Don't Use VPN Servces | Hacker News Reader

Don't Use VPN Servces

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11 pointsbacklit40346 comments

More and more states are mandating age/ID verification for adult content.

Which is the lesser evil in this case? Use a "reputable" VPN that has a financial interest in not goofing you privacy-wise or else their business grumbles, or do ID verification and therefore de-anonymize yourself just to view content your state gates?

I use my own VPN mesh running Tinc [1] and some here use Wireguard. I've used corporate VPN's for work in the past. Never tried one of the commercial anonymizing VPN's. Article mentions proxies. Over my Tinc VPN I like to use a Squid SSL Bump MitM proxy so I can create ACL's and cache content in RAM on the proxy for friends to share. Some day I should make an article for setting up Tinc and Squid.

And yeah, VPN's can see all layer 4 and any unencrypted layer 7. Even if they claim no logs that could be a word game. They can have an API that permits real time monitoring. No VPN provider would last long without it. See Lavabit [2] There will always be people in denial and evoking coping mechanisms regarding this.

[1] - https://www.tinc-vpn.org/

[2] - https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/oct/03/lavabit-ladar-...

So using a vpn is purely if your hiding something while on the net correct ?

Concealing your origin anyhow. There are more actors than “the state”. Predatory advertisers and hackers alike may be interested in your unique home IP address. Let’s just say a VPN adds a layer of abstraction which must be breached before your origin may be found.

Using a VPN service isn't useful for much more than hiding your location or getting past something your provider is blocking.

A VPN itself is otherwise a useful tool for combining remote networks to act like a single network, and is often hosted by businesses or even individuals to access internal resources, like shared network drives and intranet pages, or even printers, though the latter is usually on accident.

It is useful for accessing geo-gated content.

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