Which VPN provider should I stick with Private Internet Access or ProXPN?

Discussion in 'privacy technology' started by lky00, Nov 5, 2015.

  1. lky00

    lky00 Registered Member

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    I originally signed up with Private Internet Access VPN for $39.95/yr. I've been using them for over a year and they are "OK" speed-wise and software-client-wise (for a connection from US.)

    So recently I stumbled upon a deal from ProXPN (another VPN provider) that offered a life-time subscription for one time payment of $40, which I purchased. I then installed it on one of my computers and it seems to work similarly to the first one -- the speeds seems to be similar, although their software/client was a little bit more annoying by popping up every time I log in to my Windows account. But I a guess I can live with it...

    So my question to people who have previous experience with these two VPNs, should I cancel Private Internet Access and stick with ProXPN?
     
  2. imdb

    imdb Registered Member

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    neither. stick with the ones recommended here.
     
  3. lky00

    lky00 Registered Member

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    Can you explain why those two are bad?
     
  4. mirimir

    mirimir Registered Member

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  5. MisterB

    MisterB Registered Member

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    The main problem some people have with PIA is that it is based in the US which makes it subject to secret court orders--it is not NSA proof in other words. If you are worried about the MPAA and RIAA and not the NSA, there is no problem with PIA.
     
  6. Jarmo P

    Jarmo P Registered Member

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    PIA wont work with Appguard, so any people using AG stay away from it. Lost just one measly monthly payment for trying it, not such a big loss, but bad feelings towards it.
     
  7. lky00

    lky00 Registered Member

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    Oh, wow. Yeah, that is a BIG deal. I didn't know that PIA was based in the US. Heck they are probably unloading all of what we do to the NSA under the FISA court gag order. ~ Snipped as per TOS ~, I'm out of there... thanks.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Nov 6, 2015
  8. imdb

    imdb Registered Member

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    sure. here you are:

    pia: us based, very (but REALLY REALLY very) problematic client software that causes many conflicts with reputable 3rd party security software such as fw's, av's, amw's, ae's, etc. (not an issue if you'll be using openvpn native sw though), client software is "suspected" to be making hundreds of random connections per minute to free proxy services and/or 3rd party ip addresses believed to be associated w/ ad servers, etc. (there's a thread about this issue on pia's (un)official forums, just look it up), blacklisted ip's so you can't use any of the major search engines, forums, social services, etc., mediocre technical/customer support from which you get automated replies to your issues, not so rare connection drops, ssd killer (due to its client sw's massive & constant read/write operations, although they provide an unofficial solution for this on their (un)official forum by a 3rd person who is in no way related to pia, so use it at your own risk).

    proxpn: not a respected service provider among wilders members & (as mirimir stated) not on tf's list.

    wilders members say (in alphabetical order):
    airvpn, bolehvpn, insorg, ivpn, mullvad, prq.se.
     
    Last edited: Nov 6, 2015
  9. lky00

    lky00 Registered Member

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    Thank you. These are very good points. I totally agree about US-based and you putting it on the first place. I didn't know it from their web site when I signed up, and that would've definitely been a deal-killer for me. It's also funny how they twisted it on their web site, in the "Where are you located" answer:
    I also had some concerns about PIA's VPN client. It is written in Python, and runs through a Python emulator, which would be quite an odd choice for such a low-level driver. That is probably what can explain high resource usage on your computer.

    So since you explained about PIA, one more follow-up question -- what is wrong with ProXPN? For once they are located in Netherland.

    PS. I also found this comparison of two. So I'm not sure if it's a planted review and whether or not it can be trusted?
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Nov 6, 2015
  10. MisterB

    MisterB Registered Member

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    There is no perfect jurisdiction for a VPN. The US has surveillance but very little censorship. EU has data retention. If you need a VPN to get around censorship and you aren't doing anything that would threaten what the US considers its national security, PIA's reasoning holds and it's cheap. Copyright trollls aren't going to have access to the resources of the NSA.

    I'm not all that impressed with any VPNs propriatary client software. If you are at all serious, you will use Openvpn software that uses the same protocol regardless of the device. Whether it is Linux, Windows, OSX, Android or a router's firmware, you should be able to connect to your VPN provider's network with the same protocol.

    If you are using a VPN to get around network, regional or national censorship, the better countries for a free and uncensored Internet include the US, Canada, Japan and Panama. There are others as well but most of the world imposes Internet censorship to a greater or lesser degree and the censorship is growing.
     
  11. imdb

    imdb Registered Member

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    they ask you to provide your cell phone number for account verification. need i say more?
     
  12. lky00

    lky00 Registered Member

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    You know, I don't think they did. I just logged in and all they have is my login ID, email address and password. And that's it.
     
  13. imdb

    imdb Registered Member

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  14. lky00

    lky00 Registered Member

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    Yeah, I see that. You know, I could swear that I did not have to provide my phone number as it would be a deal killer for me too. As I think about it, maybe because I got it indirectly thru a promoter, i.e. stacksocial.com, they didn't ask for it. (I don't know if it's allowed here or not, I can post a direct link to where I got this proXPN deal from?) So basically after I made a payment they gave me an activation code and a link to proXPN site. After going there and entering the code I just had to provide my email address and set up a password, and then downloaded their client software. And that was it.
     
  15. mirimir

    mirimir Registered Member

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    So asking for mobile number is an anti-fraud measure, it seems.
     
  16. I can not imagine giving a VPN provider my phone number. That just defeats the purpose of a anonymous VPN.
     
  17. dogbite

    dogbite Registered Member

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    Yes, but it does not apply to VPN. Just to ISP.
     
  18. mirimir

    mirimir Registered Member

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    Taking decisions based on interpretations of laws, and how they may be enforced or ignored, is dangerous. It's prudent to assume that everything will be retained, logged, etc. And to plan accordingly.
     
  19. Palancar

    Palancar Registered Member

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    Exactly!

    That is why we preach "partition of trust". Using a well planned approach means that a "sell out" by one provider still leaves your anonymity intact.
     
  20. Timok

    Timok Registered Member

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    Look here https://www.privacytools.io/

    Our VPN Provider Criteria

    • Operating outside the USA or other Five Eyes countries. Avoid all US and UK based services.
    • OpenVPN software support.
    • File-Sharing (P2P) is tolerated on selected servers.
    • Accepts Bitcoin, cash, debit cards or cash cards as a payment method.
    • No personal information is required to create an account. Only username, password and Email.
    We're not affiliated with any of the above listed VPN providers. This way can give you honest recommendations.​
     
  21. dogbite

    dogbite Registered Member

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    Still I do not understand bullet #1. US has even better protection (law) than EU (UK excluded).
     
  22. lky00

    lky00 Registered Member

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    Here's a shot against PIA. Just got this via email. Did you guys get it too? I can't seem to find it posted anywhere on their website though:

    Dear Valued Customer,

    On November 17, we were privately notified of an IP address leak vulnerability affecting the port forwarding feature of our service. Essentially, anyone connecting to a forwarded port on any of our VPN gateways could have their real IP address leaked to an attacker specifically targeting a PIA user.

    Within 12 hours of the initial report, we developed and tested what we thought was a complete fix, and deployed it to all of our VPN gateways.

    On November 26, the researchers who discovered the vulnerability made it public and we quickly noticed that our service was still vulnerable to the IP address leak in certain cases, despite our initial fix. After further investigation, we also realized there was a separate but related issue on our desktop client. To fix this issue we are releasing updated VPN apps to prevent any leaks. We released v.52 on November 27.

    Protecting your privacy is our top priority and although exploiting this vulnerability is difficult and requires an attacker to specifically target you, we feel like we let you down with our initial response. Please accept our apologies, we are sorry.

    We highly recommend users update to v.52 (or later) of the client. To ensure all of our beloved users remain protected, we have pushed an update to existing clients. Please update immediately from the application or visit one of the following links:

    Windows:https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/installer/download_installer_win

    Mac: https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/installer/download_installer_osx

    Technical Facts:

    The vulnerability relies on the fact that a direct route exists between the VPN client and server. If the client accesses a forwarded port on the VPN server that is maliciously set up by an attacker, the client will use the direct route using the user's default route, bypassing the VPN entirely.

    Our initial fix was to block VPN clients from accessing forwarded ports on the same server at the VPN gateway firewall level, but we soon discovered a flaw in our desktop clients that made the fix incomplete. When the client disconnected, the direct route to the VPN gateway was not removed, thereby making users vulnerable even after they disconnected from the VPN. Beginning with v.52, we remove these "lingering" direct routes to the VPN gateway at disconnect time.

    Note: If you are connecting to our service with a native OpenVPN client, or PIA's Android or iOS apps, you do not need a client-side fix.



    Sincerely,
    Private Internet Access Team
    Subsidiary of London Trust Media Inc.
     
  23. mirimir

    mirimir Registered Member

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    Actually, I see this as evidence for their competence. This vulnerability affected many VPN services.
     
  24. Brosephine

    Brosephine Registered Member

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    I have been referring to that torrent freak list for a while. Proxy.sh has been pretty solid for me but they do have an affiliate program. I didn't know that was a no no. With Privatoria I was forced to disable my IPv6 because they'd leak it and couldn't offer any solutions. Their email support is literally 1 person so I don't know how large they are. Vpn.ht is one on the list that I haven't seem mentioned on this thread. It passes all the requirements for an acceptable VPN.
    What are your thoughts or recommendations?
     
  25. imdb

    imdb Registered Member

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    on/for what?
     
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