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[Newsgroups] Making deal with Devil AKAComcast plus VPN questionI seek your advice on considering a new ISP. I have questions about VPN service, which is best, and how it works.
1. Much as I love Sonic.net, best internet company ever, I can't take 1.5mbps DSL anymore. For the price I'm paying, I could get Comcast Business internet and get 10 to 20 times the bandwidth.
"Fiber to the Home" is seemingly never coming to San Francisco, and my landlord won't let me put a microwave antenna on the roof. That leaves me with Comcast right?
I say Comcast for Business because I suspect they don't mess with their business customers like they do with residential service-- spying, throttling, and crappy support. I say this based on what I've witnessed as an IT consultant to many local businesses. Besides, I don't want cable TV so why have a residential account?
--- 2. But let's say they hold business customers' feet to the same fire. I figure I need a VPN service. Which one do you guys like best?
I can just use the VPN on the computer that downloads files from newsgroups and bittorrent and therefore bypass throttling and legal threats, right? I don't want to use in on our personal computers because of lag and slowdown. Does that make sense?
All suggestions and input are welcome. |
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Sith HMPI Did What? Premium Member join:2004-04-25 Bloomington, IL |
Sith HMP
Premium Member
2013-Feb-14 10:19 pm
Re: [Newsgroups] Making deal with Devil AKAComcast plus VPN quesI have had Comcast for many years now and have never experienced this throttling you speak of. I get my full speeds even during peak hours. It doesn't seem to matter what I'm grabbing either. They do have the 250g monthly limit on residential accounts but for what ever reason that is suspended and not in effect at this time. I have no idea why that is or when it will be reinstated. My guess is they are taking in to account that everything is done online these days and are investigating a new limit or metered service rates. Just a guess though. I have nothing to back that up.
As far as support goes, it's hit and miss at best. I've been blessed with never having a real difficult issue. The one time I did have to have a tech come out he replaced a line and did some work on the pole and the issue was resolved. That was 4 years ago and haven't had any issues since. Maybe I'm just lucky. If you get a crappy phone tech just hang up and call again until one that knows something gets on the line. I know that's not reliable but it seems to be the norm for any service I have had. Comcast or not.
I'm no Comcast fanboy by far either. If there was something else besides Verizons DSL available in my area I would probably have it. I'm in the same boat as you when it comes to fiber in the home.
It is true(from what I have heard) that the business class service is better as far as speeds and support go though. This is just hearsay though of course. You pay for that service though.
I don't use a VPN yet. I'm also in the market, so to speak, so I am interested in what others will suggest.
Edit: You don't have to have TV service to get internet service through Comcast. |
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sfl0w join:2010-07-20 Birmingham, AL |
to AtariBaby
If your going to be doing a lot of downloading and maybe some overseas streaming you want IPVanish, the speed is awesome... and no logging because the U.S. has no log retention policies |
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Thank you, sfl0w. First recommendation I've gotten, after asking in many places. The ratings websites for these services always seem partial, because they are usually affiliates. $77 a year, I see. |
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AtariBaby |
to Sith HMP
@Sith HMP: Are you bittorrenting and/or Newsgrouping right now? Never got any hassles? Thinking of getting VPN as an anticipatory measure? |
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Sith HMPI Did What? Premium Member join:2004-04-25 Bloomington, IL |
Sith HMP
Premium Member
2013-Feb-15 6:15 pm
Newsgroups mostly. I never really got in to the whole torrent thing. My son did when he lived with me and never complained.
As far as my newsgroup usage I would say I am a power user. I have exceeded the 250g limit quite a few times even when it was actually in effect. I have never heard a peep from Comcast.
I just want a VPN to play around with honestly. Any security after effects that may appear as a result I would just count as a bonus.
I just use SSL on port 563 when using Newsgroups and haven't ever had an issue or a need for any other security. To my knowledge any way. |
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to AtariBaby
I agree with sfl0w. There are a lot of of VPN companies to choose from but IPVanish performs really well. Especially in the United States. Here's some performance testing we did on IPVanish: » www.vpnsp.com/ipvanish-s ··· est.htmlYou can view the same level of testing on all the top providers as part of their reviews. VPNSP - VPN Service Reviews |
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to AtariBaby
Comcast plans to increase to 300 GB, the limit on it's basic home service. Limits for faster services will be somewhat higher. They're also increasing the speed of the lowest tier. They have announced tentative plans to charge $10 for each 50 GB above the new limit/s. Comcast customers can find more information on the Xfinity website. |
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to AtariBaby
AtariBaby are you not able to get ATT Uverse in SF? |
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Well yes and no. They have a fiber "node" here but then the bandwidth is delivered the rest of the way by DSL, and customer dissatisfaction is huge. I have a bonded DSL line with sonic but I'm aways from the telco plus there is interference along the way somewhere. I'm sick of constantly troubleshooting it and getting a fraction of the speed I could get from cable. |
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Pirate515 Premium Member join:2001-01-22 Brooklyn, NY |
to sfl0w
said by sfl0w:...no logging because the US has no log retention policies Question is how long will it remain that way? I have a feeling that sooner or later they will pass a law requiring data retention in the US. Once that happens, US-based VPN providers will either turn into a joke that HideMyAss has become or close shop. I'm sure there'll be plenty of alternatives based in countries that won't cooperate MAFIAA and governments of US, UK, EU, etc. For the time being, I have subscribed for PrivateInternetAccess.com. They are also US-based. On top of no logging, they also use shared IP's meaning that multiple users are on the same IP at any given time and activity on any given IP is much harder to pinpoint to a specific user. Pretty happy with speeds so far. |
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