Post: #51

Help me Jesus...help me Tom Cruise....

I can't put money in my account that I have access to while abroad cause my VPN stopped working. Soon I will have to stop sucking dick for free and start charging an I may end up losing some of my most well endowed customers.

So here is the deal... months and months ago my internet would only work with if my VPN was turned on. Without it turned on I couldn't connect to the internet. Which was really no problem I just always used the VPN. Now however my internet works without the VPN but not with the VPN. I'm not good with computers, technology, basic math, or human decency. I'm not sure how to fix this problem which is now a YUGE problem cause I want to leave the Ukraine this week but can't sign into my banking website or app from the Ukraine.

My VPN is paid for Astrill account if that matters.

Post: #52

Lets assume that I am in Canada. I want to use software that is allowed in the USA, but the software makers don't allow Canadians to use. If the software makers catch me using this software in Canada, or using a VPN service to use this software, they will ban me from using the software, and it will cost me a lot of money.

Are these pay VPNs such as privateinternetaccess.com strong enough that the software maker wont be able to tell that I am on a VPN? Also, it would be very bad if the VPN crashed or whatever, and the software connected from my Canadian IP address. Is there a option to have my internet not reconnect, if the VPN goes down?

Post: #53

If I remember correctly, there is an option in PIA to not allow any connections if the vpn is disconnected.

Post: #54

How can we access USA Netflix from abroad? Does anyone know?

Post: #55

Creepin, it could be a number of things, and it depends on what OS you are running as the setup is different on all of them. If it were me, instead of trying to find what has gone wrong I would just delete the configurations or the app, return all your OS's network settings to default, then reconfigure/reinstall Astrill following the current instructions.

Or, they offer phone and skype support, and have a live chat support if you look down in the bottom right corner. It might be something they could help you get straightened out in 5 minutes, worth a try.

Post: #56

Thanks for all help brothers. A friend walked me through some things and then I deleted my old and new VPN and reinstalled the new VPN an now we are back in business.

Time to book a flight out of the cold dark (but till awesome) Ukraine!

Post: #57

(12-01-2016 12:49 AM)MCMV Wrote:  How can we access USA Netflix from abroad? Does anyone know?

I would think that connecting to a US server on you're VPN would bring US netflix up by default...

Post: #58

Been messing about with VPNs again lately due to the fascist/totalitarian laws that have come in to the UK that make the Stasi look like rank amateurs. But more of that later...

So, what do you do if you live in the UK or any other place in the world with total surveillance on your communications? What if you don't want your next door neighbour (who works for the council or perhaps any other random job) that now has full access to your internet history, recorded in totality, in perpetuum via your ISP, without you knowing, via gag laws and secret courts full of people who make secret decisions about our everyday lives? Politicians are exempt of course. Wouldn't want to see their love for Pizza pr()n now would we?

So you decide to take the big leap. Get VPN'd up to the eyeballs. Okay, it's gonna cost you a fiver a month on top of that internet connection you already pay for. But do you really want Mrs. Marple at no. 56 who volunteers as a mental health therapist (cos her life is so miserable and other people's misery is her 'porn') and who is known to have a rather large mouth, knowing, that you, in fact, are a lover of a combination of pink frilly nighties and orange marmalade? I have said too much. Perversions changed to protect the innocent...

Who is this little micro data-sheet for? Well, it's for anyone who wants to kick against the pricks just a little bit - shits and giggles as they say. It won't protect you from doing anything illegal (not until you get really good at it anyway), and it's best you don't, anyway, but it will stop the government spying on you, and worse, sharing and disseminating that information with your neighbours, that you don't know, but sure as fuck now you! There are also other benefits as well, that I will point out.

I'm doing this as a kind of general 'how to' guide for total noobs who want some real privacy/anonymity in their lives, but you will need to be fairly tech savvy to do this. I'm pretty sure the vast majority of RVF users will find this useful and not beyond their ken. (please note: anonymity is not privacy and vice versa, though there is overlap - this is vital to understand)


Please excuse me for splitting up some of the posts as I'm having a nightmare with the captcha system and I like to format my posts properly before posting them. Captcha makes that much more difficult with long posts. If there is enough interest, I will do a proper Data Sheet for any noob that wants to get covered. I'm just going to wing it for now, and lay down some bare bones that anyone should be able to follow, to be fleshed out later on, by myself or the many others more knowledgeable than me on this very website. I welcome any feedback or pointing out of mistakes...

Post: #59

Ok, first of all you need to understand why you need to use a VPN, and you need to understand what a VPN is and what it can and can NOT do. I am assuming you have reached that level if you are reading this post. If not, I will link to the most important resource I have found on all of this. That is right, for nothing, I am willing to share with you my hard earned secrets, nights spent in toil trying to understand this very subject, and I give it away for nothing to you, just because I'm a good egg!

This is that one website:
https://thatoneprivacysite.net/

Read it and understand the shenanigans that go on when any noob first searches for 'best vpn', top 10 vpn' etc.

Also on this site you will find extremely detailed comparison charts between the different vpns and you will also find basic comparison charts to get you going. You will also get help in finding which vpn is right for you! Priceless.

I'll be referring a lot more to that one privacy site - be warned. It is the root of knowledge on this subject that consolidates (at least) my hard work. I wish I had found it when I first started getting in to this, and not at the end. But there ya go.

Basically, this is internet business, and internet business is well shady. Don't trust anyone, and learn to ask questions. You really need to get your shit together here to do this. It's not even a case of spending more money - you will need to spend some - but you will need to do the whole diligence bit yourselves. No shortcuts with this.

This is a very serious game we are playing, and the worst thing in the world is for you to think 'oh, I have a vpn setup, I am totally anonymous and can do what I want'. Wrong. Once you get a vpn set up, that is the easy part, next comes the testing. Fortunately for you, I will share my easy to learn tips, presented in an amiable fashion, free of charge, to you, just for shits and giggles...

Ok, enough of the fun stuff, it's time to roll up the old sleeves, and I'm going to get down to it in the next post and show you some tools (for both Linux and Windows) that will help you build confidence in testing your system, so you can deploy your vpn with confidence...

Post: #60

Ok, so you know what a vpn is and what it is for. You know what it can and can't do. You have checked that one privacy site to make a (fairly) up to date comparison of all the different vpn vendors, and you will have chose one to suit your needs. This should have taken you a few hours at least if you are a noob. Factor in greater time searching for deals (there are always good deals in vpn land) if you are a cheap skate or just short of cash.

For expample, PureVPN are doing a little deal:
https://www.purevpn.com/new-year-deal

I am not endorsing them. I am not saying they are right for you. I am merely using an example. This is typical of VPN land, so if you really need to save cash, there are alternatives.

Also, when you get down to it, one VPN will not be enough for you - not when you get into it seriously. You will want at least two, but more of that later. I just want to point out, I am not affiliated in any way with any vpn or commercial entity. If I am I will point it out. I also don't take responsibility for you not doing your homework properly.

So, you have your VPN and now comes the daunting task of setting it up. I will use an example VPN that I have experience with, and that I do in fact recommend (without any comebacks). This is a good example VPN to use because I will show you how to set it up, not just in Windows, but also if you use Linux as well. I will again be working at the total novice level with regard to VPNs but I expect you to be tech savvy.

Right.

Now the first thing you need to do is fire up a command shell and do a ping to a well known web site that is always up (google is good for this and they do not prosecute random pings as 'port-scanning').

The ip address of google dns servers are '8.8.8.8' - ping that.

To do this you will need to fire up a command prompt: Start>Accessories>Command Prompt, for windows. Or fire up a Terminal in Linux.

I am using Linux Mint 17.3 Rosa (LTS) that is based on Ubuntu 14.04 and I know it works coz I tested it tonight. Very good and very simple.

So, in Windows in the command shell you type: 'ping 8.8.8.8' and see what it returns. In Linux, you type in to the terminal: 'ping 8.8.8.8 -c5' this will ping the server 5 times as opposed to the standard 4 that windows does.

You want to see what your ping times are in ms (Milliseconds).

Durrr.. why are we doing this technical shit rigsby I just wanna set up muh vee pee En and get trolling...

Ah, I'm glad you asked. We are doing this to make sure we have things working properly, and that we can trust the vpn when we finally get it set up.

So, durr, how do we get it set up?

Glad you asked that as well. Next post shows you how to do it on both Windows and Linux.

But before you get to the starting point, please fulfill this one pre-requisite: It is important for you to know what the ping times are from you normal paid for ISP. For example, mine are around 30ms when I ping googles servers. That is a benchmark. When you go through a vpn you are being routed through at least another server and sometimes two or more at other ends of the planet, so ping times will take a major noticeable hit. This is good, it gives us feedback as to when our vpn is working and we can shitpost, or when we are dropped to our normal ISP and we have to be good little boys. We will use this tool throughout. Do not progress to the next stage until you can do this and understand why we are doing it.

Talking of dropped connections, I will explain why you need to choose your VPN vendor very carefully, also in the next post.

Post: #61

Right, we are just about to set our VPN up, but first of all we need to check and double-check that we have a 'good one' for our purposes.

One thing to look for in VPNs before splashing the cash (if you are a noob), or rather TWO things to look for, are:
1: A Kill Switch for dropped connections.
2: The ability to stop DNS Leaks.

For this purpose we will be using Mullvad vpn (A Swedish vpn provider), which provides both services built in to their client (the software you download to get things set up).

https://mullvad.net/

Mullvad are a reputable company, and they only charge about a fiver a month (so not cheap, but not expensive). They also tick many other boxes. But I am not endorsing them FOR YOU. But they work for me and I can't think of a better example to get working quickly in both Windows and Linux. You get 3 hours to test which is stingy as fuck, but it should be enough time to see if it works or not. They aren't my main vpn, but they are the easiest to set up on both win and linux, so I am using them here. No affiliation what so ever.

A quick bit of background of why we need a 'Kill switch' and 'DNS leak protection'.

Many VPNs do not have this feature, and for whatever reason when your connection is lost to the vpn, the way networking works on most systems dictates that it will then revert to your standard ISP with your standard IP shown to the world. In fact you can have everything working perfectly and still leak your IP to the world, via WebRTC, but more on that later.

Three bogie men to watch out for:
1: Protection against dropped connections via a kill switch.
2: Making sure that WebRTC is turned off in your particular browser.
3: Disabling of WebGL.

We will cover these later in more depth, but let's just get that god damned VPN set up ah rigsby!

So, you have gone to Mullvad's website and followed the instructions - you have downloaded their client (gui) for your particular OS which will allow you to select options and select servers from all over the planet. You can do this in both windows and linux, but we will start with windows.

You install the client, you select: 'Block the internet on connection failure' - this is your kill switch for dropped connections. You also select to 'protect against Dns leaks'. All good.

When you have it installed it will as you to run it. Go ahead.

Now, time to get checking, checking, checking: fire up your command shell and your pings. What are they saying? Pretty soon, they should stop working all together giving all kinds of errors such as general connection failures etc. - all good. When Mullvad VPN starts it should kill your normal connection totally.

Give it some time - perhaps a few minutes. Let it find the connection. On windows mine takes ages but on linux it takes seconds. Still pinging? Good! Now you will see when mullvad connects you will be connect to the internet, but your ping times should be noticably worse. This is good and to be expected. It will not affect general internet performance unless doing real time gaming or other some such stuff.

Bingo! We are live. We got our vpn up and working and we are ready to rock. But we need to make a few more tests first. We know the vpn is working, but we are not sure about other stuff that betrays our true identity to the world.

I will cover that in my next post.

There are instructions on the mullvad website for installing on both windows and linux. I can confirm that the installation on linux is as easy as it gets, even for a noob like me. In fact, I had more problems on windows 7. I am running linux mint 17 based on Ubuntu 14.04 just to confirm. There are instructions for other specific linux systems, but just wanted to say that this will work (up until 16.04 - the latest version iirc) of Ubuntu. Mint is based on ubuntu.

So far, so platform independent. We can ping easily from linux as well, and all the other tools we need to check the veracity of our vpn are browser based. So let's get to it...

Post: #62

Okay.

We now have a working vpn be it on win or linux. From here on in ideas are interchangeable.

Remember the three bogie men when using a vpn?

1: Kill switch for dropped connections.
2: WebRTC turned off in your browser so no IP leaks.
3: WebGL turned off so your system can not be scanned.

We have not even got into browser fingerprinting. Let alone actual machine fingerprinting beyond the browser. This is accurate to even 90 percent and even those with full on vpn will still betray who they are. More on this later. This rabbit hole runs deep. So keep learning until you begin to realise what you don't know...

So to recap, we have pinged google's servers, and we know by the fact that our ping times are say 90ms as opposed to the usual 20ms that we are routed through our vpn.

This is just a sanity check however. Really you want to go to a site to properly do a check on yourself and a trace to see where the servers are. We will do that now.

A good ip checking site is https://myip.ms/ - it also provides whois information so you can see if the people hosting your site (who may be in Bulgaria) actually have their servers in Panama. Or, in fact, if you thought that the servers were in Portugal, but the people running them are in Belgium. It sounds confusing but it helps you drill down as to who exactly owns the servers and what country they run them in (not always the same). This is common information, but it will probably open your eyes up.

So, we check on myip.ms and we see that our servers are in fact in Sweden (the default for mullvad). The company is in sweden and the servers are in sweden. All good. But our work is not over yet.

We have to check we do not have any IP leaks or any DNS leaks.

So it is good practice to go to https://mullvad.net/guides/webrtc/ and read that which will explain it much better than I.

They will point you to a couple of sites:
1: https://diafygi.github.io/webrtc-ips/
2: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox...le-webrtc/

The first site tests if you are leaking your IP via WebRTC and the second site adds an extension to FireFox to disable it if so (you can also do it manually but the addon works perfectly).

Ideally, when you go to the first site there you should see:


That is - NO IP information.

If you do, then it may mean that WebRTC is enabled in your browser and you need to disable it, by downloading the second link to the extension for Firefox.

We need to double or triple check all this one more time with https://www.doileak.com/

This will give much more information and point us to the source of our leaks should we have any.

These are the results you ideally want:


No leaky DNS. It's all from the same source. All good.
No WebRTC displaying and betraying your normal ISP.
No WebGL for fingerprinting your browser and computer hardware.

This post is getting long again and I need to start a fresh one, apologies. It's taken about 20 minutes just to go through the captcha process. I'll try pick up where I left off.

Post: #63

When I first set my Linux system up tonight, it worked perfectly, but the default of FireFox is to keep WebRTC on and also to keep WebGL on. To disable WebRTC it is as simple as downloading and installing the aforementioned for FF. But to disable WebGL you need to dig a bit deeper. I found this site and it works once you see the update:
http://techdows.com/2010/12/disable-webg...fox-4.html

This is what you are looking for in FF:


The wording and semantics of it are worthy of any true snake oil salesman. But I got it working (or rather disabled it) so that WebGL no longer betrays my browser fingerprint or machine hardware. More on this later. In fact, it is very counter intuitive as the more steps you take to hide your system, the greater your fingerprint becomes. To the point where it is sometimes better working from a fully open and unsecured system if you want to stay hidden. Remember, Anonymity is not Security and vice versa.

Ok. So now we have a system that is running through our VPN. We have checked it for the bogeymen:
Kill switch for dropped connection (just enable this option in the client)
DNS leaking (just enable this option in the client)
IP leaking (via WebRTC)
Browser/hardware fingerprinting (via WebGL)

And we seem to be all good to go. It took us an hour to set up our VPN, but two hours to test it. And we still can't be sure. Test test test. Check check check.

Make sure you only use one browser and test that browser for said webgl and webrtc leaks. Make sure you don't run two systems at once (one via your standard ISP and the other via vpn) as you may get leaks from doing that as well.

Setting up a vpn is almost trivial once you have made the right choice of what vpn is right for you. But testing it is a labour of love. You open Chrome instead of FF one day and your real IP and DNS requests are totally betrayed. Busted.

This is some extra reading that will get you up to speed:
https://www.bestvpn.com/blog/38176/vpns-...need-know/
https://www.bestvpn.com/blog/8177/super-...h-cookies/
https://www.bestvpn.com/blog/39799/5-bes...using-tor/
https://www.bestvpn.com/blog/8159/browse...nt-reduce/
https://www.bestvpn.com/blog/24574/how-t...rprinting/

We haven't even got in to using VPN over Tor, or for that matter, Tor over VPN, but we can do that later if you like for extra super secure privacy/anonymity. That has drawbacks and potential pitfalls as everything else, but it is possible and the security provided goes up a level from everything we have been discussing here.

Tor's exit nodes are comprimised, but you still have anonymity even if you don't have privacy. With a vpn you have privacy but not anonymity. Never confuse the two.

And oh yeah, you want to visit that one site:
https://thatoneprivacysite.net/

That will ground you in the basics of all this if any of this seems confusing.

And probably this one too:
https://www.privacytools.io/


I've tried for about 20 minutes to post this, but I have to split it in two - I'm sorry. The forum just won't let me post properly.

Post: #64

We haven't even scraped the idea of changing your firewall rules to make absolutely sure no IP leaks occur even with Leak Protection enabled in your vpn. And we haven't even talked about using other anonymizing services on top of your vpn, for added security and also for testing purposes of your current setup. JonDonym for example is not strictly a vpn, more a proxy, but it is free, and what you can learn about your vulnerabilities are incredible, even if you run a vpn. And we have also not discussed using Opera's built in vpn (which is a semi-vpn) which is very easy and free.


If you are serious about using a vpn and are prepared to pay the few bucks a month it costs (never EVER use free vpn), and you are prepared to invest the few hours (up to a few days to do it properly) it takes to set one up properly, then the links and info I have presented should get you up and running with CONFIDENCE in a week or so, as long as you are a tech savvy user.

[DISCLAIMER: I've said it before but I'll say it one last time. I do not work for and am not affiliated in any way with any of the services or websites I have put forward. I benefit in no way whatsoever. I am also not responsible for you making bad choices, or getting in to trouble. I'm a noob. I like to make tutorials for noobs. You are responsible for your own actions]

Post: #65

^ Good info.

Basic VPN guide:

Get a VPN that's not in any one of the 14 Eyes countries (5 Eyes: United States, United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia. 9 Eyes: + Denmark, France, Norway and Holland. 14 Eyes: + Belgium, Germany, Sweden, Italy, and Spain).

Get a provider that allows you to connect via OpenVPN (open-source and strong protection). The above link https://www.privacytools.io/ has some good ones. I'd advise setting up a killswitch via the firewall of your operating system, instructions vary depending on your operating system.

Note: VPNs won't protect you from the NSA (and neither will Tor). But for stuff like the UK Snooper's Charter it will be enough to prevent 50+ gov agencies from having access to your browsing history.

--

As for browser fingerprinting, WebGL, WebRTC etc here's a single config file which takes care of that. There's also a few links in the readme doc that shows you what you need to stop scripts etc.

Post: #66

(01-15-2017 03:35 PM)Valentine Wrote:  ^ Good info.

Basic VPN guide:

Get a VPN that's not in any one of the 14 Eyes countries (5 Eyes: United States, United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia. 9 Eyes: + Denmark, France, Norway and Holland. 14 Eyes: + Belgium, Germany, Sweden, Italy, and Spain).

Get a provider that allows you to connect via OpenVPN (open-source and strong protection). The above link https://www.privacytools.io/ has some good ones. I'd advise setting up a killswitch via the firewall of your operating system, instructions vary depending on your operating system.

Note: VPNs won't protect you from the NSA (and neither will Tor). But for stuff like the UK Snooper's Charter it will be enough to prevent 50+ gov agencies from having access to your browsing history.

--

As for browser fingerprinting, WebGL, WebRTC etc here's a single config file which takes care of that. There's also a few links in the readme doc that shows you what you need to stop scripts etc.

Thank you Valentine.

I agree with not getting a vpn not in the 14 eyes. Mullvad which I used as an example is in fact 14 eyes. Not my main vpn, but a good one to use as an example to set up. It's as easy as setting up the client which does the work for you, as opposed to going through config files bit by bit. This was just meant as a beginners guide. Happy that you think it was ok!

I agree about setting up a manual killswitch, and not trusting in totality your vpn software to do it for you - it can fail. Having a firewall with strict rules will triple check this for you. Essential. I posted this in my long and dense reply, but thank you for bringing it to attention again. It is worth repeating.

Never use PPTP of course. Not safe. openVPN is where it's at. Mullvad does openVPN by default, but I have to double check this on my system. I'm still learning. I don't do anything dodgy so don't have anything to worry about. The irony is, when fully set up, you can get away with a lot.

I just want it to keep my browsing habits away from nosey neighbours that work for the council or the food agency or the ones that collect the bins and go through there to check you did not put anything wrong in there. Cunts.

I understand that VPN will not protect me from NSA, as neither will TOR. It is mainly for snoopers charter I do this. I don't like being privacy raped. And one day, if I meet one of those that did rape me, I will act accordingly. You know who I am. And this is a promise not a threat. Keep that in mind.

The browser and hardware fingerprinting is another level again. Thank you for that file and the advice.

I actually have done quite a bit of research on this, and I know the guy that actually took the EU to court over this (and ultimately the UK). And he won. It is illegal, full fucking stop, to probe someone's system even for an ad-blocker. FACT. But things are changing fast, we will have no rights at all soon. Even the ones we have are pissed and shat on.

Somebody needs to write an essay about privacy and anonymity and the difference between the two, and why one should never confuse them, and how to differentiate, and play the game...

eh eh. As they say.

If nothing else, this should at least be valuable to those that have found a vpn and think they are safe. Food for thought if you want to do this properly.

Thanks again Valentine for having a quick look at my dense verbiage, and of course for that file you provided - I will have a good look at it later.

Post: #67

Not quite an essay but I've written about the differences before, should be useful to those wishing to understand it.

Quote:My goals for ideal software: confidentiality and anonymity.

Confidentiality
- If it's a hosted app then the provider must be zero-knowledge (i.e. end-to-end encrypted, so the server provider at no point has access to plaintext chat logs)
- Or it can be self-hosted on your own server or local device

Anonymity
- You don't share your phone number
- You can use a VPN to access the service (enables anonymity from service provider)
- Ideally Tor can be used too for those who want anonymity up to low-level law enforcement

These two factors discount almost every mainstream instant messaging app.

WhatsApp for example is apparently is "encrypted", but you can't prove it because it is closed source. So it fails confidentiality.

Furthermore you're not anonymous. Your phone number is required and that is one of the best ways to identify someone.

Another common suggestion is Slack, which can be anonymous but lacks confidentiality.

Post: #68

I always run a VPN, but Rigsby gets a point from me for turning me onto:

1. The Kill Switch (mine was off by default)
2. Potential IP leaks via WebRTC (I installed the Firefox plugin)
3. Potential fingerprinting via WebGL (I disabled it in FF using these instructions)
4. Several cool sites for VPN testing.

In the process of addressing the above, I also realized I was accepting 3rd party cookies, and turned off that crap on all my browsers.

Thanks for the latest example of useful knowledge gleaned from the RVF.

Post: #69

I've been using NordVPN for a while and I highly recommend it. Easy to install, easy to use, super fast and it's a great VPN for privacy (they're not based in the USA, and they don't keep any logs of what their users do online).

It's not the cheapest one (40$ per year with coupon), but using a VPN is a must these days!

Post: #70

I use AirVPN and created my own Kill Switch with firewall rules.

How to create Kill Switch:
https://support.purevpn.com/windows7-firewall

For anyone who runs into the same issue I did with an Unidentified Network when setting up a Kill Switch:
https://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/71...ublic.html

How to auto start OpenVPN GUI when computer boots:
https://help.my-private-network.co.uk/su...windows-7-

Post: #71

(01-16-2017 09:33 PM)Rigsby Wrote:  I understand that VPN will not protect me from NSA, as neither will TOR. It is mainly for snoopers charter I do this. I don't like being privacy raped. And one day, if I meet one of those that did rape me, I will act accordingly. You know who I am. And this is a promise not a threat. Keep that in mind.

Damn straight. No one deserves to get raped.

Give 'em hell, Rigsby.

Post: #72

Rigsby, Valentine,

Thanks for the posts re VPN security. Any opinions about NordVPN?

They seem to meet the dominant criteria: Kill switch and DNS leak prevention.

I am not crazy about the fact they're based in Panama, which was a US jurisdiction until 1979. But it's not one of the 14 countries suspected of sharing info.

Post: #73

(03-30-2017 06:22 PM)Stun Wrote:  Rigsby, Valentine,

Thanks for the posts re VPN security. Any opinions about NordVPN?

They seem to meet the dominant criteria: Kill switch and DNS leak prevention.

I am not crazy about the fact they're based in Panama, which was a US jurisdiction until 1979. But it's not one of the 14 countries suspected of sharing info.

I realise my post is a bit dense, but if I could boil it down to a TL;DR:
https://thatoneprivacysite.net

That really is all you need to get going in the regard of CHOOSING the best VPN for YOU.

They have a list of the top VPNs: no.1; no.2; etc. etc.

It's all there.

With regard to NordVPN they are usually at the top of most lists for being best quality service and keeping no logs, good speed, easy to set up etc. - never used them, but many people do and are very happy. If they meet the criteria for you, I say go for it. Pretty sure they are the top of the list - have a look at that link and see.

Companies like Private Internet Access should be avoided - I think they come down 22 or so in the list. They shill the hell out of the internet and are always doing super aggressive sales pitches - so avoid them.

Anyway, go to that one privacy site and all your questions will be answered.

By the way, many servers are located in Panama - I wouldn't worry about it. Sometimes I connect through Sweden or Belgium and it gets routed via Panama. Where the servers are physically located is not always the same as where the company who is running the network is based. If that makes sense. I don't know much about it, but I wouldn't worry about the Panama thing at all.

Post: #74

This is also a very good guide to choosing a VPN as well:

https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-services-an...17-170304/

Unfortunately, however, not all VPN services are as private as you might think. In fact, some are known to keep extensive logs that can easily identify specific users on their network.

This is the main reason why we have launched a yearly VPN review, asking providers about their respective logging policies as well as other security and privacy aspects. This year’s questions are as follows:

1. Do you keep ANY logs which would allow you to match an IP-address and a time stamp to a user/users of your service? If so, what information do you hold and for how long?

2. What is the registered name of the company and under what jurisdiction(s) does it operate?

3. Do you use any external visitor tracking, email providers or support tools that hold information about your users/visitors?

4. In the event you receive a takedown notice (DMCA or other), how are these handled?

5. What steps are taken when a valid court order or subpoena requires your company to identify an active user of your service? Has this ever happened?

6. Is BitTorrent and other file-sharing traffic allowed (and treated equally to other traffic) on all servers? If not, why?

7. Which payment systems do you use and how are these linked to individual user accounts?

8. What is the most secure VPN connection and encryption algorithm you would recommend to your users?

9. How do you currently handle IPv6 connections and potential IPv6 leaks? Do you provide DNS leak protection and tools such as “kill switches” if a connection drops?

10. Do you offer a custom VPN application to your users? If so, for which platforms?

11. Do you have physical control over your VPN servers and network or are they hosted by/accessible to a third party? Do you use your own DNS servers?

12. What countries are your servers located in?




NordVPN are first of the companies that answer those questions, so have a look there as well.

Post: #75

I use a service called privateinternetaccesss.

You can pay anonymously via bitcoin. I've been using them for at least six months now and had no problems. You can connect to your choice of server from anywhere in the world and the speed has never been an issue.

I think it costs about $60 a year.