XeroBank: xB VPN

Steve, a few questions concerning xB VPN…

1. Is xB VPN compatible with Windows Vista (32-bit)?
2. What encryption algorithm (e.g., AES 256-bit) is used by xB VPN?
3. Does the xB VPN client automatically compress/decompress transmissions between the PC and the XeroBank network, in order to improve connectivity performance?
4. Is xB VPN compatible with Norton Internet Security 2007?
5. Is it necessary to have Java or Javascript enabled in order to use xB VPN?
6. To what extent will xB VPN reduce the speed of a DSL connection to the Internet?
7. If only xB VPN is used (and not xB Browser or xB Mail), will all Internet communications for all applications (e.g., Internet Explorer 7, Microsoft Outlook 2007, etc.) be routed automatically through the XeroBank network?
8. Is it possible to configure the xB VPN so that (a) designated applications or (b) specific URLs/IPs automatically bypass xB VPN (i.e., access the Internet directly rather than through the XeroBank network)? If so, what is the procedure to configure the ‘exclusion list’?
9. Does xB VPN automatically launch and become effective (a) at startup or (b) at login on a Windows Vista PC?
10. If only xB VPN is used (and not xB Browser or xB Mail), do applications such as Internet Explorer need to be configured to use proxy settings?
11. Have the XeroBank Plus, XeroBank Pro and XeroBank Premium account classifications been replaced with a single “Personal Solutions” product?
12. How precisely do the “overdraft credits” work with XeroBank? Is the unused GB balance from one month ‘rolled over’ to the next? If yes, at what point in time do these “overdraft credits” expire?

Thank you.

 

1. Is xB VPN compatible with Windows Vista (32-bit)? Yes. x86 (32bit) and x64.
2. What encryption algorithm (e.g., AES 256-bit) is used by xB VPN? AES 256 on xerobank service but it supports skipjack/blowfish/aes 128 192 256 i think
3. Does the xB VPN client automatically compress/decompress transmissions between the PC and the XeroBank network, in order to improve connectivity performance? It will if you specify that
4. Is xB VPN compatible with Norton Internet Security 2007? Yes
5. Is it necessary to have Java or Javascript enabled in order to use xB VPN? No
6. To what extent will xB VPN reduce the speed of a DSL connection to the Internet? Speed through xerobank is not capped at all, so you get up to 100Mbps if your ISP has perfect connectivity and there is no congestion. Only in a perfect world.
7. If only xB VPN is used (and not xB Browser or xB Mail), will all Internet communications for all applications (e.g., Internet Explorer 7, Microsoft Outlook 2007, etc.) be routed automatically through the XeroBank network? Yes
8. Is it possible to configure the xB VPN so that (a) designated applications or (b) specific URLs/IPs automatically bypass xB VPN (i.e., access the Internet directly rather than through the XeroBank network)? If so, what is the procedure to configure the ‘exclusion list’? Mmm no and yes. You would have to have a proxy on your local network that you send traffic to.
9. Does xB VPN automatically launch and become effective (a) at startup or (b) at login on a Windows Vista PC?It's in the startup folder. So as soon as you get network connectivity, it comes online and starts.
10. If only xB VPN is used (and not xB Browser or xB Mail), do applications such as Internet Explorer need to be configured to use proxy settings? No. nothing needs to be changed.
11. Have the XeroBank Plus, XeroBank Pro and XeroBank Premium account classifications been replaced with a single “Personal Solutions” product? Kind of. There will be a nofrills service offered under a different brand name, that is vpn only, in a few months
12. How precisely do the “overdraft credits” work with XeroBank? It only gets used after you've consumed all your monthly bandwidth Is the unused GB balance from one month ‘rolled over’ to the next? No, it refreshes every month If yes, at what point in time do these “overdraft credits” expire?Never

Thank you.You're welcome

 

A few follow-up questions…

2.1. So, the encryption algorithm employed by xB VPN may be selected by the user through a configuration menu?

8.1. Please consider incorporating ‘exclusion list’ functionality into the xB VPN client, as you continue to develop and enhance the product.

11.1. As I proceed through the ordering process on the XeroBank website for the “Personal Solutions” product, there is no option to specify a Plus, Pro or Premium level account. So, what are the differences between the current “Personal Solutions” product and the prior Plus/Pro/Premium levels?

11.2 Will the “no frills” xB VPN service be an offering of XeroBank – or, is this something that you are “outsourcing” to another vendor/provider? Will there be a mechanism to switch a user's account from the "Personal Solutions" product to the "no frills" product when it is offered?

And one new question:

13. What is the "percent uptime" statistic for the XeroBank network over the past 12 months? In other words, how frequently (and for what duration) do outages (planned or unplanned) occur?​

Thank you.

P.S.: Maybe some of the questions that you are hearing from members of the Wilders Security Forum should be incorporated into the XeroBank FAQs?

 

-Steve

 

The concept here is to exclude traffic whose destination matches a specific domain or IP address (or range of IP addresses) from the XeroBank network (i.e., to have that traffic bypass the xB VPN), in a manner analogous to the way in which domains/IPs can be excluded when using SSH with a proxy server.

Why might this be valuable? Consider the example of an online backup service that a user employs to upload/download files. If the user trusts that service, then it may be advantageous to allow it to send/receive without having the traffic flow through the XeroBank network, in order to achieve better performance. Does that help to clarify the request?

 

Yes. I understand that.

 

[1a] What are the differences between xB VPN and OpenVPN?
[1b] Is OpenVPN functionally interchangeable with xB VPN? In other words, could a subscriber to XeroBank install and use OpenVPN in place of xB VPN?

[2] From where may the source code for xB VPN (not OpenVPN) be downloaded?

Thank you.

 

pleonasm,

Looks like we should write some more FAQs!

I'll write up more in the wiki and include links, probably today.

 

Steve, that is a perfect solution – but, no need to rush to complete that task today, from my perspective.

Thanks again.

P.S.: On an interpersonal note, I hope that my questions are not too burdensome and that they may serve to highlight issues and concerns that should be considered for inclusion in the XeroBank FAQs (or forthcoming white papers).

 

Any exact time when "cheaper" no frills solution is ready? 35$/month is too much for a poor

 

<1 month? How's that.

 

Steve, in what ways will the “no frills” option differ from the current XeroBank “Personal Solutions” offering (at $35/month)?

Thank you.

 

i'm guessing this no frills service will be based upon the previous 'plus' account, an SSH connection via the xb browser. through this is a stab in the dark at best, it could be a while before you'll see anything while steve sells the benefits of xb 2.0. if your looking for a SSH tunnel look out for cotse or secure-tunnel (both US), or metropipe/prefect privacy, good things about these are they will allow you to tunnel any application over them, where the xb 'plus' is limited to browsing only.

 

Fuzzylogic, please see post #2 (point #11) in which Steve refers to the “no frills” service as “VPN only.” So, at a minimum, we know that it is a VPN (not SSH) offering.

Steve, can you kindly share additional details on how the current XeroBank “Personal Solutions” offering (at $35/month) will differ from the “no frills” option?

Thank you.

 

Source: XeroBank Website (“Security Software”)​

From where may the source code for xB VPN (not OpenVPN) be downloaded?

Thank you.