It's probably dumb but I don't use a VPN. It's not as though their servers aren't already hooked to the NSA. I use the Brave browser with all the adblocks turned on and it does really well. But security isn't my field of expertise.
People are simply swapping the point of spying. A VPN just adds latency in my opinion.
You are assuming that 100% of VPN services are compromised. That's unlikely. Even if they are, I still like the idea of my ISP/google/and the rest of them not having a live record of everything I do online,
100% don't have to be compromised if the entire global internet backbone is and if all software and hardware is backdoored.
You cannot accomplish anonymity with anything less than an old used computer purchased second hand with cash and no paperwork. Never connect it to any wifi or local network that you touch yourself. Only boot Tails on it, never windows. Physically remove the webcam and microphone on it. And quite frankly never store it anywhere on or in your property when not using. Also a long range wifi antenna so you can be far away when using public wifi to avoid the security cameras around such wifi points.
Anything less is just masturbation.
Add to that, some services check for VPN servers and won't work if they recognize you're using a VPN. However, I understand your reasoning. I suppose it would be useful if you constantly switched VPN servers so your IP address wasn't useful to anyone.
i have brave, and i like it.
You're dumb.
The brave browser doesn't do jack shit except make it harder for the websites you visit to ID you, and it doesn't even do a good job of that.
A good VPN encrypts all of your traffic between your computer and the VPN server, making it look to the outside world like you are browsing the internet from your VPN's server. This prevents 1) your ISP, 2) DNS servers, and 3) websites from detecting who you are (you should still use scriptblockers and anti-fp). It makes you invisible to casual spying and dragnet surveillance.
You still need to run a good browser (NOT CHROME BASED BROWSERS) with a script blocker and anti-fp extension though, because your browser can pass information through the VPN and give it to the websites you are visiting, and anyone who is running javascript on the website.
If they are really trying to figure out who you are, it's not good enough, but it's good enough for general privacy.
The catch is that you have to have a good VPN that isn't spying for governments and doesn't keep logs. They exist. See other comments.
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