Some businesses disable VPNs to control internet access and prevent unauthorized use.
Some businesses disable VPNs to control internet access and prevent unauthorized use.
I've been using a VPN for a few years now, and it's really useful in some situations. The main issue I face is that on certain Wi-Fi networks, it doesn't connect properly. Either it disconnects me from the network and forces me to use mobile data, or the VPN fails entirely. I'm unsure why this happens. Could it be related to security settings on the business Wi-Fi? I've tried changing various configurations on my VPN, including different protocols, ports, and disabling its built-in firewall, but nothing seems to resolve the problem. I just want to understand what's going on.
Your internet service provider is aware when you activate a VPN. While I’m not the most experienced in IT networking, it seems reasonable to think there might be a method to restrict VPN usage at the network level.
assuming you're talking about "guest" type wifi: there's a lot of reasons why businesses would want to do this, but most of them boil down to a very simple concept: they want to limit the amount of traffic on their guest wifi. VPN's are a common target because: - if the business limits access to certain websites (piracy, adult content, etc.) a VPN circumvents that. - in the business world, a VPN often goes to the home office, after which business users start to pull stupid amounts of data back and forth as if it were a local network. - in some regions, if a public wifi is used for 'nefareous activities', the host of that public wifi has a certain responsibility in that activity. this is also why sites facilitating piracy are often blocked. something else worth mentioning is that some guest wifi's use a captive portal tech that loses connection with the captive portal when you connect to a VPN, losing connection with the wifi in the process. it's not 'by design', it's just a side effect of the design. there's also examples where data sniffing on guest wifi is used as a marketing / market investigation tool, but i'd assume these to be a serious minority, mostly because the sort of places who would have an interest in this, would also be the sort of places where you really shouldnt be using the guest wifi either way. ---- in the unlikely case you're on about businesses' "internal" wifi: you dont need to connect to an external VPN, this network exists for the activities related to work, if connecting to an external VPN is part of that, talk to your IT dept, not a forum. ---- beyond that, since there's some talk on the legality of certain things, i'll just make a blanket statement: if there is no expectation of privacy, and the business has a strong reason for there to not be privacy (for example, a computer system in a highly controller environment) the law stretches quite far into the 'creepy' terretory if the business makes this plenty obvious to the people affected.
I operate without wireless gadgets, so my routine relies on wired connections and software tools. For expanding your knowledge, I suggest exploring networking fundamentals through online courses or books.
I'll discuss a tech tip. Pi-Hole is likely not in use, but it might be worth considering. Also, adding tools like NoScript or uBlock Matrix can help filter out unwanted scripts and domains. https://pi-hole.net/blog/2017/02/22/what...h-pi-hole/
The responses are absurd. No company cares about public Wi-Fi, and unless you're in China spotting a VPN tunnel, it can be quite complicated. Usually, most public Wi-Fi managers encourage using a VPN since they can’t be blamed if someone intercepts your passwords while sitting nearby. The main issue is likely DNS. Try making your VPN connect to Google DNS instead of the local Wi-Fi. I actually have the opposite problem. Company administrators often enforce very strict rules on client laptops that block open Wi-Fi connections, so users complain their networks won’t work.
I fully understood your points about wireless access points and signal direction. I considered using small metal tubing or wood as a guide for signals near seating areas. I found it intriguing that Ethernet over micro-USB cables could work—using a micro-USB to USB-A adapter to send cellular data to a computer, which Linux handles smoothly. I’m curious if it’s feasible to run Ethernet cables in common spaces so devices using wireless can connect via Ethernet for charging and internet access. That would be amazing. I’d also like to explore using wall jacks with both Ethernet and USB ports, possibly integrating micro-USB, USB-C, and even Lightning ports.