iVPN.

Discussion in 'privacy technology' started by Taliscicero, Jan 23, 2014.

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  1. RollingThunder

    RollingThunder Registered Member

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    Sorry to go off topic. Luciddream brings up a very interesting question. Is there a way to make anonymous purchases with the equivalent of a "Visa Gift Card" within the United States like before "the man" got involved? Is there still a way to do it with fake credentials? Input publicly or privately would be appreciated.

     
  2. Page42

    Page42 Registered Member

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    ! Noob alert !
    Okay, have to ask... why the ultra push for anonymity when paying for a service, if you are then afforded anonymity when using the service? Guilt by association?
    Why so bad if your subscription gets known when your activity is hidden?
     
  3. mirimir

    mirimir Registered Member

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    Let's say that you buy VPN service via PayPal with a legitimate credit card. If you use that VPN service via your ISP, paying via PayPal isn't a major issue, because you can be identified through the ISP.

    However, if you only use that VPN service through open WiFi access points, the PayPal payment is now the only link back to you. The same is true if you only use that VPN via Tor, or through another VPN.
     
  4. Page42

    Page42 Registered Member

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    mirimir, you have responded with examples of being identified or not being identified, when I am asking why be concerned with identity in the first place if usage remains anonymous?
     
  5. mirimir

    mirimir Registered Member

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    PayPal doesn't permit prepaid debit cards to be used for non-US purchases. You would need a real credit card obtained using an alias. And that would require fake ID. Making anonymous payments isn't worth the risk, I think ;)

    Just use Bitcoins. I have a lot to say about that here <https://www.ivpn.net/privacy-guides/advanced-privacy-and-anonymity-part-7>.
     
  6. mirimir

    mirimir Registered Member

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    Usage can't reliably remain anonymous if the VPN provider knows who you are. VPN providers say that they don't keep logs. But it's prudent to assume that everything is logged.
     
  7. luciddream

    luciddream Registered Member

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    Well as stated many times the VPN you connect to directly can see anything they'd need if they wanted to hang you anyway if you are connecting from your own house. "if"... on the other hand if you're connecting with a laptop using public wifi, then a truly anonymous payment method is useful even with your primary VPN. And then your secondary one, with also an anonymous payment method, can hide your activity even from your primary VPN, thereby keeping them completely in the dark. And this one wouldn't be able to see your IP even if you were at your house.

    Even better if having Whonix VM installed on the laptop or FreeBSD in pfsense. And maybe TOR+ tweaked FF portable on an encrypted USB stick, and run them through a tunnel and keep both VPN's in the dark.

    Don't forget to have tinted windows while you sit in the parking lot of a coffee shop or Panera bread. Maybe a trench coat, shades and a fake mustache too. And make sure to pitch the laptop and buy a new one after every use.

    of course I jest at that last part. But for most people that don't have "the man" having a hard on for them the 2 VPN's, one of them with an option like Mullvad, on a VM with FW leak protection rules, a hardened Firefox & non Windows OS is enough I'd think.
     
  8. Page42

    Page42 Registered Member

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    You're killing me, ld. :shifty:
    Hey, on the subject of anonymous payment, what beats a VPN that accepts gift cards? Cash in hand at Starbucks and a DNA-free envelope (tip of the hat to mirimir) and life is grand. No?
     
  9. luciddream

    luciddream Registered Member

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    also ask the people that got nabbed by HMA if they feel it's important to have their identity hidden. Would you have called them noobs based on their abilities as hackers?

    You can never trust that your activity is truly hidden and that no logs are being kept. So if you can truly hide your identity and they can't link the activity to anyone, even turning over the logs can't take you down.

    Oh... and I forgot sending in the cash payments by taking a nice road trip. Using gloves, and intentionally using different handwriting.

    Overkill?... absolutely.
     
  10. luciddream

    luciddream Registered Member

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    Nothing, provided they're the kind you can use fake credentials to activate and use a dummy email account, like Visa Gift cards work. But all the sudden they're not really being accepted anymore. The last few times I tried to use them for payment they were denied.

    I would be great if that and cash were accepted by all VPN's.
     
  11. Page42

    Page42 Registered Member

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    This VPN takes all gift cards as payment.
     
  12. luciddream

    luciddream Registered Member

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    That would be sweet. Then you could chain it with another VPN to connect directly to, and it wouldn't matter how you paid for that one. So just choose a good jurisdiction/locale, reliable speeds/connectivity, and maybe double hops if you care for it to get more bang for your buck. And use that one you mentioned + TOR bundle to mask it all. Either that and/or always use public wifi, but that'd be a hassle unless you lived in proximity to one. Someone that lived right beside/above a coffee shop or internet cafe could really be shady. I'm sure it's going on somewhere... someone with a Whonix VM living above a Starbucks has to be one of the most elite peeps out there.
     
  13. luciddream

    luciddream Registered Member

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    I don't want to get too OT though... to get back on track I'd still like to know if the 2'nd year of service is still opt-out. If so I can understand people wanting to take them off their list. But in regards to the other stuff, I just can't concur. They've always been helpful to me, seemed knowlegable, and don't want to give you a false sense of security with leak fixes... saying you should do it via firewall rules. IMO that is being responsible. And also one of their devs helped create a nice tool to help as well. Speeds were always fast. Double hop. Though I do wish they had another good location to go along with Netherlands, like Sweden... unless that's changed? And if they also offer cash payment as well now, and fixed that opt-out 2'nd year thing as well, I'd personally recommend them even higher now than I did previously. Right behind Mullvad at #2 even.
     
  14. Taliscicero

    Taliscicero Registered Member

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    You have to look at it from the opinion of the average person. I would give the example that my dad knows what VPN's are because I have told him, but would never be able to set up firewall rules even if he was given direct instructions, so the click and its done method would be useful to him such as it would to many people who want privacy but don't know the technical side. It would be even more difficult for him since he does not use C.O.M.O.D.O firewall, as that seems to be the only one anyone is helping set up firewalls for. If he went and chose to install C.O.M.O.D.O firewall he would be even more confused because of D+ and other firewall alerts that he would just uninstall it and give up on the VPN, this is.. if he knew he needed firewall rules in the first place which he wouldn't which would be the same for many non-technical sorts. This is why I believe in leak protection built in, so they can get a good level of protection with little hassle and frustration. You really have to remember, not everyone knows how to use computers like we do. There was a time where you did not know how to use the computer either, Imagine how frustrated you would have been with setting up firewall rules and all that jazz.
     
  15. mirimir

    mirimir Registered Member

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    There was a time, very long ago, when I was very young, when I thought that one could scan printed material by pressing it against the screen ;) My friends considered that to be very funny :oops:

    But now we have cameras pointing at us, so I was just ahead of my time ;)
     
  16. Cutting_Edgetech

    Cutting_Edgetech Registered Member

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    I have been using VPN check Pro for about 3 years now. It works great to prevent your IP address from being leaked in the account your VPN connection goes down. Anytime one's VPN connection is compromised VPN check Pro will kill any user defined application using the internet immediately. It can be configured to kill any application, and it's very user friendly. It also has it's own DNS leak protection. It can be configured to check your connection every millasecond. I believe they offer a fully functional trial. I would recommend it for anyone serious about anonymity that uses a VPN. -http://www.guavi.com/vpncheck_pro.php-
     
  17. luciddream

    luciddream Registered Member

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    If I didn't know how to use a computer then I probably wouldn't be worried about chaining VPN's and going to great lengths to make them as anonymous as possible either. And if I did care to, as with anything else, I'd take the time to learn to do it right, not half azzed.

    Comodo is used most often because it has such granular rule setting, but the same can be accomplished with the Win 7/8 integrated FW. Except that svchost leaks on that OS (not the FW's problem, but the OS itself), so I would never feel safe on a post XP Windows OS in this regard, if even XP. Which is why I'm now considering alternatives like Debian and FreeBSD, at least on a laptop to use for these purposes. And a MS desktop for normal use & gaming.

    Also you can just disable the D+ in Comodo if you don't want to deal with all that. Or put it in Clean PC Mode. That said the hubbub about popups is extremely over-exaggerated anyhow. You check the box to remember it and never see it again. I have mine in Paranoid mode and popups are as rare as full moons. UAC is exponentially more intrusive. But I do think Comodo should make a FW only version that said. The closest thing to this is LooknStop FW. It's also very granular, but it's no longer supported and it's not free.
     
  18. luciddream

    luciddream Registered Member

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    Actually, I see iVPN mentioned much more than PIA. In fact I didn't even know what PIA was until a few moments ago when someone else mentioned to me that they use them, and because they do I'm inclined to think they're alright. But I've never seen them on recommended lists in here, unless it was a recent addition.

    I don't want to get even more OT here so I'll ask in a new thread about them.
     
  19. luciddream

    luciddream Registered Member

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    I did not have a good experience with VPN Check Pro myself. It was a very buggy program for me. To be fair the program was still very much in it's infancy back when I used it. It may have improved since.
     
  20. Cutting_Edgetech

    Cutting_Edgetech Registered Member

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    Hmm.. I've never had a problem out of it. I've been using it for almost 3 years. Maybe you had an application conflict of some sort. How long ago was it that you used it?
     
  21. Taliscicero

    Taliscicero Registered Member

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    You are still seeing the problem through your own eyes and your own knowledge you have already gained. You have to remember most people in the world can't even find msconfig/cmd let alone know what D+ is to be able to disable it. You may be so far disconnected from the youth/older generation that you don't even realize your own mistake in thinking even the younger generation for the most part knows what to do with computers or even cares to learn. ;)
     
  22. luciddream

    luciddream Registered Member

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    I think you're missing the point here. I'm well aware that some people aren't very tech savvy. What I'm trying to convey is... why would those types of people be trying to chain VPN's together in the way we're trying to discuss here? It'd be a lost cause, and kinda render everything we're discussing pretty moot.
     
  23. luciddream

    luciddream Registered Member

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    It was about 3 years ago.
     
  24. RollingThunder

    RollingThunder Registered Member

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    I think you just hit the nail on the head LucidDream. No noob is going to attempt this type of complexity. I work with some pretty inexperienced people and while some are interested in the concept of privacy and anonymity they lack the skills and diligence required to attain it. I deeply suspect if I went to the extent to craft such an environment for the classification of person I describe that bad user practices would break their anonymity and privacy. In other words until such a system exists to streamline online anonymity and privacy that it will be forever out of the reach of the complete noob.

     
  25. Taliscicero

    Taliscicero Registered Member

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    I started this thread, I was talking about iVPN which is NOT A COMPLEX MULTI ROUTE VIRTUAL MACHINE PfSENSE MONSTER. I was talking about leak protection in iVPN as necessary for the average user who does not understand anything about computers.

    Oy vey. o_O
     
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