Install VPN software Arris/Motorola svg6582 modem?

First, a Definition: Oversimplifying here, but a tunneling VPN basically involves a client (usually an end-user's computer running, e.g. Windows or Mac) and a server, where the client's desire is to appear to be at the same location as the server. This is accomplished by having the server "tunnel" (pass through) all traffic sent to it from the client, out to the public Internet and back.

Simple diagram would look like this:

If I'm connected to a VPN and I type google.com in the address bar...

Request: Your Computer --> (Internet) --> VPN server --> (Internet) --> google.com

Response: google.com --> (Internet) --> VPN server --> (Internet) --> Your Computer

In both cases, the computer that google.com is talking to is the VPN server. So if google.com wants to know where the computer it's talking to is located, it would perform IP geolocation (which is little more than querying a database that tries to keep a relatively accurate account of where each IP address resides) on the server's IP address. In theory, google.com has no idea that the VPN server is acting as a "middleman" between Google and your computer in another country.

It's not clear to me from your question whether you desire to use your modem as a VPN client, or as a VPN server. If you're not sure which you mean, re-read my definition above until you do.

About using your modem as a VPN Client

Generally speaking, setting up a modem/router to use a VPN (as a client) would free you from having to set up the VPN on each of the client devices (meaning, each computer connecting to the modem/router), since all traffic originating from the modem would go through the same VPN.

However, your modem is a cable modem. In order for it to have an Internet connection, you need to connect it to a cable Internet service. Unless you are planning to travel to a location in another country that is going to provide you a copper coaxial cable for your Internet connection, and require you to plug in your own modem, taking your cable modem with you is not going to provide you any connectivity to the Internet.

Also, you won't be able to access your home wireless network once you leave home. The range of wireless Internet is measured in tens of meters, so you'd definitely lose connection by the time you're half-way down the street, to say nothing of visiting a foreign country (unless you live right on the border and are literally just visiting a neighbor's house immediately on the other side of the country border...)

Also, disregarding the fact that your cable modem probably isn't something you want to take with you when you travel, consider the following:

Modem/router firmware often has less flexible VPN configuration than a client operating system, such as Windows or Apple macOS. Meaning, it will tend to support fewer different types of VPN (there's OpenVPN, Cisco IPSEC, and Microsoft PPTP, among many others).
Connecting your VPN at the modem/router level prevents you from conveniently bypassing the VPN on your computer to access "local" sites (for instance, if you traveled to the UK, you might want to order something locally from amazon.co.uk, but it might not like that if you appear to still be residing in your home country, or your taxes on the order could differ, or you might get different offers, etc.)
Computers have much faster processors than modem/routers. It's very possible that adding the encryption overhead of the VPN to the modem/router could significantly slow down the traffic throughput, because many of these units are not heavily tested in conditions like "high throughput traffic with a VPN". Some units have been known to overheat or crash if they're overloaded with demanding workloads like this.

What I recommend is that you connect to your VPN service from each computer (laptop, tablet, phone, etc.) that you want to use when you're visiting the foreign country. You'll need to get a VPN service or provision a Virtual Private Server (VPS) or dedicated server from a hosting company, and then set up your VPN on that box. As long as the VPN's system is residing in your home country, your IP geolocation should show up as being in your home country while you're abroad. You don't need to connect to the VPN on your modem/router.

About using your modem as a VPN Server

Also, no, you can't (or shouldn't, at least) set up a VPN being served from your cable modem that's accessible to the public Internet. Putting aside the security risks of doing so, home Internet connections don't have sufficient upstream bandwidth to make this an enjoyable experience, especially for streaming video like you seem to want to do.

What you should do instead

There are MANY (hundreds) of VPN services offered on the Internet, some of them free, some not. Some let you choose what country your VPN server is in; some don't.

Consider the following points:

If the VPN service is free, your private data is probably the "product" (what the company is making money off of). Be wary of these services, as they often come with the hidden cost of identity theft: the VPN can see all of your raw traffic on the Internet, meaning that the VPN provider can attempt a "man in the middle attack" on your encrypted traffic, and can trivially see all of your unencrypted traffic. For this reason, I suggest starting to narrow down the list by only going with a paid VPN provider.
VPN services tend to have higher latency and lower available bandwidth than you'd get if you purchase (rent) a dedicated server or Virtual Private Server. While the latter may be more expensive, you'll have a dedicated Internet connection all to yourself that isn't being shared by many other users, so your pings and bandwidth should only be limited by the connection you're originating from (e.g., hotel WiFi or similar).
On the plus side for VPN services, they're often much easier to configure. If you buy a "raw", un-managed dedicated server or VPS, you'll have to set up the VPN server software yourself, as well as the client software. While this isn't terribly hard, it's definitely more work than if you only have to configure the VPN client (which would be the case, if you use a VPN service).
Before selecting a VPN service, you should carefully understand how well that company attempts to protect your identity and your traffic. Many VPN services keep logs of your traffic that they might be required to hand over to government entities, or they might look through the logs themselves for innocent or nefarious purposes.

Here's a list of VPN services to get you started. I specifically like this list because it includes detailed information about how well each VPN provider safeguards your personal information and traffic. https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-anonymous-review-160220/

And of course, make sure the VPN provider you go with is offering VPN servers in the country you want to "appear" to be in. :)

allquixotic

Posted 2016-12-28T14:13:37.647

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