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Is there anything like anonymous VPN service ?
darknessends
Member
in General
Hi,
I see a lot of anonymous claiming VPN service - are keeping logs.
They all do onething or other. I also feel if you even buy a VPS - you can not avoid it - since logs will be generated on host node for sure.
So does the anonymous VPN service is actually a hoax. Hoping to listen into details of experience and any recommendations if you have any.
Comments
I think you just have to trust the VPN provider. I'm sure if there is a case that get to court and xxxx VPN provider has to provide logs, the reputation to that VPN provider is destroyed for ever, and they will loose all their customers.
So I think this will almost work as open source, when there is a "breach" somebody will report about it, and people take action.
The logs generated on the host node, is not important, IF you use OpenVPN or other encrypted standards. Then all data from/to the server is encrypted, and the log will not show what was sent/received by you.
Of course it's possible to see what goes from/into the node, but that has no value, since they don't can see which person is looking at it.
So if you rent a VPS in your own name, install OpenVPN and browse the Internet, nobody can see what is transfered from/to you from the server. But they can see what goes to/from the server, and since you are the only user, they know what you do.
With a VPN company, you don't have this problem, if they really held their word, and don't log which person is using what IP, reading/sending what data.
For the really big VPN companies, just keeping such logs would generate so much data that they had to increase their prices allot.
No, there isn't.
Yes and no. It all depends on how trustworthy the company is and how they feel they are going to deal with data and how they will comply with things.
Private Internet Access has a pretty good track record. You don't even have to send them your name for billing (pay through giftcards, bitcoins, etc.). If they take logs (they claim they don't and legally they don't have to) they have no way of linking you to a session.
US company, yeah no.
Unless you're doing something highly illegal, I wouldn't think most "anonymous VPN providers" care too much.
Why is this bad? In terms of the amount of information that is required to be logged, the US is one of the least strict. PIA is a European company that chose the US as their headquarters because of the laws and the constitutional protection.
I only know one VPN provider that I truly trust, and that's https://www.ovpn.se (Swedish). They maintain full transparency. I've never seen any other VPN provider that's as open as them.
Their latest blog post about physical security was quite interesting https://www.ovpn.se/blog/varfor-fysisk-sakerhet-ar-viktigt/ (Google Translate in Chrome does a decent job of translating this, at least to English)
But yeah, that's the only VPN provider I trust and can recommend to people. I've used PIA in the past, but their servers in Sweden constantly had issues.
Still, there isn't anything that's truly anonymous, but there are services that are better than other.
For some reason, every time @Nyr posts something, I agree with it. And he's right again.
But if the government wants to...it's not hard. The government can go in and start recording, even if PIA doesn't want them to, and PIA can't tell you it's happening.
I have read good things about PIA and they have a good rep, but ultimately, VPNs are about privacy, not anonymity. TOR is about anonymity.
http://privacy-pc.com/articles/hackers-guide-to-stay-out-of-jail-7-vpns-vs-tor.html
https://mullvad.net/en/ is one
https://mullvad.net/en/faq/
Yep! Mullvad is great, used them in the past.
I use Astrill.com, lots of servers all around the world, great speed when you have high speed internet (100mbit or more), and the price is decent. Lots of features and addons also. And they don't keep any logs.
I believe (and they've said) they would close shop if the government ever required them to spy. No US company can be required to lie.
Although, in reality the only system that you can trust is one without motives. Tor and I2P are the only working implementations of complete anonymity without human flaw. Companies like Mullvad, PIA, etc. can never be fully trusted.
Never go with a VPN service that sits in the US.
Probaly the most-secure VPN in the world, but pretty expensive: https://www.perfect-privacy.com
Another good VPN with fair prices: https://airvpn.org
I am also using Astrill, their servers in 50+ countries. Never had any issue.
I believe them, but I'm thinking that by the time they close shop, it'd be too late for a specific individual. But I really don't know how that would work. If the gov't serves a warrant at noon and you say "we only keep 5 minutes of logs" can the government force you to change your logging params? If you say "fine, we close, effective immediately" can the government seize your gear and keep it running for some period of time?
And of course there's always the difference between what the law says and what any given agent of the government will do.
You've got it all wrong, do your research better on that
+1
They have had trouble with law enforcement in the past and were unable to give out logs, so you don't have to take their word for it.
Ipredator,too, I think. (?) ovpn.to (?)
Can you provide a high level court case in which descibes that a person can be compelled to give false testimony or face criminal penalties?
Good point. I guess the issue isn't the company then, but the system - VPN's have a single place in which all the data flows. The only way to get a truly anonymous service is to create a better protocol.
I wouldn't recommend Astrill for their anonymity feature. They have a pretty bad track record and just too many red flags all around.
Did you guys read the news today? People are able to snoop on VPN connections & https connections. Reputation doesn't matter that much.
I am sure that's mostly old protocols/encryption.
PPTP, SSLv3, RC4, SHA1,..
Good things cost money. I'm a member for 7 years now, they are superb.
There is no such thing, even if they don't keep logs their ISP will keep them. What you should look for is legislation in the country the VPN is, and how it will affect you in case you are concerned about your privacy.
any link to info about this?
The only complaining I have seen is that they demand a active phone to verify the account before payment.
Never seen any info about them keeping logs, sharing logs, or anything that compromise privacy. And they are not a US company.
Here is a reddit post from someone claim to be a former employee of Astrill.
https://www.reddit.com/r/technology/comments/20k0i0/which_vpn_services_take_your_anonymity_seriously/
You need to verify your address, and as you mentioned, your phone number as well.
For some reasons, they are not blocked in China like any other major VPN providers. I found that to be pretty odd. Perhaps some sort of agreement with the government?
That being said, I'm a current customer and pretty happy with them so far. Just don't use them if you plan to do "anonymous" stuff.
Maybe because they use their technology called StealthVPS that bypass the Great Firewall of China?
It's not that. For example, CyberGhost's main website, authentication server and most of their VPN server IPs are blocked in China. As far as I know, it's same with PIA, HMA as well. Also, any IP posted to vpngate.net will be blocked within 30 mins. If you setup your own OpenVPN server, the Great Firewall of China will be able to detect the connection in an hour or so and drop all packets to that IP for a couple weeks.
Astrill has a pretty big user base in China and they are certainly on the Chinese government's radar. I just found it odd that their website/VPN servers are still accessible in China despite being this popular. Also, OpenVPN connection made to their servers is uninterrupted somehow.
@halczy
I don't know how much you know about VPN and Chinas firewall etc. Basically they are using deep packet inspection, so they can detect that you are really using av VPN service (your own or a VPN host).
Astrill.com seems to have spent lots of money into technology that can trick the deep packet inspection of the Great Firewall of China, and therefor they marked them self to countries like China.
Here is what Astrill writes about the issue and what they have created:
Sounds like snakeoil to me. They have their own client? Might just be using obfsproxy. I wish I could get it to work.
https://community.openvpn.net/openvpn/wiki/TrafficObfuscation
If anyone does, you know where to find me.
Tor is designed to be anonymous, unlike a VPN.