VPNs and hiding your internet activity

[gunsnetadmin]

There was a thread here, I forget where but some of you folks talked about obfuscating your internet activity. On this site we have all ranges of IT smarts here, so I'll start with the basics.

One of the things some people do, for example, is use their browser in "Private Mode". That does 0. No obfuscation. It just doesnt save cookies, browsing activity, searches on your browser's cache locally etc. Whats it good for? If you dont want your significant other knowing you're looking at nudie pics, thats pretty much it.

Ok, what about hidemyass.com? No. They are one of the WORST offenders when it comes to reporting activity to the NSA.

What the hell is there to do? Use a VPN. Period.

What a VPN does is create an "encrypted tunnel" from you to your chosen VPN provider's servers. When you send out an internet request, for example, to go to a certain site, or to download pirated content, it gets redirected to their VPN servers instead of going thru public servers. The key to choosing a good VPN provider is one that does not keep logs/has no data retention policy. You're basically trusting that they say they dont keep logs. The one I use is privateinternetaccess.com. Its $39/yr...they have Linux, OSX, Android, iPhone and even the inferior Windows operating system client software. Easy as hell to configure. I'm connected to my phone now and going thru PIA's VPN, encrypted.

Figured I'd throw it out there.. tinfoil hats everyone...

[El Jefe]

There was a thread here, I forget where but some of you folks talked about obfuscating your internet activity. On this site we have all ranges of IT smarts here, so I'll start with the basics.

One of the things some people do, for example, is use their browser in "Private Mode". That does 0. No obfuscation. It just doesnt save cookies, browsing activity, searches on your browser's cache locally etc. Whats it good for? If you dont want your significant other knowing you're looking at nudie pics, thats pretty much it.

Ok, what about hidemyass.com? No. They are one of the WORST offenders when it comes to reporting activity to the NSA.

What the hell is there to do? Use a VPN. Period.

What a VPN does is create an "encrypted tunnel" from you to your chosen VPN provider's servers. When you send out an internet request, for example, to go to a certain site, or to download pirated content, it gets redirected to their VPN servers instead of going thru public servers. The key to choosing a good VPN provider is one that does not keep logs/has no data retention policy. You're basically trusting that they say they dont keep logs. The one I use is privateinternetaccess.com. Its $39/yr...they have Linux, OSX, Android, iPhone and even the inferior Windows operating system client software. Easy as hell to configure. I'm connected to my phone now and going thru PIA's VPN, encrypted.

Figured I'd throw it out there.. tinfoil hats everyone...

Interesting. Alex, could you take a peak at the avatar feature? It seems to be broken. Thanks.

[gunsnetadmin]

Interesting. Alex, could you take a peak at the avatar feature? It seems to be broken. Thanks.

:-|

What is it not doing?

[El Jefe]

:-|

What is it not doing?

You can't change your avatar, even if the file is properly sized.

[raxar]

:-|

What is it not doing?

It makes me look fat.

[1 Patriot-of-many]

It makes me look fat. LMAO.....

[Pat Garrett]

Why would anyone want to obfuscate their internet activity???? If I didn't want someone to know my opinion, I wouldn't post it on a public forum.

Maybe I'm not "tech savvy" enough and I'm missing something????

[ready]

Same reason you close your curtains.

[gunsnetadmin]

Why would anyone want to obfuscate their internet activity???? If I didn't want someone to know my opinion, I wouldn't post it on a public forum.

Maybe I'm not "tech savvy" enough and I'm missing something????

Thats completely not what I'm talking about. What I'm talking about is..when you go to any site, server, download software, pics, whatever.. its all logged. If any govt agency wants it, most likely, they ask for it and get more info than they really wanted. What I'm talking about is making it much more difficult on anyone to get any information on your internet activity...in a nutshell.

[rci2950]

use TOR

[gunsnetadmin]

use TOR

for browsing, thats cool. I used to use it, but I would not run any other traffic thru it because it would be abusing something given to me for free. I dont mind paying a few bucks for a good service.

[nfa1934]

Why would anyone want to obfuscate their internet activity????

Comments like this really aren't helping alleviate some of the suspicions regarding you.

[gunsnetadmin]

You can't change your avatar, even if the file is properly sized.

try again.

[El Jefe]

try again.

I'll do it. Thanks.

[El Jefe]

Alex, if your still here, how does one change their moniker?

Also, did you guys receive my membership upgrade funds? I'm just wanting to be sure it went through properly.

[Oswald Bastable]

For anyone looking for a vpn, I can highly recommend these guys: https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/

Reasonably priced too.

[El Jefe]

For anyone looking for a vpn, I can highly recommend these guys: https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/

Reasonably priced too.

This is probably a dumb question; does use of one of these services complicate moving around on the web? I have no idea how something like this works obviously.

Oh, my new router was DOA, I've got to send it back. Go figure.

[Oswald Bastable]

This is probably a dumb question; does use of one of these services complicate moving around on the web? I have no idea how something like this works obviously.

Oh, my new router was DOA, I've got to send it back. Go figure.

Nope...you boot up and the software automatically connects and establishes the vpn tunnel, browsing is as normal unless you're using a server from oversees. It may be a bit slower, depending on where you're connecting from, but if your connection is generally fairly speedy, you should hardly notice. The way it works, the vpn establishes an encrypted tunnel to the server you've selected to connect to (say one in Belgium)...once the connection is established it appears to anyone tracking you that you're surfing the net from Belgium. You can set it up such that your IP is not reported until that vpn tunnel is established, so no one can tell you're on the net until that vpn connection is set up.

Of course, surfing from Belgium will be quite a bit slower than from, say, Canada. :)

[El Jefe]

Nope...you boot up and the software automatically connects and establishes the vpn tunnel, browsing is as normal unless you're using a server from oversees. It may be a bit slower, depending on where you're connecting from, but if your connection is generally fairly speedy, you should hardly notice. The way it works, the vpn establishes an encrypted tunnel to the server you've selected to connect to (say one in Belgium)...once the connection is established it appears to anyone tracking you that you're surfing the net from Belgium. You can set it up such that your IP is not reported until that vpn tunnel is established, so no one can tell you're on the net until that vpn connection is set up.

Of course, surfing from Belgium will be quite a bit slower than from, say, Canada. :)

Very interesting. :think:

[btcave]

I've been using TOR sometimes as well.

[l921428x]

It makes me look fat.

you are fat

[Pat Garrett]

nfa,

I don't have any suspicions about you. I KNOW you're paranoid. So that's why I could give a shit less what you think.

[sevlex]

Vpn is handy if you are torrenting.

[El Jefe]

Vpn is handy if you are torrenting.

But the Silk Road is toast! ;)

[sevlex]

Bittorrent is unrelated to Silk Road.

:coffee:

[El Jefe]

Bittorrent is unrelated to Silk Road.

:coffee:

Sure, I'd say that too. ;)

[sevlex]

Sure, I'd say that too. ;)


Hey! Silk Road is about buying contraband. Torrent is all about pr0n!

:naughty:

[FunkyPertwee]

Why would anyone want to obfuscate their internet activity???? If I didn't want someone to know my opinion, I wouldn't post it on a public forum.

Maybe I'm not "tech savvy" enough and I'm missing something????

Of course you don't get why we would want to prevent the Federal government from spying on us.

The rest of us don't love big brother, and it doesn't make us feel any safer or happier to have them read our emails.

[nfa1934]

nfa,

I don't have any suspicions about you. I KNOW you're paranoid. So that's why I could give a shit less what you think.

You give enough of a shit to post a response.

[El Jefe]

Hey! Silk Road is about buying contraband. Torrent is all about pr0n!

:naughty:

I know, I'm just bustin on ya. ;)

[jet3534]

I've been using TOR sometimes as well.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/oct/04/tor-attacks-nsa-users-online-anonymity

[Pat Garrett]

Of course you don't get why we would want to prevent the Federal government from spying on us.

The rest of us don't love big brother, and it doesn't make us feel any safer or happier to have them read our emails.



Funky, I've always been tech savvy enough to believe that anything you post on the internet, tweet, or say on the telephone is subject to monitoring.
Hell, it might just be a bored telephone company employee listening. But there is ALWAYS a possibility of someone listening/reading etc. Radio shack has scanners that can monitor cell phones with only minor modification.

Anything I want to keep private, I say it face to face or in a sealed letter. Anyone with any common sense isn't going to say or write anything incriminating or particularly private on the telephone or internet. At the least get encryption software if you're letting out private info.

Wake up, man. This is nothing new. Even if no one is doing it illegally, it's not hard at all to get a warrant for a wiretap and do it legally.

And ever heard of "Echelon?" Yeah, it's for real no matter how much the government denies it. And it goes back to the Jimmy Carter era, al least. Maybe even to LBJ.

[gunsnetadmin]

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/oct/04/tor-attacks-nsa-users-online-anonymity


meh. not worried about it. Sounds like they're trying to exploit the OS or flaws in flash/java and/or a stupid user, not Tor itself.

[was_peacemaker]

This thread reminds me of why I crashed and burned so badly in Cisco class.

[Oswald Bastable]

Funky, I've always been tech savvy enough to believe that anything you post on the internet, tweet, or say on the telephone is subject to monitoring.

But apparently you've never been freedom savvy enough to ask why it should be so, or wonder if it doesn't violate all precedents of the 4th.

And because of that, you're obviously a big brother troll.

[Pat Garrett]

But apparently you've never been freedom savvy enough to ask why it should be so, or wonder if it doesn't violate all precedents of the 4th.

And because of that, you're obviously a big brother troll.

I think it's quite a stretch for someone like you to call anyone a troll.:laughingtohard::laughingtohard:

When you grow up a little, you may come to realize that your childhood idealism doesn't work very well in the real grown-up world.

[Oswald Bastable]

I think it's quite a stretch for someone like you to call anyone a troll.:laughingtohard::laughingtohard:

When you grow up a little, you may come to realize that your childhood idealism doesn't work very well in the real grown-up world.

All truths work well in the real world. It is the vile and unconscionable such as yourself who attempt to pervert them to your own ends. You suggest I need to grow up? I suggest you need to find a bit of humanity within your contempt for man.

[gunsnetadmin]

Interesting how my VPN thread turns into a fucking trainwreck. Time to start deleting fucking posts.

[ready]

Interesting how my VPN thread turns into a fucking trainwreck. Time to start deleting fucking posts.

Have you been reading threads lately?

[gunsnetadmin]

Have you been reading threads lately?

I rarely if ever read anything on GunsNet. I just show up, let everyone know I'm patching, make sure it still works after patching, then I'm gone. I know there's a few trolls on the board but I figured anything privacy related would be safe from even them.

[Oswald Bastable]

Interesting how my VPN thread turns into a fucking trainwreck. Time to start deleting fucking posts.

Might want to take a look at who was prying up the track to cause that wreck. It will give you some insight as to much of what goes on in threads turned sideways.