I’m running a Linux VM inside my Windows PC for easier development. I tend to start my VPN whenever my computer starts. What I’m not sure about is how the VPN works if I use it outside of my VM, since that’s what I’m currently doing. Will only the data outside the VM get encrypted or the VPN encrypts the data both inside and outside the VM?
Not entirely sure how this would work but I imagine or would encrypt both since a VM is still being ran on your PC and network. Of what or how good the encryption is would depend on the VPN you’re using, some are scams, some only encrypt certain things unless you pay for it (or are just inferior), only the best encrypts everything or nearly everything.
I primarily use Avast VPN but have been told it’s not the best. Nord VPN is one of the best, if not the best, as I was told by a ex-coworker who used it (very pricey though). It just depends on how much privacy you want and how much you are willing to pay. I primarily use Firefox with duckduckgo with as many privacy settings I can. Also use Avast’s SecureLine browser for extra privacy/security. It may not be as good as Tor browser but loads faster.
What I’m not sure about is how the VPN works if I use it outside of my VM, since that’s what I’m currently doing.
It depends on the vm network configuration I guess. If NATed then the host vpn should work. If the VM network is directly connected to the LAN with its own LAN IP address then the host vpn normally won’t be used.
Probably a better question for /r/VPN
It depends on how traffic is routed on your PC. If you didn’t use a VM and made a VPN connection, then went to some web site, the traffic to and from that site may or may not go through your VPN connection. In your VPN config, there may be a “send all traffic through VPN” option – check that (and hope that it works).
Now you add a VM to the picture. The network configuration of the VM also comes into play. It quite possibly will act independently of the VPN config, depending on whether is uses NAT or gets its own IP address. You’ll have to read up on the network options for your VM software and how they interact with the host’s network stack to find out.
As long as there are no conflicts, I think the VPN prior to booting up the VM will suffice. If it has errors for what you are doing in your VM, then the internal one would work but not for any traffic outside of the VM
Sounds like you should give Brave a try! Especially with TOR available from within the browser. Also the fact that they are trying to make an impact on the privacy front.
What I thought was that if I use the VPN inside the VM, the IP address would be different when I check it from inside. But on my computer my real IP address is still being broadcast anyway. So if I run the VPN on my computer it should encrypt the traffic inside the VM too.
I used to have IPVanish but now I’m testing out this free VPN called Windscribe since they gave me 50GB every month to use.
I’m not looking to buy it right now, i have Avast VPN still, maybe someday I’ll look into getting that
Any idea how good they are? There are a lot of good and bad VPNs and they aren’t immediately obvious. I might take a look at it but I’m good with Avast for now, already bought it for like a year and it does what i want.
So you’re trying to hide your IP? Or your traffic as well? Hiding your IP isn’t as important as encrypting your traffic and anything that it sent over https connections are already encrypted (just the connection not what you actually send). It all depends on what you’re doing that you want to hide and how important it is. If it’s just educational then anything would do just to know how it works. However if you’re sending sensitive information or just want 100% privacy then you probably need to do more.
For more privacy first of don’t use free VPNs, most if not all will usually sell your data and track you so they are usually less secure. Also you should compare the VPNs (there’s a lot) and see which ones do what you want (most have free trials so you can test them out before buying, i know NordVPN has one). Some offer minimal protection (just hiding vpn etc) others offer more.
As for hiding your IP on your VM I’m not sure what purpose that has or what you’re trying to do. A VM is a virtual instance and is primarily used for testing things out and security usually isn’t that important. I only use it for learning other OS’ or for school. Just depends on what you’re trying to accomplish which I’m still unsure of. If you want 100% security/privacy then unplug your internet because that’s the best security you can get. Jokes aside if you want more control i would either buy a cheap PC or a raspberry pi and install Linux on that and do whatever you want then (pi’s are pretty cheap, the most expensive is like $49, accessories are pricier though). I myself built a cheap pc out of spare parts i had and installed Linux on it, VMs tend to take up a lot of system resources and aren’t worth the effort unless whatever you’re doing is just some quick testing