ZenMate leaks your IP!

HTTP/HTTPS proxies depend on managing which headers get forwarded, and are easily broken. Although SOCKS proxies are far more secure, apps that don't play well (such as Flash) can readily bypass them. Tor is fundamentally an elaborate SOCKS proxy, and that's one of its key weaknesses.

Properly configured, VPN services won't leak unless the OS is compromised.

 

I appreciate the explanations.
Sigh.
So little time, so many VPNs.
Anybody else looking in, this article may be of assistance to you, as it has been for me...
Why You Should Start Using a VPN (and How to Choose the Best One for Your Needs)

 

I wouldn't pay much attention to someone who writes "SSL (they often refer to it as OpenVPN)"

See <http://openvpn.net/index.php/open-source/documentation/security-overview.html>.

Edit: I can't quite believe it, but there are many out there with "XYZFOO" after their names, who seem to think that "SSL VPNs" are implemented with HTTPS and browsers

 

So that article is horsepoo, is that what you are saying?
When you have a few minutes, look this VPN over and tell me what you think of it.
Private Internet Access VPN SERVICE

 

PIA is a perfectly fine VPN

This is a good source: <https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-that-take-your-anonymity-seriously-2013-edition/>

 

Its fine, other then the fact its in the USA. Its cheap and people trust it. I can't vouch for them though due to the USA thing.

 

Fair enough It's a fine inexpensive VPN, if you're OK with US location.

What do you think of Insorg?

 

I have never used it. I hear its been unreliable of late.

 

I've said that on Wilders, and I was wrong.

They were having problems several months ago. And then I couldn't connect at all. I was very busy, and didn't want to deal with it, so I just moved along.

It turns out that they reissued all of their certificates. And I didn't bother to check.

It's hard to know what that means. Maybe the Russian government took control. But maybe, instead, they closed leaks to some TLA or another. But they still have my correct account information, so any recent compromise was complete.

Given that I never knew anything about them, none of that bothers me very much. I trust them more than my ISP I've always paid them anonymously. I've never connected to them directly. And my connections have always been firewalled in pfSense.

 

I would try them, but really I have no idea who they are.

 

You're talking about Insorg, right?
How did you pay anonymously... Bitcoin? Gift cards?
'Splain please, you never connected to them directly. TY

 

Yes.

I've used Insorg off and on for years. Back in the day, I used Liberty Reserve, which I bought with cash by mail to a trusted exchanger, who only knew me via anonymous email (Mixmaster remailer nym). These days, I use thoroughly-anonymized Bitcoins.

I use nested chains of VPNs, and I've never connected to Insorg except through at least two nested VPNs. See my iVPN guides for more on VPN chaining, anonymizing Bitcoins, etc.

 

I think of them as the Russian equivalent of BolehVPN

No offense intended.

 

I must say, some of it reads like Talking Heads Life During Wartime...

I do appreciate your helpfulness.
I find myself confounded by payment method.
You write, "Take care to avoid attracting attention. Include a valid return address that’s not associated with you in any way."
What would be a return address not associated with you in any way?

 

I wish you guys (gals) who are downplaying ZenMate would read their entire FAQ section, paying particular attention to their treatment of subjects like proxies, VPNs and DNS leaks.
They claim to create a tunnel similar to a VPN.

Perhaps you already know all there is to know about ZM, or perhaps you are prejudging. I'd just like to make sure you have familiarized yourselves with what they are offering before you turn your thumbs downward on them.

 

I love that song

My point is that an invalid return address could flag a letter for further inspection.

You know that all email is scanned and digitized, right?

I tend to pick a homeless shelter in the town where the letter will be mailed. That way, if something goes wrong, the money will go to a good cause

 

I don't see any more to it than a browser plugin. Even if it's as secure as they claim, you're still only protecting browser traffic.

I'd rather use a VPN that routes all traffic from all apps.

 

Capice.

 

Capice II

 

I am running zenmate on Chrome but just ahead of VPN, so even if my IP leaks, it's just the VPN's one.
What I find weird is that, being mainly connected to Zenmate in Germany, sometimes Google messes up my geo location..
In Goolgle News a couple of times I have got the weather forecast of Tehran or of an unknown site in Russia...

 

Same thing here, but not frequently.
Have had eBay think I was in Romania and provide crazy shipping rates.
Have also had other sites think the same about Romania.
ZM support explained it, plus others have confirmed it is somewhat common...

 

@Page42

I feel the same way as Mirimir about this.

 

I have no trust in Zenmate. It leaks the IP address yes but could be used to bypass some for example country censorships to be able to view material otherwise forbidden if nothing else compromising.

As a privacy/security tool it has my zero trust.
It showed me today when I was in an adult cam models chat that my Zenmate extension identity was broken as after that Zenmate stopped working and even after I removed it and installed again, my registering email address was rejected.

Who knows what else can be revealed/corrupted in our Chrome install with that extension? Some leftover spy stuff there after removing it?

 

So it doesn't use OpenVPN? Flash is not a problem with a normal VPN.

 

No. I don't think that it uses OpenVPN.

They say: "ZenMate creates a tunnel similar to a virtual private network (VPN) between your device and our Internet gateway."

That language is consistent with an HTTPS connection, or SSH maybe.

They're an anonymous web proxy at best.