Surf Shark / VPN Safety Dot

When using Surf Shark with the kill switch is it necessary to use any of the VPN safety dot monitors? I disconnected from the Surf Shark and the dot still flashes green even though the VPN was turned off, I saw where others have posted similar post but don’t have access to them

Not necessary to have it if using a kill switch. A lot of people still use the dot because they got accustomed to seeing it on the screen.

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:Personally even though I have the kill switch, I like to see the dot. If provides me information. If you disconnected your VPN and the green dot was still on, there is something wrong. If the VPN disconnected and your Kill switch was on and the internet cut off, then yes, in that case your dot will be stuck on green as it can’t get out there. That is normal and misunderstood by many.

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I turned off my kill switch and just rely on the dot for a visual notification. The reason I decided to do this is because I started wondering if some of the issues regarding the Kill Switch are related to a monetary drop of a server triggers the immediate dis connect from the internet. Thereby, causing a chain reaction of false alerts. Not sure about all this, but it would seem plausible that switching servers or a momentary disruption on the VPN could turn off your internet. :thinking:

Another though is, what happens if you have enabled auto-connect and the Kill Switch. Will these features shake hands smoothly?

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What type of issues are you having that lead you to believe the kill switch is the culprit?

I posted on the lounge a series of weird stuff that happened on my devices just the other day. My laptop and my Nvidia both had the Kill Switch enabled. I am thinking maybe the internet had a slight hiccup and lost internet for a brief second or two and then auto re-connected and the Kill Switch went into action and had a conflict? I am not sure, but since I have unenabled the auto-connect and Kill Switch, I have not experienced any issues again.

Now with that being said, I do remember the FilmRise app acting suspicious and have also uninstalled that app. The app started jittering and would not boot. That is when I started having issues with my device. Could have had some sort of malicious malware…not sure?

It’s just weird I had issues with that app, device, and laptop all at about the same time.

I originally blamed the kill switch for Surfshark disconnecting in between uses on my Mecools when I first switched to SS. To this day I still have kill switch off with the dot on the KM6s, but to this day I still have no evidence that my suspicions are accurate. I think a SS update fixed this. I tend to believe that another app or something else could have caused your “weird happenings”. The kill switch works fine on every other box/device I own. I think maybe I/we are overthinking it lol.

Well, tbh, it’s only me and my cat here, so using the Monitor Dot as a visual is good enough for me (the cat couldn’t care less!).

Although, the more I thought about it. That FilmRise app could have set off a chain reaction of issues. But I still don’t know how or why that would have affected my laptop. Most likely just a coincidence.

Through testing, I tried so hard to prove that the killswitch was the issue. But still have no evidence pointing towards its consistent malfunction or of it causing any other issues. If it turns out there is an issue, Surfshark better get it fixed…and I mean fast. This was likely the biggest reason Troy decided to endorse it over all other VPNs.

I have my kill switch on all the time. I also view a dot of which we have a choice of three, even the original one that wants you to upgrade will run a day or two before you get a nag screen. Dismiss it and it runs again

The only thing the kill switch has done on occasion was to disconnect the internet, possibly because of a wifi loss here and then you get the message “Home screen Not available” Solution for me is get to SS, turn off the Kill switch, reconnect to my wifi then carry on. Never had an issue with Film+.

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Can someone explain in detail exactly what a kill switch does, and the pro’s and con’s of using it - thanks

there is a very detailed article and benchmark why the surfshark vpn kill switch is a fake/scam on firestick. i always use the dot. still the original one but those others might also work

A VPN Kill Switch for improved privacy - Surfshark

Who wrote this article calling a kill switch a scam?

I wonder if anyone has ever experienced SS dropping it’s connection? Personally, I have never had SS drop any connection to a server.

I have on the Firestick. For one reason or the other and the wifi going out for a moment and SS not restarting. It’s happened many times for whatever reason.

Well, that’s what the Dot is supposed to warn you about.

The SS kill switch dropped the internet twice on my new to me KM1 Deluxe in the first month, but it hasn’t happened again in the last month and a half for some reason.

It’s confusing on my wife’s seldom used Firestick, because when I log in, I can’t get anything to happen, and the apps do not appear on the screen if the kill switch has nixed the internet signal. The solution is to go into options and choose notifications; and that leads to a Surfshark notification where you can then access SS, kill the kill switch, re-energize the network, and then switch the kill switch back on. This only happens if the firestick hasn’t been used in a while and the kill switch did it’s thing.

And someone pointed out in an earlier post that if the kill switch drops the net and you still have a green dot, the green dot is still operating as it should. Because, while you don’t have internet, SS is still operating as it should. Now if you had the kill switch off, and SS stopped working, you would expect the green dot to turn red.

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Awhile back it happened twice to me and the Killswitch did its job. It’s happened once while using Express as well. They both have worked

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That’s true when you get into the stick and it says that home is not available. You must turn off the kill switch and then connect back up to the network. It would be a problem for someone not conversant with these things and how to fix it.

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