a question about openVPN

Discussion in 'privacy technology' started by oblue, Mar 2, 2011.

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  1. oblue

    oblue Registered Member

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    I am not too sure if I correctly understand what this software does. OK, here what i want to do, connect to the internet and surf anonymously, and also I don't want my ISP spying on me, record my activities, visited sites, etc.

    So, does this openVPN (openvpn.net) create a secure and encrypted tunnel between me and the net, like most of the private vpn services do, allowing me to surf the net anonymously OR is it used to create a secure tunnel between two points only, say, your home computer and office or similar? To make it clearer, I want to create my own vpn service rather than using those paid or free services which, I believe, are not 100% trustworthy.

    Any idea, suggestion appreciated.
    Thanks in advance.
     
  2. hierophant

    hierophant Registered Member

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    That's understandable.

    No.

    Yes. In the case of "VPN services", the remote point aka VPN server may be anything from a simple NAT device to a complex global private network.

    No offence intended, and that'll be very difficult for someone who's asking questions such as these.

    De nada.
     
  3. oblue

    oblue Registered Member

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    Well, that was such a relief to know that :) . Let me put it that way, do I need a computer science degree or something to accomplish this or would countless of sources out there be of help?

    AFAIK, windows xp is capable of creating a point-to-point vpn connection. If, openVPN is doing the same job, what is the point of using openVPN? Is it more secure or more functional than that of xp?
     
  4. hierophant

    hierophant Registered Member

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    Let's say that, after some reading, you managed to set up a private one-hop VPN proxy -- that is, a remote server running OpenVPN Server, and routing internet traffic through the VPN connection. And let's say that you were willing to spend $50-$100 per month to rent a real machine, or at least a virtual machine, and not just a totally insecure account on a shared machine. Your traffic would still be easily traced -- because you're the only user. You'd need to get customers to provide some deniability through crowding.

    Anyway, that's not a useful path, IMHO.

    XP VPN connections use PPTP, and are much less secure than OpenVPN.
     
  5. oblue

    oblue Registered Member

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    It is more clear now, thank you for the explanations.
     
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