Anyone using OpenVpn with windows?

I'm looking for a free or low cost VPN to use for wi-fi when I travel. The pay ones are too expensive for my basic needs and the free ones I don't trust, like HotSpot which is full of malware or other alerts on scans. OpenVpn seems safe but doesn't look easy to use or install. The only forum I found for them was in EU. Any Win users, I'd like to hear your input. Thanks.

 

Re: Anyone useing OpenVpn with windows?

If you really just want to protect yourself in a hotspot, give AlwaysVPN a try.
It's OpenVPN-based, VERY simple to use and it's all pre-paid with no recurring charges.

* 5GB - USD 8.50
* 10GB - USD 15.00
* 20GB - USD 26.00
* 40GB - USD 33.00
* 80GB - USD 47.00

Just protecting yourself in a hotspot for surfing and email, the 5GB should probably last you a long time. I've used them, they're reliable and speeds are excellent.

 

Re: Anyone useing OpenVpn with windows?

Thanks, I never heard of them but I'll look into it. That would work well for my basic email stuff, but when I travel for a week at a time, I'd eat that up very quick. Thats why I thought OpenVPN would be good. I use Tor and for free and what basic needs I have, it fits. Seems marketing basic privacy products all lead to many options I don't need.

 

Re: Anyone useing OpenVpn with windows?

There's a lot of truth in what you just wrote. I think if you can put up with the slow speeds and loss of functionality with TOR - go for it. I use it myself. But I like the speed of a paid service; but...as you said, on the road and want to watch a Netflix on the computer? Be prepared to eat up those broadband credits. If I just check email and do my daily browsing from a hotspot or hotel or whatever, AlwaysVPN is a good and inexpensive choice. There's a market not being served, I just can't put my finger on it.

 

Re: Anyone useing OpenVpn with windows?

I don't understand why you would use Tor when you travel. Tor is for anonymity. For instance, you might want to post something without anyone discovering your IP.

But if you're using it to access your e-mail or banking information, you're asking for trouble. You'd probably be better off using nothing. Tor was not designed to protect your personal information, either on your own or a public network.

 

Re: Anyone useing OpenVpn with windows?

I second this 100%. TOR/Tor should never be used for any compromising information. It is not for security - it is for exit point anonymity.

 

Re: Anyone useing OpenVpn with windows?

If I have any real computing to do on the road, I use the hotels internet and then use a SSL connection for anything finance or personal email accounts. The reason I use TOR when traveling is that I figure whoever runs or is also snooping that same free wi-fi connection could find out less about me or my computer than if I didn't use it at all. Like I mentioned before, my needs are pretty simple and one can never resolve all the extreme "what-ifs" but if something is free or low-cost and it adds at least another layer of protection, its worth it.

 

Re: Anyone useing OpenVpn with windows?

If I had to take a guess, I would say it's more likely the Tor exit node would be snooping than some random hot spot. Plus, consider that you'll be going through many exit nodes during any session, thus increasing the chance that one is malicious. Also, a compromised Tor exit node would definitely have greater skill in compromising any potentially sensitive data than some random hot spot.

Don't get me wrong. I'm using Tor now. But if someone stole my Wilders credentials, I wouldn't lose any sleep over it. I just feel more free to say what I really think if there were no chance of it being tied to my real identity.

So, if I were concerned about being spied on at a hot spot, I definitely wouldn't use Tor to correct that. Besides, being at a hot spot usually makes Tor redundant (if you're accessing it anonymously). That's my 2 cents. Others may disagree.

 

No one is using OpenVPN? Why is that? I'm running out of options here as so far every VPN provider is wanting too much/mo or has limited GB's for my needs. What other options are available to protect myself when I use free wi-fi? I would think that would be a hot topic as its done so often by so many people. If you need cutting-edge technology for some super secret project I can see a issue finding the right one, but for most of us who just travel and want something basic, I'm surprised there's not a Firefox extension or something relatively simple and inexpensive or free.

 

Re: Anyone useing OpenVpn with windows?

I use OpenVPN. Who are you thinking you want protection from, how much traffic do you think you use, and how much do you think is a reasonable price to pay?

 

Re: Anyone useing OpenVpn with windows?

So you want to only hear from people who roll their own with OpenVPN? I use OpenVPN when I use Xerobank and I use OpenVPN when I use AlwaysVPN. Both are based on OpenVPN. To do it yourself, what kind of free solution could there possibly be?

 

Privacy/anonymity online is not like other security solutions. It's not just something you set up on your computer and forget about it. You can't just have a Firefox extension because you need someone else out there who you trust to carry your traffic for you. In the absence of being able to directly encrypt your traffic to the website you're visiting, then you have to encrypt your traffic to some proxy server, and that proxy server will carry your traffic UNENCRYPTED to the website you're visiting. So that proxy server can sniff your traffic just as easily as the ISP/hot spot you're bypassing. If you don't trust that proxy sever more than the hot spot, there's no point in doing it. Hence the reason Tor is not a viable option. The exit node is not trusted.

VPN is simply the protocol. That's the easy part. The hard part is finding someone you trust. You can add all the Firefox extensions you want, but you've still got to find someone that you trust. That's why it's not easy, and there are always inherent risks.

Edit: Just to be clear, I meant Tor is not viable for protecting your personal information. It works very well for anonymity purposes, as long as you're not providing personal information.

 

Re: Anyone useing OpenVpn with windows?

Well yeah that was the original question which went a different direction because I'm not sure exactly what I needed, thats why I asked. OpenVPN seemed to be the solution, but also seemed difficult to use. There simply is NO way to get 100% privacy, there's always a "what-if". I guess from what I got here is that I simply won't use my computer at any free wi-fi sites, including the hotel because maybe that's not safe either. Not owning a computer would be even safer. I understand there will always be some risk, I don't need to eliminate them all, just wanted to explore how to reduce them as much as practical. I'm sure you all know more about this than I do, I just wanted some program that would make my laptop use safer on road trips. I can see now thats not possible w/o spending $10+/mo with limits for something I don't need to do, but would just make things a little nicer when I travel. The question has been answered. Thanks to all who replied.

 

Re: Anyone useing OpenVpn with windows?

Doing a Google search for free VPN, I found this:

http://techpp.com/2009/07/09/top-5-free-vpn-clients/

Some of them are free and do work. I would have assumed that you already ran across it since it's the first hit on Google. So, I assumed they weren't satisfactory for some reason.

Aside from that, why are you limiting yourself to a VPN? You could try JAP.

http://anon.inf.tu-dresden.de/index_en.html

It's faster than Tor and the exit nodes are known. I can't say for certain it's safe to use, but it seems like the best solution for you.

 

Re: Anyone useing OpenVpn with windows?

XeroBank will be introducing a VPN solution for anonymous web surfing, for only $29.95 per year, in the next two months.

 

Re: Anyone useing OpenVpn with windows?

Thanks, for whatever reason I didn't find these. I concentrated my research on lists I found on this site. I did try "HotSpot" months ago and every protection software I have had a fit with it and ad-aware rated its risk a 10, I had never seen that anywhere before. Why am limiting myself to VPN? Because I don't know any better, VPN appeared to be the most advertised solution to what I wanted to do. Have you tried any of these free VPN's, I know you said you use TOR?

If XeroBank actually does offer VPN for that price/yr, thats reasonable assuming its safe and credible. Suprised more companies don't have a no-frills basic VPN or similar for light users like myself.

 

Re: Anyone useing OpenVpn with windows?

VPN is the simplest for the average user because you just click it and all your applications are automatically routed. However, something like JAP is also very good, but you have to set your browser or other application to use it (same as Tor). I personally like JAP, and I think it's suitable for what you want to do. If know how to use an application-level solution (such as JAP), then it should be fine.

Just to be clear, the reason I say JAP might be a good solution while Tor isn't is because JAP has known (and presumably trusted) exit nodes. Tor, while providing better anonymity than JAP, allows anyone to be an exit node. This is part of what allows Tor to be such a good anonymity solution.

Regarding the free VPNs, I believe I tried CyberGhost. It functioned acceptably, and I didn't notice any DNS leaks. But it was a short trial.

Regarding Xerobank, if they provide reasonable bandwidth for that price, I'll take it in a second. It just seems like there might be some stringent limits for that price. But, if not, I'll take it in a heartbeat.

p.s. You don't have to limit yourself to VPNs. Just make sure that whatever you use is encrypted. And if it's an application level solution (such as JAP or Tor), then learn to configure your browser properly.

 

Re: Anyone useing OpenVpn with windows?

Last I heard was 8 Mbps soft limit. I hope it comes soon.

 

Re: Anyone useing OpenVpn with windows?

That's better than my connection. What about the download limits?

 

Re: Anyone useing OpenVpn with windows?

Buffet style.

 

Re: Anyone useing OpenVpn with windows?

Sounds tasty. It looks like you have a new customer.

 

Re: Anyone useing OpenVpn with windows?

I use OpenVPN on Windows Vista 64bit with no problems, I have used OpenVPN on Windows XP with no problems and I have used OpenVPN with NetBSD with no problems at all. OpenVPN is multiplatform and it seems that OpenVPN also works with the iPhone, although have not tried that one myself.

One of the cheapest VPNs I know of right now is AceVPN, I have been with them for a few months and I am posting here through them. $5/month with 50GB bandwith/month allowance, no torrents allowed.

If you still want to be out of OpenVPN then I would go for Cotse.net, they have good prices/customer service and offer a SSH tunnel for secure internet browsing.

 

Re: Anyone useing OpenVpn with windows?

I use a long time Perfect-Privacy and I have no complaints.. But lately I've tested the services of Witopia. It seems a good option at a low price too.. The privacy policy looks interesting. Servers in UK, U.S. and HK. Moreover, the certificates/keys are generated on the site for each customer individually.

 

Re: Anyone useing OpenVpn with windows?

Does buffet mean all you can eat, or all you can eat until there's none left?

 

Re: Anyone useing OpenVpn with windows?

All you can eat. We have more than enough.