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  • EADD Moderators: Pissed_and_messed | Shinji Ikari

VPNs for online privacy and other uses?

I am so fucking glad I got my VPN working, its been down since feb.

WIFI went to a trickle or wouldnt connect so I found the og actual manufactuer drivers for my WIFI card (Realtek, not tenda or windows), then all that DNS flushing, network resetting, diagnostics, reinstalling my chipset drivers, actually brought the VPN to life. New AX3000 PCIE wifi adapter and an EE line test via text (Iv'e been searching for this number for like two years)... and I'm sorted!

Ironically I'm 99% sure this wifi card identifies credentials, as does the rest of my PC.

CA certificates etc, 5g mouse, authentification, compliance, zero trust, TPM, telemetey, peoples phones being allocated to the IT admins at work/3rd parties, being on LAN, or WLAN, and all the chatter that goes on.
 
Forever Changes said:
Which VPN do you use - is it a free one?

Also, I wonder, do people use VPNs when posting on Bluelight? :whistle:
Click to expand...
Yes, things of this nature was one of the reasons I started using a VPN. Along with the luxury of watching You Tube ad free, although I gather now that there are other ways of achieving that.

I am slightly concerned about who might get their hands on my data and what they might do with it. I wouldn't post on forums like this at all if I was extremely paranoid about what I post on here, and search for on the internet in general in related searches. It seems that the chances are that my data will be in safer hands with the VPN and DuckGoGo and an email provider specifically chosen for it's privacy.

I don't know. It's irrational and illogical of me to post virtually everything I am trying to guard my privacy about so openly here on a public forum but at the same time be slightly concerned about unknown forces seeing my data. It's a bit of an illusion to feel that one is anonymous online. That's not really the case at all, one could easily be traced by those of a mind to do so. It's even possible if using tor, perhaps even more so, as the likelyhood of encountering all sorts on there, including hackers, is a lot higher.

I'm just a 2 bit mainly class C drug dabbler that pays his own way and doesnt bother anyone else, so I don't think my internet activities are going to be very high on anyone's priorities. I guess the privacy issue is just down to the principle of it for me. It's my free choice to post on here, but it's not my free choice to make it easy for dodgy corporations and shady secretive goings on to have easy access to everything I do online if I can possibly help it.
 
to be honest, I'm not that concerned about downloading torrents from places like Piratebay, I doubt the coppers spend much time hassling torrenters, although I have heard of people getting letters from their ISPs telling them to cease. I don't do it very often, and although I used to always like to seed once I had downloaded (to do my bit) now I tend to turn the torrent off once downloaded.

Then there's privacy from the thought police - these days you say the wrong thing on social media, you could have Plod turning up at your door. Freedom of expression has gone to shit, it practically no longer exists, quite shocking in a supposedely free country - one of the reasons I usually steer clear of social media. When I do write potentially controversial comments on some sites I usually turn on a free VPN proxy called Zenmate - the free version has four different countries you can use to mask your IP, although it tends to be slow and cumbersome at times.

Then there's keeping your private info and data free from the big corps who do God knows what with it.

My main concern is discussing drug stuff - I usully turn Zenmate on when posting here, not that I'm sure that would really offer much protection. I expect the police - with their limited time and resources are more intereseted in suppliers - especially big-time suppliers - than harassing users. But some clearnet sites have been going for years, openly, so it doesn't appear law enforcement are that bothered about them.

In the end, whether using a proxy or not, I just assume that nothing I write or do on the internet is truly private and anonymous, and not being a tech expert or a lawyer, I just use common sense as much as I can
 
Forever Changes said:
to be honest, I'm not that concerned about downloading torrents from places like Piratebay, I doubt the coppers spend much time hassling torrenters, although I have heard of people getting letters from their ISPs telling them to cease. I don't do it very often, and although I used to always like to seed once I had downloaded (to do my bit) now I tend to turn the torrent off once downloaded.

Then there's privacy from the thought police - these days you say the wrong thing on social media, you could have Plod turning up at your door. Freedom of expression has gone to shit, it practically no longer exists, quite shocking in a supposedely free country - one of the reasons I usually steer clear of social media. When I do write potentially controversial comments on some sites I usually turn on a free VPN proxy called Zenmate - the free version has four different countries you can use to mask your IP, although it tends to be slow and cumbersome at times.

Then there's keeping your private info and data free from the big corps who do God knows what with it.

My main concern is discussing drug stuff - I usully turn Zenmate on when posting here, not that I'm sure that would really offer much protection. I expect the police - with their limited time and resources are more intereseted in suppliers - especially big-time suppliers - than harassing users. But some clearnet sites have been going for years, openly, so it doesn't appear law enforcement are that bothered about them.

In the end, whether using a proxy or not, I just assume that nothing I write or do on the internet is truly private and anonymous, and not being a tech expert or a lawyer, I just use common sense as much as I can
Click to expand...
I agree with all of that, and I try to exercise some discretion about what I post online. I'm more comfortable posting about legal high stuff and things in the past tense. Less comfortable about current / future stuff for obvious reasons.

I agree that it would be a waste of police resources to go after people ordering stuff off the clearnet sites that have been running for years. I just hope the likes of The Daily Mail or the payment merchants don't find out what's going on, as either of those things would be the death knell of those sites. Much as the tabloid sensationalism was what sounded the beginning of the end of the Mephedrone legal high era.
 
I know this is not what one wants to hear or even consider... maybe even off topic:
There is no privacy on the web period.
VPN or not.
It may help get around certain restrictions but all yer shit is collected.
 
Forever Changes said:
For adverts on youtube I just have adblockplus in my browser which stops all ads
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Or use the Brave browser, which also exists for android phones. Blocks most of the annoying ads online and as a cherry on top you get YouTube without commercials and with background playing.

For some time Urban VPN was a decent, free VPN service which I used to download e.g. stuff which is limited to a specific amount per day but it's awfully slow now. For Android there are some cracked VPNs like AdGuard VPN which is an ad-blocker with VPN combined, with the cracked APK you can use it for free (if you trust the crack, obviously, but it doesn't require any special permissions).

Anybody knowing a better, really free to use VPN for PCs?
 
plumbus-nine said:
Or use the Brave browser, which also exists for android phones. Blocks most of the annoying ads online and as a cherry on top you get YouTube without commercials and with background playing.

For some time Urban VPN was a decent, free VPN service which I used to download e.g. stuff which is limited to a specific amount per day but it's awfully slow now. For Android there are some cracked VPNs like AdGuard VPN which is an ad-blocker with VPN combined, with the cracked APK you can use it for free (if you trust the crack, obviously, but it doesn't require any special permissions).

Anybody knowing a better, really free to use VPN for PCs?
Click to expand...

Zenmate: https://zenmate.com/

has a free version which you have in your browser and can turn on - with a choice of four different countries - to mask your IP. It can slow the browser down sometimes, and you have to turn it off when browsing BBC sites. The full version might be faster but I haven't used it as you have to pay for that
 
6am-64-14m said:
I know this is not what one wants to hear or even consider... maybe even off topic:
There is no privacy on the web period.
VPN or not.
It may help get around certain restrictions but all yer shit is collected.
Click to expand...

One of the most well know VPN providers, Nord VPN, is based in Panama. Apparently over there they have no legal requirement to keep any logs, and so they don't. Nord "enjoys freedom from invasive data retention laws."

Wish I'd signed up to them tbh, rather than the one I chose, as Nord seems to be better and cheaper. Maybe at renewal time I will.

THe one I use hasnt been idependently audited but apparently it only keeps your log on and log off times, and amount of data used, it doesn't record any personally identifiable info.

However, I have heard that it has had "server breaches" and has been 'compelled to hand over logs' in the past, so they haven't been perfect, but they are claiming to have overcome these issues by now..

The bottom line for me is that I'd rather trust a VPN than an ISP. It should at the very least make it more difficult for whoever wants my data to get their grubby little hands on it.
 
These mf snatching data before it gets sent.
Dont be fleeced.
Again... online privacy (vpn) is just another game... can be used to work around connection issues but privacy? :rofl:
 
LoginNotSecure said:
Search pirateproxy for mirrors of piratebay you can access without a vpn. I also use Adblock to stop YouTube adverts.

I’d love to know if anyone knows of any Facebook plugins, extensions, apps etc that will block facebooks adverts, sponsored ads, recommended posts etc. They're prolific and it doesn’t matter how many you block, ten more pop up in it’s place.

Ah, the days of Napster, limewire, sub7, backorifice, wardriving, windows netsend spamming, msn messenger, newsgroups, dial up modems. The nostalgia, simpler times.
Click to expand...
NoScript stops all of these.

However it's a pita to get used to initially as it allows nothing to run and the user selects which elements and scripts run on any given pages. One has to get intuitive about which three scripts will let a page run and which 25/30 to not allow
 
Major techie here and enthusiast of privacy.

First, stay far away from "mainstream" VPNs like Nord, cyberghost, etc. These VPNs can and will hand your data over to the authorities if required / subpoenaed and many have faced time due to it. They do keep logs.

The best VPN you can use is one you setup yourself through WireGuard and a simple Linux VPS where you route all your traffic through /dev/null

If you don't know how to do that, either watch some Youtube videos on it or I recommend purchasing an offshore / hidden VPN, there's a ton of these and they all come with configurations for WireGuard / OpenVPN.

As @Jackal posted, Mullvad is an excellent VPN to use and it's very cheap.

Second, if you're really concerned with your internet data, you'll need to stop fingerprinting. Virtually all websites run javascript on your browser and they can collect a shocking amount of info on you. See for yourself here on some of the things they can collect, great website to play around with and explore: Javascript Leaks

Over time, websites and advertising companies start to build a "profile" on you through your unique fingerprint and browsing habits (3rd party cookies), these can be used to find you / track you.

You can stop all of this with some plugins for Firefox / Chrome (I never recommend using Chrome as it's the WORST browser you can use for privacy)
Plugins like UBlock Origin | CanvasBlocker | Ghostery | Privacy Possum. I recommend installing all of them as they work together.

These plugins + an offshore VPN that routes your traffic through /dev/null or doesn't keep logs will hide most of your browsing habits on top of using Private / Incognito mode of your browser each time (clears cookies each session).

This will be more than enough to start you off with and will hide 90% of your fingerprinting / browsing habits, it will also block virtually all ads you see online too without affecting the platform, including youtube, torrent sites, etc etc.

Have fun and stay safe, privacy is a right, not a privilege.
 
I’ve downloaded a torrent at least twice a week since before I had broadband. No vpn or anything. And the worst I got was when I was using a little script kiddie program called Sub7 and BackOrifice, had a letter from NTL (before it became virgin media) to stop port scanning massive ip ranges 😂😂
 
Windscribe VPN stopped working for youtube adblocking several months ago for me. I still use it for the privacy protection though.

I then switched to uBlock origin which worked great for a while for adblocking youtube.

Then that stopped working too and you tube kept flashing banners saying that I have to switch it off or they wont play the videos.

So I then moved to Brave browser, and didn't sign into my account, and just copied the links over that I want to watch. That worked great.

uBlock seems to have made another move though and once again I can now watch youtube ad free through my account on the browser I was using previously.

The phrase cat and mouse game springs to mind. But it's so worth it to save having to click off an ad every minute, and endure long ads to even start watching.

And although the privacy protection may not be perfect with all these things, as others have said it is an extra layer, and it can only help. Provided the VPN doesn't get hacked or voluntarily sell their logs (for those that keep them) to whoever wants them (some shady branch of government or large corporations.) This is if you believe the conspiracy theorists, although apparently this type of thing is not unhread of, especially with the free VPN providers. As you have to ask if they are really doing it for free,, what is their incentive, and where do they get their income.
 
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