I’m fairly certain this post might end up revealing my lack of knowledge on this topic rather than being a sound technical question, but here goes:

Why are most people keen on VPN services when TOR was present all along? Is it just because TOR is “slower” than VPNs or some other reason related to access?

Here are the points that confuse me:

  1. Many services block TOR.

True, but that’s the case with VPNs too. Netflix, Spotify, or some government website (won’t specify which country) will give you a tough time when they detect VPN use.

  1. Your ISP will know you used TOR.

Sure, but they also know that you used a VPN. Not sure why so many people use this argument. Besides, if you use TOR bridges, your ISP won’t know it.

  1. VPNs are super helpful when trying to circumvent CG-NAT.

And you’d be right there. Accessing clearnet to serve or host a service is much easier with a VPN. But then again, most people aren’t trying to circumvent their CG-NAT to host service. They’re trying to use the web more generally.

This post was inspired by my utter disillusionment of Mullvad.

  • schnurrito@discuss.tchncs.deEnglish
    1·
    4 days ago

    I myself occasionally use Tor, but only use VPNs for connecting to corporate networks (i.e. don’t pay for one myself).

    I agree with most of what you say. VPNs can be used to circumvent geographical restrictions, but otherwise don’t reliably improve privacy. All they do is change which party can see what you’re doing, from your ISP to a VPN provider. Tor does actually make sure it’s very unlikely anyone can see what you’re doing.

    Here are some reasons why I think some people might use VPNs instead of Tor:

    • circumventing geographical restrictions, as already mentioned
    • Tor can sometimes be unacceptably slow especially for video streaming.
    • Tor is not entirely trivial to set up to use for apps that aren’t Tor Browser; on Android there is something called Orbot, but on desktop operating systems I think one needs to follow relatively complex technical restrictions (I haven’t done that myself, so take with a grain of salt).
  • swelter_spark@reddthat.comEnglish
    1·
    4 days ago

    There’s not much difference these days, imo. I use tor for everything and don’t notice any reduction in speed. 20 years ago, that wasn’t the case, but residential internet is a lot faster now.

  • RogueBanana@piefed.zipEnglish
    1·
    4 days ago

    I have a 24/7 VPN to enjoy the same services I always use. Can’t do the same with TOR. Sometimes few websites does interferes but changing servers is an easy fix or just finding a better website is even easier. It’s not a guarantee for anonymity on it’s own but it helps, Mullvad has always made that clear.

    I am interested in TOR but thats a project for another weekend.

  • seatwiggy@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
    1·
    4 days ago

    If you are using something like torrent where your device is sharing its ip, tor will still give out your actual ip where a vpn will give out your vpn’s ip.

  • Voxel@feddit.orgEnglish
    21·
    4 days ago

    TOR is mostly designed to run within the Tor Browser or specialized operating systems like Tails or Whonix. While it is possible to use Tor systemwide on a normal OS, it comes with many problems, such as slow connection speeds, very limited bandwidth, no split tunneling, and other technical network limitations. VPNs, in comparison, usually provide a better user experience, but privacy-wise, Tor is the superior tool.

  • Icedrous@lemmy.caEnglish
    12·
    4 days ago

    I’m pretty sure they are used together; TOR to access the dark web and the VPN to keep the feds off you.

    • Voxel@feddit.orgEnglish
      4·
      4 days ago

      *onion services

      “Dark web” is a misleading collective term commonly causing confusion. The Tor Project themselve refer to .onion websites as onion services.

      • strawberry_enjoyer42@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
        3·
        4 days ago

        Ah yes, we love some good ol’-fashioned FUD!

        The propaganda around things like Tor is simply astounding. Like, it isn’t a “dark web” full of h4x0r5, pirates, and black-markets. Some folks just enjoy cat pictures :3

        • lime!@feddit.nuEnglish
          1·
          4 days ago

          “darknet” is a really old term (pre-www) for “the parts of the internet that don’t respond to normal queries”. things like internal company services, academic databases, p2p networking, vpns or other overlay networks. “dark web” is just the www version, commonly defined as “the part of the web that can’t be indexed by search engines”. got a homelab? that’s a darknet.