Now we get a lot of comments about VPNs,
virtual private networks, naturally.
I mean, this is a channel where we talk a lot
about streaming, and that's something that comes along
with streaming often.
But I don't talk about VPNs much on this channel.
Why is that?
Well, it's not because they're not useful,
but they might not always be useful
in the way that you want.
That's what we're gonna talk about today.
Let's dive in.
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Now VPNs, virtual private networks, what are they?
This is kind of a software.
It's a go-between that allows you to appear
as though you are somewhere else, oftentimes.
It masks your location, your IP address,
that sorta thing, and there are a lot of good
legitimate uses for it.
It gives you added security,
especially if you're on public networks,
public connections, if you do work at coffee shops,
if you're in airports a lot,
then a VPN can keep you safe from hackers
who will more easily access data on public networks.
It also lets you remotely access say a business network
or a home network if you need access to that on the road.
It allows you to appear as though you are still
on that business network or home network.
And finally, it's in some countries where censorship
is a big issue, VPNs allow people to get around firewalls
that cause problems or just don't allow them
to access certain data, certain sites.
VPNs are a good way to get around those things.
But above all, what we hear about most on this channel,
like I said, we talk a lot about streaming services,
and so VPNs are being used
to skirt geographical restrictions on streaming services.
This happens a lot with say sports streaming services.
So NBA TV, MLB TV, NHL TV,
a lotta times with these, you'll hear, you know,
you can access all or you can watch all
out-of-market games live on those services.
And so if I'm in Salt Lake City, which I am,
I can't watch the Jazz on the NBA's streaming service
because that's an in-market team,
but I could watch, I don't know, the Knicks
or something like that if I wanted to do that
for some reason.
Then there are also other things like Netflix
has different libraries based on your location
or your region.
And so when you travel overseas,
you'll notice that Netflix has a different library there,
and you can watch different shows.
And so if I would rather access that library,
I'm gonna need to look like I am accessing
the Internet from Sweden, which I can do with a VPN.
There's only one problem with this,
and that's that the streaming services seem
to be getting wise to this.
And so they're cracking down on VPN usage.
But how do they do that?
How do they even know that you're using a VPN?
Well, there are a few different ways.
These streaming services can identify
and block known VPN servers and ports.
Basically the traffic that you are creating
by accessing say Netflix or MLB TV,
it does go through certain places.
The VPN makes it look like you are streaming
from somewhere else.
But they use certain servers, they use certain ports,
and those can be identified and blocked
by the streaming services.
The other way that they could do that
is through something called deep packet inspection.
Now there's a lotta data contained in those packets
that's going between you and those servers,
going through the VPN, and so companies can,
if they wanna go to the trouble, analyze all of that data,
analyze those packets, potentially identify VPNs
and shut down traffic coming from them.
So why haven't we talked much about VPNs on this channel?
Are we just so scared of the legal ramifications?
Not necessarily.
It is a gray area, gray area at best,
and a gray area at worst.
Well, first of all, we're not that interested
in inserting ourselves into the arms race here.
There's always gonna be a way to skirt around
end-user agreements and then companies will find ways
to shut those ways down,
and then new ways will be invented and so on and so forth.
It's an exhausting process that we're not really
interested in getting into.
And second of all, frankly, I'm more interested
in reliability and a good experience for you
than saving a couple of bucks.
We see this in the comments here on this channel
all the time.
Somebody will say, "My NBA TV stream got shut down,
"even though I'm using a VPN."
And somebody else will say,
"I've never had an issue.
"I've used a VPN for years."
But that unreliability, not being exactly sure
what you're gonna get with this situation means
it's something that we're not quite sure
that we want to recommend people try anyway.
So are VPNs not worth it?
Well, I didn't say that.
Like I mentioned earlier, there are still other reasons
to use VPNs, like security and remote network access,
that make them a good idea potentially.
If you're wondering which ones I would suggest,
I'd probably stick with some of the bigger names
like ExpressVPN or NordVPN or IPVanish.
They tend to have the most user-friendly interfaces
and the best functionality across devices.
Plus, the free ones that you get are often
basically just ways to install malware,
and so I would stay away from those.
Make sure you get a subscription VPN
if you're looking for one.
So anyway, that's it, let me have it.
Hit the comments below, give me all your thoughts on VPNs.
I'm excited to hear you guys tear me apart,
so hit those comments, give this video a like,
and subscribe if it was helpful.
Thanks for watching.
I'll see you next time.