VPN

I'm a strong computer security advocate. Personally I think it's next to impossible to protect people from being stupid and being scammed, spammed, extorted or anything else. The majority of people don't care about security, they just want to access whatever sites they want to access without any issue. Why use security, they have nothing to hide is their thought. There are a lot of wide open, unsecured, home and business networks that have never been updated. No way can you protect these people from themselves, they have nothing to hide.....

I use a Wireguard vpn and although it does provide a bit of extra security it doesn't come without it's own set of issues. Ad blockers help a little. Router firewall rules help. Cybersecure installed on your router helps a bit. 2FA and hardware security keys help. 128 character gibberish passwords help. Disposable one time email addresses, credit cards and phone numbers help. Disabling java helps. Locking down browsers help. Keeping systems up to date helps. It's easy to get bogged down by security and can almost become a full time job, even on a home network. The more security a person uses the more problems they're likely to experience on various sites. The more security someone has the more time they spend fixing problems. Just my 2 cents

[quote=CAPTAIN_and_his_PET]Wayne,

I have been knocked off the site mutilple times while utilizing a VPN. Eventually I was able to get back onto the site. Additionally, the Chat room knocks me off for the same reason. I don't mind because I understand the issue and would rather the site continue to weed out the spammers. As you know, I have reported them to you often. My issue, is if the free members want to be a part of the site, then they do need to vet themselves and put their money where their mouth is and sign up. There are plenty of people on this site to meet, without the free members. I have seen issues with Free members in the past. I am thankful the site offers the block of free members viewing one's profile. This cuts out nosey neighbors and sites such as Sydney and other schools doing research. Thank you for reading my message in advance. Pet[/quote]<p>We are working on solutions to all of these items.</p>

<p>We have a plan to allow communication between free members again but it takes a little while to implement and keep everyone safe.</p>

<p>We have placed substantial effort into reducing the nefarious profiles that come across and the vpn rules have been relaxed.</p>

Wayne,

I have been knocked off the site mutilple times while utilizing a VPN. Eventually I was able to get back onto the site. Additionally, the Chat room knocks me off for the same reason. I don't mind because I understand the issue and would rather the site continue to weed out the spammers. As you know, I have reported them to you often. My issue, is if the free members want to be a part of the site, then they do need to vet themselves and put their money where their mouth is and sign up. There are plenty of people on this site to meet, without the free members. I have seen issues with Free members in the past. I am thankful the site offers the block of free members viewing one's profile. This cuts out nosey neighbors and sites such as Sydney and other schools doing research. Thank you for reading my message in advance. Pet

[quote=sls_WayneC][quote=TJPartnersInCrime]Question. Why do you keep blocking those of us using a VPN?[/quote]<p>We were having issues with scammers using VPNs to create fake accounts and scam or extort members out of money. We take that issue very seriously! We have now made other updates to address this issue and these VPNs should be allowed again. If you are still having any issues, please email us at support@swing.com and I will help you.</p>

<p>NOTE: As much as we try, we cannot completely eliminate scammers. We strongly reccommend that you never contact free members outside of the site and certainly do not give them any personal information. The company is looking into ways to relax our strict rules on free accounts and give them some more access.</p>[/quote]Thank you Wayne.

That actually makes sense to me. As I'm sure you know, many of us use VPNs to protect our privacy but otherwise just want to go about our business without being snooped upon. (Especially the business of interacting with our fellow swingers!) But you're right, there are bad actors out there who would use things like VPN for nefarious reasons.

My experience with the VPN issues with the site seem to almost always happen when I try to access the WEBsite over my mobile device. However, it did happen to me a few weeks ago on my laptop as well. But it comes and goes and I've been able to get back in eventually. Since you folks are already aware of the issue (and I'm sure this is happening to others), I'm not sure me contacting support would much matter until you all find a solution that will work for every legit user. For now, I'll keep that option in mind and give you folks a chance to work the issue.

As to the free member contact... we never saw the point in any interaction with them since you folks took away the ability to communicate with them in any capacity. If you guys are able to find away to relax the rules while making it harder for scammers, that would be very attractive.

Now this is my opinion only so take it as you see it, but I would suggest you put a little more faith in your users to be discerning. I understand there will always be users who are taken unaware, or are just gullible, but they are ultimately responsible for how they use the internet on any platform, not just this one. Hell there are even people out there who DO PAY for memberships who are looking to hustle others which I think proves this point. You folks might do better to try educating users, or at least popping up some kind of warning with what red flags to be aware of should they attempt to contact a free user.

Again, just my $0.02 on this. Regardless, I'm enjoying the new beta site. It's very long overdue!

• J

[quote=TJPartnersInCrime]Question. Why do you keep blocking those of us using a VPN?[/quote]<p>We were having issues with scammers using VPNs to create fake accounts and scam or extort members out of money. We take that issue very seriously! We have now made other updates to address this issue and these VPNs should be allowed again. If you are still having any issues, please email us at support@swing.com and I will help you.</p>

<p>NOTE: As much as we try, we cannot completely eliminate scammers. We strongly reccommend that you never contact free members outside of the site and certainly do not give them any personal information. The company is looking into ways to relax our strict rules on free accounts and give them some more access.</p>

Question. Why do you keep blocking those of us using a VPN?