Problem with IP and VPN. desperate for help!

Discussion in 'privacy problems' started by Marycat, Apr 19, 2015.

  1. Marycat

    Marycat Registered Member

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    Hi guys,

    It's my first time posting here, but I am in desperate need for help.
    I am not very experienced with IP and VPN concepts, but it's time some knowledge might save me!

    I am looking for a trustworthy effective IP changing program or app; something that will let me choose the country I want be seen as browsing from and completely hides my IP address.
    I need an app that provides a high level of privacy regarding the ip and only shows the fake one that I've chosen.
    I have heard about Hotspot Shield, Tor, AirVPN, Cryptohippie and few others, but I still can't figure out which one is the best for me.
     
  2. mirimir

    mirimir Registered Member

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    I believe that most all of the experienced VPN users here would recommend AirVPN, BolehVPN, iVPN and Mullvad. Maybe PIA too, which is inexpensive but iffy. Cryptohippie is perhaps the oldest, but is more expensive. Hotspot Shield is very popular, but not so much here. I'm not really sure why. Definatedly avoid HideMyAss, which doesn't ;)

    Tor and JonDonym are not VPNs, but rather anonymity networks. Tor probably provides the best anonymity for general Internet browsing. But choosing your exit country is not straightforward. Also, the Tor Project lists all exits, and some websites block access from them, to reduce abuse. For example, one can't create new accounts on Wilders while using Tor. That's much less of an issue with VPNs, presumably because they provide far less anonymity, and aren't free.

    iVPN has published a couple of my guides, which you may find useful:

    https://www.ivpn.net/privacy-guides/will-a-vpn-protect-me
    https://www.ivpn.net/privacy-guides/adversaries-and-anonymity-systems-the-basics
     
  3. MisterB

    MisterB Registered Member

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    More VPNs listed here.

    http://torrentfreak.com/anonymous-vpn-service-provider-review-2015-150228/

    This is, of course, a torrent centric review. Wilders threads tend towards extreme privacy. It is good to know how to implement such privacy, even if you don't realistically need it at present.

    There is a lot of bias towards European VPNs due to NSA but Europe has some privacy unfriendly laws as well as overt censorship. What is best for you depends on what you need in terms of privacy and anonymity. Mirimir's guides cover that pretty well. Apart from privacy, bandwidth is another consideration. For using torrents without revealing your real IP, bandwidth is important and that is what you will pay for. The threats against torrent users are mostly civil litigation by some very shady law firms. A VPN that would protect you from that won't necessarily be good enough for privacy from the NSA or other state agencies with a lot of resources.
     
  4. NWOAbschaum

    NWOAbschaum Registered Member

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    perfect-vpn would be a nice choice. great inhouse vpn manager that blocks webRTC leak,firewall,anti dns leak,connection true 4 servers at the same time(cascading) etc. but its not cheap. untill now i have not found any leaks that shows my ip.
     
  5. RCGuy

    RCGuy Registered Member

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    Well, at least he's nicer to you, Marycat, than he was me. Oh well. :rolleyes:
     
  6. Marycat

    Marycat Registered Member

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    This is very helpful, Thanks a lot!
    I am currently doing my research comparing between AirVPN and iVPN regarding prices and privacy.
    As I am looking for complete privacy and replacing my ip address with a different country-specific one; meaning i don't want it to reveal I am browsing from the US one day and Uk another.
     
  7. Marycat

    Marycat Registered Member

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    I am looking for complete privacy and I wanna register for a European website actually! Does that make it different in one way or another?
     
  8. Marycat

    Marycat Registered Member

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    Would it completely block my true ip? Is it a downloadable app, or a website service?
     
  9. Marycat

    Marycat Registered Member

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    :) :)
     
  10. NWOAbschaum

    NWOAbschaum Registered Member

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    Its a downloadable app. Well u can never be sure if ur ip is leaked somewhere. but all known leaks are blocked u should be anonym.
     
  11. MisterB

    MisterB Registered Member

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    Almost all VPN providers have European exit nodes so if you want to bypass geo restrictions to register for a website, they will all do that for you. What I was referring to was where they are based. PIA, for example, is based in the US which is why there is some bias due to the NSA. A VPN provider is subject to whatever laws apply to the jurisdiction it is based in. European countries have mandatory data retention laws which can complicate anti logging policies. The US doesn't. I've noticed a trend towards such jurisdictions as Panama and Gilbralter among VPN providers lately so I think both the US and Europe are not good places to base a privacy service right now. The torrentfreak review does ask the important questions of logging policy and legal jurisdiction which is a good place to start researching.
     
  12. mirimir

    mirimir Registered Member

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    Oops, looks like I missed your questions there :oops:

    I'll answer now :)
     
  13. Marycat

    Marycat Registered Member

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    You mean it's easier to choose to use United states ips than using European ones?
    Is European laws make it more likely to get busted?
     
  14. mirimir

    mirimir Registered Member

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    Logging requirements in Europe are in flux. There's a strong privacy law, which drives a lot of pain Google's way. But there's also heavy pressure to retain data, to protect national security and catch criminals. The courts recently invalidated the EU-wide data retention directive. But there are national laws (in the UK, for example) and EU-wide efforts as well.

    There is nominally no data retention requirement for VPNs in the US. But it's possible that some VPN providers retain data to avoid hassle. And then there are those national security letters from the FBI :eek: And the NSA very likely intercepts everything.

    Some of us sometimes avoid both :)
     
  15. MisterB

    MisterB Registered Member

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    It is just about the same. Apples and oranges. If you are in the US, it could better to use a European VPN and vice versa but that really depends on what you are trying hide with a VPN. As Mirirmir said, sometimes it's best to avoid both. I use a VPN legally based in Central America with exit nodes all over the world. I'm using it for privacy more than anonymity so letting others know I use a VPN is not a problem for me. Privacy and anonymity go together but they are not the same thing and real anonymity is a much more difficult proposition than basic privacy.
     
  16. RCGuy

    RCGuy Registered Member

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    Thanks! :thumb:
     
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