Hi Folks,
Was thinking lately, about VPN's + Encrypted Messaging Apps. I know they're good for protecting privacy and all but are there any downsides to using them? Is there any reason not to use a VPN or Encrypted Messaging Apps ? Are there positives to using internet without VPN or using a mobile without encrypted messaging? Why would someone want to use a regular mobile number as opposed to an encrypted app?
Just curious about people's thoughts.
Is there any reason not to use a VPN or Encrypted Messaging Apps
They come at a cost.
Issues with a VPN:
* You have to buy it
* You have to trust the company, what if they're sharing your info, or purely giving it to the government as well
* Slower speeds, usually I don't see too much of an issue but I do see a bit of a drop
* Banned IPs, basically a bunch of IPs are banned on certain websites, like Netflix not accepting a lot of PIAs US IPs, or some forums banning certain IPs thats being shared
* Having a shared address may mean you get hit with similar issues of other people (for example a certain website may only allow you to download 10gb per day, but some random would end up downloading it instead of you).
* Certain websites block it, similar to the point above, I see this issue with I think Harvey Norman, but sometimes it doesn't work well with certain sites.
* Some VPNs drop out, so while you think you're safe, it drops out for a bit and your true IP address is shown briefly before the VPN kicks back in (may need the kill switch setting on).
Too true.
Can't find any fault in anything you've written, but wanted to add:
Look into making that kill switch independent of your main computer as well, products like pfsense are good. The worst thing is many people see their computers crash and the VPN software closes, making the software kill switch useless.
I see so many VPN products with a software kill switch. I don't think these companies have the best intentions in mind for their consumers.
Is VPN safe for banking? Eg CBA app.
I think most people probably already use an encrypted messaging app - Whatsapp and iMessage are very popular. In terms of VPN, why bother, what are you trying to hide? I don't care if someone hacks my messages and reads me asking my partner whats for dinner tonight - nothing exciting going on there
but if I find out what you're having for dinner I could go to the place you shop and buy up all of one of the ingredients and then you'd have to have something else for dinner. MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
VPN isn't safe. For example if you use TOR, best to use TOR by itself. Otherwise you need to trust the VPN more than TOR itself.
This is the best example I can give of why you shouldn't use a VPN with TOR.
You can also apply this same principle to your normal browsing, but the most important is probably usage of TOR.
I see so many people make the mistake, many of these people my peers in the industry. VPN providers are always ready to cooperate with law enforcement and they should.
Hi People,
I started a forum topic asking people what the Pro's and Con's of VPN's are, and got some really good opinions and responses, so thanks for that.
I'm now interested in learning if there is something more evolved and/or anonymous than VPN. The positives are VPN's create a tunnel between you and another internet connection, thus allowing you to be masquerading your online activities, under an alias IP address. The downsides of this however is, you have to have faith that the VPN providers security aren't compromised in some way allowing people to make connections between your IP address and the one you're disguising yourself under. You also have to trust Government's and Companies don't have some unfettered access to the logs of these VPN companies, which they most probably do.
There are many places where your can get FREE WIFI these days, is using that WIFI and combining it with a VPN, better than a VPN on your home network?
How about if you want to use anonymised internet on the go? Is your only option mobile data or mobile data + VPN, or is there better options?
Plus even if you're using a VPN, there is still metadata flowing through. Even if a VPN stops others seeing exactly what you're doing on the web (hopefully), a VPN doesn't stop your internet provider from seeing how much data has been used/downloaded and at what exact time the data was used/downloaded and what time your internet connection was active, and if you were using a VPN at the time. So theoretically with enough metadata and other data you can create a picture and expand knowledge on what a user has been doing.
People's thoughts please……
You could make your own VPN using the free 12-month AWS Services. Just make a PowerShell script that allows you to turn on and off the instance as you only get 750 hours free. After 750hr you will be charged.
Might be a a Pro and Con with this. You have a private VPN created on your own (hosted by Amazon if I'm understanding correctly) so no one else has access to it, but Amazon can still access logs of what you're doing, even if they they promise they won't. Doesn't a shared VPN make sure your activities are more anonymised, because other people are using it at the same time, making it harder to track originating IP, without logs?
Have a look at TorBrowser
What kinda shady shit are you going to do?
Public WIFI -> Cash bought laptop -> USB bootable Liberté Linux -> TOR.
You're now on a list somewhere
Think we have a Snowden 2.0 on our hands…
You're wrong about one aspect of the VPN. The VPN is a server based somewhere else giving you the appearance of a different ip address. Even if someone did trace it, there will be hundreds if not thousands of other users connected to the same network using the same alias ip. Even though it is a direct connection to your real ip, the resources needed to gather and sort the data would be enormous. Provided the server stores data.
What Is More Powerful, Potent and Anonymous than a VPN?
Two VPNS.
"Double up your security for extra sensitive data transfers
What if you don’t have 100% trust in your VPN provider and worry that even they might snoop on your communications? Admittedly it’s a very unusual hypothetical situation, but one with an interesting solution.
“If you don’t trust your VPN provider 100%, use two VPNs,” explains Felix from VPNetMon. “This way you are tunneling your already encrypted connection through another tunnel.”
In Windows this is easily achieved. First, simply set up at least two VPN accounts as normal (if you’d like an extra one for testing purposes you can get a free limited account from VPNReactor). Then connect to one VPN, and when complete connect to another without disconnecting the first. Like magic, a tunnel through a tunnel.
Its also possible to VPN over TOR, but please please don’t use TOR for file-sharing traffic, it’s not designed for it."
https://torrentfreak.com/how-to-make-vpns-even-more-secure-1…
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How do you ensure a VPN service is secure if you haven't set it up yourself?