[Kageop]

Hi all,
I have been reading some topics and info on Kodi since my house guest told me about it. In researching I've found its an open ended app with the potential for security breaches and it's advised to use a VPN. My question is, if my guest is using my wifi to use Kodi on his personal laptop, am I also at risk?
Thanks so much for any insight, seems like an awesome app but I am really not I to risking my personal info.

[Ned Scott]

First, please understand that Kodi is just a video player. There are a lot of people out there that have taken advantage of the open and flexible nature of Kodi to make "video add-ons" that are python scripts, to make it easier to find URLs of videos and play them back. However, none of it comes from Kodi, nor is it Kodi-specific content. A web browser will likely have the same exact access to the files (and possibly play them back as well, depending on the video format).

There is no inherent reason to use a VPN with Kodi, just as there is no inherent reason to use a VPN with a web browser or any other program. The reason some people do is probably because they are accessing pirated/bootleg videos, and they are hoping the VPN service will mask their activity. Most people here don't use a VPN when they use Kodi because they're not doing anything illegal. They're watching their own video collections from their own hard drives, or are using legal online sources of content, or something to that extent.

That being said, if someone is using a VPN on your local network then that connection can work both ways. If the VPN service is not trust worthy then I would tell your guest to not use the service or disconnect from your network. Which is not to say that they could "hack" you or anything, but they would have the same access on your network as your guest does, which bypasses the firewall that most people have via their routers.

[Dangelus]

Kodi is a media player primarily used to play back your own local content on a single device or your local network.

You can access online content via add-ons but as long as you are using legitimate and legal sources you don't have anything to worry about per se. It's no different to using your PC. At the end of the day Kodi is as secure as the computer or device you are running it on.

Also VPNs are made for privacy, not security from malware etc. If that's what you're concerned about then make sure that if you are using an operating system that requires anti-virus (such as Windows) that you do so.

[Atreyu]

That explanation Ned, deserves to be a 'sticky' ;-)

[Dangelus]

That explanation Ned, deserves to be a 'sticky' ;-)

To be clear Ned posted that terrific answer while I was formulating my insufficient and now redundant response.

[Atreyu]

That explanation Ned, deserves to be a 'sticky' ;-)

To be clear Ned posted that terrific answer while I was formulating my insufficient and now redundant response.

I had not seen your answer while typing mine, so it wasnt a comparison ;-)