Upgrade to win11 or change to Linux?
Without prodding too much into what VPN you work uses
Most VPN solutions run on linux just fine, even Microsoft PPTP VPN solution works fine. I would probably check with your IT department what protocol they use and any connection caveats (like machine certificates used for authentication) and look into the different VPN solutions (some examples; WireGuard and OpenVPN are very well supported, IPSec (libreswan or strongswan are options here) depends on setup, PPTP/L2TP should work with most setups (I have to admin I havn’t touched those enough), vpnc works with Cisco base IPsec setups and openconnect works with most SSL VPN connection)
Unfortunately this is true for advertisements/sponsorships everywhere. Not sure if there is a true one size fit all solution for fixing these products other than individual channels actually vetting/checking who pays them money.
There are some good channels that unfortunately just take whatever sponsor deal they get. I ended up using sponsorblock for the most part, and then support those channels I care about on patreon/ko-fi
edit: just changed some phrasing to not make my rambling as rambly
They are Canadian based, which is a very important distinction.
It advertises on multiple platforms, so it must be evil?
I don’t understand this mentality, just because a youtuber is sponsored by a product, the product must be bad/malicious/acting in bad faith.
There are many channels on youtube that aren’t morally corrupt or soulless. If a company sponsors a channel on yt, it just means more people become aware of the product. which is the whole point of the sponsorships.
I have not any experience with WatchGuard, but it from some quick searching around it seems to not be far from the easiest to set up for linux. dual-booting is probably the easier solution.
I hope you find a solution to what sounds like not the best life situation, and may you have an otherwise have a nice Linux journey.