What is the best VPN? There may not really be one. Because there is a day coming when ISPs will focus on them and shut them down. Companies like Netflix already police their use at some level. How do I know this? Because I have been following this issue for 6 years years and monitored the effectiveness of various browser extensions to see how they worked. And over time Netflix began to shut off access to their service when they were engaged. If Netflix was doing this 2 years ago you can be rest assured the technology to pick up oh IP address blockers has advanced further.
People on Facebook groups, forums and comment sections can scream all they want or claim their want to steal content will never cease, but ISPs are going to focus more and more on stopping piracy. And if pirates think VPN’s will save them they are likely in for a rude awakening. While there are a number of websites and crooked YouTube channels that promote the great benefits of VPNs for anyone using apps and add-ons to view movies and TV shows through torrent sites and other means, the users are all delusional if they think that the industry is not working on ways to knock them aside.
The simple fact is that if you are using the Internet and have an IP address, it can be tracked back. If you have been following national security news over the past 3 years you would see a number of headlines showing suspected hacks originating from one country or another. Do you really think that the well-funded professional hackers over seas do not work to disguise their trail? Thus far the TV and Film industry has not turned the thumb screws on ISP’s. It has instead been focusing more on individual distributors of piracy related apps or even people who advertise Android boxes for piracy purposes. But it will eventually happen. Most ISPs are also TV providers. Their contracts with various content providers will expire every year and security and piracy are going to continue to be an issue. If AT&T can pull HBO from Dish Network over a disagreement in negotiations imagine what would happen if it decided to pull HBO from Comcast until it fully addressed piracy?
The content owners have the power. There is already a way to get people to sign up for HBO besides the cable companies. Let’s say AT&T wants to pressure a company on this issue. The company could let all Comcast subscribers get a discount on HBO Now until the cable provider got tougher on Piracy. The move would likely be popular with customers who just want to watch their favorites. And if proven successful it may even shift the way people approach the premium channel.
Right now, the majority of people in the US just don’t know how easy it is to receive TV over the internet, especially premium services. And if Companies like AT&T, CBS and others begin to push their direct to consumer products aggressively and effectively it could change the landscape of negotiations. “You don’t want to make sure our content is protected. Fine. We’ll do it.” The cable distributors are some of the biggest most powerful companies in the US. They will train their guns on those that stand to cause them problems on their bottom line. And when they do, an entire industry could change.
As a network engineer I think you’re making awfully broad assumptions about VPN traffic. Virtual Private Networks are in heavy use in enterprise businesses as well as home networks for legitimate business purposes. How would you propose they inspect the massive amounts of encrypted network traffic to differentiate between what’s legitimate and what’s not?
Until that day comes (if it ever does) I’m quite happy using ExpressVPN.