Vpn tech guys is this something we should all be doing

[alancw3]

my daughter sent me this in light of the recent internet privacy bill passed by congress:

https://medium.freecodecamp.com/how-...e-d5cdba361907

is this something we should all be doing? beyond my pay grade at 69 years old.

[wpod]

Once privacy is lost, it's impossible to recapture.

[false_Aest]

I use a VPN when I travel for work.

It helps solve two problems:
1. I can't access Google, Facebook, IG, etc in China.
2. It's a little more secure when using wifi.

The app I use is plug 'n' play. Download. Install. Pay. Open. . . . . and WAH-LAH I have the protection of Muad'Dib!

Someone more smarterer than me can probably talk the talk about the tech and the walk but I get the feeling that my info isn't really that protected with a VPN's use. It just keeps the honest people honest.

[benb]

Using a VPN would indeed shield you from your ISP trying to capture your data and sell it under our great new right wing law. It basically sets up an encrypted "tunnel" that everything goes through. To the ISP the only thing they're going to see is a connection to the VPN server.

Most workplaces are not going to look favorably on you running all your personal traffic through the company VPN. But there are services that offer VPN access.

[redir]

I'm using the Tor network right now.

[abr5]

I've been using a VPN for a while now for when I torrent movies and such. I started using it full time the other day- the only problem is that forum gets blocked because of the certificate woes! You can usually choose where you want your traffic to be directed through, so you could get around country restrictions for streams.
FWIW I am using Private Internet Access, running it on an ubuntu server (with openvpn), a Macbook, and a windows computer. No issues so far.

[Gsinill]

I am really surprised that there wasn't more coverage in the media and that there is basically zero uproar.

From the article:

ISPs can now [...]:

1. Sell your browsing history to basically any corporation or government that wants to buy it
2. Hijack your searches and share them with third parties
3. Monitor all your traffic by injecting their own malware-filled ads into the websites you visit
4. Stuff undetectable, un-deletable tracking cookies into all of your non-encrypted traffic
5. Pre-install software on phones that will monitor all traffic — even HTTPS traffic — before it gets encrypted. AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile have already done this with some Android phones.

...
They can even sell your geolocation information. That’s right, ISPs can take your exact physical location from minute to minute and sell it to a third party.

The really outrageous part is that contrary to privacy concerns with websites like Facebook, Amazon or browsers where you have a choice to use them, there is no way out with the ISPs who own the pipe through which your data flows.

On top of it, with the government approved consolidation of ISPs over the years, a lot of consumers, including myself, have no choice but only one provider.

Thank your 50 senators!!!

[cachagua]

Thank the Senators? Naw, they were just doing what they were getting paid to do.

All seriousness aside, though, I guess we should all be doing this... but I wonder, how long will the relative privacy a VPN offers last? Doubtless a way will be found to see through the encryption, is anybody estimating how soon that'll happen?

[alancw3]

Originally Posted by Gsinill

I am really surprised that there wasn't more coverage in the media and that there is basically zero uproar.

From the article:

ISPs can now [...]:

1. Sell your browsing history to basically any corporation or government that wants to buy it
2. Hijack your searches and share them with third parties
3. Monitor all your traffic by injecting their own malware-filled ads into the websites you visit
4. Stuff undetectable, un-deletable tracking cookies into all of your non-encrypted traffic
5. Pre-install software on phones that will monitor all traffic — even HTTPS traffic — before it gets encrypted. AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile have already done this with some Android phones.

...
They can even sell your geolocation information. That’s right, ISPs can take your exact physical location from minute to minute and sell it to a third party.

The really outrageous part is that contrary to privacy concerns with websites like Facebook, Amazon or browsers where you have a choice to use them, there is no way out with the ISPs who own the pipe through which your data flows.

On top of it, with the government approved consolidation of ISPs over the years, a lot of consumers, including myself, have no choice but only one provider.

Thank your 50 senators!!!

i agree. was so surprised that this did not cause more of a social uproar!

[nicrump]

The trouble with VPNs for the casual home internet user is you gotta terminate that tunnel somewhere. trusted VPN? It's just another entity with the ability to log your data, on the other side of the planet none the less? Anonymizers? Again, another entity.

I'd be more worried about pre-installed, undetectable SW that monitors sessions pre SSL.

This whole thing is pretty troublesome. But I'm not surprised it hasn't gotten much push back. I know intelligent tech savvy folks with an Echo in their living room...

[ptourkin]

Originally Posted by abr5

I've been using a VPN for a while now for when I torrent movies and such. I started using it full time the other day- the only problem is that forum gets blocked because of the certificate woes! You can usually choose where you want your traffic to be directed through, so you could get around country restrictions for streams.
FWIW I am using Private Internet Access, running it on an ubuntu server (with openvpn), a Macbook, and a windows computer. No issues so far.

Also running PIA on linux, windows and Macbook. I like it.

[Macadamia]

This was an interesting solution I saw. Basically a program opening random pages and searches in the background of any browsing, so your actual browsing is obscured.

[11.4]

Check out Cloak (getcloak.com). It's super-simple and it doesn't go and sell your browsing data (there are a number of VPNs that do just that). You don't have to program anything and the customer service is superb.

If you want to be a little more involved in the technology, try Algo.

[ORMojo]

Originally Posted by 11.4

...sell your browsing data (there are a number of VPNs that do just that)...

This.

One trusted source that commented earlier this week on the congressional action flat-out stated that VPNs were not a better solution, you are just providing them with access to your data, rather than an internet provider. Six of one, half dozen...

[echappist]

do we know which VPN services sells data and which doesnt?

Also, is it better to tunnel to a foreign location with stronger privacy rights (e.g. continental Europe) vs tunneling locally? The former would work for most cases except when i need to log into my bank or credit card account