Privacy on a shared home network.

So basically where I live we have 3 people all sharing a comcast wifi connection. My computer in not the one with the router. Most of the info I have found on the net has to do with preventing unauthorized people from using your wireless connection, but what I want to know is how do I protect my privacy from the people that are authorized to use the connection. I want what I do online to be private. I'm not talking about doing anything illegal here, but honestly I dont want my roomates, who are girls, (I am a guy,) to be judging me if I happen to want to check out some "adult websites" from time to time. kind of funny, i know. so what do i need to do?

 

A VPN will create an encrypted connection between you and your computer. Not even Comcast will be able to see what you are doing or what websites you go to. Xerobank is my VPN. There is also Cryptohippie. And http://www.shadowvpn.com/ runs on the Xerobank network. It is a one hop VPN for only $10 a month.

Sandboxie will prevent anything from being saved on your computer. The only thing that it leaves is a little dat file and you can go into settings and add Eraser to it so that the dat file is completely wiped. Most people use Sandboxie to sandbox their browsing. If you get some type of malware it will disappear when you delete the Sandbox. http://www.sandboxie.com/ And it's free!

Returnil is another free software that will protect you. It creates a virtual copy of your operating system. So when you restart your computer, everything returns to the exact same state that it was before you turned it on. Nothing is saved. So any bookmarks you add will be gone, and music that you download will be gone, and if you delete any files, they will be back once you restart. So if you download like I do, hook up an external hard drive and move the files before you restart. *Or*... just do your downloading with Returnil disabled. Then re-ebaled.

Other than that, unless someone has already installed a keylogger or something, no one will have any way of knowing what you look at or who you talk to, or what you have talked about. If you are worried about a keylogger, just reinstall the OS. Run BCwipe to wipe the hard drive first.

With Returnil, if you have it set to stay enabled on restart, even if someone installs a keylogger while you are gone, it will disappear upon restart unless they know how to disable Returnil. I keep mine enabled except for when I want to make a change or do some updates. After that I set it to stay on again.

One more thing: If you want to save some adult material, just download and install TrueCrypt. It is another free service. They have a tutorial on their website. I learned how to make a TrueCrypt volume in about 5 minutes. A "volume" is a folder you can make it any size you want. 300 G's if you want. the truecrypt folder just looks like a little document until you open it. And you use it like any other folder. You can move files in and out etc... You can place it in a folder with some other documents. Don't do it will Returnil enabled though unless it is on an external HD.

See the file labled kjklsd15? That is a truecrypt folder. It could be 500 G's for all you know.

 

thx for the info, I will try using a vpn and see how it works. So basically it seems that with a vpn the only way to see what my online activity is is through my own computer? thx again.

 

Also, the VPN service you use will know or can add advertisments or track your access to sites. You just have to trust the VPN service you use. The VPN may also slow down your access throughput.

 

Hi


Wouldn't just using InPrivate Browsing be enough?
IE8
Firefox
Opera
All have an InPrivate browsing mode

Zeena

 

Since someone else controls the router, they could log access sites and if they use a sniffer like wireshark they could get an idea of all traffic unless it is encrypted over the LAN. It's and untrusted LAN just like a hotspot at the local cafe.

 

I ended up going with vpnprivacy. It seems to work pretty good and it isnt slow or anything but the thing is is how would i even know its working? Hopefully its a decent service.

 

You can verify if it is working by checking your IP address from a page like this:
http://whatismyipaddress.com/

An IP address is like a phone number attached to your computer, that typically changes whenever you restart your router/connect to a new connection.

I would presume that some kind of software has been provided for you to easily enable/disable the VPN connection. First, check your IP address with the VPN disabled. Note down the address. Then, enable your VPN and check it again. The address displayed now should be different from your original address, otherwise it is highly likely that you aren't connected via VPN at all.

A more detailed, but somewhat more complex solution can be found here:
https://sales.hotspotvpn.com/helpdesk/issue_view.asp?ID=133&CATE=1

A caveat to all of the solutions as described above assumes that your VPN client is properly implemented and actually encrypts all the data leaving your computer. Otherwise, you'd be sending your data through the VPN unencrypted which defeats the purpose of having a VPN at all. Not having used VPN PRIVACY, I can't vouch for them, and there doesn't seem to be any documentation about how their product works on their site either. Perhaps someone who has used their product could shed some light on this?

 

I checked the ip and it is different. So basically now in my system tray I have my normal wireless internet connection active and there is now another one next to in that is the vpn that is active when i log in to it. I just dont understand how my traffic on my computer is any different then the other computers hooked up to our router. I gotta read up on this some more. thanks all.

 

I have read about VPNs here at Wilders that change your IP but do *NOT* encrypt your connection. The only VPNs that I would trust right now are Xerobank, Cryptohippie, and shadowVPN.

 

Yea, that was what I was afraid his solution might not implement properly, as I wrote "A caveat to all of the solutions as described above assumes that your VPN client is properly implemented and actually encrypts all the data leaving your computer. Otherwise, you'd be sending your data through the VPN unencrypted which defeats the purpose of having a VPN at all." at the bottom of my post.

HotspotVPN is a another viable VPN operator should you decide to switch (USD10.88/mth), a company which I have used before and found it to be quite reliable (may experience slightly laggier connection, but perhaps due to my geographical location from the servers in US). It has been recommended by security experts on the talkshow Security Now!, so it is probably properly implemented.