VPN + OBS
- Thread starter wolverin0
- Start date
Lawrence_SoCal
Active Member
your question is asked in an ambiguous manner, which I suspect means a lack of understanding of how VPN works
And the specific answer depends not on OBS but rather your VPN setup itself? does it allow split-tunneling?
OBS doesn't route your traffic, your OS (and VPN software in this case) do. So it is the settings there (OS and VPN) that determine network traffic routing (ie VPN tunnel or not)
And the specific answer depends not on OBS but rather your VPN setup itself? does it allow split-tunneling?
OBS doesn't route your traffic, your OS (and VPN software in this case) do. So it is the settings there (OS and VPN) that determine network traffic routing (ie VPN tunnel or not)
FerretBomb
Active Member
Why? All it does is change your endpoint, and provide a burnable connection-hop in case you get hit with a DDoS. "Everyone" does not need to use one.
Generally yes. Most VPNs just create a virtual network interface and prioritize it above the actual interface. You can set OBS to bind to the actual physical interface in Settings->Advanced which should (in most cases) bypass the VPN.
Lawrence_SoCal
Active Member
Working as an IT Professional, and attending various govt agency security briefings, you are not paranoid. Its bad out there.
But a VPN for a typical end-user doesn't accomplish anything significant. For monitoring of traffic, you move an interceptor from targeting the ISP to the VPN provider network. 6 one, 1/2 dozen the other. nothing material accomplished for most folks' home computers. And if you are paranoid, how do you know which VPN provider will protect you vs being the compromise itself [believe me, if I was a nation-state cyber unit, I'd offer a commercial VPN service. why go to effort of hacking, when you can get your targets to come to you?]. And no VPN will help if your computer itself is compromised [which is relatively easy to do]
The real answer gets complex, with lots of 'it depends'. a blanket statement of everyone needs is objectively (factually) false. Would folks benefit from 'safe computing' practices? sure, but way more involved/complex than simply using a VPN. For example, most folks don't use Private/Incognito modes (which have their own limits), so real easy to track most people's traffic through ad networks, regardless of VPN usage.
But a VPN for a typical end-user doesn't accomplish anything significant. For monitoring of traffic, you move an interceptor from targeting the ISP to the VPN provider network. 6 one, 1/2 dozen the other. nothing material accomplished for most folks' home computers. And if you are paranoid, how do you know which VPN provider will protect you vs being the compromise itself [believe me, if I was a nation-state cyber unit, I'd offer a commercial VPN service. why go to effort of hacking, when you can get your targets to come to you?]. And no VPN will help if your computer itself is compromised [which is relatively easy to do]
The real answer gets complex, with lots of 'it depends'. a blanket statement of everyone needs is objectively (factually) false. Would folks benefit from 'safe computing' practices? sure, but way more involved/complex than simply using a VPN. For example, most folks don't use Private/Incognito modes (which have their own limits), so real easy to track most people's traffic through ad networks, regardless of VPN usage.
I know I'm 5 years too late here, but as a network engineer the information here is not accurate and I've already posted to the reddit post about this; also 5 years too late.
First, a VPN adds security as stated above.
However; it does accomplish something of significance, especially for streaming. With a VPN you are staying ahead of standard issues like packets being out of order, missing packet information, and various other issues that can occur in communication.
To put it in layman's' terms; the VPN repairs issues inside of the tunnel, before the end-user sees them. Reordering data, and re-requesting missing data before it is displayed. A website like Twitch can only do that after the issue is seen by your viewers, since it attempts these things.
To answer the initial question: yes, you can have OBS go directly to the internet, while the rest of your computer utilizes the VPN. This is done in two-parts. Creating a route in your routing table that provides a path from the network adapter to the internet, and Using windows defenders' advanced features, which are "application-aware" to create a rule to send traffic from OBS to the route you had created.
There is no easy way to do this, and you'll have to do some learning to accomplish this. Networking is a college degree for a reason after-all, but researching those two things should get you there.
First, a VPN adds security as stated above.
However; it does accomplish something of significance, especially for streaming. With a VPN you are staying ahead of standard issues like packets being out of order, missing packet information, and various other issues that can occur in communication.
To put it in layman's' terms; the VPN repairs issues inside of the tunnel, before the end-user sees them. Reordering data, and re-requesting missing data before it is displayed. A website like Twitch can only do that after the issue is seen by your viewers, since it attempts these things.
To answer the initial question: yes, you can have OBS go directly to the internet, while the rest of your computer utilizes the VPN. This is done in two-parts. Creating a route in your routing table that provides a path from the network adapter to the internet, and Using windows defenders' advanced features, which are "application-aware" to create a rule to send traffic from OBS to the route you had created.
There is no easy way to do this, and you'll have to do some learning to accomplish this. Networking is a college degree for a reason after-all, but researching those two things should get you there.