I have a question regarding VPN usage in South Korea and Saudi Arabia. I may go for short term work in either South Korea or Saudi for a few months. Does anybody have any idea, how safe it is to use a VPN as a foreigner in these countries? Worse case scenario, can I use a VPN in a Azure VM and scp torrent downloaded files or something?
SK is a non-issue. I personally wouldn’t step foot in SA though. I don’t think they block vpn but they will ruin your day if they think you’re possibly related to a known objector.
SK would only be an issue if you have reason to believe they would be interested in you for some reason.
This is the best answer. Torrents / possibly illegal downloads are a big no-no in many countries, if you’re truly a movie addict: buy a portable dvd drive and a bunch of movies (2nd hand can be very cheap nowadays). Additional advantage: internet access is still not very good in many places.
On VPNs: there are several options, a commercial one like Nord, your company’s (never, ever torrent over your company networks!) or a self hosted. My home router can run ipsec and wireguard services, yours possibly too. DO REMEMBER: VPN traffic is very recognisable, if the local ISP thinks it’s sus, questions may be asked; better be careful.
VPNs are super common for business reasons. A lot of business travelers are going to use a VPN to access files and services only available on their network.
Using a big VPN might be risky; a self-hosted VPN should be less risky. I'd avoid torrenting though, even legal torrents.
Can you ask your IT department their recommendations?