fhunter wrote: Wed Oct 09, 2019 1:33 pm PS. As for VPN - check also for potential DNS leak

I meant to comment on this and ask @fhunter if using the google DNS servers was a good idea. Does google log history in their DNS?

I'm using 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4

I've also used in the past opendns.com 208.67.222.222 and 208.67.220.220

Both are free to use. The difference is that opendns.com is designed to allow a user to create an account and put in blacklisted websites. I think the idea is to put the DNS on the router and for parents to then keep their kids from viewing certain websites.

However, opendns.com can be used without creating an account the same way google's DNS servers can be used.

Thoughts on the safety of using these types of DNS?

I found the online guides sometimes have incorrect information-no surprise as things in vpn-land can change quickly. An important consideration for me is access to streaming media, specifically Netflix, Amazon Prime, AcornTV, Britbox and Hulu.

The two VPNs that I switch between are VPN.ac (https://vpn.ac/aff.php?aff=1823) (yes, this is an affiliate link) and Private Internet Access (https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/). Results below using iOS clients on iPad iOS 13.1.2. Your experience may vary. Both offer a variety of payment choices, some anonymous, and clients for routers, computers, android and iOS.

Both VPNs:

Netflix: ok

Amazon Prime: no

AcornTV: ok

Britbox: ok

Hulu: no

You can try out VPN.AC for one week for $2.

TopManFL (imported) wrote: Thu Oct 10, 2019 7:33 am I meant to comment on this and ask @fhunter if using the google DNS servers was a good idea. Does google log history in their DNS?

I'm using 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4

I've also used in the past opendns.com 208.67.222.222 and 208.67.220.220

Both are free to use. The difference is that opendns.com is designed to allow a user to create an account and put in blacklisted websites. I think the idea is to put the DNS on the router and for parents to then keep their kids from viewing certain websites.

However, opendns.com can be used without creating an account the same way google's DNS servers can be used.

Thoughts on the safety of using these types of DNS?

In short - should be safe.

Long answer - DNS protocol was/is not-encrypted, so anyone can substitute the answer with their's. There is DNSSec to stop it, but still, this requires DNSSec being set up for the domain you are querying.

Some ISPs hijack your DNS queries and redirect them to their own servers, for multiple reasons.

From another angle - the DNS sees part of domains which you visit. (Part, because your computer/browser probably caches answers). So it can correlate your IP with domains requested. But it can't see the pages you visit.

Sorry for late answer.

In short - should be safe.

You had me at "In short - should be safe."

But, thank you for the clarification. I don't really trust Google and yet can't seem to get them out of my life. Ironically, when we upgraded our DNS from 20mps to 40mps download (hey for the back of beyond that's fast), the chat room on here stopped working for me. My ISP doesn't sell much 40mps download because you have to have both have the facilities available and want the speed. In this part of the world, you're lucky to have a landline let alone two landlands (which is required for the faster speed) and they aren't investing in more copper wire.

So, to make the chat room work, I had to switch to the google DNS. Because the faster speed uses different DNS from my ISP and they didn't have it updated.

Thanks again for the answer.