u/Thin-Biscotti-2529

This just started happening today on my Android phone. I was browsing normally, then noticed some sites weren’t loading, so I disconnected my VPN thinking that was the issue. But after turning it off, literally nothing would load at all not even basic sites.

As soon as I reconnect the VPN, everything works perfectly again like nothing’s wrong. I’ve already tried switching between WiFi and mobile data, toggling airplane mode, restarting the phone, and even reinstalling the VPN app, but no luck so far. Other devices on the same network are completely fine.

Anyone run into this before? Not sure if it’s a DNS thing or something else messed up.

I just need a quick, simple way to unblock a couple of websites that are restricted at my school/work. I was thinking of just grabbing one of the free VPN Chrome extensions, but I'm worried about the security risks. I know they only proxy the browser traffic, but I've also read that a lot of these extensions are just data-leaking wrappers that sell your browsing history.

I have a time sensitive situation and I'm trying to pick something quickly without getting burned. I don't want to install something sketchy. Is it worth the risk for the convenience, or should I just stick to a full desktop VPN client? I'm suspicious about the patterns in the reviews for the free ones they all seem too good to be true. Any honest feedback on which extensions are safe, or if I should avoid them entirely, would be super helpful.