ExpressVPN had a flaw for years

[RodneyYouPlonker]

Well, I'm not quite convinced of that. Could you provide me with some reliable sources to support your claim?

I don't think that's necessary to be honest.  If you lived in the UK and you knew your stuff then you would be more clued up.  Things were changing back at the end of 2023.  There's people who mention these things on YT.  If you don't live in the UK then you would have no idea what's happening, obviously.  Like I said it's only a matter of time before more countries follow this.  It's important for you to understand how the FCA works in the UK and that they've changed the whole landscape and people are very surprised.  If you don't believe me or don't agree well then fine think whatever you want I'm just warning you about what's coming around the corner.  Monero, you simply can't buy it now, the government have made sure of that.  It has been removed from well known exchanges and that currency is currently gone or beyond access.  It was only a matter of time before this was going to happen and guess what it did.  Now, thinking that you're going to buy something with an anonymous payment is something which the UK is having to say goodbye to as the FCA can see everything and that's the exact intention.  Trading anything now like that in the UK whether bitcoin I would say is a very sketchy subject currently.  Choose the path like I said and you're in for a very bumpy ride you can mark my words.

[lustrous]

Well, I'm not quite convinced of that. Could you provide me with some reliable sources to support your claim?

I don't think that's necessary to be honest.  If you lived in the UK and you knew your stuff then you would be more clued up.  Things were changing back at the end of 2023.  There's people who mention these things on YT.  If you don't live in the UK then you would have no idea what's happening, obviously.  Like I said it's only a matter of time before more countries follow this.  It's important for you to understand how the FCA works in the UK and that they've changed the whole landscape and people are very surprised.  If you don't believe me or don't agree well then fine think whatever you want I'm just warning you about what's coming around the corner.  Monero, you simply can't buy it now, the government have made sure of that.  It has been removed from well known exchanges and that currency is currently gone or beyond access.  It was only a matter of time before this was going to happen as guess what it did.  Now, thinking that you're going to buy something with an anonymous payment is something which the UK is having to say goodbye to as the FCA can see everything and that's the exact intention.  Trading anything now like that in the UK whether bitcoin I would say is a very sketchy subject currently.  Choose the path like I said and you're in for a very bumpy ride you can make my words.

Well, I have a friend in the UK who doesn't face any difficulties when it comes to acquiring Monero or any other cryptocurrency, for that matter.

What is LocalMonero?

What is LocalMonero?
LocalMonero is a peer-to-peer Monero trading platform. We are a marketplace where users can buy and sell Monero to and from each other. Users, called traders, create advertisements with the price and the payment method they want to offer. You can browse our website for trade advertisements and search for a payment method you prefer. You will find traders buying and selling Monero online for more than 60 different payment methods. If you're new to LocalMonero and want to buy Monero, please take a look at our how to buy guide to learn how to buy Monero.

Is Monero legal in the UK?

Is Monero legal in the UK?
XMR, like any other cryptocurrency, is legal in the UK. The Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds Regulations 2017 (MLRs) are in place to protect UK residents from money laundering threats and prevent financial crime in the country.

The UK has not banned Monero

The UK has not banned Monero

• The UK has not banned Monero. Kraken is simply restricting access to Monero for the UK.
  
• Residents and citizens of the UK can still legally buy, sell, and trade Monero on other platforms that offer it (e.g. Binance, Bitfinex).
  
• The event may be related to this:
  
• https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/12...-in-the-uk
  
• Monero is compatible with existing regulation and compliance standards:
  
• https://www.perkinscoie.com/en/news-insi...ncies.html
  

https://www.reddit.com/r/Monero/comments...are_button

But let's drive this thread back on topic.

[LZA]

As an Express VPN user, this is good to know. I'm more of a novice so I just turn it on and off... I don't use the split tunneling feature (dont know where the toggle is to that"

This made me contact support for another issue... I turn it on and it no longer works... Different locations, I get the "unable to connect" I actually had to log off the VPN to send the message to support (which I told them)

It seems to be after an update... I uninstall/reinstalled it with no luck. Maybe its an issue with my computer... we'll see what they come back with. but before it seems to have given me no problems... and Express has the fastest speeds.

Thanks for the article. I'll read it again more thoroughly when I get time.

Well ExpressVPN is okay as long as you use the older firmware.  The only snag is that the firmware isn't available to download as they don't provide that but if you've previously archived their firmware then there's no problems. 

Like this?
https://express-vpn.en.uptodown.com/windows/versions

Is this what you mean? I remember also having to downgrade the uTorrent as newer versions were more bloated. I'm thinking as I type,,, Maybe I should downgrade to see if it corrects my personal issue...

[ill88eagle]

It doesn't really matter about all this because ExpressVPN messed all their firmware up back in 2020.  Since then anybody who updated their firmware would have run into problems.  On and off I've experienced this product and I have to say their firmware programming team were lacking very badly.  From what I understand the team are based in Japan and since 2020 have messed up their product so it doesn't work so this isn't surprising news it's been going on for a few years now.

Not sure why they manage to get away with such problems like this but the Japanese programming team should be held to account but because they're programmers they always get away with it.  Programmers get away with everything it's just how it goes.  The levels of product quality need to be higher of standard but it's the bosses of these teams that lack in their skill levels.  Shame really, I could have said all this about 3 years ago if you bother to contact the support their support is useless and your words fall on deaf ears.

Now come on it's 2024 does this really surprise you because I'm not surprised in the slightest...

Color me confused

To my understanding firmware is hardware specific stuff like BIOS updates and shit. New software for your specific chips, comes in binary blobs and fucks up your machine for good if you dont know what you are doing.

Why would a VPN provider make you install new firmware on your chips? (Ok, i know that is an MS standard no warning thing, you get an ok button thats it- kinda like ordering fries with ketchup and the guy behind the counter dowses them in mayo and then you have to pay)

Bur even worse... Why would someone allow a VPN provider to install firmware on their local machine??? Like seriously???

But I guess it's all a misunderstandig me being too stupid to understand what rodney is talking about

[RodneyYouPlonker]

But I guess it's all a misunderstandig me being too stupid to understand what rodney is talking about

Well, nobody said you had to understand anything. It's your choice, what this has to do with your situation is another mystery completely, I'm of the understanding that you've never even been an ExpressVPN customer. Not that I'm all that interested in that anyway...

IT is a learning curve for everyone, get on the tech train and advance your skills.. if you can really be bothered otherwise don't worry about it

[ill88eagle]

But I guess it's all a misunderstandig me being too stupid to understand what rodney is talking about

Well, nobody said you had to understand anything. It's your choice, what this has to do with your situation is another mystery completely, I'm of the understanding that you've never even been an ExpressVPN customer. Not that I'm all that interested in that anyway...

IT is a learning curve for everyone, get on the tech train and advance your skills.. if you can really be bothered otherwise don't worry about it

Yes yes assume I am ignorant and explain how expressVPN and firmware and end user go together... They force a BIOS update on you like windows does or how?

[lustrous]

Yes yes assume I am ignorant and explain how expressVPN and firmware and end user go together... They force a BIOS update on you like windows does or how?

No, the original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) do not impose mandatory BIOS updates.

Typically, a BIOS update is performed manually, indicating a knowledgeable understanding of computers.

However, it's worth mentioning that certain OEMs also offer the option for OTA (Over The Air) updates via Ethernet directly from within the BIOS settings.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UEFI

[SectorVector]

Getting RYP to share info is a big pain :-)

I think the original article refers to VPN clients as used on PCs.
RYP perhaps used a VPN router on which he tried to use ExpressVPN. VPN router ensures all connected devices are protected.
ExpressVPN seems to offer "firmware" for specific hardware. Link. Now they have their own brand of VPN router.

For desktop users:
In general, use the latest version of the client software.
LZA, you have linked to the Windows Client version. Just use the latest.

Here is a readable backstory to routers + VPNs with good references.

[RodneyYouPlonker]

on which he tried to use ExpressVPN.

I didn't try to use anything, I did use ExpressVPN some time ago and I know exactly what I'm doing because I'm an IT professional.

What I'm telling you is that it didn't work since 2020 because the Japanese programming team messed up their firmware and that is exactly true.  Since then there's been lots of problems and since then this is all down to the damage that was caused during lockdown in 2020.

Ever since then I've always used the older firmware because it's the only one that works.  I don't use ExpressVPN anymore because I would rather use the best, I'm not prepared to go into details about what I do because with me being an IT professional it's not in my best interests to tell everybody on a massive Pirate forum and tell every single Anti Piracy agency what I get up to.  That would be completely stupid.  If you didn't understand that Firmware can work on a router then surely you need to learn these matters and SectorVector is the only one who actually got it the whole idea, nobody else had a clue...  Seek help from Moe who has spoken about this before but obviously that information was forgotten about years ago...

[lustrous]

on which he tried to use ExpressVPN.

...it's not in my best interests to tell everybody on a massive Pirate forum and tell every single Anti Piracy agency what I get up to.  That would be completely stupid.

I have to agree to this statement right here