I stay away from services that require additional software or special dialers to connect. It means that I can only use them on machines where I have installed it, which may not always be the case. And I wouldn't let any software made by some shady group in Russia within 10 feet of my PC. That's just asking for trouble. Besides, if you're really being paranoid, unless the dialer is open source how do you know it doesn't have a backdoor?
If you're really paranoid about this there's another service called Relakks<https://www.relakks.com/?lang=eng&cid=gb>that I have used as well. From their legal FAQ: "For security reasons RELAKKS do not use any American software neither for encryption nor for any other part (we anticipate that most users will in spite of that use an American OS), but there is noting stopping an advanced user from accessing RELAKKS with a more secure operating system or use a specific VPN-client. Not that this is not at the moment supported by RELAKKS customer care. * *ELAKKS Safe Surf enjoys the strongest legal protection possible under Swedish Law because of the service type (pre-paid flat-rate service). This means that RELAKKS do not have to keep an ordinary customer database (to be able handle transactions etc.). This is of importance if forced to hand over information. If Swedish authorities can prove beyond reasonable doubt that they have a case for demanding subscription information from RELAKKS (they have to be of the opinion that if convicted the user will be imprisoned – fined not enough). . RELAKKS then have to hand over the subscription information entered by you (but that’s all). RELAKKS do not store any subscription information about you except what you entered yourself when signing up for the RELAKKS Safe Surf service." TOR is on paper the best bet for anonymously routing but it does have issues. For one, it can be excruciatingly slow because of the number of addition hops and encryption/decryptions that each packet needs to undertake. Plus, it is not entirely secure. Gov't types have been known to operate their own TOR routers and if your data exists one of those they can do some interesting packet analysis, especially if they are also watching the packet traffic between your machine and the beginning of the TOR network. TOR has basically made itself a very inviting target, which usually means it's just a matter of time before weaknesses are found. For more on TOR I highly recommend this Security Now! episode: http://www.grc.com/sn/sn-070.htm Also, please remember that none of these VPN or proxy services are encrypting the basic data. If you're using a VPN, the traffic between your machine and the VPN network is encrypted, but then it's decrypted and dropped on the net. The only way to counter this is either make sure you are talking to the final destination using https or self-encrypting your data. --------------------------- Brian Weeden Technical Advisor Secure World Foundation <http://www.secureworldfoundation.org> +1 (514) 466-2756 Canada +1 (202) 683-8534 US On Sun, Aug 16, 2009 at 8:31 PM, Jeff Lane <[email protected]> wrote: > Bill, > > You bring up a great point. That is one very important thing that > CovertSurfer does, or I should say does not, do. I talked with the owner, > and as he said, and they publish, they do not know where you are going or > what you do. They do this so they cannot be subpoenaed against their > clients. They keep NO records. I wondered about SwissVPN, as well, because > they use standard browsers, CovertSurfer uses their own plug-in, which > could > leave the user open in some way. I originally subscribed to an outfit that > was run by Russians. They had a client forum, which was a good idea, but it > created a lot of problems for them. They were being hacked by ISP's and the > movie/music Gestapo. They weren't furnishing any good answers which was > costing them customers. > > Jeff > > > Sent: Sunday, August 16, 2009 4:39 PM > Subject: Re: [H] mask your IP with a changing one > > > You have to determine whether it is privacy you want, or anomymity. And > what > you seem to be seeking is anonymity. Only you can answer: anonymity from > whom? That will ultimately determine your choice. > > Tor might certainly fit the bill. It will achieve exactly what you need. > And > it's free. > > Personally, technically sound as they are, I would not touch SwissVPN. Read > their privacy policy. AFAIK, they will log your traffic. Your IP, indeed > will be masked from your destination. But SwissVPN will probably know who > you are and where you're connecting from. And that means your anonymity is > hosed. Switzerland may also be a data retention country, but I'm not > certain. Also SwissVPN is a single-hop proxy. > > Now if these aren't major concerns then go with them. > > As far as I'm concerned, the cream of the crop these days is Xerobank. > http://www. xerobank.com. They are pricey but offer close to the ultimate > in > anonymous communications. > > Bill > Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry > > -----Original Message----- > From: Brian Weeden <[email protected]> > > Date: Sun, 16 Aug 2009 18:46:50 > To: <[email protected]> > Subject: Re: [H] mask your IP with a changing one > > > Another option is to use a service like Swiss VPN. They give you a VPN > tunnel from your PC to their network. Then they swap your IP for one of > theirs and that is the IP that is out connecting to other machines and > websites. As far as anyone can tell, you're coming from Switzerland. I > think you get a different IP each time you connect/disconnect the service > but they are probably all coming from the same pool. There is a monthly > fee > but it's not too bad and well worth it if this is something important to > you: > > http://www.swissvpn.net/ > > I use them whenever I am traveling or working from open WiFI hotpots. > > --------------------------- > Brian Weeden > Technical Advisor > Secure World Foundation <http://www.secureworldfoundation.org> > +1 (514) 466-2756 Canada > +1 (202) 683-8534 US > > > On Sun, Aug 16, 2009 at 6:29 PM, Jeff Lane <[email protected]> wrote: > > > I use CovertSurfer. You use their proxy servers and no one knows, > > including > > your ISP, where you are or what you are doing. All your ISP knows is that > > you are online. It even has a neat little box that tells you what others > > can > > see and it shows the outgoing IP. Where you have been doesn't even show > up > > in your Temp Internet Files folder, even if you are on there for hours. > > You > > get NO cookies of any kind regardless of your settings and it has never > > affected a site that requires them. I've used it for 4 months now and am > > very happy with it. The that owns the site is in Florida and is a > disabled > > vet and seems like a great guy. > > > > www.covertsurfer.com > > > > Jeff > > > > BTW....I am just a subscriber and have no other interest in the site > > whatsoever. > > > > > > > > Sent: Sunday, August 16, 2009 2:58 PM > > Subject: Re: [H] mask your IP with a changing one > > > > > > At 02:51 PM 8/16/2009, you wrote: > > >Sounds like you want an Onion Proxy > > > > I don't think so because it strips the IP. I want to hide it but > > replace it with a random IP address. > > > > > > > >
