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ISPs get hacked. I configured my phone and home network to route all traffic over a VPN through a server I set up in France last weekend. So when peoples browsi

ISPs get hacked. I configured my phone and home network to route all traffic over a VPN through a server I set up in France last weekend. So when peoples browsing history gets leaked en masse, at least mine wont be amongst it. Governments should be legislating in this area. They should be making it illegal for ISPs to inspect/store this information. Not compulsory. Preaching to the choir I guess.

schoen 10y ago
Hi Mike, > a server I set up in France Did you look into the surveillance situation in France? I understand it's also fairly bad. I'm not suggesting a nihilistic approach where there is no jurisdiction that's any better than any other, just wondering about the choice of France. (I also like to question people's intuitions about what makes for a good privacy-respecting jurisdiction: Switzerland because of banking secrecy of decades past but not taking account of https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/sep/25/switzerland-votes-in-favour-of-greater-surveillance https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/sep/25/switzerland-vo...? Iceland because of the Althing's consideration of the IMMI law package several years ago, which has not yet passed?) Does any part of the new U.K. law permit or require metadata monitoring that might reveal more about what people are doing with their VPNs because of the quantity or timing of their traffic?
- mike-cardwell 10y ago
  I chose France for a couple of reasons. It's close, so the added latency is low and it's not a five eyes partner. My main goal was to get my traffic out of the country which has direct control over me. The French government has no control over me. The British government very much does.
akerro 10y ago
I did similar thing, but on "bigger scale" I bought opensource router Omnia Turris and configured OpenVPN client on the router for all, also hell no, endpoint isn't in France!
- mike-cardwell 10y ago
  "Bigger scale" ? I do exactly the same. Except I rolled my own. I have an Intel NUC at the front of my home network which handles routing all traffic out over the VPN. Amongst many other tasks.
pavanred 10y ago
Opera now has a free VPN mode built into the browser, making it very easy to switch VPN to different countries and requiring just a flip of a switch in the settings.
- flavor8 10y ago
  VPNs cost money to run. Remember, if you're not paying you may be the product.
  - maxt 10y ago
    Also, depending on the strength of crypto in the VPN configuration, the VPN traffic could be decrypted: https://www.spiegel.de/media/media-35526.pdf https://www.spiegel.de/media/media-35526.pdf
- secfirstmd 10y ago
  Only browser based though, does nothing to stop all the other data being leaked...also, they haven't really given much detail on the security, privacy policy etc.
smokeyj 10y ago
How long until your ISP requires you have a VPN license and a key they control..
- mike-cardwell 10y ago
  Never
sandworm101 10y ago
Of course they get hacked. That's part of the big evil plan. Eventually in a couple years, after ISPs have shown their incompetence, the call will go out for this data to be stored at a secure government location. I am reminded of a quote from the BBC Wold debate. An audience member described typical ISP security in Australia as "Two men and a dog".
- ddmf 10y ago
  Sounds so dastardly it's probably true.
maxt 10y ago
Being in a highly privileged position on the global Internet sounds cute, but it's not actually cute at all. It is opportunistic in nature and tantamount to living in an autocratic regime like China. Apparently this bill respects human rights, but I disagree. Slurping up all the plaintext you can is outright opportunism and sly.

schoen 10y ago

Hi Mike, > a server I set up in France Did you look into the surveillance situation in France? I understand it's also fairly bad. I'm not suggesting a nihilistic approach where there is no jurisdiction that's any better than any other, just wondering about the choice of France. (I also like to question people's intuitions about what makes for a good privacy-respecting jurisdiction: Switzerland because of banking secrecy of decades past but not taking account of https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/sep/25/switzerland-votes-in-favour-of-greater-surveillance https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/sep/25/switzerland-vo...? Iceland because of the Althing's consideration of the IMMI law package several years ago, which has not yet passed?) Does any part of the new U.K. law permit or require metadata monitoring that might reveal more about what people are doing with their VPNs because of the quantity or timing of their traffic?

mike-cardwell 10y ago
I chose France for a couple of reasons. It's close, so the added latency is low and it's not a five eyes partner. My main goal was to get my traffic out of the country which has direct control over me. The French government has no control over me. The British government very much does.

akerro 10y ago

I did similar thing, but on "bigger scale" I bought opensource router Omnia Turris and configured OpenVPN client on the router for all, also hell no, endpoint isn't in France!

mike-cardwell 10y ago
"Bigger scale" ? I do exactly the same. Except I rolled my own. I have an Intel NUC at the front of my home network which handles routing all traffic out over the VPN. Amongst many other tasks.

pavanred 10y ago

Opera now has a free VPN mode built into the browser, making it very easy to switch VPN to different countries and requiring just a flip of a switch in the settings.

flavor8 10y ago
VPNs cost money to run. Remember, if you're not paying you may be the product.
- maxt 10y ago
  Also, depending on the strength of crypto in the VPN configuration, the VPN traffic could be decrypted: https://www.spiegel.de/media/media-35526.pdf https://www.spiegel.de/media/media-35526.pdf
secfirstmd 10y ago
Only browser based though, does nothing to stop all the other data being leaked...also, they haven't really given much detail on the security, privacy policy etc.

smokeyj 10y ago

How long until your ISP requires you have a VPN license and a key they control..

mike-cardwell 10y ago
Never

sandworm101 10y ago

Of course they get hacked. That's part of the big evil plan. Eventually in a couple years, after ISPs have shown their incompetence, the call will go out for this data to be stored at a secure government location. I am reminded of a quote from the BBC Wold debate. An audience member described typical ISP security in Australia as "Two men and a dog".

ddmf 10y ago
Sounds so dastardly it's probably true.

maxt 10y ago

Being in a highly privileged position on the global Internet sounds cute, but it's not actually cute at all. It is opportunistic in nature and tantamount to living in an autocratic regime like China. Apparently this bill respects human rights, but I disagree. Slurping up all the plaintext you can is outright opportunism and sly.