VPN Again

[Dave Fritz]

Why do you think you need a VPN?

The intent of my post was to ask a specific question, not get off on a tangent about why I need or want or wish to have a VPN. I learned a lot about my specific question which I'm grateful for. So many times threads get off on something other than the original post. I didn't want that to happen. Perhaps a new thread asking why people purchase a VPN would be useful?

[Dan Friedrichs]

Sorry if I ruffled feathers. This forum (in particular) seems to have a much-higher-than-average affinity for VPNs, for reasons that are not clear, to me.

The reason I asked is that it seems like you're in a situation (satellite internet) that is really not great for VPN use (due to the added latency). As your test showed, disabling the VPN would more than double your speed. Well, why not do that, then? What is the advantage you get from the VPN (and is there some other way to get it that doesn't have such a negative speed impact)?

Many people have no idea what VPN does, but they feel like it's some sort of security blanket from threats they don't understand. Unfortunately, that means they aren't using it correctly, and probably not gaining any value from it.

[Bill Howatt]

I tend to agree with Dan, especially since the OP said, "We feel we need the VPN..", not a definite sounding requirement. Also, all threads tend to wander and this is a minor wander compared to many threads.
If we consider these forums as learning places, Dan's last paragraph gives enough justification for asking, IMO.

[Brian Elfert]

Why not switch to Starlink unless you have a contract? Starlink is an entirely different concept from the older satellite Internet. Starlink is constantly launching more and more satellites. They have something like 4,000 satellites now, and I have read they plan for a total of around 40,000 satellites.

The downside of Starlink is the cost. I have not read anything about Starlink intentionally throttling your speed if using a VPN. The use of any VPN is going to add overhead which will result in slower speeds. Those that use VPN on a wired broadband connection have Internet speeds so fast they probably don't notice the slowdown.

[Brian Elfert]

The intent of my post was to ask a specific question, not get off on a tangent about why I need or want or wish to have a VPN. I learned a lot about my specific question which I'm grateful for. So many times threads get off on something other than the original post. I didn't want that to happen. Perhaps a new thread asking why people purchase a VPN would be useful?

If you post on a PUBLIC forum you don't have any right to control the responses to your question. You have every right to ignore them and not answer them.