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VPN Providers Report Huge Increase In Downloads, Usage Since Privacy Rules Were Repealed (ibtimes.com)

An anonymous reader writes: A number of major VPN providers reported a significant increase in subscriptions, downloads, and traffic from Americans since the U.S. Congress voted to repeal the Broadband Consumer Privacy Rules that would have mandated internet service providers get user permission before collecting information. The International Business Times reports that "several popular VPN providers reported a more than 50 percent increase in downloads." VPN provider ExpressVPN said they "experienced a 105 percent increase in traffic from the U.S. and a 97 percent spike in sales" since the repeal. Additionally, "KeepSolid, the New York-based company behind VPNUnlimited, noted a 32 percent increase in purchases and growth of 49 percent in total downloads," reports IBT. "The company also reports having a considerable amount of increased engagement via social media regarding user privacy." Have you taken any privacy measures since Congress voted to repeal ISP privacy rules? If you use a VPN, which provider do you recommend and why?

36 of 67 comments (clear)

  1. That is retarded. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    The privacy rules WERE NEVER IN EFFECT so this is fucking retarded. Literally nothing has changed about your internet privacy today from a month ago. Or six months ago. Or a year ago. THE RULES THAT WERE REPEALED WERE NEVER ACTIVE. Further, what was really repealed was the FCC having any control over the internet. Yes, you should have privacy. NO THE FCC SHOULD HAVE NO INVOLVEMENT. Not for good or bad. They should have no ability to regulate anything on the internet. Fuck them and fuck them trying to reach over into the internet as a way to justify their continued funding and existence as radio and television over the air dies.

    And fuck all these tech-pundit-dipshits who have been misreporting all of this and fucking scaremongering people. You fucking twats.

    1. Re:That is retarded. by manu0601 · · Score: 2, Insightful

      The privacy rules WERE NEVER IN EFFECT

      But repealing them shows an intent, and there is some rationale to react to just that.

    2. Re:That is retarded. by gweilo8888 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Exactly. It was one thing when internet providers new that the rule was coming, because it wasn't worth the investment in a program that would soon be canceled. Now that the rule has been canceled, you can be 100% certain that Comcast and its ilk will be monetizing you in every way they can, disingenuous statements about not selling your data be damned. (Of course they're not selling the actual browsing histories of their users, because they'd be selling the keys to the kingdom. What they'll sell is customized reports on your browsing behavior. The report on you that your medical insurance company buys will be different from the one that your would-be next employer buys, because they'll both be interested in different things.

    3. Re:That is retarded. by Sperbels · · Score: 1

      That's not going to happen. You can't be that naive.

    4. Re:That is retarded. by manu0601 · · Score: 1

      Please don't give me that limpwristed, incompetent bullshit that Google is 'avoidable'

      I use DuckDuckGo, OpenStreetMap...

    5. Re: That is retarded. by allo · · Score: 1

      Having no VPN is irresponsible for a long time, i had one years ago. Everyone who follows the news a bit knows why.

  2. Network-wide solution? by nine-times · · Score: 1

    With all this talk about using VPN for privacy, I've been wondering if there are any solutions that are designed to provide that kind of privacy across an entire LAN. If, for example, you wanted to make sure your company's web traffic was private, is anyone offering some kind of service that allows you to configure a common SMB firewall to route all outgoing traffic through a secure VPN/proxy?

    I've had some clients request this, but I can't find anything that looks remotely reputable. Most of the services getting attention right now are designed to have software installed on every device.

    1. Re: Network-wide solution? by TheOuterLinux · · Score: 1

      Not sure about that, but you can change your computer's and phone's DNS to an open source encrypted (DNSCrypt) no logging server as added protection.

    2. Re:Network-wide solution? by nine-times · · Score: 1

      Any SMB grade equipment or better will be able to setup a site-site VPN with one of the cloud VPN providers.

      Are there any reputable privacy-guarding cloud VPN providers support site-to-site VPN?

    3. Re:Network-wide solution? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      A cheap device with two ethernet ports with pfsense installed can handle this, and as a benefit should handle much greater VPN speeds than a consumer router.
      I used a Shuttle DS57U for my own setup as it was passively cooled and had dual intel NICs, but there are thousands of solutions that will work.
      Make sure the device has AES-NI to accelerate encryption if you have a fast connection, without it you are unlikely to break 100Mbps VPN throughput.

      Pfsense themselves sell a pre-made, supported device that would work perfectly if you don't want to roll your own.

    4. Re:Network-wide solution? by Solandri · · Score: 1

      Most routers have VPN clients, which you can use to connect to a VPN server thus sending all of your LAN's web traffic (or optionally all network traffi) over the VPN. The high-end routers also have OpenVPN clients (and servers if you want to connect to your home LAN from the Internet). And DD-WRT supports both an OpenVPN client and server, so any router which can be upgraded to DD-WRT will also work.

      So I just subscribed to a VPN service which supports OpenVPN (actually they just give me sole access to my own virtual machine where I can install Linux and an OpenVPN server). Then configured the router to send all web traffic to the OpenVPN server.

    5. Re:Network-wide solution? by Narcocide · · Score: 3, Informative

      If both sites are owned by you, it would be smarter to just deploy OpenVPN yourself at one site and connect the other site to it directly. No reason to pay a 3rd party service for that.

      Pay special attention to the difference between openvpn.net and openvpn.com. The first one is the free, open source software project. The second is their commercial service for said software. You do not need to subscribe to the second to use the first.

    6. Re:Network-wide solution? by AHuxley · · Score: 1

      For a small network, the last device on the network out is a router that supports the VPN.
      No packet in or out can then escape the VPN as that is the only network.
      Just make sure the router has the support, CPU, RAM needed for the network size and speeds.
      I would not fully trust any OS or browser solution given the role of other networks to request isp ip like data from a browser or OS. VPN the entire network and hope anything that is requested or induced only gets the VPN ip.

      --
      Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
    7. Re:Network-wide solution? by 0100010001010011 · · Score: 1

      pfSense works just fine. Depending on their internet connection get a newer CPU with AES-NI and you should have no problem routing all the traffic.

    8. Re:Network-wide solution? by nine-times · · Score: 1

      A lot of people seem to misunderstanding the nature of my question. I understand what a site-to-site VPN tunnel is, and I can set one up. The question is, is there a reputable service out there that provides some kind of proxy or site-to-site VPN that obscures the source of outgoing Internet traffic? The point here isn't to secure traffic between two endpoints that I control, but to make it so websites see all of my company's traffic as coming from an IP address other than my own, and where the service provider won't disclose the original source of the traffic without a subpoena.

      The specific concern came out of the prospect that ISPs might start selling records of their Internet activity, and businesses with security concerns not wanting their ISP to be able to track that information in the first place.

    9. Re:Network-wide solution? by pnutjam · · Score: 1

      Sure, AirVPN, in my sig is one. There is also PIA, which I've used and many more.

  3. Out of the skillet and into the fire by suso · · Score: 2

    How many of those fools will start using free VPN providers that make their privacy and security even worse: Proxy Services Are Not Safe. Try These Alternatives

    1. Re:Out of the skillet and into the fire by ls671 · · Score: 4, Informative

      A VPN service is different than a proxy service.

      --
      Everything I write is lies, read between the lines.
  4. Re: Opera by TheOuterLinux · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I've used OperaVPN on a jailbroken phone and then used tcpdump to monitor the traffic to be sure. OperaVPN lies, or stopped providing updates to my iOS version, leaving it broke. Matter of fact, they haven't had an update in months. Using Netherlands, it connects somewhere between the U.S. Midwest to California servers. Using Germany, I've caught it using Swiss and Russian servers. I would never use a U.S. or U.K. server. You can check by using: "tcpdump -D" to get your internet device name (usually wlan0 or eth0) and then "tcpdump -xx -i eth0 tcp" to monitor your web browsing connections. The "-xx" part will allow you to see if the information coming and going is encrypted or not; you shouldn't be able to understand any of it. You can leave off the "tcp" part at the end, but you'll get UDP and other info too. The connections should all have the same IP address. Then, use that IP address via "geoiplookup #.#.#.#" in another terminal to find the country. I only knew my cities because the bottom of a Google search said the location on my phone and wasn't asking to translate to English for me. Both "tcpdump" and "geoip" packages are available for Linux, Cydia, and source code; I'm not sure about Window$.

  5. Here we go again... by TheOuterLinux · · Score: 1

    Here it is again: https://theouterlinux.com/priv... Feel free to look around at the other stuff too. I'm always trying to figure out what to add or change to make better so if you got a suggestion, let me know. Just remember to keep the suggestion free or open source if possible. https://theouterlinux.com/rese...ðY"--/ for other categories.

  6. Re:I use witopia - excellent experience by sims+2 · · Score: 2

    Yes it can they will still be able to tell you are using a VPN and how much data your using but not the content.

    Then you just have to trust your VPNs ISP more than your own ISP.

    --
    Minimum threshold fixed. Thanks!
  7. Epic browser? by goombah99 · · Score: 1

    It looks to me that the simplest one-stop shopping privacy aware vpn tunneled browser is Epic. However I never heard of them so I'm not sure I trust them. Anyone know about this browser. looks like the best one to me if it's all legit.

    --
    Some drink at the fountain of knowledge. Others just gargle.
  8. Independent VPN evaluation site by Foresto · · Score: 3, Informative

    ThatOnePrivacyGuy on /r/privacy manages That One Privacy Site, including a handy VPN section:

    https://thatoneprivacysite.net...

    Unlike most other VPN reviews, this one encourages community discussion and appears to be impartial.

    1. Re:Independent VPN evaluation site by Frederic54 · · Score: 1

      Yes, and AFAIK the guy is using iVPN.net but cannot recommend it, it is the one that best fit his need.

      --
      "Science will win because it works." - Stephen Hawking
  9. The answer is Tor... by emil · · Score: 1

    ...as I will explain: http://www.linuxjournal.com/co...

  10. The answer is Tor... by emil · · Score: 1

    ...as I will explain. http://www.linuxjournal.com/co...

  11. Re:Government now encouraging people to use crypto by AHuxley · · Score: 2

    Could be a ploy to thin the herd. Only smart, interesting people will invest time and more funds in a VPN.
    Given the lack of VPN payment bans/comments on the use of VPN products in the US, UK and Australia, law enforcement at a national level does not care about VPN use.
    If a user is found on an interesting site using a VPN, police will get a court order in that VPN's nation and log the next log in of that site by the same VPN.
    Most people set their VPN, expect to enjoy a working VPN daily and connect the same site with the same details?
    Their isp ip is hidden, a big pool of new random VPN ip's get offered?
    The VPN product would just connect the next day and have the origin ip, isp logged by the local police in the VPN servers nation.
    Habit would allow the police to just connect the normal ip and VPN ip after a court order in any nation that hosts the VPN company.
    A user would have to totally change their VPN use every session to stay away from simple court ordered police logging efforts waiting days and hours later.
    Extra sentencing guidelines could then be in place as the user made it so difficult to be found? International cooperation, other courts, the sorting of accounts by another nations police, finally finding the users own ip and isp. Did the interesting person pay for the VPN every year out of a main bank account and CC? No funds for a good lawyer with all accounts frozen given the wider international connections.

    --
    Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
  12. Re:no more wars for israel, kushner out of syria n by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 1

    Haux: some crazy mofo - that is you, I assume?

    --
    Ezekiel 23:20
  13. Re:Government now encouraging people to use crypto by AHuxley · · Score: 1

    AC governments have a lot to say about quality crypto and new apps as they cant get in. Governments don't seem very interested in most VPN use.

    --
    Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
  14. Ya, it's called IPSec by Sycraft-fu · · Score: 1

    With IPSec you can set up all kinds of policies as to what can communicate with what and you can, if you wish, encrypt all traffic, even over the local LAN. Be warned: It can get complex and you are going to need PKI set up if you want to have any realistic hope of managing it in an enterprise. However you can set things up so that all traffic is encrypted on the wires for all communications, and so that devices can only communicate with other devices of your choosing.

    So for a simple setup you could have a firewall (PFSense if you want a cheap one) that talks to whatever your VPN/Proxy is. Then set IPSec policies so that all your computers talk only to it. All traffic will pass only through the PFSense (even internal traffic) and it'll all be encrypted (if you specify that). You set the firewall/routing rules on the PFSense and you can force all outbound traffic over the VPN, and decide what can talk to what inside.

    That's a simplistic setup, and the firewall will be a bottleneck, but that's a simple startup. You then can do things like have system to system IPSec communication, more firewall, additional routing controls (on systems or the network) etc etc.

    1. Re:Ya, it's called IPSec by nine-times · · Score: 1

      My question wasn't whether it's technically possible to set up a VPN. It was more, is anyone providing that as a service? Specifically, one focussed on privacy (obscuring the source of the traffic and not logging), and also that is reputable security service (marketing to businesses rather than pirates).

    2. Re:Ya, it's called IPSec by Sycraft-fu · · Score: 1

      Oh ok, gotcha. In that case, I'd go for Private Internet Access. Their privacy rules are very good (in all cases we have to take the company's own statement on it), price is good, performance seems to be good, and it uses open standards for VPN connections. It also isn't like some where they are located in some minor island nation you've never heard of, they are in the US.

      It's what I use and what my instructor at SANS recommended to someone else this week who asked the same question.

      If you wanted to filter all systems though it you'd just need a router/fw that did it, again PFSense would do. It uses OpenVPN by default (can do IPSec as well) and PFSense supports that. Your internal systems talk to PFSense, have PFSense VPN to PIA and then set your routing to do 0.0.0.0 over the VPN. Make sure outbound rules are properly configured so traffic is only allowed over VPN interface and you've got an automatic, transparent, system where all systems will communicate via the VPN. You can always change rules if needed to permit direct communication.

      If you don't want a network box you can set up your OSes to auto-dial PIA on start. For Windows this is best accomplished with the inbuilt IPSec VPN client, on Linux OpenVPN works nicely (though either can do both). Again you set local firewall/routing rules to prohibit traffic over the local net and require the VPN to be up. Then just treat it like dialup from the old days.

      So give PIA a look, they seem to do well.

  15. Re: I use witopia - excellent experience by cfalcon · · Score: 1

    > Deep packet inspection doesn't break encryption

    No, and they can't really get your search information as a result. HOWEVER, they do get to see every IP address you contact, when you contact, how long you contact for, how much data is passed, and in what direction. VPN reduces this fine tuned envelope information to "when your LAN is passing data, and how much", leaving out the very relevant "...and to whom" part.

    Also note that DNS queries are almost always in plaintext as well, though that seems to be slowly changing, so A.B.C.D will also be understood to be whatever.com.

  16. Re:Government now encouraging people to use crypto by Agripa · · Score: 1

    Given the lack of VPN payment bans/comments on the use of VPN products in the US, UK and Australia, law enforcement at a national level does not care about VPN use.

    They do not care *yet*. They will if VPN use becomes ubiquitous.

    The NSA spent considerable effort to make sure IPSEC did not become ubiquitous.

    If a user is found on an interesting site using a VPN, police will get a court order in that VPN's nation and log the next log in of that site by the same VPN.

    The VPN product would just connect the next day and have the origin ip, isp logged by the local police in the VPN servers nation.

    There are ways for the VPN provider to make this more difficult starting with not including the capability to log this data. With some effort, I think it could be made impossible.

    A user would have to totally change their VPN use every session to stay away from simple court ordered police logging efforts waiting days and hours later.

    Oddly enough, if a user routinely uses a VPN, then this is possible to do by accessing the VPN anonymously like through a public hot spot.

    Did the interesting person pay for the VPN every year out of a main bank account and CC? No funds for a good lawyer with all accounts frozen given the wider international connections.

    This will create a demand for anonymous payment methods. Won't that be fun for the authorities.

  17. Re: I use witopia - excellent experience by allo · · Score: 1

    This is a half truth. You can get the spoken words from an compressed VoIP stream, just by the traffic pattern how good the compression works on different words. There are a lot of pitfalls, some of them are for example why SSLv3 is now fully deprecated, others only affect certain ciphers.
    Its very complicated to keep up with which encryption really works. On the other hand most isp probably do not try to crack your vpn connection, yet.

  18. Re: I use witopia - excellent experience by allo · · Score: 1

    > VPN reduces this fine tuned envelope information to "when your LAN is passing data, and how much", leaving out the very relevant "...and to whom" part.
    This is wrong. They see only traffic to the vpn gateway and a properly configured vpn doesn't leak dns queries, either.