I run a VPN server at home. This is for 2 reasons: to remotely access local services, and as a security measure to encrypt my phone’s traffic. These reasons are what I feel to be the primary purpose of VPNs. This is also what allows me to work at home with a company computer.
However, a consequence of this tunneling is that, from the perspective of any server to which the computer connects, that computer appears “physically” to be at the VPN’s emergence point. This result, what I consider to be a mere auxiliary function, has caused VPN services to experience a surge in popularity for the sole reason of bypassing geolocation restrictions. I snub my nose at those who subscribe to services for this reason, as I envision Millennials, deluded with a sense of feeling smarter than everyone else, bypassing “The Man” in order to access streaming content–with no appreciation for the actual security benefits that VPNs provide.
Then the 2018 Olympics arrived and I found myself unwilling to endure yet another year of NBC’s coverage. Between their endless commentary and commercial breaks every 5 minutes, they’ve done everything in their power to make these events unwatchable. And they succeeded, at least for me. So I did exactly what I just expressed my condescension against, and shopped for VPN providers.
I stumbled across a site that actually explained the history of VPNs and their technology, a refreshing divergence from the usual array of clickbait-y sites (a la Gizmodo):
www.bestvpn.com/vpn-encryption-the-complete-guide
Given the comprehensiveness of the supplied information, I took their opinions to be acceptably educated, and subscribed to a month’s service from their top recommendation, www.expressvpn.com.
When the Olympics arrived, I connected to a server in Toronto and loaded the CBC’s live stream. And behold!:
The CBC is mercifully low on commercials and commentary; and they stream live, rather than delaying for time zones. I’d launch into some self-righteous rhetoric about runaway capitalism interfering with something who’s inherent purpose is contrary to this value, but I’m content to just go watch some more events and stop blogging.
Because, really, when’s the last time anyone in the US got to watch curling?
Simon