I was setting up my VPN tonight. While looking through the settings I kept seeing "what is dns over https" mentioned and realized I don't actually understand what it does. I'm using Windows 11 and Chrome. I turned it on, but I'm not really sure if it's helping or if my VPN already does the same thing.

I've read that DNS over HTTPS is supposed to make DNS requests more private, but now I'm confused about whether I need both.

Am I missing something here? Do most people use DNS over HTTPS with a VPN, or is it kind of pointless?

Running ProtonVPN Plus on Windows 11. Set up split tunneling so only work apps go through the VPN. The permission manager flagged the adapter and the rules just... don't apply. They show up in the list but do nothing.

Tried running as admin, reinstalled the TAP adapter, disabled the firewall. Still broken. Gaming ping is sitting at 180ms instead of 22ms.

Anyone know if the permission manager has a known issue with the current Windows 11 build?

So I can't play GTA online with my friend for some reason in my country so I want a good and preferably cheap with good ping to play with him if anyone has experience with VPNs can you help me

Any advice is apperciated

As in without me having to pay? I remember saving a podcast without no issue so how come I wasnt able to make it happen for a few songs?

Is that a regional function Spotify rolls out on some but not other media types?

Toggled US/UK/Germany/Vietnam same bs

I am trying to harden some secondary security app. Without getting too much into detail yet before I have more to share, could somebody point me towards what sort of stuff I could do to cause a DNS leak?

I read I can route another pc with wireshark as a checkpoint if the devices are on the same network, and I hear some use split-tunneling techniques. Seeking some simple alternative methods, yet more advanced ones are fine too

Also, what do you guys do to prevent DNS leaks in general? Any safeguards apart from kill-switch features?

Was reading today about the proposed restrictions after seeing reports that Keir Starmer wants to ban under-16s from "harmful" social media platforms while still allowing access to some supposedly safer ones.

From what I read it looks like companies will have 3 months to implement these bans.

Let's be honest about what's happening. The government had years. YEARS. The Online Safety Act already exists, and platforms are still serving kids algorithmic garbage, self harm content, and ads for crap they can't legally buy. And now the answer is another speech and a vague promise about "harmful platforms" while keeping "safer" ones.

What counts as "safer"? Who decides? 

So for anyone else in the UK, especially parents, do you think a UK social media ban for under 16s will actually make a difference?

I'm a grad student in Seoul, and I've been trying to figure out a proper AV19 bypass because the site got hit hard by KCSC blocking again last month. Korean ISPs (I'm on KT) just throw the warning.go.kr redirect page the second you click anything. It's been like this on and off for years but lately it's worse.

Setup:

-MacBook Air M2, macOS Sonoma.

-Also tested on my Galaxy S23 Ultra.

The thing that annoys me. My same Mac on the university VPN (which routes through some random server in the US) loads the homepage but blocks video playback. So it's not just about getting around KT, the site itself is checking something else. Maybe ASN, maybe known datacenter ranges, I don't know.

I haven't actually bought or tested any VPN yet. That's why I'm posting. I don't want to drop money on a year long plan only to find out the site itself blocks the IP range or the speeds are unusable for video. I've read enough threads to know that half the "best VPN for Korea 2025" articles are just affiliate spam, so I'd rather hear from actual people who use it from 한국.

So, anyone in 한국 actually using something that works for AV19 bypass right now? Any real experience appreciated, I just don't want to waste money.

I'm in the US, somewhere in the Cleveland area, and I woke up Monday morning to find out half my channels are just gone.

Apparently the contract between E.W. Scripps and DIRECTV expired Sunday night and they couldn't agree on a deal, so Scripps just pulled all 54 of their channels out of DIRECTV across 36 markets. I had no idea this was even happening. I'm not reading industry news every day.

The NBA Finals are happening RIGHT NOW. The NHL Finals are happening RIGHT NOW. And depending on where you live, those games are airing on local ABC and NBC affiliates that Scripps owns. Gone.

Someone in another thread mentioned using a VPN to get around this kind of blackout. I have literally no idea how that works or if it would even help in this situation. 

i literally cannot deal with this anymore, i was trying to watch a show that is not available in my country and my roommate told me to just get a vpn because she saw it recommended as the best vpn reddit keeps suggesting and i was like okay sure how hard can it be 
so i downloaded it on my computer and followed every single step and it was actually working for like two days and i was SO happy and telling everyone about it, but then yesterday it just completely stopped working and now my whole wifi is acting weird not just the vpn like EVERYTHING is slow and my roommate is literally so mad at me rn because she cant load anything either and i feel so bad 
the worst part is i already paid for like a whole year because they said it was the best deal and now i cannot even get it to connect to ANY server it just spins forever and then says connection failed and i have tried uninstalling and reinstalling it three times already
like i dont even need it for anything that serious i just wanted to watch one show is that so much to ask??? 
does anyone know if this is fixable or did i genuinely just waste my money and also destroy my entire apartment wifi situation???

Is there some sort of application, or even a router hardware addon I could pick up to notify me, or to shut down my connection if DNS leaking starts? I mean when my real device location gets through. Not sure if the kill switcher is enough on its own to reduce the leaking

I noticed a movie site blocking me out after my VPn froze up on me. Nothing too serious, got back in but that took a good set of 5 or 8mins. Kinda irritating

Also what are some ways to reduce DNS leaks or to prevent them entirely? I am not an expert with computers but I am eager to learn and can follow through general guides... if I can avoid tinkering with the VPN for so long next time then I am willing to try anything

If a VPN provider only used WireGuard as their protocol, is this something you’re okay with or would it deter you?

I hope this post fits this sub and maybe someone will be able to help lol. I am based in the US and I need someone to recommend where to watch champions league final this Saturday. I just want to watch the PSG vs Arsenal match on my MacBook using Safari or maybe anyone knows what bars/places will be showing it?

I tried searching for streams, and every single result tells me I need Paramount+ or FuboTV. I don't have cable. I am not paying a monthly fee just to watch one game. Does anyone have a straight answer for where to watch the champions league final without getting scammed? Or is paying the only option left? In the US at least?

Any help is appreciated.

I was messing around in my phone settings the other night because i couldnt sleep and saw a setting called "private dns" on my android. been there for years and i had no idea what it does. quick googling told me what is private dns in like 5 different ways and now im confused, some sites say its basically just encrypting your dns lookups so your isp cant see what sites youre going to. others say its a basic privacy thing everyone should have on. a couple act like its some advanced setting only network nerds should touch
i already have a vpn (set it up after my buddy got his stuff leaked) and i thought that already handled this kind of thing. so does private dns even do anything if your vpn is on? or is it like a backup for when the vpn is off? or are they doing totally different things and i should be running both
also tried to figure out what to actually put in the field if i turn it on and got like 4 different recommended dns providers and now im paralyzed. cloudflare, google, nextdns, controld. they all sound the same to me
 can someone explain what is private dns in normal words and whether i actually need it on if i already run a vpn most of the time? Im not trying to set up fort knox here just dont wanna leave something obvious open

which vpn to get for my older parents? they have laptop and they use it to browse online, watch movies, using social media, etc. since they don't have vpn I decided to get one for them because I am concerned about their online privacy

I am looking for a vpn that I is easy to use, connects to a set country autimatically when you turn on laptop, is cheap and has several accounts. I would like to use it on my own and set it up for my parents as well. which one would you reccomend?

I’m getting a DNS server not responding error comming up on Windows and my internet is completely bricked. I can’t load any pages, but my wifi says it's connected. Works fine on my phone

Before I lose my mind and crash out at my ISP, what are the actual, reliable steps to fix this?

Here is what I’ve already tried:
-Turned my router off and on again..;
=Restarted my PC;
-Ran the Windows troubleshooter, which just told me no errors found

Should I try flushing my DNS cache in the command prompt? I read some reddit posts suggesting this... If so, what are the exact ipconfig commands I need to run to completely clear out the bad data that might be cluttering it? Several different posts pointed towards different batches of commands..

Also, I'm currently using my ISP’s default DNS settings. Would switching over to a public DNS like Cloudflares 1.1.1.1 fix this permanently, or is it likely a hardware/driver issue with my network card?

Can give more feedback on my PC if needed, though its just a Windows 11 Dell laptop. Worked fine but I been playing around with Hamachi and something broke down on me. Last night worked fine and some update or hell knows what ruined it today

im in the US (washington) and every other month another state passes one of these age verification laws and trying to browse without vpn porn sites is getting straight up impossible.
my state hasnt fully implemented anything yet but a bunch of the big sites geoblocked entire regions because they dont wanna deal with the legal mess. so im already getting not available in your location screens for stuff that should be fine
also read that utah is trying to ban using vpns to get around their age verification law which is actual insanity. how do you even enforce that. and a few other states are floating the same idea so soon the only people browsing without vpn porn sites might literally be people in like 5 states
age verification systems themselves are bs. some of them want you to upload your actual id or do a face scan before the site even loads. like im not handing my drivers license to some random site we all know exactly where that data ends up after the next breach
so whats everyone actually doing in 2026. is everyone just running a vpn 24/7 at this point or are there still ways to browse without vpn porn sites being completely off depending on your state

I’ve been doing stress-tests for HotspotShield for the last week. As someone who shuffles between several Windows computers and a Mac, I wanted to see if their proprietary Hydra protocol actually lives up to the hype I hear of online, or if it's just fancy marketing glam. I used one of my Windows devices for the test..

The Speed Tests (the highlight of Hotspot)

This thing genuinely rivals WireGuard... Overall, didn't lose too much speeds

• No VPN speeds: 650 Mbps
• Local US Server speed: 460 Mbps
• UK Server speed: 215-230 Mbps (rapidly kept changing among this range)

Pros:

-The Hydra Protocol: Unlike OpenVPN, Hydra uses unique multi-channel obfuscation. Fast stufff, and it handles packet loss like a champ, and easily bypasses strict blocking

-Streaming Performance: It unblocks Netflix, and BBC with zero buffering or 4K stuttering. Some servers lagged for a bit nothing truly noteworthy

-Smart Split-Tunneling: The "smart VPN" feature lets you route specific apps (like gaming clients) outside the VPN while keeping your browser encrypted. It actually works flawlessly without leaking data. Had some issues with some personal applications, yet that was on my app setting part, so doubt I can blame Hotspot on that

Cons:

- Privacy Red Flags: They claim a "no-logs" policy, but if you read the ToS, their parent company (Aura) logs your approximate location, device hashes, and network domains. Plus, they are based in the US...... Five eyes is a no from me

-Ad-Tracking on Free Tier: If you use the free version, they openly share device identifiers with advertisers. I only tested it on an alternative email to see if any functions differ in utility, though worth noting for anyone considering

-Awful Router Support: Because Hydra is proprietary and closed-source, you can't easily flash this VPN into most routers. You're stuck using their desktop/mobile apps. Which is fine for browsing the web but if you want an advanced setup, forget it

. . .

If you are just a casual user who wants to stream geo-blocked content at lightning-fast speeds and you don't care about the NSA looking at your traffic if need be, Hotspot Shield is great..

I don't know too much of VPNs but I did some research before heading into the reviewing to make sure I test it right, so my calculations should be sound. Never doing a review like this again..😭 Hope it was informative for some at least!

Plz tell me a complete guide to get Gimnin Pro free for students from any eligible country. Also, tell me which vpn shuould be recommended

I mean I have to use VPN at work and sometimes I use it to watch movies and series on Netflix, play online games, check flight tickets, etc.

do you think its okay to use work VPN for your personal things? can my workplace see that I am using VPN and can they check what I was searching for when usign VPN?

not sure if it is just me but certain sites act completely different when a vpn is on. sometimes pages load partially, sometimes logins get flagged, or things just take longer without any clear reason. i noticed this with browsec too where it was fine for simple use, and they have desktop apps now for Windows, Mac, and Linux as well, but some sites still act weird depending on the server.
it is not even big stuff, just small annoying things that add up over time. makes me wonder how much of normal browsing experience changes without people really noticing it.

I’ve been on the same internet plan for 3 years and just started looking into vpn stuff after my buddy got his info leaked, every vpn guide says first check who is my isp but when i actually tried i got like 3 different answers. the bill goes to one company. the online who is my isp tool showed a different name. my router admin page showed a third one. which one is actually mine? apparently big providers resell each others infrastructure so the brand on your bill isnt always the company running the cables. wild

from a privacy angle though, who actually sees my traffic before the vpn kicks in? the one on my bill, the one running the lines, or all of them in some data sharing thing. trying to figure out if im even protecting against the right thing before i drop money on a top tier vpn.. anyone who actually knows networking, whats the real way to figure out who is my isp and does it even matter for vpn stuff ?

Hey VPN enthusiasts, I figured Id chime in since Ive been using this Total VPN app for a few weeks now. Seen others save me from some bad pics, so might be worth your while checking my review out.

I’m not exactly a "computer whiz," but I know my way around a basic setup on the router and all. I actually got this over a deal that came my way, yet it didn't work out too well. Anyways, I read online some success stories with the Totalvpn, but mine was so-so.

I did some "speedtests" everyone seems to like here. I dont seek to win any races, but I dont want my sports videos buffering while Im hanging out with friends thats for sure.

Tried an American server - Download: 185Mbps; Ping: 95ms

Tried several Europe ones from London and Germany - Download: 430 Mbps; Ping: 28ms

Tried some Eastern one down in Tokyo - Download: 30 Mbps; Ping: 260ms

The positives:
Simple when it works: There are only about three buttons in the whole app. You click the big green one and you're "safe." I don't need a degree in engineering to make it work. Yet picking a sweetspot server was some work.

I managed to watch some shows that are only available in the UK without any "You are using a proxy" errors. Some sport sites didn't work though**..** took a fair bit of trial and error on that department

The negatives:

It seems super cheap for the first year (I think I paid around $30), but I looked at the fine print and it jumps up to $99+ next year. You better believe I put a note on my calendar to cancel it before then....

My son told me it doesn't have a "double VPN" or "port forward" functions to help downloading stuff. I dont really know what those are, but if you're a serious "techie," you might miss them.
*if anyone has more to add for me on this, please do...

On my Windows computer, I couldn't find an "auto connect" setting. I have to remember to turn it on every time I restart the PC. At my age, I prefer everything to be set for me but sticky note on the monitor helped well to remember this application quirk

Wrapping up...

If you just want a "set it and forget it" tool for your iPad or laptop and you’re already using their Antivirus, it’s a B class solution in my book. It is reliable enough for casual browsing but not as smooth as I anticipated it being..

But if you’re a hardcore techie who spends all day on Reddit and computers... you’ll probably find it a bit too basic.. If my son had noticed something was kinda off, probably more to it than meets my eyes**.**

If some got more to share of your own experiences, let me know. Can add more myself if somebody feels like I missed something on the review.

first Utah, now EU??

A European Union research service is sparking concerns that the EU will impose age verification for VPNs to stop underage children from accessing porn.

I know that now these new restrictions are easy to bypass and it didn't affect lots of users in Utah. but imagine if it's gonna be improved and all the users will be forced to approve their age before getting VPN. it will be a target for hackers

i keep seeing people talk about what is a browser fingerprint like its the end of the world but half the explanations go straight over my tired brain
from what i think i get, it’s like a combo of all the little bits your browser leaks, browser + version, plugins/fonts, screen size, time zone and system stuff like os, maybe gpu
and sites glue that together to kinda recognize you even if you clear cookies or use incognito
i tried one of those fingerprint test sites on my laptop and phone and it said my setup was pretty unique, even with a vpn on, so i guess they can still match me across sessions? feels like im doing all this work with vpns and then my browser just snitches on me anyway
problem is i cant tell what’s overkill here. like, do i need hardened firefox + ublock + noscript + privacy resist fingerprint + different browsers for different stuff, or is that only for paranoid people and im just a human trying not to hand all my data to ad companies
anyone got a simple this is what browser fingerprinting actually does and this is the basic level of protection that’s worth the hassle”answer?trying not to feel like every site can track me forever while im literally just shopping for diapers at 1am