VPNs, or virtual private networks, are wonderful tools for maintaining your digital privacy. Acting as a middleman, it routes all the information exchange between you and other websites’ servers on the internet, in both directions, through a server owned by the VPN service. Nearly half of Americans are using a VPN these days.
VPNs, though, have a weak point. Their servers’ IP addresses are shared among users. Lots of them. Websites pick up on the inconsistencies and anomalies that cause this, which can lead to VPN users receiving constant, annoying two-factor authentication requests, such as CAPTCHAs, or websites that outright won’t work when connected to via a VPN server.
Surfshark just expanded its Dedicated IP service, in which you get a private IP address for your use only, for an extra $3.75 on top of your existing Surfshark VPN subscription. Servers in seven new cities join the 13 already available.
What a dedicated IP does
Rather than share a VPN server’s uniquely identifying IP address, paying for Surfshark’s Dedicated IP gives you a private IP address through your VPN account that only you can access. Nobody else can use it. Not while you are, and not even when you’re not connected to it. Think of it like a private parking space.
“You can’t guarantee others’ actions using a shared VPN server,” writes Surfshark. “With Dedicated IP, you won’t have to worry about that or others getting an IP blocked on some services.”
Dedicated IP already had IP addresses available in the US (San Jose, Los Angeles, Dallas), Canada (Toronto), the UK (London), the Netherlands (Amsterdam), Germany (Frankfurt), France (Paris), Italy (Milan), Japan (Tokyo), Hong Kong (Hong Kong), Australia (Sydney), and South Africa (Johannesburg).
Today’s additions expand Dedicated IP to seven new cities in the US (Denver, New York, Las Vegas), Brazil (São Paulo), Poland (Warsaw), Singapore (Singapore), and Turkey (Istanbul).
There are some sites I just don’t bother with anymore, because every time I load a page (via my VPN) it wants me to re-authenticate with an annoying CAPTCHA verification demand.
It can also lead to websites more easily detecting these servers as VPN servers, which often results in a block. It’s something I’ve noticed increasing in frequency, especially over the past eight years.
Websites are becoming better at detecting VPNs, in large part due to this inherent server sharing, and so I’m frequently led to websites that I can’t access unless I switch to a different VPN server, which may work, or, more frequently, pause VPN coverage entirely. The latter defeats the purpose of using a VPN.
Dedicated IP might be another fee, but it also erases some of the bigger headaches associated with VPN use. Check out my Guide to the Best VPNs for suggestions on which VPNs are worth your money, plus one that’s totally free.
The post Say Goodbye to VPN-Triggered CAPTCHAs. Surfshark VPN Just Expanded Its Dedicated IP Service. appeared first on VICE.
