VPN what next?

Hi,

Sounds like you're all set! You should see a green checkmark next to the VPN icon in the toolbar. That checkmark indicates that the VPN is enabled.

Hmm,thanks. That's what I thought but turning on VPN seems to do nothing apart from the green tick. I suppose what I really meant to say was....what do I do now,how do I use it,how do I obtain other countries webs? Struggling to understand here.

You may find more info on the following article: Use built-in VPN in Firefox.

And please feel free to follow up here in case you have any questions not covered by the article!

Ah! I am begining to see the light. So,to use a VPN fully as I understood it,being able to see webs from other countries,I need the full MOZZILA PAID FOR VPN rather than the FREE FIREFOX VPN. In which case why is the free version asking me to choose a location?

In addition, GPT informs me that :- If you're comparing the free privacy features in Firefox with Mozilla VPN, here's how they differ:

Feature Firefox (Free) Mozilla VPN (Paid) Hides your IP address ❌ No ✅ Yes Encrypts traffic on public Wi-Fi ⚠ HTTPS only ✅ All internet traffic Stops websites tracking you ✅ Very good ⚠ Only indirectly Protects apps outside Firefox ❌ No ✅ Yes Changes your apparent location ❌ No ✅ Yes Works with all browsers ❌ No ✅ Yes Helps bypass geo-restrictions ❌ No ✅ Sometimes Monthly cost Free Subscription

and,do you agree Denys? Firefox (Free) – Pros Completely free. Excellent tracker blocking. Blocks many third-party cookies by default. Helps prevent browser fingerprinting. DNS over HTTPS can help prevent your ISP from seeing DNS lookups (depending on your configuration). No impact on internet speed from VPN tunneling. Firefox (Free) – Cons Doesn't hide your IP address. Your ISP can still see which sites you're connecting to (though not the encrypted page contents). Doesn't protect other applications on your computer. Won't let you appear to be in another country. Mozilla VPN (Paid) – Pros Hides your IP address from websites. Encrypts all internet traffic from your device. Particularly useful on public Wi-Fi. Covers every application, not just Firefox. Can make it appear you're browsing from another region (subject to streaming and service restrictions). Uses the fast and secure WireGuard protocol. Mozilla VPN (Paid) – Cons Requires a subscription. May reduce connection speeds slightly due to encryption and routing. Doesn't stop websites from tracking you if you're logged into them (for example, Google or Facebook still know it's you when you're signed in). Doesn't replace Firefox's tracker protections—you'll still want those enabled. Which should you choose? If your main concern is privacy from advertisers and trackers: Firefox's free protections are excellent and are among the best available in a mainstream browser. If your concern is privacy from your ISP, public Wi-Fi security, hiding your IP address, or protecting all apps on your device: Mozilla VPN provides capabilities that the free browser features simply cannot.

For many people, the best combination is to use Firefox's free privacy protections and Mozilla VPN together. They address different aspects of online privacy rather than duplicating each other.

I don't think the above is fully true... So:

• Not sure what you mean by "webs from other countries", but there's no difference between the free built-in VPN and Mozilla VPN in terms of the concept. They both mask your IP address (and let you select the location of the fake IP address that websites see).
• The biggest difference is that Mozilla VPN protects your entire device (including connections made by third-party apps), and the built-in VPN only covers traffic sent from Firefox.
• Another difference is that the built-in VPN has limited bandwidth (50 GB), though it's temporarily unlimited till August 31.
• Also, Mozilla VPN may have more locations to choose from.
• Regarding geo restrictions... That's a complicated topic, but in the very basic scenario, the built-in VPN (= simple proxy) should be enough,
• I'm not the biggest expert here, but you should be able to prevent your ISP from seeing your traffic in pure Firefox. Just make sure the page is using HTTPS (there's also HTTPS-Only Mode in Firefox) and you have DNS over HTTPS enabled.
• Since Mozilla VPN is basically an extended version of the free VPN, if you purchase a subscription, you won't need the built-in VPN. But the built-in VPN may be enough for you alone.

Hope that answers your questions, but please don't hesitate to follow up if anything is unclear

Thanks for your answers and perseverence Denys. ""Not sure what you mean by "webs from other countries", but there's no difference between the free built-in VPN and Mozilla VPN in terms of the concept"" Let me try to explain. I live in the UK, and I wish to watch TV programmes from France and Germany. I understood that I MAY be able to do that If I hide my location via the VPN and if the foreign network allows that to happen. I would assume that the free Firefox VPN probably go that far but that the paid for Mzilla VPN may be able to do that. Therein lies a difference between the free and paid for versions?

The built in one to the browser uses a different network layer than a full device VPN — and this also looks different on the other end of the pipe — so sites that try hard to make sure to only provide content to residents of that area are more likely to tell the difference.

I live in the UK, and I wish to watch TV programmes from France and Germany. I understood that I MAY be able to do that If I hide my location via the VPN and if the foreign network allows that to happen.

Basically, that's what a VPN does. One misunderstanding here is that there's no "foreign network" that allows something; you just make a request to the server (specific website) using a fake IP, and that server takes decision on its own. So the built-in VPN should be completely sufficient for this kind of task. Note, though, that certain websites can try to block users with a VPN, and in such cases (as Jan wrote above), Mozilla VPN may make it harder to detect you.

By network I meant the foreign broadcasting (TV) companies. So, Denys, how do I select these foreign broadcasters when the free VPN chooses the fastest server, or I choose the country. What do I do next...?