Why is SL blocking NordVpn?

[Nick0678]

2 hours ago, Kendra Jovinavic said:

so has anyone found a cause for failed VPN log-in yet? I use a torgaurd encrypted ddwrt VPN router for internet traffic and have for a while. suddenly login will not connect.  My reason for using a VPN are simple. My packets are my own business. Just like I don't send letters in the mail sealed in clear plastic baggies for all to read, I don't broadcast my packets for all to see. just a little thing I like to call privacy. with VPN off it loggs in fine. turn VPN on and you see the message below. This just started for me this week. What changed?

Probably your VPN service IP addresses are blocked cause it works fine with with my VPN. (*Not using NordVPN)

[Ardy Lay]

Dunno why people trust VPN operators.  All they do is move the location where your raw packets hit the Internet, and they have all the access to what you are doing that you are attempting to hide from your Internet access provider.  If you watch how ownership of some VPN services have changed in recent years you would probably not use them.  Somebody once countered such a query by telling me VPNs protect their clients all the way to the service they are accessing.  Since ignorance and arrogance combined are unassailable I ended the conversation there.

[Rita Handrick]

Hello Kendra, exactly. same here. Since some days. Worked fine before for month.

[Jenna Huntsman]

13 hours ago, Kendra Jovinavic said:

so has anyone found a cause for failed VPN log-in yet? I use a torgaurd encrypted ddwrt VPN router for internet traffic and have for a while. suddenly login will not connect.  My reason for using a VPN are simple. My packets are my own business. Just like I don't send letters in the mail sealed in clear plastic baggies for all to read, I don't broadcast my packets for all to see. just a little thing I like to call privacy. with VPN off it loggs in fine. turn VPN on and you see the message below. This just started for me this week. What changed?

 

Chances are that the VPN connection is suffering some issues. LL doesn't have any reason to block a VPN (well, not quite true as if you're using it to get around restricted entry to Skill Gaming regions from certain areas where they are banned), BUT SL is very sensitive to poor or sub optimal network quality, which happens all the time with VPNs (as your network traffic isn't being routed directly into the backbone of the internet, but instead, going from you > your ISP > backbone > VPN ISP / datacenter > VPN server > ISP / datacenter > backbone > AWS entry node > LL server)

Submit a ticket to your VPN provider and get them to look into it.

[Jenna Huntsman]

9 hours ago, Ardy Lay said:

Dunno why people trust VPN operators.  All they do is move the location where your raw packets hit the Internet, and they have all the access to what you are doing that you are attempting to hide from your Internet access provider.  If you watch how ownership of some VPN services have changed in recent years you would probably not use them.  Somebody once countered such a query by telling me VPNs protect their clients all the way to the service they are accessing.  Since ignorance and arrogance combined are unassailable I ended the conversation there.

Another funny thing about them is the advertising is often incorrect - for example, VPNs claim to offer increased security and prevent hackers from hijacking your connection, however this hasn't really been a good argument for years, with HTTPS now being the standard protocol, alongside other things such as DNS-over-TLS, meaning that your connection is likely to be encrypted end-to-end to begin with.

I find the video Tom Scott made on the topic on YouTube quite good at debunking most VPN ads ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVDQEoe6ZWY )

 

[Echelon Alcott]

IMHO if people want to use VPNs, go for it. If people do not want to use VPNs, don't. 

People using VPNs are not harming others. Therefore, do not force your beliefs on others, if what they do is not harming anyone.

If a person does not understand the importance of privacy and how the lack of it can be used against him/her, that is a different matter.

Edited October 18, 2021 by Echelon Alcott

[bigmoe Whitfield]

5 hours ago, Echelon Alcott said:

IMHO if people want to use VPNs, go for it. If people do not want to use VPNs, don't. 

People using VPNs are not harming others. Therefore, do not force your beliefs on others, if what they do is not harming anyone.

If a person does not understand the importance of privacy and how the lack of it can be used against him/her, that is a different matter.

you should realize the world we live in their is no true privacy unless you are offline.   I'm speaking from ipsec experience and isp owner and webhosting provider. 

[MarissaOrloff]

23 hours ago, Kendra Jovinavic said:

I use a torgaurd encrypted ddwrt VPN router for internet traffic and have for a while. suddenly login will not connect.  

I have no issues connecting to SL via NordVPN or ExpressVPN. Just for giggles awhile back I did try to connect to SL with Tails OS and it did not allow the connection to go through Tor. Is TorGuard routing through Tor? If so that could be your issue.

[Nick0678]

7 hours ago, Echelon Alcott said:

If a person does not understand the importance of privacy and how the lack of it can be used against him/her, that is a different matter.

Microsft, Amazon and Google/Apple already sold all our Data so don't worry about privacy.

(In regards to agencies CIA doesn't really care about you or me masturbating with chicks on SKYPE).

I only use VPN's to bypass regional restrictions  or reroute when there are issues with specific servers.

[Federico Perenti]

Same issue here with NordVPN.. I managed to connect by changing city to LA. Annoying tho.

[MarissaOrloff]

6 hours ago, bigmoe Whitfield said:

you should realize the world we live in their is no true privacy unless you are offline.   I'm speaking from ipsec experience and isp owner and webhosting provider. 

Even with Tails there is no privacy. They may not know who you are exactly but you have certainly been fingerprinted by each website you go to. Then its just a complex and time consuming task of connecting the dots to matching fingerprints to where you made a mistake with your privacy.

Edited October 19, 2021 by MarissaOrloff

[Ardy Lay]

I would guess that you have your fellow VPN users to thank for the VPN's service addresses being blocked by another entity.  It's quite likely that address was recently a source of abusive traffic.  Do keep in mind that the VPN tunnel endpoint is out there on the Internet, not at Linden Lab or whatever other destination you are seeking.  If you get angry about somebody like me dissin' the VPN, you probably don't understand what you are using.

[Exavor Diesel]

Yeah sounds like they may have detected abuse from traffic originating from NordVPN source ranges but of course there's lots of legitimate reasons why people want to use a VPN. Some may be connecting from a college/university/corporate network where access to SL is blocked and a VPN would provide a way around this. Others may travel the world and want Geolocations to be that of their native country. Having Google (et al.) show results in a foreign language you do not speak is not so fun and that's just one of many reasons why using native Geolocation can be advantageous. Services like NordVPN provide a solution to scenarios like this without having to mess around with browser/website settings etc.

In the meantime, you can enable split tunnelling within the NordVPN client (advanced settings) to prevent traffic to/from SL servers being routed down the tunnel. Be aware that SL has many sub-processes (e.g. SLvoice.exe) which would also need to be added to the list. 

[Peaches979]

Try another Vpn program

[Echelon Alcott]

On 10/19/2021 at 1:10 AM, bigmoe Whitfield said:

you should realize the world we live in their is no true privacy unless you are offline.   I'm speaking from ipsec experience and isp owner and webhosting provider. 

Hello BigMoe

Thanks for your reply. I understand the challenges around anonymity online. For the scope of this conversation, let's focus on desktops only and exclude mobile devices, to narrow down the variables involved.

As someone with IPsec experience, an ISP owner and webhosting provider, the community would much appreciate your insight into how individuals who are privacy minded can better equip themselves.

In my case in particular, I use a VPN service to connect to the internet. I also use a reputable 3rd party DNS service. And I use a privacy-oriented browser, which addresses ads, trackers, fingerprinting, 3rd party storage, etc. and I have it configured to use DNS-over-HTTPS. I use a reputable Swiss-based paid email service that provides end-to-end encryption. I do not use social media, and I'm aware of the concept of shadow profiles. I'm aware of Google practices, and I resigned to their data collection. Here is the question: what else can individuals who are privacy-minded do to protect themselves? Any suggestions you can share which have not been mentioned above?

Looking forward to hearing from you, BigMoe. Thanks in advance.

[Nick0678]

14 minutes ago, Echelon Alcott said:

I'm aware of Google practices, and I resigned to their data collection.

Just in case you don't know it., they still will collect your data, everyone does and when necessary that data are given to authorities. etc.

(regardless of GDPR and such)

[Echelon Alcott]

37 minutes ago, Nick0678 said:

Just in case you don't know it., they still will collect your data, everyone does and when necessary that data are given to authorities. etc.

(regardless of GDPR and such)

Hello Nick

Your input is much appreciated. 

Your reference to "data are given to authorities" seem to imply support to the belief that if "I have nothing to hide. Why should I care about privacy?"

We must not confuse privacy with secrecy. Privacy is not about hiding information, it is about protecting it. Privacy is a fundamental right [ACLU][UN DOHR Article 12] that you don't need to prove its need. Information in the wrong hands can become dangerous when improperly used; lack of privacy can create harm that should be avoided. We can't predict the future and how information might be misused in the future. Your information has value, in this day and age of data economy [Wikipedia]; regulatory control is still not mature enough, leaving us open to uncertainties around privacy, ethics, loss of control of data, data ownership and more; corporations have violated our privacy rights over and over again.

Back to my post above to BigMoe, I'd prefer to stay away from the discussion around the importance or need of privacy, and instead focus on what can individuals who are privacy-minded do to protect themselves? In my post above I shared with the community the steps I've taken to protect myself, and invited BigMoe to share his knowledge on IPsec, ISP ownership and webhosting, and help us protect ourselves.

I'd love to see a constructive cooperative conversation here, where we help each other in our SL community. Peace.

[Theresa Tennyson]

20 hours ago, Echelon Alcott said:

I'm aware of Google practices, and I resigned to their data collection.

So why in the name of Pete's blue bicycle are you using Google?