Strange Things Afoot at the Contact Energy Broadband

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BrettOnTheNet

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#296005 13-May-2022 19:25

Hi there. We've currently got our internet through Contact Energy. (Yes, I know, Not ideal)

I'm curious about something that we've been seeing... and I can't work out why it might be happening.

We have some services that work a LOT better when we connect to a VPN first.

Example 1

If we try to start a video call on Discord, the lag between video and audio is about 20s. Totally unworkable.

But if we connect to Express VPN server first, suddenly it all works fine.

Example 2

I am using a browser based multi-proxy server called Multi-Login. The theory is that it opens independent browsers, each with their own fingerprint, and each running through a proxy.

If I connect just over Wifi or Ethernet, the speed of the websites I visit is terrible. Unusable. Like 1990s dial-up.

But if I connect to Express VPN first, then to Multilogin, then it works just fine.

The only thing I can think of is that Contact (or whoever is the "real" provider) is doing some kind of throttling on the traffic.

But it's not consistent. Most services seem to work OK. Just a few that don't work.

Maybe there's something in the protocol that Discord Video Chat and this MultiLogin tools are using that the broadband provider is throttling?

Any ideas?

Thanks

Brett

michaelmurfy

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#2913659 13-May-2022 19:36

This doesn't sound like anything to do with Contact but sounds like the dodgy tool you're using...

Read this: https://gist.github.com/joepie91/5a9909939e6ce7d09e29

You don't need to use VPN services. Most are pure snakeoil.

Edit: Thought I'd mention the reason why it suddenly gets better with ExpressVPN is it'll replace your internet connection so it isn't going via that other tool - this is normally the case with all VPN software. Your provider doesn't throttle traffic.

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BrettOnTheNet

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#2913660 13-May-2022 19:40

Well I can kinda understand the "dodgy service" comment. I won't go into why I am doing that, but I have reasons.

But Discord Video Chat? Let's just stick to that then.

We only used VPN as a last ditch attempt to see if we could get that to work. And it did.

Not really using the VPN for "Privacy". Just to get stuff to work when it doesn't.

Edit: commenting on your Edit ... When I use the VPN and then this Proxy tool, the IP address at the end is that of the Proxy, not the VPN.
I agree it seems silly to use VPN and Proxy. And I don't want to. But it's the only way I can make it work.

freitasm

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#2913661 13-May-2022 19:43

And if you do not use a VPN and do not use the proxy service does it work OK?

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michaelmurfy

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#2913663 13-May-2022 19:46

Get rid of that dodgy tool. You'll find it'll be changing the system proxy settings which will hinder everything on your computer.

It is dodgy, very dodgy and impacts your security... When you connect via ExpressVPN it'll override this which is why it works. Look into Firefox Containers instead.

BrettOnTheNet

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#2913664 13-May-2022 19:47

Forgetting about the proxy stuff for a moment. That was just an example and it's kinda throwing off the topic really.

Just talking about Discord...

Discord Video Chat with no VPN (and no Proxy) = 20s lag. Unusable.

Discord Video Chat with Express VPN (no Proxy) = Perfect

Again, we only tried the VPN because nothing else I could think of would work.

freitasm

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#2913665 13-May-2022 19:49

Just having this tool installed seems to change your system. So even if you use another browser it will still impact it.

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BrettOnTheNet

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#2913666 13-May-2022 19:51

freitasm: Just having this tool installed seems to change your system. So even if you use another browser it will still impact it.

The Discord thing was happening long before I installed the tool.

It's an independent problem.

(Well, it was at the time. Maybe not now)

BrettOnTheNet

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#2913667 13-May-2022 19:52

Oh - and two completely different machines.

michaelmurfy

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#2913668 13-May-2022 19:53

It is not off-topic at all - I tested it on a sandbox. It overwrites system proxy settings.

Try discord on your phone without a VPN or any Proxy stuff. Also read the above post regarding VPN's. Also you have not mentioned what your setup is otherwise like.

What router? Wired or Wireless? What other troubleshooting have you done?

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#2913669 13-May-2022 19:53

Ok. I have no other suggestions.

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BrettOnTheNet

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#2913670 13-May-2022 19:59

michaelmurfy:

It is not off-topic at all - I tested it on a sandbox. It overwrites system proxy settings.

Try discord on your phone without a VPN or any Proxy stuff. Also read the above post regarding VPN's.

Thank you Michael. Yeah I kinda conflated two separate problems.

Because the Discord thing was happening on a different machine, and long before I started using this proxy stuff (which was just tonight).

If I'd asked the same question without mentioning all the proxy stuff it would boil down to

Discord over normal Wifi = doesn't work

Discord via VPN = works

I appreciate your input, and I've learned some things for sure. I'll be taking a look at which IP address is seen at the end of the line to confirm what you've told me. I fully expect you to be right - now that I think about it some more.

I have in the past gone down the path of installing my own VPN servers. They served me well when I was visiting China for a while. So I do get that we don't need someone else's service. Particularly from a privacy perspective.

Thanks again