Computer Repair Service

As many of you already know Congress has recently reversed an Obama era law that would keep internet service providers from selling your internet browsing data to the highest bidder. Big internet service providers have been trying for years to allow this to happen, so they can sell this lucrative data to advertisers or who ever else will pay for it. Company’s like Google and Facebook have been doing this for years but there has always been a way around it. This in my opinion is allot more invasive your ISP knows who you are and where you live, you had to provide credit information to start your account Social Security numbers, date of birth, address etc. Now all that data along with your browsing history can be compiled into one big file and sold to whomever. Yes you can call your internet service provider and “opt out” of having your information sold. In my opinion once that data collection infrastructure is in place it opens the door to being abused. You can protect yourself by encrypting all of the traffic that travels through your ISP making it impossible for your ISP to see what your doing on the Internet. To do this you need to subscribe to a Virtual Private Network service or VPN. What this does is set up an encrypted tunnel from you computer, smart phone or network to the VPN provider where it is then sent on to the Internet in its original form. Most VPN providers cost around $10 a month, usually around $5 or less when you sign up for a year or more. Also be aware that there are some free VPN services available but the speed is incredibly slow and your often limited in the amount of data you can use. What I have done is search the Internet for what I feel is the best VPN service to sell to my customers. The company that I have found is called NordVPN, they have a “No Logs Policy” which means they do not log what you do on the internet and they do not sell your data to anyone, they have been recommended by PC Magazine two years in a row, there are affordable. As of this writing they sell a one year plan for $69 billed annually.

Questions:

Isnt my internet traffic already encrypted?

Yes, Allot of your Internet traffic is already encrypted, web browser connections to most banking or other financial sites are encrypted, but your ISP could still see what bank your connected to and sell that data to a competing bank so they can advertise to you. With a VPN setup all they can see is encypted data.

Do I have to install software to setup the VPN service?

Yes, you will need to install the VPN client on all the devices you wish to protect. Which is usually download the software, install and type in your login credintials, then connect to the VPN. The VPN client may also be installed on your router protecting all the devices that are connected to your home or business internet connection. In which case you would not need to install the VPN software on your computer or smartphone. (your router must support VPN service)

Cant I just call my ISP and “opt out” and be done with it?

Yes, but again once ISP’s have this system in place it could be abused, mishandled or hacked. Leaving your data free for the taking.

Will a VPN cause any problems with my computer or internet?

If your computer is older and slow the VPN client may cause your internet to be slow, this is because of the on the fly encryption being done. Encryption is a lot of work for a CPU, so if your CPU is slow the VPN will be slow. You can solve this problem by setting the VPN up at the router rather then on your computer.

How many device does this protect?

You can install the client on up to 6 devices. If you install it on the router the router counts as one device, but will protect as many devices that are connected to it. Be aware that installing the service on a router is a little more complicated then installing the software on a PC or smartphone.

Do you get paid commission when I sign up for NordVPN?

Yes

Here is the sign-up link for NordVPN:

https://go.nordvpn.net/aff_c?offer_id=15&aff_id=4103

If you need any help with any of this I charge $60 on hour to set this up. Unless you have a lot of devices or a complicated network it usually takes under 1 hour to setup. This recommended setup is to configure the VPN service on your home or business router that way any device connected to your network is protected.