VPN Access To US Google.com Search

[RedBar]

I have had a strange experience this morning uusing my VPN to access US Google.com results via a US server. All it kept giving me were Captchas to complete, nothing else, after a re-boot using the same settings as my first attempt it wouldn't allow entry owing to unusual traffic from my computer..

That was on my PC, switching to my mobile and using the same VPN settings but different ISP I had immediate US results, well, immediate advertising I ought to write since there was nothing else for at least 4 scrolls.

I tried several other US sites with my PC and accessed with no issue.

Using my phone's hotspot through my PC I had to complete a Captcha on every page I accessed.

Has anyone else experienced this blatant obstruction?

[Martin Potter]

unusual traffic from my computer

Hmmm, wonder what they meant by that.
(Have to confess that I have nevber used a VPN, so I don't know anything about the circumstance.)

[RedBar]

Hmmm, wonder what they meant by that.

Having used a VPN for several years for work, travel and searching directly in "other" countries I am aware that ISPs can identify VPN users. Sometimes ISPs do block direct access to the target URL however there are usually ways of getting around this but this is the first time that G has blocked me in this way.

The unusual aspect is that my phone accessed G with no issue but using its hotspot on the PC immediately brought up a captcha for each query. All my systems are squeaky clean.

[RedBar]

Oh, so far today it's working normally!

[lucy24]

Once in a blue moon G### will throw a captcha at me--desktop, at home, ordinary ISP--citing that “unusual traffic” gag. I've never figured out what it is about my searches that they dislike.

[Wilburforce]

Has anyone else experienced this blatant obstruction?

Yes, although I wouldn't have called it blatant obstruction. Every so often some websites - not just Google - will get stuck in a Captcha loop if I'm using a VPN. It usually rights itself if I close and reopen the browser - usually Firefox - but sometimes it persists for hours (although not usually for days). I put it down to some kind of handshake being broken by the VPN.

In order to get a clear picture of what search results would be without the layers of personalisation G throws at us, we have to pretend we are not who we are or where we are, but it doesn't surprise me if that throws a spanner into the works of anything that relies on knowing both.