A couple of weeks ago, Leo really pushed the Tiny Hardware VPN client. The show page for episode 1933 gives this link: http://www.tinyhardwarefirewall.com. I wanted something like this so I went there and bought their Kadish router plus a year of VPB for $155.24.
Now, I have no info from them on how to download/use their VPN and anything about them shipping the router to me. Their help link, https://helpdesk.hotspotvpn.com, is broken and filling out their other contact form got no response. Is this place legit? Why would Leo push such a flakey company? How do I get in touch with them? Anyone else using this?
Well they certainly used to be legit, but I have never ordered from them as they only service the USA (and I am not American.) It appears they [used to] have a link setup through CloudFlare for their support, and perhaps that contract expired and they’re unaware it has broken their support. (I think they’re a small operation.) The parent company is http://www.wificonsulting.com/ and if you follow the link to the hotspot VPN site, click support, there appears an address and a phone number, so maybe try that?
Not that this will really help you in your current situation, but as I couldn’t be their customer, I got a little portable hardware router from GLi.net (the Slate GL-AR750S-Ext / Slate - GL.iNet ) and have been very happy with it, but I don’t use it with a VPN… although it supports adding one. (I bought mine through Amazon, and paid a stupid price for an additional hard carry case.)
Thanks Leo. I guess they’re still in business since they hook my money! Actually, they took it twice and refunded once. And, their phone number works - although I just got voicemail and haven’t heard back from them.
I guess they don’t really exist anymore. They refunded my purchase and still have not contacted me. Looks like lots of folks recommend the GL-Inet Slate AR750S. Any opinions?
Well as I said previously, I have been very happy with mine, but have not used it with any VPN. Make sure you keep the firmware updated. I had a live in guest during covid, for almost 6 months, and he used the Slate, wired into my primary router, as his primary WiFi router. I had no complaints from him at all. This is basically the same use case as being in, say, a hotel where you have a wired port and want your own WiFi in the room.
Oh that’s too bad. Another casualty of the pandemic I’d guess. Unlike other VPN companies they didn’t do any marketing, and I suspect that very few people know they existed. Which is a shame because they made an excellent product!
The hardware they used is totally generic. It was their custom firmware that was great. I suspect it was a very small company. Maybe just one guy?
Any VPN you don’t pay for is going to be using your data in some way (you’re the product.) Of course TWiT has a VPN sponsor, ExpressVPN, so you could consider them and support TWiT. I’ve never liked NordVPN because I find their ads too sensational that I feel like they’re not trustworthy if they need to try so hard to convince you of the need for their product.
From a security perspective, you probably don’t really need a VPN by the way. They are useful for place shifting, like if you’re travelling to, say, Europe but you need to “be in” the USA for a reason, like a bank or streaming service. One suggestion you could do, is run a VPN on your home router (or buy a second VPN router) and then have your VPN router connect to your home. That would mean no matter where you travel, you will appear to always be on your home ISP. This of course doesn’t provide any “protection” from your ISP knowing where you browse, etc, but it would make your bank happier (as one example.) You might consider using WireGuard for this sort of use case.
There is also a WireGuard based commercial VPN called Mullvad which you might consider. My friend uses it for his Linux laptop, and he has been very satisfied.