Anonymous Services - Can We Get A List Going And Feedback?

Discussion in 'privacy technology' started by DasFox, Nov 2, 2010.

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  1. luciddream

    luciddream Registered Member

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    That's pretty cool. I think it speaks volumes about their approach to privacy that they're willing to accept cash payments, or prepaid CC's.

    I saw on their site that you can try it out, in the download section, but I don't see where it states for how long, or how (if at all) the trial is limited (speed, ect...). I may follow your lead and send em that 1 mo. payment to test the waters. Then we can share experiences.
     
  2. nightrace

    nightrace Registered Member

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    VPNtunnel.se keeps logs on all their servers except Sweden.
    https://www.vpntunnel.se/en/privacypolicy.php

    PrivateVPN is a direct competitor to VPNtunnel.se. The main differences appear to be fewer members and a server in Switzerland. They keep logs on the US server.
    https://www.privatvpn.se/en/

    oVPN.to looks interesting. The last time I checked their site was in Ukraine, their news blog in Netherlands and their payment processing page in Russia. My guess is they are in Russia or Ukraine sitting behind some reverse proxies. I also noticed they advertise on malware forums.
    http://ovpn.to/

    in-Disguise. This is also probably Russian although their site is hosted in Luxembourg. Their price includes Double VPN but there is no mention of remote port forwarding.
    http://in-disguise.com/

    All the ones you mention are P2P friendly and support RPF. iVPN will enable it by request. AFAIK Mullvad was created in response to the crackdown on the Pirate Bay and appears to be run by genuine privacy activists. A good choice except all their servers are in Netherlands or Sweden.

    Why use a VPN service? Two reasons I can think of are (1) you live in a country that actively pursues downloaders (France, USA) AND you use public trackers AND you download popular new release titles, or (2) data retention laws. Maybe you frequent alternative news or "conspiracy theory" sites and don't want to be painted by prosecutors as a right wing nutjob who hates cops when under criminal investigation. Apart from these considerations all you are doing is shifting your trust from your ISP to another company.
     
  3. luciddream

    luciddream Registered Member

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    Or maybe neither of those scenarios are true and I simply feel I'm entitled to some privacy? Just like when I pull the blinds in my house. Maybe all I'm doing is watching movies, or want to be able to walk around in my underwear or scratch myself in random places without people looking at me. If my neighbors want to talk about me like I must be having wild orgies, or a terrorist just because I want some privacy then I'd say they must have some trust issues of their own to work out before passing judgment on me. I don't think anybody should have to justify or rationalize why they want privacy.

    I also think it's myopic to think "you have nothing to worry about unless you're breaking the law". That may have once been true, but these days, and especially since legislation like The Patriot Act, anyone can be a target. Simply for having an opinion that goes against the widely accepted propaganda, or not blindly believing what you see on your Fox News, you can be branded a "terrorist" now. Anyone can have their privacy invaded with no explanation needed. And even if all I'm doing is watching a Youtube video on paint drying I want my tracks to be covered just to spite this system and give it the middle finger. And I encourage everyone else to as well.

    And considering that my ISP is known for diming out people for using file sharing, or at least throttling/blocking them, and issue so-called "dynamic" IP address that NEVER change... I'll take my chances putting my trust in someone else.

    And before you ask why I don't pick another one... my other option where I live is a company that kept adding charges to my bill that shouldn't have been there, including some from 3'rd parties. After sitting on hold for an hour and finally talking to a real person, having them tell me they've resolved the issue, only to have the charge appear on my bill AGAIN the following month. Rinse... repeat. So I considered my new choice the lesser of 2 evils.

    I am of course referring to Comcast (the former), and Verizon (the latter). Those are the wonderful choices us Americans are given these days. It's no wonder so many of us are so willing to put our trust into the hands of others given such options.
     
  4. DasFox

    DasFox Registered Member

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    Yes there's a lot of information on the forum, but you need an objective and when you have one, then it's not as confusing, when you weed through those that might not meet your objective. So as example you want a p2p VPN, then it's easier to see that you wouldn't want to use someone that doesn't offer this service...

    Also if top security with privacy is your objective then you're not going to want to look at those that specialize in p2p and streaming, many of those sites typically target basic users that want to use p2p and watch videos while overseas. Then a good VPN that is also offering top level security isn't going to just stick you with only username and password authentication...

    Trust certainly is always an issue, but without some level of education and experience, you don't know the right questions to ask, the replies you should get and who is full of crap and who isn't. Perfect scenario, you're just looking for a good VPN and you ask them a question and their reply is, 'we don't even know what that is', well one response in your mind should be run as far and as fast as possible. Oh yes, I had a VPN tell me they didn't know what something was as it relates to OpenVPN security.

    You ask questions to get professional replies from people that seem to know what they are doing, not the usual BS, try it and see if you like it. Try what and see if you like what? Truth is there is no seeing and trying when it really comes to technology as it applies to knowing what is lying under the hood for your privacy, security and safety, so that is just another BS rubbish reply, so stay away from those VPNs...

    So really the bottom line here is EDUCATION, having what makes you feel comfortable to you, for your level of acceptance, otherwise you are really placing your trust in someone else and that's not a good thing.

    All anyone can really say is go slow, tread lightly and when you do make the jump in, hopefully you will have made a good choice, based on your education, experience and judgement...

    I've actually come up with lots of answers to VPNs you should stay away from and I might of mentioned some you can check out too, but I did certainly say to check out VPNs in Sweden because Sweden has a good history of Pirate fighters...

    So, as I stated earlier here, the KEY is --> OBJECTIVE!

    Mullvad, small VPN, doesn't seem to have a strong structure in place, more like a 1-2 man army is all, so you're placing your trust in something really small.

    IPredator, forget them, I contacted them 3 times and never once replied back and I was just asking them a simple question about their OpenVPN service, and they never once had the decency to reply. So unless they change their tune and learn to reply to people then forget them.

    iVPN, they answered a lot of questions and were willing to do so, so they struck a good feeling with me on that level, but they we also reluctant to give up any information about who they are. If you're claiming to have leading security professionals, then you shouldn't have any need to hide. 'Leading Security Professionals don't need to hide, if they do, something is wrong here and you're not so leading...

    As far as the others, VPNTunnel and Anonine, look back through the post, there's talks on them and Darknet VPN, which all seem to have some relation, or they are using the same VPN hosting in Sweden, possibly with all the hardware hosted at the link below;

    http://royal.pingdom.com/2008/11/14...ned-data-center-fit-for-a-james-bond-villain/

    If you're into P2P I'd check out Boleh VPN;

    http://www.bolehvpn.net/

    Remember, you're a customer and these VPN providers are suppose to be security professionals with the answers and like any business, they should be more then willing to answer your questions to get a feel for their level of professionalism and any company not willing, then you shouldn't bother, after all it's you're money and you deserve to know...
     
    Last edited: Aug 6, 2011
  5. luciddream

    luciddream Registered Member

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    Yeah, I read through that entire thread, and a few others on the subject. I eliminated a lot from contention. It's kind of hard living in the US, not wanting to use a VPN based in the US. I'd be sacrificing some speed. If Mullvad had some US servers they'd easily be my front runner right now. Being a small company isn't a bad thing to me, as long as their technology, implementation & customer service is sound.

    So I guess I'll be searching for a Swedish provider with US servers with a privacy policy (no logging) that suits me.

    When you mentioned that those 3 (VPNTunnel, Anonine, & Darknet) appear to be "linked"... were you implying that that's something to be cautious of?

    Appreciate all the help Das.


    ... also noticed that iVPN eludes to where their servers are located in the FAQ's, like it's a secret. I thought that was kind of strange. I mean this is something people want to know before dropping the coin. And they say they are "off-shore". Off what shore, exactly? Where?
     
    Last edited: Aug 7, 2011
  6. luciddream

    luciddream Registered Member

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    Just tried to trial Mullvad and got this error after install:

    "The TAP-Win32 virtual network adapter is missing. Restore it by running the installation program again (Quit the program first)."

    Needless to say, that didn't work. Should I install the OpenVPN client (which should contain that adapter), then reinstall Mullvad again? Don't know why I should have to do that though. The driver should be in the installation for Mullvad, shouldn't it?

    I posted this in the "problems" forum too, but thought this would cover more angles. Sorry for the redundancy.
     
  7. DasFox

    DasFox Registered Member

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    I've used servers close by me and then some half way around the world, distance isn't going to hurt anything, it all depends on the quality of service...

    Never mess with USA providers if you're going to get into P2P, after all RIAA, ring any bells? LOL...

    The 3 vpns possibly linked, well maybe just a front for each, maybe nothing at all. From what it looks like, they all rent their hardware or have their hardware hosted by one of Sweden's largest ISPs...
     
  8. luciddream

    luciddream Registered Member

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    It's funny. After reading all these threads/posts on the subject, I've still yet to see 1 person give a firm recommendation, like stake their reputation on it or something. There's tons of threads on security software where people swear on their mothers graves that such & such a product is the best thing since sliced bread, but when it comes to VPN's firm recommendations are like albatrosses.

    Just once I'd like to see a well respected member of the community say: "This is the one I use. It's great. I trust it with my life. Hardly any impact on speed. Great security & privacy. No logging. P2P friendly. Very professional outfit. Provide great support. Look no further!"

    But all you ever see instead is "here's one to look at"...

    Part of me thinks there's a holy grail VPN service out there, but those "in the know" keep it a secret so the servers don't get clogged up :ninja:
     
  9. luciddream

    luciddream Registered Member

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    Well I solved the adapter problem by installing it from the OpenVPN client first, then installing Mullvad. Shouldn't have to do this, though.

    But then I try to use Mullvad, and see the my subscription has expired already... even though I didn't even use it yet. Wow, that was fast!

    Not a good start. Back to the drawing board I guess...
     
  10. PRUHDG

    PRUHDG Registered Member

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    Isn't mullvad free.Download Plain OpenVPN then create account and it would generate a zipfile download it and place it in your openvpn config file.My only problem with it is its very difficult to disconnect.
     
  11. luciddream

    luciddream Registered Member

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    From what I see it's only free to try... and the trial only lets you test the installation, apparently, then ends.
     
  12. PRUHDG

    PRUHDG Registered Member

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    I guess that have to do with mullvad exe..On their site below that there is part marked plain openvpn that will generate zipfile.I have been testing this for two weeks with no stating of expiration because to my knowledge its free.
     
  13. luciddream

    luciddream Registered Member

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    Well I see a place on the site where they state it's 5 Euro's/month to buy. So I'm a bit confused now. Maybe there's a free version but it's limited in some way?

    Perhaps I just got a faulty Customer ID assigned or something. I'll try again.

    And I like the Mullvad GUI because there's an option in there to disconnect your internet connection automatically if the VPN connection drops. I only wanted the OpenVPN client for that adapter, because for some reason it wasn't installing right for me in the Mullvad install.

    Maybe all you're paying for in the paid version is the Mullvad GUI?
     
  14. PRUHDG

    PRUHDG Registered Member

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    I use vpncheck pro for that,It close out my browser/and diasble my network adaptar when there is a disconnection from my paid vpn service.

    I have no idea(my paid service is ibvpn),I was testing mullvad service,In which there server ip was from the Netherlands and from there connect to cocoon which provide a US ip.
     
  15. DasFox

    DasFox Registered Member

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    You don't want to use a VPN that tells you that you need to use their application...

    It could have some type of malware or backdoor that you'll never know about unless your highly experienced to deal with these things...

    You should only use the OpenVPN client, this way you always know for a fact, 100% what you're dealing with to ensure your safety.

    http://www.openvpn.net/index.php/open-source/downloads.html
     
  16. luciddream

    luciddream Registered Member

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    Well they're not telling you you have to use it, just offering it. It looked handy because of the easy disconnect feature. But it doesn't seem to work anyway. It tells me it's expired the moment I open it for the first time.

    I used the exact method PRUHDG described and OpenVPN isn't working for me. It gives me an error message that it can't reach Mullvad when I try to connect. I've made so many tweaks to Windows, and my router, it could be any number of things. Group/Local Policy tweaks, services disabled, NetBios over TCP/IP disabled, DHCP disabled... the list goes on and on. Maybe I made my computer too safe for my own good.
     
  17. J_L

    J_L Registered Member

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  18. nightrace

    nightrace Registered Member

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    If changing server locations is not important you might want to try nVpn -- non-EU servers, port forwarding, Liberty Reserve and an unbeatable price. Annual Shared IP works out to $2.50/month.
    http://nvpn.net/

    Anonyproz currently has 12 locations and a 50% discount which puts them on par with the €5 Swedish VPNs. Based in New Zealand and claims to automatically delete logs every 5 minutes.
    http://anonyproz.com/
     
  19. shadek

    shadek Registered Member

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    Go for https://www.anonine.com/en

    Less than €55 a year for a Open-VPN encrypted 2048 bit VPN... based in Sweden and logs nothing at all. I use it and it's super stable. Get around 8 mb/s down/upload throughput and I've had uptimes for more than 40 days.
     
  20. luciddream

    luciddream Registered Member

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    Well I got the OpenVPN to work. Some setting(s) I tweaked way back thinking "I'll never need this", that didn't really provide much of a benefit for security or resources, only headaches later on. A lesson learned.

    The problem I'm having now is frequent disconnects like every 15 min. frequent (using Mullvad), and it takes forever to acquire a network address (if it ever does). And I can't seem to get it to connect automatically at startup, even though I've followed the rules to a tee to do so. OpenVPN starts automatically, but it doesn't connect. I was thinking getting it to auto-connect may solve the network address problem.

    To anyone else that's tried Mullvad did you keep getting disconnected too? I wonder how typical this is of all VPN's. If so, that's just way too much of a headache for me.

    And has anyone else tried VPNCheck Pro? I can't find any feedback for it anywhere. I like to know I can trust software before installing it.
     
  21. luciddream

    luciddream Registered Member

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    shadek, Anonine was one toward the top of my list too, and hearing your experience (namely uptimes) makes it even higher. I saw you mention in another thread that you live in Sweden though. Would I be able to duplicate that feat living here in the US on a Swedish server? I know that while trialing Mullvad right now I'm continuously getting disconnected, using the OpenVPN client. I wonder also if other clients made specifically for/from the VPN providers work better?

    iVPN is very high on my list. Based off-shore in Malta, Italy. They have everything I'm looking for (server locations, P2P usage, good privacy, good reviews). And so far it appears good customer service as well. I emailed them with a few questions and they responded within 48 hours, answered all of my questions and were polite in doing so.

    I wonder if it's the OpenVPN client that's causing the disconnects and not Mullvad's servers? I noticed barely any decrease in surfing speed using a Netherlands server. And I like the option to disconnect the internet connection when the VPN connection drops right in the client. Without these disconnects, to me, Mullvad would be perfect. Maybe I'll send them the $ for 1 month, use their client, and see if the problem magically goes away.
     
  22. luciddream

    luciddream Registered Member

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    I notice when using my VPN connection that ports 113 & 443 are "closed" instead of "stealth". And I also fail the Echo Request test at GRC. I see that 113 is for IDENT, and 443 HTTPS. So I'm assuming these ports are necessary for the proper implementation of a VPN, perhaps for authentication & secure tunneling. And a ping needed to find my machine. Please correct me if I'm wrong... or explain more.

    Not saying it's a deal breaker, but I was unhappy to see it. Perhaps seeing all that green and a nice "Pass" has become a placebo effect for me over the years. I've seen several threads about those tests being FUD over the years. Is there anybody that really thinks I'm less secure as a result now? Perhaps this is one of those trade-offs between security & privacy I've heard about in other threads?

    Also is it commonplace for this to happen when you use VPN's?
     
    Last edited: Aug 14, 2011
  23. rudyl

    rudyl Registered Member

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    If the VPN service were working, GRC wouldn't be testing your computer. It would be testing the VPN service's exit node. So, which IP was it testing?
     
  24. overworkedmonkey

    overworkedmonkey Registered Member

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    How would you test the exist node's security? Also does anyone know if a unique port is assigned when connecting to iVPN as opposed to it being assigned statically? Assuming you were absolutely paranoid about security and anonymity, would connect to 1 VPN provider and then to another?
     
  25. traxx75

    traxx75 Registered Member

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    There are very few [if any] online services that properly test security. A basic portscan is almost useless and a DNS entropy test covers only one aspect. Short of performing a penetration test against the server, you'll just have to rely on the provider doing their job right.

    Did you mean dedicated vs shared IP rather than ports? From their FAQ:
    If you meant port forwarding then they also mention:
    Yep, if you were absolutely paranoid :) You would have to be dealing with a serious adversary to bother, though. Multiple providers, in different jurisdictions, would make it a lot harder for law enforcement/intelligence agencies to piece everything together. It won't really give you any extra protection against malicious hacker-y types, though, especially if it's already multi-hop.
     
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