Express VPN to be acquired by Kape Technologies for $936 million

Discussion in 'privacy technology' started by guest, Sep 14, 2021.

  1. guest

    guest Guest

    Express VPN to be acquired by Kape Technologies for $936M
    September 14, 2021
    https://windowsreport.com/express-vpn-to-be-acquired-by-kape-technologies-for-936m/
     
  2. imdb

    imdb Registered Member

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    that's horrible news. i will not use / recommend it anymore.
     
  3. Raza0007

    Raza0007 Registered Member

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    Some interesting background on Kape Technologies that recently acquired Express VPN.

    According to this article from CNET: What is Kape Technologies? What you need to know about the parent company of CyberGhost VPN

    Kape Technologies was called Crossrider until 2018. The company was renamed because Crossrider got busted by Google and UC Berkley in 2015 injecting malicious code to hijack a user's browser.


    It is ironic that a company whose primary business is to hijack users computers to steal their data and sell it to the highest bidder now owns four VPN services: ExpressVPN, Private Internet Access, Cyber Ghost VPN, ZenMate VPN; three of them very well known VPN providers.

    Of course a company like Kape Technologies, founded by an ex-Israeli surveillance agent (their version of NSA) and based in UK, could not have acquired four VPN services without a nod from powers that be, so rest assured that all traffic flowing through these four VPNs will be available in unencrypted form to MI6, Mossad, NSA and very likely the Five Eyes.
     
  4. zapjb

    zapjb Registered Member

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    USA still the best. But barely.
    Great info OP TY.
     
  5. guest

    guest Guest

    Is Kape's acqusition of ExpressVPN cause for concern?
    September 15, 2021
    https://www.ghacks.net/2021/09/15/is-kapes-acqusition-of-expressvpn-cause-for-concern/
    ExpressVPN: ExpressVPN to join Kape to strengthen push for privacy
     
  6. LoneWolf

    LoneWolf Registered Member

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    Although I've used Express VPN in the past I will steer clear after Kape Technologys acquired them.
    Too shady of a past for me.
     
  7. n8chavez

    n8chavez Registered Member

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    Same. They might not be an ad-ware company anymore (or are they??), but their history is too much for me to knowingly use them as a security/privacy service.
     
  8. LoneWolf

    LoneWolf Registered Member

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    Agreed.
     
  9. n8chavez

    n8chavez Registered Member

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    This is a review for cyberghost, it's another VPN owned by Kape (along with PIA, Zenmate, and now ExpressVPN. It talks about its history as an ad-ware company and why it might not be trustworthy.
     
  10. lost24

    lost24 Registered Member

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    I have been a happy ExpressVPN user for three years, but now I just don't know what to do. I might go for Surfshark, but their IOS app seems buggy (lots of Appstore reviews say it stops working regularly).
    To be honest, after choosing ExpressVPN, I had stopped looking for alternatives, because it really has done a great job since then.
     
    Last edited: Sep 16, 2021
  11. focus

    focus Registered Member

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    I hope they don't buy Mullvad.
    Mullvad works well on IOS on my IPad.
     
  12. Rasheed187

    Rasheed187 Registered Member

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    BTW, a general question. I came to the conclusion that many of my favorite movies and TV series will probably never be offered by streaming services in Holland. So can I use a VPN to get access to streaming services in the USA?
     
  13. n8chavez

    n8chavez Registered Member

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    Maybe. It depends on which VPN you chose. Some don't care about streaming, like Mullvad, and some do, like WeVPN. It's not always a bad thing to not offer ever feature, as not everyone needs every feature. Mullvad is still my daily driver, but I have been testing out WeVPN lately and I like it. Streaming matters to them. They have a feature called WePlay which allows users to submit streaming service requests so that they'll work with WeVPN.
     
  14. n8chavez

    n8chavez Registered Member

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    Me too. The consolidation of the VPN market is concerning. I don't think there's a chance Mullvad will ever sell though. But to anyone using a Kape VPN, I'd start looking for an alternative.
     
  15. lost24

    lost24 Registered Member

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    Thanks for the tip :thumb:
    I am currently reading reviews : Mullvad looks nice ; WeVPN too.
     
  16. imdb

    imdb Registered Member

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    you should subscribe to a smartdns service, not a vpn.
    give this one a try and see if it works for you. (14-day free trial, no credit card needed).
    https://www.smartdnsproxy.com/SignUp
     
  17. n8chavez

    n8chavez Registered Member

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    Ummm..they don't offer the same service? Why smartDNS over a VPN? Why not get a VPN like WeVPN, which offers both, that says anything transmitted or received is done so securely?
     
  18. imdb

    imdb Registered Member

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    chart.jpg

    *comparison chart taken from https://surfshark.com/blog/smart-dns-vs-vpn


    plus, vpn ip's frequently and eventually get blacklisted. that's a major concern. ;)
     
  19. Azure Phoenix

    Azure Phoenix Registered Member

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  20. imdb

    imdb Registered Member

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    not exactly. because, afaik, controld is not optimized for streaming services.
     
  21. n8chavez

    n8chavez Registered Member

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    Ha! I don't think you picked up are the sarcasm there. There is no reason to get a SmartDNS service, such as (yes) ControlD when you can get a VPN that has similar features and capabilities for the same price. For example, WeVPN offers their WePlay feature at no extra cost, Surfshark and NordVPN offer something similar at no extra. This is in addition to the VPN, not using the VPN. When services like smartdnsproxy are about $5 per month with no VPN it doesn't make sense to use that over a VPN with smartdns features that may actually be cheaper.
     
  22. imdb

    imdb Registered Member

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    they all get blocked frequently. nord, wevpn, surfshark, it doesn't matter. their service frequently gets disrupted. here's nord's announcement on this issue:

    https://www.reddit.com/r/nordvpn/comments/p63mow/vpn_netflix_status/

    also see this reddit thread:
    https://www.reddit.com/r/nordvpn/comments/p0l4fo/netflix_not_working_megathread/
     
  23. n8chavez

    n8chavez Registered Member

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    Interesting. I have yet to be blocked with WeVPN; Netflix, Prime, Disney+, Hulu, and Apple+ are work for me. It doesn't matter what "unblocking service" you use because if the streamer blocks an IP they don't know if it's a smartdns IP or a VPN IP. Blocked is blocked.
     
  24. imdb

    imdb Registered Member

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    no, it's not. because vpn ip pools are blacklisted and cannot be easily replaced with new ones. but smart dns service providers can easily replace their dns server ip's with new ones in case they get blocked. also bear in mind that smartdns works in a different way than vpn's and it's much easier to bypass geo-restrictions.
     
  25. n8chavez

    n8chavez Registered Member

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    Do you really read anything I post? I think not. Some VPNs have both features. smartdnsproxy has the same issues, according to reddit. What they need to do is to start using residential IPs and not corporate ones.
     
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