[DukeTuesday]

Just a little informal poll to see who's using what and how they feel about them. I was looking into Private Internet Access ...does anyone have experience with/opinions of them? It was this (dated) article that got me wondering what everyone here uses and what they think.

 

[dksc318]

Used Nortel for ages. While it worked fine, the Cisco we changed to is just a lot better. It reconnects after a short interruption without needing to reenter a new passcode.

 

[assassin]

Privatvpn. Recommended.

 

[DukeTuesday]



Quote:
Originally Posted by assassin  /t/1419646/vpns-whos-using-what#post_22208449


Privatvpn. Recommended.

I was excited for this because I really value your opinion, but on their FAQ I saw this: "8. Do you log any IP numbers on the server in the U.S.?

Yes, we log IP numbers on the server in the U.S.. This is because the laws of the United States."


It made me a little leary...I'm looking for being as close to totally anonymous as is possible. I'm not even sure how true that statement is, especially after reading what the EFF says. The first sentence of that seems to contradict what PrivatVPN says ("The United States currently has no mandatory data retention law.").


I guess I could log into a different server outside of the US, but wouldn't that kill my speed?


Anyone else wanna chime in?

 

[assassin]



Quote:
Originally Posted by DukeTuesday  /t/1419646/vpns-whos-using-what#post_22210024


I was excited for this because I really value your opinion, but on their FAQ I saw this: "8. Do you log any IP numbers on the server in the U.S.?

Yes, we log IP numbers on the server in the U.S.. This is because the laws of the United States."

It made me a little leary...I'm looking for being as close to totally anonymous as is possible. I'm not even sure how true that statement is, especially after reading what the EFF says. The first sentence of that seems to contradict what PrivatVPN says ("The United States currently has no mandatory data retention law.").

I guess I could log into a different server outside of the US, but wouldn't that kill my speed?

Anyone else wanna chime in?

Doesn't affect my speed at all as I get the max that I pay for. I don't ever log-in to US servers so for me its a non-issue.


Check torrent freak dot com for an article about who logs what.


Edit: Here you go: http://torrentfreak.com/which-vpn-providers-really-take-anonymity-seriously-111007/

 

[DukeTuesday]



Quote:
Originally Posted by assassin  /t/1419646/vpns-whos-using-what#post_22210033


Doesn't affect my speed at all as I get the max that I pay for. I don't ever log-in to US servers so for me its a non-issue.

Check torrent freak dot com for an article about who logs what.

Edit: Here you go: http://torrentfreak.com/which-vpn-providers-really-take-anonymity-seriously-111007/

OK. I'll give it a try. Thanks!


That torrent freak article you are talking about is what sent me down this road in the first place. I stumbled upon it after reading about the HMA fiasco from last year.


This may seem a little over the top paranoia-wise, but has anyone ever tried the tunnel in a tunnel technique described in this article?

 

[lockdown571]

I set up VPN using this article a while back. Works great!

 

[assassin]



Quote:
Originally Posted by DukeTuesday  /t/1419646/vpns-whos-using-what#post_22210075


OK. I'll give it a try. Thanks!

That torrent freak article you are talking about is what sent me down this road in the first place. I stumbled upon it after reading about the HMA fiasco from last year.

This may seem a little over the top paranoia-wise, but has anyone ever tried the tunnel in a tunnel technique described in this article?

It was rec to me by an AVS member. I am sure there are others that are equally as good.

 

[Sammy2]

ssl encrypted news.

 

[NewOrlnsDukie]

I've been using hidemyass! for the last few weeks. Speed is adequate, but not outstanding. Disconnects are pretty rare. Has enough bandwidth to watch BBC iPlayer from their UK servers w/ pretty good quality.


My plan is to try VyprVPN after my one month with HMA is done. It's more expense, but has some advantages I wanna try.

 

[assassin]



Quote:
Originally Posted by NewOrlnsDukie  /t/1419646/vpns-whos-using-what#post_22210454


I've been using hidemyass! for the last few weeks. Speed is adequate, but not outstanding. Disconnects are pretty rare. Has enough bandwidth to watch BBC iPlayer from their UK servers w/ pretty good quality.

My plan is to try VyprVPN after my one month with HMA is done. It's more expense, but has some advantages I wanna try.

HMA logs and turns over those logs when asked for them.

 

[DukeTuesday]



Quote:
Originally Posted by assassin  /t/1419646/vpns-whos-using-what#post_22210484


HMA logs and turns over those logs when asked for them.

Yeah. It really sucks that you can pay a company to do something and they do the exact opposite. It's hard to believe they are still around.

 

[NewOrlnsDukie]



Quote:
Originally Posted by assassin  /t/1419646/vpns-whos-using-what#post_22210484


HMA logs and turns over those logs when asked for them.

Whether they admit it or not, they ALL log for a certain period of time. And yes -- I've read the above-referenced torrent freak article numerous times.


I don't plan on compromising national security or hacking Sony to get all their user info.

 

[Sammy2]

Binaries over ssl will only show as bits and bytes coming in to you over an ssl encrypted connection.

What's in those bits and bytes is not known to the outside world.


Just in case you're worried about something.

 

[assassin]



Quote:
Originally Posted by NewOrlnsDukie  /t/1419646/vpns-whos-using-what#post_22210521


Whether they admit it or not, they ALL log for a certain period of time. And yes -- I've read the above-referenced torrent freak article numerous times.

I don't plan on compromising national security or hacking Sony to get all their user info.

Understood. But I am also not going to choose someone that I know folds like a lawn chair when pressured when there are other options.


Now admittedly I have no idea whether the others will fold but I already know what HMA will do. The whole thing reminds me of a modern day witch hunt.


BTW PrivatVPN is a direct knockoff of HMA's dashboard. So if you like HMA you will likely dig PrivatVPN's controls and options.

 

[NewOrlnsDukie]



Quote:
Originally Posted by assassin  /t/1419646/vpns-whos-using-what#post_22210544


Understood. But I am also not going to choose someone that I know folds like a lawn chair when pressured when there are other options.

Now admittedly I have no idea whether the others will fold but I already know what HMA will do. The whole thing reminds me of a modern day witch hunt.

BTW PrivatVPN is a direct knockoff of HMA's dashboard. So if you like HMA you will likely dig PrivatVPN's controls and options.

1) Court orders are court orders. Heck, even your personal fav 'PrivatVPN' admits that they keep logs on their US servers, which will undoubtedly be their best servers in terms of speed for US customers:


"Do you log any data traffic while browsing the net through PrivatVPN?


We NEVER produce logs of any data traffic. The only thing we store is your username, password and your e-mail address.


With the exception of our servers in the U.S. where we log IP addresses on incoming connections."


2) Agreed on the 2nd line. I think HMA! got really friggin' unlucky


3) Good to know about HMA's dashboard and Privat's dashboard/functionality, but I'm assuming this is the case for Windows only? HMA has an OS X app. Just because PrivatVPN can be used by OS X doesn't mean it will have a dashboard for OS X. I generally only use VPN on my macs.


BTW, this is a great topic, and thanks to the OP for bringing it up. The land of 'VPN review sites' seems to be replete with thinly-veiled ads for dubious lesser-known VPN's.

 

[Sammy2]

Also very effective at counteracting isp traffic shaping as well.

 

[NewOrlnsDukie]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Sammy2  /t/1419646/vpns-whos-using-what#post_22210603


Also very effective at counteracting isp traffic shaping as well.

Yeah, I think that is the subtext for a lot of our paranoia.

 

[NewOrlnsDukie]

I think that, if people are going to use their VPN's for, let's just call them 'questionable,' activities, probably the most important tidbit is that you should know where their company is headquartered, and you should not use their US (or UK) servers for pretty much anything if you want to increase your likelihood of 'anonymity.'

 

[Sammy2]

But if it is not know what all those binary files were then what's the issue?


The shaping is looking at certain ports and structure of files by the ISP and slowing traffic to those ports or file types.

http://www.giganews.com/blog/labels/ssl

http://www.giganews.com/blog/labels/encryption