Xerobank questions ?

Maybe some of our Xerobank question will get answered on Wiki Leaks lol

 

HAPPY to explain, Heirophant. I read a lot about VPNs and privacy enhancing software and I came across Xerobank some time ago. I visited the XB forum many times because of the information and because I liked what XB had to offer. I signed up for XB early on and had some headaches with it. I e-mailed Steve and told him my problems and why I thought the signup system back then was such a headache. He replied that he would like to use me to test out some of the software improvements. He never got back to me on that but no biggie. I continued to use XB then had another, major problem. I heard nothing. I e-mailed him again. I heard nothing (this was all about 2 years ago).

Thus I quit the service, not with any help from XB of course (that process too was a headache).

By that time XB stood out in my mind as an unusually quirky kind of operation, headed by a person who portrayed himself as the boss of a legion of workers, all of whom never seemed to be available to offer support. Thus I continued to go to the XB forum now and again to see how things continued to unfold. The XB forum became almost entertaining earlier this year as the complaints (which simply mirrored my own experiences) unfolded. I saw the forum close down. I read the various promises about the forum coming online again. When those promises didn't materialise I searched around the internet to see if anyone was talking about what was going on. I found Wilders. I read the postings of this thread. I went to past postings that have been recommended concerning XB and dug around myself. As I saw that the nonresponse and fake promises made to me were nothing new with XB nor limited to myself, I finally got motivated to stop reading the postings without comment and get involved. Now I'm here.

Does that answer your questions? May I ask, in return, how come you give XB such an easy pass (including Wizard101's demand to close the discussion apparently because it was getting embarrassing for XB) while you seem to think I'm a troll? Does XB give you free services or what? If you have had no problem with XB, does that mean you have no empathy for those who do? Also, being that Wizard101 only signed up recently and I believe has never posted on Wilders until now, despite his air of authority to speak on behalf of XB, should we accuse him of being a troll?

Sorry, I have a life apart from the internet and I'm not all that moved to get involved in discussions... unless I see something that strikes me as very unfair. I SECOND, THIRD, FOURTH, FIFTH, SIXTH etc the proposition that XB treats its customers with contempt often enough for people to speak out about it.

 

Sorry - in all fairness to Steve Topletz, he never portrayed himself as the "boss". Instead, he has portrayed himself as a simple technical advisor to a company with legions of workers, none of whom were ever obviously present on the XB forum nor seemed to handle any requests for service support.

 

@Caspian,

My apologies. I thought you were serious in taking up for Steve Topletz and his calculated disappearances or closures of forums when the questions get too tough or the criticisms about XB's support get too heated. But now I've run across an earlier posting of yours in another thread (below) which suggests that you're as frustrated as the rest of us:

September 27th, 2010, 11:34 AM
caspian
Very Frequent Poster Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Oz
Posts: 1,331

Re: Xerobank Presents Workshops for the U.S Intelligence Community

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Well you know that's the problem with Steve. I mean, who is Steve, anyway? Is he an alien from another planet? The antichrist, maybe? Why can't Steve just come on this forum every once in a while, use his real name, be open and honest about who he works for and some of his other professional affiliations, and talk to people.....and answer some of the tough criticisms like all of the other Reps from those other VPN providers do? Sheese!

 

I'm certainly no XB fan (though I was some time ago), but truthpatrol, let me guess: You use COTSE!

You remember me...."Lunchbox"?

Transparent.

 

ALTERNATIVE EXPLANATION: The same issues come up over and over again because XB simply hasn't addressed those issues thoroughly, including replying to followup queries and made sure the entire discussion was placed somewhere (maybe the XB site?) so that it could be easily linked to and you wouldn't have to keep replying to the same questions and complaints over and over again.

ALTERNATIVE EXPLANATIONS: That (1) the varied complainers, extending over many months, and spanning across the internet are not all "liars" making "totally false and baseless" accusations, and (2) XB's tendency to promise 'upcoming features' and beta versions that never end up appearing in final form, simply ends up riling customers more than it placates them.

Speaking only for myself, I've already been there, done that, in regard to your simple instructions. Did all that a long time ago in fact - and didn't get a response, despite trying at least 2 times and (if I recall correctly), 3 times. Contacting XB only privately as we got more and more unhappy with the nonresponse unfairly allows XB to keep a lid on the complaints so that it doesn't spill over in public while unknowing prospective clients fall for XB and end up with the same problems. THAT'S NOT FAIR TO PROSPECTIVE CUSTOMERS. XB should be held accountable for its performance, good or bad. The way to hold XB accountable is NOT to continue emailing XB in private but to make the complaints as public as the complaints.


Wizard101, I rest comfortable believing:

(1) that although trolls can be incredibly smart, the longer these conversations go on in a thread, the more clearly readers can judge accurately for themselves if the complaints are legitimate or not.

(2) that readers can and will judge accurately for themselves and by themselves why XB (i.e. you and Steve) will not directly address the complaints that have aired.

 

Hi Lunchbox,

Sorry, I've never used Cotse. As far as I could discern, it has always enjoyed a decent reputation. It was news to me (I learnt today) that they have a VPN service. Before they only seemed to have a simple anonymising proxy but I heard about them initially because they could anonymously host web sites.

Actually, anyone who honestly think that people troll Xerobank should search out some of the threads blasting Cotse and see trolls at work, you'll see them in abundance. Fortunately, it is so obvious what they're doing that they have no effect. I assume that trolls haven't affected Cotse's business.

Believe it or not, I don't get involved much in internet discussions. I'm only moved to get involved with this one because I got ~ Snipped as per TOS ~ at the Xerobank "representative" AKA Wizard101, dismissing people as trolls who had the same complaints as what I personally experienced with Xerobank.

 

So you say. I don't buy it. Even if you weren't a troll then, you're being one now. If you have something useful to contribute, go ahead.

 

I don't know about the others, but I didn't post for your benefit, Heirophant - it's obvious you look the other way whenever Xerobank doesn't perform as it promises. Everyone here who has shared their personal experiences about Xerobank has contributed something useful to the public record for others to read and evaluate as they see fit.

Assume that you've purposely chosen to avoid my questions to you, even though I answered yours. Hmmm. Wonder what your REAL motive is in defending Xerobank?

 

@truthpatrol

I don't "look the other way whenever Xerobank doesn't perform as it promises". In the first place, almost without exception, it has performed as promised -- 24/7, for over two years. And when I've had questions for Steve or wizard, they have generally replied promptly. And when they haven't, I've generally been patient and polite.

If your experience with xB has been different, I invite you to take responsibility for your part of the interaction. And you might inquire how such ways of being work in other areas of your life.

 

@Heirophant, Looks like we're now seeing eye to eye. Like you "I've generally been patient and polite" with Xerobank, and didn't feel moved to share my experiences with them publically when I couldn't get them to reply using their support tickets after trying -- politely -- at least twice. I just quit 'em... politely! For close to 2 years I've remained in that patient and polite mode, not once yelling at them or posting a complaint about them... until I read all the other stories of people with experiences like mine, followed by the pronouncement by Xerobank's European Grand Wizard101 (done probably with a straight face) that Xerobank has ALWAYS given prompt support and assistance to customers, after which this free speech defender politely requested that this thread be closed to further discussion!!!!!

 

I must say that on the whole I found XB Steve quite helpful on a couple of occasions when I needed technical support. On one occasion he deleted a thread I posted in the XB Forum (regarding poor performance of XB under Vista/Windows 7) but later had a change of heart and actually helped me quite thoroughly to solve it (by changing connection type to UDP).

My own personal feelings are that Xerobank (i.e Steve and whatever other people work for Xerobank) simply are short staffed and like I said before a little honesty would go a long way. I too do not believe that everyone who claims to have had no response from the helpdesk was simply trolling. This Limbo situation they are in now though isn't helping anyone, nor inspiring confidence in them.

 

@truthpatrol

Fair enough. I apologize for calling you a troll. It's unfortunate that you didn't get the support that you needed to make xB work for you. I encourage you to give it another chance If you like, you can PM me to discuss the problems that you had.

It's not my place to speak for wizard, and his message speaks for itself. He's undoubtedly working very hard with Steve and others on the new incarnation of xB. While your response may be "cry me a river", please consider how you would deal with never-ending streams of criticism and abuse directed at your commitments. Although some of that may be warranted, I assert that most reflects a vendetta that goes back decades.

 

I only needed customer support once. And I spoke to Steve directly. My account stopped working because I had exceeded my 75G limit. That's it. I have had no other problems. I think Xerobank is the best service out there and I am willing to be patient and give them a chance to upgrade or do whatever it is that they are doing.

I understand the criticism of them not offering a good customer support right now. But I am hoping that everything is back to normal soon. I am also very confident that Steve is very sincere and is committed to issues of privacy and freedom of speech. And Kyle is obviously committed as well.

What do we know about any of the other VPN services? Steve is a member of Hacktivismo and he is pretty well known. And he has made a lot of valuable contributions here at Wilders. Kyle created the JanusVM and has been pretty well know, liked, and respected for a long time too. I don't think anyone questions his sincerity.

I have had great service. And I feel confident that this service is being developed and run by competent and since people. I can't see any reason to look for another service at this point.

 

Caspian, i have never had any problems with their service either, but if legit customer support request are being ignored then that is a big problem. No sensible business owner would conduct business practices in this manner. My only question is when does Xerobank estimate the new website, and forum will be completed? I don't really expect that question to be answered here so I will send it to Xerobank support, and see if i get an answer.

 

If I submitted a support ticket to Xerobank today, using the website, would it be answered. Wizard?

 

Anyone been able to connect to their Turbo Privacy USA node recently? I'm in Europe so I don't really need it but the last couple of times I tried I never got a connection.

 

Hello all,

I am a new user looking for a solid vpn. I think like everyone here (perhaps even the trolls, whoever they may be) it seems that Xb offers something special.
I do have a couple of questions though before I can finalise my trust in them. These are sincere questions and if anyone has a definitive answer to them, preferably with some kind of reference, it would be much appreciated:

1. Is Xerobank still partnered in some way with this 'thesis-writing service' I read about?
2. Does Xerobank really demand one's Windows logon details (as alleged by bestvpnreviews)?

Thanks.

 

Trust me on this, I have tried them all.

http://hidemyass.com/vpn/

 

@user786

1. Is Xerobank still partnered in some way with this 'thesis-writing service' I read about?

Highly, Highly unlikely. I'm sure an Xb staffer will come out and clear this up soon.



2. Does Xerobank really demand one's Windows logon details (as alleged by bestvpnreviews)?

It requests them, but you can easily just click "no".
The intention is so that your VPN is connected from the moment you turn on your computer.
During install, just hit cancel when it prompts you, then do it a second time. Voila.

 

Hi CubonesCastle...

Could you give maybe a bulleted list of reasons why you like HMA?

Thanks!

 

I second that.

Perhaps you could also give us a list of the various vpns you have used and quick reasons why you abandoned them?

Thanks.

 

Thanks for your help.

Perhaps somebody could give me a breakdown of the virtues of connecting to the vpn before logon.

I was also wondering why the logon info is actually needed seeing that, for instance, my antivirus (KIS) is up and running before I logon to Windows and I have never knowingly granted it access to my logon info.

 

The launch of xB VPN occurs at logon, not at startup. Please see the entry in the Windows Task Scheduler, and note that the trigger is “At log on of any user.”

In order to launch xB VPN with the necessary credentials to load the VPN driver, it must be “Run with the highest privileges” in the Windows Task Manager – and this requires that the logon password be entered during the creation of the task.

Note that you can manually create a task to launch xB VPN and enter your password at that time, avoiding the necessity of providing the password to the xB VPN installer.

 

I haven't yet seen any theories of how this connection would occur innocuously. It makes no sense at all.