. All of my computers (4), STBs (3), and smart phones (3) are protected. IMHO using a VPN service in a router is the way to go.

[joe645]

Yes, and ilan is correct. If you use the VPN software on your computer it is only protecting THAT computer and nothing else on your network. Most VPN providers will allow 2 to 5 simultaneous VPN connections on their network, so you could use it on multiple devices without running it in a router, including many/most set top boxes.
If you are wanting to protect everything on your network simultaneously you will need to purchase a relatively high-end router in order to run the VPN from the router itself. The prices on these start at around $100 but if you shop around you might find one a little cheaper. I'm using an ASUS RT-AC56U router and it runs the VPN well, but it does slow down my Intenet connection by about 1/2, from 60mbps to about 30mbps (still plenty fast for my purposes), and my ISP (or anyone else) doesn't have ANY idea what is coming and going through my Internet connection or where I am going when I am on the Internet. All of my computers (4), STBs (3), and smart phones (3) are protected. IMHO using a VPN service in a router is the way to go.

Would this VPN affect a Home Security System DVR and the ability to view remotely or WIFI thermostat, etc? I found a ASUS 56U (new open box) for $55. Hopefully cutting Internet speed by half won't be a problem. I need to keep my 8mbps upload for streaming purposes.

[wag123]

I found a ASUS 56U (new open box) for $55.

This is an excellent price if it is an RT-AC56U. If it is an RT-N56U it is an average price and it is NOT suitable for running a whole house VPN.
In an RT-AC56U, if the current firmware doesn't yet support VPN out of the box (mine didn't when I purchased it), you will need to upgrade the router firmware with ASUSWRT-Merlin (ASUS approved) or DD-WRT 3rd party firmware if you want to run VPN software in it.

Would this VPN affect a Home Security System DVR and the ability to view remotely or WIFI thermostat, etc?

It will if the VPN tunnel goes down. It does this occasionally (on an irregular basis) and I have to refresh the connection in the router console on my computer when it happens. In addition to reducing your Internet connection speed, this is another downside to running the VPN from a router. DD-WRT has a built-in setting that will auto reconnect if the VPN tunnel fails, and you can also set it up to refresh the connection on a schedule, but, DD-WRT is a lot less user friendly, much more difficult to setup, and has more bugs than ASUSWRT-Merlin.
You could also run 2 routers simultaneously, the one you currently have for the the devices that you don't want/need to run a VPN, and the new one for your VPN connected devices.

I need to keep my 8mbps upload for streaming purposes.

The speeds you will achieve will be directly affected by the VPN provider you select, which one of their servers you are using, and which VPN encryption protocol you are using. I tried a number of different servers that my VPN provider has and tested their speed on speedtest.net until I found the fastest server. I found that the fastest servers were the ones that are the closest to where I live (DUH). I also tried all 3 of the available encryption protocols in my router and settled on PPTP for it's higher speed. PPTP is an adequate encryption level for my purposes (I'm not concerned with the NSA decrypting my home Internet connection and my ISP isn't going to bother with trying to decrypt it). If you want to use OpenVPN (the most secure encryption protocol) I recommend that you purchase a router with a more powerful CPU (like an ASUS RT-AC87U) if you want to maintain reasonably fast Internet speeds. Be warned, OpenVPN is not easy to setup.

[sfipricej]

I'm using an ASUS RT-AC56U router and it runs the VPN well, but it does slow down my Intenet connection by about 1/2, from 60mbps to about 30mbps (still plenty fast for my purposes), and my ISP (or anyone else) doesn't have ANY idea what is coming and going through my Internet connection or where I am going when I am on the Internet. All of my computers (4), STBs (3), and smart phones (3) are protected. IMHO using a VPN service in a router is the way to go.

I use the RT-AC68 unit with advanced tomato firmware, using vpn and only route specific traffic through it. Mostly a single laptop via ethernet for torrents that's syncing to my WD Cloud drive (13TB), and one of my kodi boxes.. The others are streaming from the internet directly and use the cloud drive as a media server...

[frostycold]

So are you saying that the ones loaded on a computer are not protecting every device that is connected to my network?

It would have to be loaded into your router for it to work on network.

[Bkman2020]

Torrents are still active and are traps now be aware.