not a problem. there are other reasons to use a VPN. However, 2
things I do when using google:
1. I am not signed in
2. I always use a VPN when searching.
Also, of late, I have been having some trust issues with my current ISP.
It seems that they sent me a notice of copyright infringement about
a shared file. only problem, I was not sharing anything. So, I had
to do a full blown security audit of my machines and network. I did,
eventually, found where the issue was (the Lingsys router I have
here had a security vulnerability that couldn't be easily closed. As
a result, one of my neighbors was using it to share files. so, even
though I had the thing password protected, it was still using a
number of items that made breaking the password trivially easy with
the right software. I finally managed to get a handle on the
situation by turning off the PIN the device had, turning off SSID
broadcast and engaging MAC filtering. I still can't completely trust
the device, so I use a VPN pretty much all the time now.
I am looking to upgrade the hardware though. A kit from Routerboard
that I can install an image of OpenBSD on would make things a lot
better here. THere are optional add-ons like WiFi B/G/A/N, a bridged
set of LAN ports, an all weather housing, etc. Once that is done and
installed, I can install the VPN package for OpenBSD on there, set
it up to handle that and not worry too much. Then, if I want to be
ultra secure, I would continue to use a VPN tunnel from my machine, thus
doubling the protection.
Now, as to why I would want to use a VPN for other than just security?
It's simple. there are some programs hosted on the web that might be
regionally restricted (like sports events). So, I would want to be
able to listen legally and not be caught up in a blackout zone.
Thus, VPN allows me to place my end point elsewhere (like NYC,
Sanfransisco, Detroit, Dallas, or even a foreign country). A VPN
also gets around what my ISP does when I am viewing something like
Hulu or Netflix (they try to lower the QoS for video streaming on
content that directly competes with their cable programming). With
a VPN, they can't see the type of traffic, so they can't change its
priority. They have yet to start doing so on encrypted tunnels.
Besides, I am paying for a specific level of service and I hate it
when the ISP decides that my traffic needs to be shaped. I don't
have video here, so I expect full service. btw, I have already filed
a number of complaints over this issue with both the FCC and the FTC.
each time, my service gets maxed out for a few months and then they start the
games again.
Now, I am paying for 50 megabit/second service here and when the VPN
is active, I can still get 40 through. Thats not bad, all things
considered. Since I started using the VPN a year ago, the bandwidth
shaping games have pretty much stopped. However, lately, I have been
catching RST packets being sent from 2 hops upstream from me. That
causes the VPN to drop and I have to reconnect. looks like its time
to complain again.
anyway, thats a lot of how and why I use one.
Is it more secure? yes.
is it absolutely secure? not a chance! A very determined hacker will
still be able to break it, but its enormously more difficult. He'll
just simply move on to an easier target.
-eric
On Apr 9, 2017, at 9:55 AM, Jonathan Cohn wrote:
Eric,
I just want to correct one thing. The elimination of the ISP can't
collect traffic rule here in the US essentially does not change
anything. Congress can not actually shutdown entire rules without
Agency changes unless they are brand new rules. The privacy rules
were I believe supposed to go into effect in June, and don't forget
even if those rules had gone into effect Google would still be
collecting and selling your data. In fact, be wary of any free or
very inexpensive internet based service, software does not just get
created out of thin air, companies pay good money for developers,
and disk space costs something too.
In fact one reason, congress did not like the new FCC rules was
that they only provided a that no equivalent protections of privacy
could be leveraged by the FCC over search engines, since the FCC
only regulates the pipes and the FTC would regulate other internet services.
Please forgive any specific inaccuracies in this post, I am going
off of materials I read in tidbits.com <http://tidbits.com/> and
severalpodcasts that I listened to over a week ago.
Best wishes,
Jonathan
On Apr 9, 2017, at 12:31 PM, Eric Oyen <[email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote:
well,
depending on whether you use a free or paid service will make a
difference in both service quality and setup. I use a paid service
myself. It's $7 a month and is fairly reliable. I have tried some
free services, but they are mostly hit and miss and are not always
as secure. the service I use is located here:
www.privateinternetaccess.com
<http://www.privateinternetaccess.com/>
and they have both client software or you can setup manually.
Unfortunately, their cliente for the mac is not accessible, so I
use a manual setup in the preferences pane. It works reasonably
well. I have also done the manual setup in windows 7. This has
allowed me to be able to have dropbox and a few other services
when I am behind a firewall (like over at Voc rehab) THeir IT
folks have gotten on my case more than once, until I pointed out
to them that their own policy does not forbid the use of a vpn (it
does, however, forbid the use of sharing services that are
unprotected on their networks). I even had one of them try to
break into my machine (at my request) and they found it well nigh
impossible. I had the firewall on that win 7 box setup so that
only traffic on the VPN was allowed in or out and everything else
got dropped. That took a lot of heavy customization on my part to make it work.
so, if you want to run a VPN, which these days is pretty much
going to be a must now that ISP's aren't required to keep your
info private, it is highly recommended.. btw, a lot of the free
vpn services are not all that bandwidth friendly. thats why I use
the service I do. they can support up to 20 Mbits/sec. for what I
do, thats a must have.
-eric
On Apr 9, 2017, at 9:17 AM, E.T. wrote:
The recent discussion about VPN got me interested but I was not
ready to look into it at the time.
I know the setup is done in Network prefs but where does one get
information on VPN servers etc.? Thanks.
From E.T.'s Keyboard. . .
"God for you is where you sweep away all the mysteries of the
world, all the challenges to our intelligence. You simply turn
your mind off and say God did it." --Carl Sagan
E-mail: [email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]>
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